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  • Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com,

  • and in this tutorial, I am going to teach you how to pass a secretary interview. Now,

  • it does not matter which secretary role you are applying for, and it also does not matter

  • which organization you are being interviewed for to become a secretary, please do watch

  • this video tutorial from beginning to end, because I will give you my top seven secretary

  • interview questions, and more importantly, my high scoring answers! Now, before I get

  • into those, a very warm welcome to this tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn. That's me there

  • in the center of the screen. I've been helping people like you for about 20 years now to

  • pass their interviews, and I do that specifically by giving you top scoring answers you can't

  • find anywhere else. Please do SUBSCRIBE to the channel by clicking the red button below

  • the video, and then you won't miss out on any of the weekly training videos that I am

  • uploading. And I would also appreciate your support (thanks) if you give the video a LIKE.

  • Thank you very much. So, let's get into those secretary interview questions and high scoring

  • answers. You can either take notes as I progress and write down the questions and the answers,

  • or if you stick around, I will tell you where you can download my full set of 21 great answers

  • to tough secretary interview questions. So, here's the first one you will be asked at

  • the start of your secretary interview: Tell me about yourself? It might be posed as: Please

  • introduce yourself to us? Now, we want to get you off on the right foot. We want to

  • give them a punchy response and also one that's positive and loaded with great keywords! So,

  • here we go. “Thank you for inviting me to be interviewed for the position of secretary

  • today. I am an ambitious, hard-working, positive and professional secretary who has a track

  • record of achievement in all work I undertake. I believe one of the most important skills

  • to possess as a secretary, is that of being able to carry out multiple tasks to a high,

  • consistent standardthis is just one of the many skills I have that makes me the perfect

  • candidate for this position. Outside of work, I have a happy, stable and positive life,

  • which means when I am at work, I am attentive, organized and effective.

  • If you hire me as your secretary, I believe you will be impressed with my ability to complete

  • tasks quickly, and also my strong work ethics and values, as well as my ability to communicate

  • effectively with both internal team members and external clients or stakeholders.” If

  • you use that answer at the beginning of your interview, when they ask the question, tell

  • me about yourself, you will be up and running and it will also give you great confidence

  • when you move forward and answer the next questions! So, the second secretarial interview

  • question I want you to prepare for, is: why do you want to work for our company as a secretary?

  • Why have you chosen our company or our organization? Now, I want to give you a short and positive

  • answer to this interview question. You can use this for any kind of organization. “As

  • a secretary, I think it’s important to choose the company first over the position. I am

  • keen to work for a company who I can commit to for a lengthy period of time, and having

  • researched your organization in detail, I believe the high standards you set, and also

  • the enthusiastic plans you have for the future, make you an extremely attractive employer

  • to work for.” That's all you need to say! Okay, great answer to the question. Why do

  • you want to work for our company or our organization as a secretary? Next interview question: In

  • your opinion, what are the top seven qualities needed to excel as a secretary? Here we go.

  • As a secretary, you need to possess a multitude of different skills, qualities and attributes

  • in order to be effective. In my opinion, the 7 most important qualities are being ORGANIZED

  • and RELIABLE in all work you undertakeyour employer should be able to give you lots of

  • work and expect it to be completed on time, without having to chase you up. You also need

  • to possess excellent COMMUNICATION and INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, especially when dealing with external

  • clients, organizations and stakeholders. As a secretary, you are often the first point

  • of contact, and on that basis, you need to act as a positive role model for your organization

  • in how you communicate. Other top qualities include having strong ATTENTION TO DETAIL

  • SKILLS, being able to MULTI-TASK, acting with LOYALTY, HONESTY and INTEGRITY in all of your

  • work, and finally, being COMPETENT IN THE USE OF ALL APPLICABLE APPS AND SOFTWARE PACKAGES

  • that will enable you to PERFORM YOUR TASKS TO A HIGH STANDARD.” So, those are the top

  • qualities needed to excel in the position of a secretary. My advice is to utilize those

  • in your answer to that question. What is your biggest weakness? Guaranteed to come up at

  • some stage during your secretary interview. So, we have to be very careful when answering

  • this question. And on the surface, it appears very easy to answer. Now, you have to be honest.

  • However, what we don't want to do is to give them a weakness that is aligned with the role

  • of a secretary. So, here is my great answer to this interview question: What's your biggest

  • weakness? “My biggest weakness is that, in the past, I used to spend too long on certain

  • tasks and projects, simply because I wanted to make sure they were one hundred percent

  • accurate and correct. I have strong work values and I set very high standards, but the amount

  • of time I was spending on some tasks, checking for accuracy and detail, was taking too long.

  • A previous manager pointed this out to me a while ago, but since it was brought to my

  • attention, I have changed my approach to completing tasks. Whilst I still maintain high standards,

  • I get the job done quickly and then move on to the next task. Conversely, I guess one

  • of my strengths is the fact that I will always take onboard feedback from my manager with

  • a view to continually improving and developing in the role as a secretary.” Now, you'll

  • notice what I've done there, is I've provided a weakness that I used to have, but I've resolved

  • it, and that's the important thing! But I've also added that bit at the end that demonstrates

  • that one of my strengths is the fact that I can take on board feedback, which is an

  • important strength. As a secretary, you have to be able to take on board constructive feedback

  • and criticism. Now, I still have a number of questions to run through, so please do

  • stick around. But when you are ready, if you CLICK THAT LINK in the top right hand corner

  • of the screen, it will take you through to my website (PassMyInterview.com) and you can

  • download my full set of 21 Secretary Interview Questions & Top Scoring Answers. Next question:

  • Describe a time when you completed multiple tasks whilst working under pressure? Now,

  • you and I know that one of the important qualities of a secretary is tomultitaskwhilst

  • under pressure. And they are asking here for a specific situation that you were in when

  • you've done this before, when you've completed multiple tasks under pressure. My advice is

  • to give a minimum of four tasks that you have completed over a period of one day, difficult

  • ones where you have to get them done under pressure. Here's my suggested answer to this

  • question: “In my previous role as a secretary, my manager came in one Monday morning, and

  • stressed he needed a number of urgent tasks to be completed all by the end of the day.

  • The tasks included arranging a priority meeting for the following day of important internal

  • company managers; extracting large amounts of data from company sales figures so he could

  • use that information at the meeting; creating a written report that was due to be finished

  • that same day, and finally, completing all of my usual workload, which included answering

  • all telephone calls, taking messages and handling organizational correspondence. I actually

  • really enjoy working under pressure, and so I created a priority list of what tasks needed

  • to be done and in what order. This enabled me to focus on each task, get it completed

  • successfully, before moving on to the next job. During that day, I worked solidly without

  • a break, and I also stayed behind late to make sure everything was set up and prepared

  • for the next daysmeeting.” So, that shows that you enjoy working under pressure,

  • and more importantly, you can handle it. And you know how to prioritize tasks which again,

  • as you and I know, is really important when you are working as a secretary. Next question.

  • How would you deal with a difficult client on the phone? How would you deal with a difficult

  • client on the phone? They are looking to see here that you can communicate with integrity

  • and professionalism and also remain calm. Here is my suggested answer. “It’s always

  • important to remember not to take things personally when dealing with clients, and sometimes,

  • people have valid reasons to be stressed. If someone was being difficult on the phone,

  • I would always remember I am representing your organization, and on that basis, I would

  • be professional at all times. I would remain calm, listen to them carefully, allow them

  • to speak and then take the appropriate steps to either resolve any issues they had, or

  • provide them with the information they needed. I would be confident and resilient at all

  • times in my communication with clients. I always find, if you are positive, if you listen

  • and you are genuinely nice to people, they will always come around at some stage during

  • the call, and you can then achieve your objectives.” That's a brilliant answer to that question!

  • How would you deal with difficult clients on the phone? Next question: how would you

  • handle stressful days at work as a secretary? You will have stressful days at work on a

  • regular basis. So, how do you handle stress? Here's my suggested answer. “I handle stress

  • really well, and as I mentioned in my previous answer, I tend to thrive in this type of environment.

  • I handle stress by always remaining calm and composed. If you get stressed, or if you let

  • your emotions get the better of you, you can’t concentrate and complete tasks accurately.

  • I always find the best way to deal with stressful days is to draw up a list of priority tasks

  • that need to be completed. That way, you are focused intently on what needs to be done.

  • I also set myself clear timeframes for getting jobs completed, and I then go all out to get

  • them done within the timeframe I have allocated for that particular job. I don’t mind working

  • extra hours, so I always have the back-up option that I can stay late, if needed, to

  • complete any other non-urgent tasks that might need my attention. The important thing for

  • me, is that I start the next working day fresh and with a new set of tasks and challenges

  • to focus on.” Again, that’s a very strong answer to that question! How do you handle

  • stressful days at work? It shows that you understand stress and the causes of it, and

  • you know that it's really important to remain calm and composed, because then you can concentrate

  • and get your tasks completed by drawing up that priority task list. Now, don't forget,

  • please do make sure you download my full set OF 21 SECRETARY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

  • by clicking that link in the top right hand corner, or by going through to my website

  • PassMyInterview.com. I hope you enjoyed that tutorial. Please don't forget to subscribe.

  • And as I say, I would appreciate your support if you LIKE the video, it always motivates

  • me to create more content if I know that you enjoy the tutorials. Thank you very much.

  • If you have any questions, please stick them in the comments section below the video and

  • I will be more than happy to answer them for you. I wish you all the best in your pursuit

  • to pass your secretary interview and have a brilliant day. Thank you very much.

Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com,

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