SmartCVs
CV examples · Office

Office Administrator CV example

An office administrator keeps a business running in the background: invoices out, supplies in, systems tidy and people looked after. Employers want proof you can juggle all of it without dropping anything. This office administrator CV example shows the range of the job with the numbers that make it believable.

Written for New Zealand, with notes for Australia · Checked

Free. Then compare it with a real Office Administrator job ad.

The example

A Office Administrator CV, start to finish.

Kiri Wihongi is made up, and so are the employers. The layout and the wording are what New Zealand employers expect: no photo or date of birth, the most recent job first, and every bullet showing what was done and what came of it.

Kiri Wihongi

Office Administrator, small and growing businesses

Rotorua · 021 555 0712 · kiri.wihongi@email.com

Profile

Practical, well-organised office administrator with eight years running the office side of small businesses in surveying and freight. Looks after accounts, bookings, records and health and safety paperwork, and keeps a team of 20 supported so they can get on with their work. Confident with Xero, Microsoft 365 and setting up simple systems that last.

Skills

Accounts payable and receivable · Xero · Microsoft 365, including SharePoint · Diary and meeting management · Document control and filing · Health and safety records · Supplier and contract management · Staff onboarding · Minute taking

Experience

Office Administrator, Pōhutukawa Surveying

Rotorua · 2021 to now

  • Run the office for a team of 20 surveyors and planners, from invoicing and supplier accounts to fleet bookings and IT requests
  • Raise around 120 client invoices a month in Xero and chase overdue accounts, bringing debtors over 60 days down from $48,000 to under $12,000
  • Moved the job files from shared drives to SharePoint with a clear folder structure, so staff find documents in seconds rather than asking around
  • Keep the health and safety register, incident reports and site induction records up to date, and prepared the paperwork for the company's first external audit, which passed with no corrective actions
  • Set up a new-starter checklist covering equipment, logins and inductions, used for the nine people hired since

Administration Assistant, Ōkere Freight

Rotorua · 2018 to 2021

  • Entered and matched around 300 supplier invoices a month against delivery dockets, catching double charges worth about $6,000 in one year
  • Answered phones and booked freight for regular customers, keeping the job board current for 14 drivers
  • Ordered stationery, uniforms and cleaning supplies, and cut the monthly spend by moving to one supplier with a set price list

Education

New Zealand Certificate in Business (Administration and Technology) (Level 4), Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

2019

NCEA Level 2, Western Heights High School

2016

Other details

Certificates
Workplace first aid, current
Languages
English and conversational te reo Māori
Driver's licence
Full

Referees

Available on request

Kiri wrote a cover letter to go with it. Read the office administrator cover letter

Skills and keywords

What office administrator job ads look for.

Use the ad's own words where they're true of you. An ATS, and a recruiter skimming, both look for them.

  • Accounts payable and receivableMost office administrator ads include some accounts work. Say how many invoices you handle and what software you use.
  • Xero or MYOBSmall businesses often run on one of these, and ads name them. List the one you know, and whether you do invoicing, bills or payroll in it.
  • Microsoft 365Go past "Word and Excel". SharePoint, Teams and shared calendars show you can run the office's systems, not just use them.
  • Health and safetyIn small firms the administrator often keeps the registers and induction records. If that's you, say so. It's a real responsibility.
  • Sole chargeIf you've run the office on your own, use these words. Employers read it as someone who can work without supervision.
  • OnboardingSetting up new starters, from logins to inductions, is increasingly part of the job. Give the number of people you've brought in.
  • Process improvementBack it with one real change, such as a filing system or checklist, and what it saved.

Bullet points

9 strong lines to borrow from.

Each says what was done, how, and what came of it. Swap in your own facts: a line is only strong if it's true.

  1. 1Ran the office for a team of 20, covering invoicing, supplier accounts, fleet bookings and IT requests
  2. 2Brought debtors over 60 days down from $48,000 to under $12,000 by following up overdue accounts each week
  3. 3Moved job files from shared drives to SharePoint with a clear structure, so staff could find documents without asking
  4. 4Kept the health and safety register and induction records current, and prepared for an external audit that passed with no corrective actions
  5. 5Built a new-starter checklist for equipment, logins and inductions, used for nine new hires
  6. 6Matched around 300 supplier invoices a month to delivery dockets, catching about $6,000 in double charges in a year
  7. 7Moved office supplies to one supplier with a set price list, cutting the monthly spend
  8. 8Took minutes at monthly team meetings and followed up actions so they were done by the next one
  9. 9Organised the company's end-of-year function and two client events within budget

Common mistakes

What costs office administrator CVs interviews.

  • A long list of duties with no sense of scale.

    Add the numbers: how many staff you support, invoices a month, suppliers you manage. "Supported a team of 20" says more than "general office duties".

  • Writing "proficient in Microsoft Office" and nothing else.

    Name the systems you actually run, such as Xero, SharePoint or a booking tool, and one thing you set up or improved in them.

  • Leaving out the jobs nobody else wanted.

    Health and safety records, debt chasing and supplier contracts are what make an administrator valuable. Put them on the CV.

  • Hiding a small employer.

    A small firm usually means wider responsibility. Say it was sole charge or a team of 20, so the employer sees how much you covered.

New Zealand and Australia

What changes across the Tasman.

New Zealand

Office administrators in small firms often keep the health and safety paperwork, and WorkSafe says a business must keep records of notifiable events for at least five years, so mention any registers or incident records you've looked after.

New Zealand CV format

Australia

Australian office roles often ask for a nationally recognised business qualification such as the Certificate IV in Business (BSB40120), so give your New Zealand qualification's full name and level so it can be compared. Australian employers usually say resume rather than CV, and expect about two pages.

Australian CV format

Sources: WorkSafe: what events need to be notified, training.gov.au: BSB40120 Certificate IV in Business.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Something else on your mind? Email support@smartcvs.ai and a person will reply.

What's the difference between an office administrator and a receptionist?

A receptionist looks after the front desk. An office administrator runs what's behind it: accounts, suppliers, records and systems. If you do both, lead with the administration and mention the front desk as part of it.

Do I need a qualification to be an office administrator?

Not always, but a business administration certificate helps if your experience is short, and some larger employers ask for one. With several years behind you, your results matter more.

Should I include accounts work if it's only part of my job?

Yes. Many ads ask for it, and a line with the software and the volume, such as 120 invoices a month in Xero, can decide whether you get a call.

More CV examples

Make your next application the one that gets read.

Upload your CV and see what's holding it back. Then tailor it to the job in one click.

Free. No signup. PDF or Word.

Questions first? Email support@smartcvs.ai.