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15 School Secretary Interview Questions
Expect school secretary interview questions that explore a number of criteria for success including:
- your technical skills and experience
- key behavioral competencies
- your motivation to do the job
Use the interview answer guides to formulate your own winning interview answers for the school secretary or school office assistant position.
5 School secretary interview questions - skills and experience
Your interview is most likely to begin with questions about your professional background and relevant experience. School secretary interview questions that explore your technical skills and experience include:
What computer applications are you proficient in?
Detail the depth of your experience with each application and the type of work you generated using it.
What sort of reports and documents have you prepared?
- provide examples of the reports and documents you have prepared
- provide details of the processes involved in producing them
- highlight the level of responsibility you were given and the complexity of the documents and reports
- detail the methods you used to send and distribute communications
How do you schedule and keep track of appointments and meetings?
- what systems have you used to schedule activities and maintain calendars?
- what follow up procedures do you have in place?
How do you keep current with school and District policies and procedures?
Outline the steps you take to make sure you are up-to-date with school policies and procedures
What steps do you take to maintain confidentiality and ethical standards?
Confidentiality and discretion are important for a school secretary.
- describe the sort of sensitive information you had to manage
- how did you make sure the information was kept confidential?
- how was the information stored?
5 Behavioral school secretary interview questions
Expect behavioral interview questions that evaluate the 5 key competencies required for success as a school secretary including:
Organizational Skills
Strong organizational and planning skills are essential for the complexity and number of tasks a school secretary must perform.
Describe a situation in which you had to balance competing demands and carefully schedule your activities to meet a deadline.
In your answer focus on:
- determining the urgency and importance of each task
- confirming deadlines
- working out how long each task will take
- using available resources in planning task completion
Good time management interview questions and answers
Communication Skills
The ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing is key to this role. Communication is the foundation for establishing the strong working relationships that are indispensable for the smooth operation of the school.
Tell me about a recent situation when you had to simplify a complex issue in order to gain understanding from a student or parent?
Focus on:
- adjusting your communication style to meet the needs of the listener
- presenting the facts in a clear and concise manner
- encouraging questions
- asking questions to ensure the right information has been received
Communication Skills Interview Questions
Judgment
The school secretary will be call on to exercise sound judgment in making decisions and solving problems.
Describe a problem you recently had to solve.
In your answer describe:
- how you collected all the necessary data about the problem
- how you considered all the pertinent facts in coming up with a possible solution
- how you implemented the solution
Accuracy and attention to detail
Maintaining and producing accurate data, records and reports is a critical function for a school secretary.
Describe what you do to control mistakes in your work.
Discuss the established procedures you follow to check your work and ensure accuracy.
Initiative
Expect questions that explore your ability to be proactive and take action to achieve outcomes beyond your daily duties.
Describe some of the changes you made to your job at ...
In your answer focus on the following:
- how you recognized the need for change
- how you determined the most appropriate and effective method of change
- how you implemented the change
How to answer behavioral interview questions
3 School secretary interview questions - your motivation
A school secretary is expected to display enthusiasm and commitment to the job. Your motivation for the job will be explored through a variety of motivational school secretary interview questions including:
What motivates you to do a good job?
Make sure your answer is relevant to the specific job opportunity. Describing a motivator that is not present in the position will raise a red flag. Typical motivators include:
- task challenges
- team involvement
- goal attainment
- learning opportunities and professional development
- positive feedback from student, staff and the public
- resolving a problem successfully
- developing effective working relationships
- contributing to a positive school climate
- influencing the effective operation of the school
Why do you want this school secretary job?
Focus on what you have learned about the job, the school and District in your research and why you would like to be a part of it. What makes this particular position worthwhile for you? Possible reasons include:
- variety and complexity of tasks and duties
- the District and school's goals and objectives, unique characteristics, reputation, student body, staff members
What did you like and dislike most about your previous position?
The interviewer is trying to assess your fit with the job so try and make your answers relevant to the requirements of the position.
Appropriate general answers about what you enjoyed can include :
- meeting new challenges
- dealing with diverse people
- learning new skills
- meeting daily and weekly goals
Your dislikes should not relate to the characteristics of the job you are interviewing for.
Standard school secretary interview questions
What are your strengths as a school secretary?
Focus on three or four strengths that refer directly to the secretarial job requirements. Potential examples include:
- organizing and planning
- adaptability and flexibility
- information management
- attention to detail
- problem analysis and problem solving
- reliability and dependability
- initiative
- discretion
- multi-tasking and prioritizing
- good judgment and decision making skills
- communication and interpersonal skills
And your weaknesses?
Use the relevant examples at Example of Weaknesses to answer this question in the most appropriate manner.
Find sample answers to other standard interview questions:
What has been your most significant success?
Smart questions to ask in your school secretary job interview
Have a number of good questions ready to ask in your interview. The example questions at Interview Questions to Ask will help you decide on the right questions to ask in your interview.
What are the duties of a school secretary?
A clear understanding of the school secretary role is essential to a successful job interview. The list of duties and responsibilities at School Secretary Job Description clearly articulates the school secretary function.
Your school secretary job application
The sample School Secretary Resume is easy to adapt and present your work details in a professional format.
Always include a School Secretary Cover Letter with your resume.
