Sample KSA Answers for Secretary and Administrative Assistant

If you need to write KSA answers to apply for a secretary or administrative assistant position with a federal government agency, we can help. We’ve been writing KSA responses for administrative professionals since 2005 and would love to help you as well. Below you will see some sample KSA statements for a secretary job opening.

Responsibilities of Administrative Assistant (OA)

  • Perform Automation Support duties for Branch Chiefs.
  • Complete specialized project assistant work related in support of professional engineers
  • Assure accurate data is located and retrievable for future reference and future audits and administrative reviews.
  • Maintain inventory of supplies for the organization and establishes reordering procedures.
  • Establish and maintains files in accordance with Information Management System
  • Initiate corrections in procedures and processes to improve the effectiveness, efficiency or customer satisfaction with the project management system.
  • Prepare charts, graphs, and narrative information for incorporation in reports, presentations, and meetings from material provided by higher level employees, using computer programs like PowerPoint and Excel.
  • Maintain contact with co-workers and managers, both internal and external to the organization, to develop and exchange information, resolve operating problems, and make recommendations.
secretary at work

Typical KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs) for Administrative Assistant Positions:

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1. Knowledge of the organizational and functional responsibilities and operations of an organization required to coordinate the work of the office with the work of other offices and for recognizing the need for such coordination in various circumstances.

2. Knowledge of various office automation software programs, tools, and techniques to support office operations and produce a variety of documents such as letters, reports, spreadsheets, databases, and graphs.

3. Knowledge of structure, programs and work methods of organization for personnel/manning issues.

4. Skill in fact-finding, problem analysis, problem resolutions, and development of concrete action plans to solve problems.

5. Ability to gather, analyze and present facts, communicate effectively (both orally and in typing), using tact and courtesy and possess the ability to plan, organize work, and meet deadlines.

6. Ability to plan and organize management programs and functions of an organization and meet deadlines.

For these secretary KSAs, here’s part of a sample answer…

In my current position as an Administrative Assistant to the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), I am responsible for planning and managing work assignments for the Director’s office staff. In order to coordinate these work assignments, I ensure the staff meets deadlines set by the Director by tracking the status of assignments in using an Excel spreadsheet. My implementation and use of this system enables NSF to meet the NSF Director’s agenda objectives. The department is more productive as a result and redundant and overlapping work has been eliminated. 

In a previous position as an Assistant Program Manager with DHS, I was responsible for the planning and organization of monthly conferences held throughout the year, each attended by approximately 100 participants. My duties also included coordinating travel arrangements and hotel accommodations for out of town attendees. I tracked conference attendees and their travel arrangement details in a custom-made database I established using FileMaker Pro.  As a result of my strong organizational abilities with respect to managing the conferences, I received a formal letter of recognition from the Senior Vice President of the company.

If you need more KSA answers take a look at our job winning samples. You’ll see our list of the most common KSA questions and ones you’re likely to have on your job application. You can download them right away and they’ll save you hours of writing time.

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