Administrative assistants are often the backbone of an organization, providing support to managers, teams, and clients. They handle a variety of tasks, such as scheduling, organizing, communicating, and problem-solving. To succeed in this role, they need not only technical skills, but also soft skills and personality traits that help them work effectively with others and adapt to changing situations.

Hard skills for the administrative assistant are the overriding technical office skills that you bring to the workplace. Hard skills can be learned and can be acquired through training, work or a combination of both. Hard skills are considered transferable which means, once learned, you can transfer them from job to job. That’s because hard skills are standard across industries and would be very similar at several different organizations and industries. Hard skills are considered measurable, which means an employer can test you on these skills.

On the other hand, soft skills are personal qualities that allow one to relate to others more effectively. Some soft skills include having a positive attitude and effective time management. Also called people skills, soft skills are considered social skills such as communication skills, listening skills, character or personality traits, attitudes, and emotional intelligence, such as the ability to show empathy to others. Once learned, these skills will enhance your personal interactions on the job.

(https://officeskills.org/19.10.2023)