Administrative Assistant CV: Example and Template
A complete Swiss example for administrative professionals - with measurable achievements from secretarial work, accounts payable, and office management.
Currently 28 open Administrative Assistant positions in Switzerland, across 5 cantons, 8 of them from the last 7 days. Nestlé advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
Which qualification belongs on an administrative professional's CV?
In Switzerland, basic commercial training (Kauffrau/Kaufmann EFZ) is the standard - further qualifications such as Accounting Specialist (edupool.ch) or the Federal Diploma of Higher Education as Executive Assistant clearly set you apart.
State your qualification the way Swiss HR managers recognise it: «Kauffrau EFZ, Profile E» or «Profile M with vocational baccalaureate». If you entered the profession through a Business Middle School (HMS) or commercial adult education such as the VSH Commercial Diploma, spell this out too. A foreign qualification carries more weight if you mention recognition by the SBFI or at least indicate its equivalence.
Next, show the specialist knowledge that fits the role. For positions with an accounting component, this means Accounting Specialist (edupool.ch/veb.ch) or the Federal Diploma in Financial and Accounting Management. For assistant roles, what counts is a Federal Diploma of Higher Education as Executive Assistant, HR Administration Specialist with social insurance modules, or a course in minute-taking. For positions in public administration and municipalities, you score points with GEVER (records management system) experience and knowledge of records management.
Demonstrate your IT skills concretely instead of just writing «MS Office skills». State which ERP software you use (Abacus, bexio, Sage 50, SAP, Infoniqa) and which Excel functions you master - pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, mail merge. Add CEFR language levels with evidence, since at reception and in correspondence, French or English is often tested directly on the phone.
How do I present my administrative work experience convincingly?
For each position, describe volumes, systems, and deadline pressure - i.e. document volumes, call numbers, the number of employees supported, and your role in the month-end close.
Administrative work can quickly look generic on a CV, because everyone writes «correspondence, phone, and filing». Make the scope visible: 1'400 accounts payable documents per year, 70 calls per day, 180 payslips per month, 2'300 managed properties. Add context in one line - industry, company size, team size, and who you reported to. This lets the reader immediately see whether your level of experience matches the advertised position.
Phrase your achievements as before-and-after comparisons. Examples: invoice processing time from 11 to 5 days, days sales outstanding from 47 to 33 days, early payment discount income of CHF 12'400 per year, 480 linear metres of paper filing transferred to the DMS. Process work also counts: standardised letter templates, an onboarding checklist, an expense policy, or an action item list with a completion rate.
Organise your tasks by area of responsibility rather than chronologically by daily routine: financial administration, HR administration, assistance/meetings, office management. For temporary assignments, group several placements under the staffing agency and list the host companies by industry. Explain gaps factually in one line - a family phase, further training, or job seeking with a RAV (regional employment office) programme - and add which courses you completed during that time.
How long should the CV be, and does it need a photo?
Two pages are the Swiss standard, and a professional portrait photo remains customary - and practically expected - in administrative professions.
Keep to two A4 pages, or a maximum of three if you have more than 15 years of experience. Summarise older positions from around 15 years back into a short list. A structure that works well in Switzerland: contact details, brief profile, work experience (most recent first), education, further training, IT skills, languages, references. Use a single font throughout, clear dates in the MM/YYYY format, and PDF as the file format with a descriptive file name.
The photo belongs in the top right corner, current, in business attire, and with a neutral background - selfies and holiday snapshots will cost you the interview. Details on marital status or religion are not needed; year of birth and nationality, or residence permit (C, B, G), on the other hand, are customary, as they clarify employability. For cross-border commuters, a line on the permit and the commute helps.
At the end, add three points that are almost always asked for in administrative roles: desired workload (for example 80-100%), earliest possible start date or notice period, and references «upon request». Salary figures do not belong on the CV, but rather in the interview or - if requested - in the cover letter, for example as a target range of CHF 78'000 to CHF 85'000 for a full-time position. Attach reference letters and diplomas as a separate PDF, not in the middle of the CV.
Where Administrative Assistant are hired in Switzerland
How the 28 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Genf | 4 |
| Zürich | 3 |
| Zug | 1 |
| Basel-Stadt | 1 |
| Schaffhausen | 1 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 23 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| English | 20 (18) |
| German | 14 (11) |
| French | 11 (6) |
Who hires Administrative Assistant in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| Nestlé | 3 |
| CERN | 2 |
| Kinderspital Zürich | 2 |
| European Broadcasting Union (EBU) | 2 |
| RUAG | 1 |
| msiexpress | 1 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 19 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 2 |
| Temporär | 2 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Lena Brunner-Hodel
Administrative Officer / Team Assistant, Kauffrau EFZ with Federal Diploma of Higher Education as Executive Assistant
Administrative professional with 9 years of experience in secretarial work, reception, and commercial administration at SMEs with 40 to 180 employees. I manage accounts payable and accounts receivable processes in Abacus, draft correspondence according to the SN 010130 formatting standard, and take minutes at management board meetings with agendas and action item lists. Resilient under multiple workloads, accustomed to month-end closing deadlines and confidential personnel files.
What sets me apart
Accounts payable process from A to Z: From invoice receipt through approval checks under the authority regulations to the DTA/pain.001 payment run in Abacus - including VAT coding under the net tax rate and effective methods.
Business correspondence at standard level: Letters, quotations, and reminders according to SN 010130, as well as template sets in Word with style sheets and mail merge fields - standardised 14 templates across three locations.
HR administration with social insurance expertise: Entry and exit notifications to the compensation office and pension fund, UVG accident reports to Suva, withholding tax statements, and family allowance applications for 180 employees.
Order that withstands audits: File structure and retention under CO Art. 958f (10 years) digitised, filed in the DMS with metadata - the auditors found zero findings in the document filing area in 2023.
Key achievements
Invoice processing time shortened by 6 days. Introduced a digital approval workflow in the DMS: reduced processing time from invoice receipt to payment release from 11 to 5 working days, thereby realising CHF 12'400 in early payment discounts per year.
Structured the reminder process. Scheduled a three-stage reminder run in Abacus and introduced telephone collections: reduced average days sales outstanding (DSO) from 47 to 33 days and cut open items over 90 days by 62%.
Reduced office costs. Retendered office supplies, cleaning, and travel bookings and consolidated them into two framework agreements: reduced annual costs from CHF 96'000 to CHF 81'500 without any reduction in service.
Experience
Administrative Officer & Executive Assistant — Lindmatt Technik AG, Winterthur, 03/2021 - present
Industrial SME with 180 employees across three locations; two-person administration team, reporting directly to the CFO.
- Processed 1'400 accounts payable documents and 900 accounts receivable invoices per year in Abacus, keeping the VAT coding error rate below 0.5%.
- Prepared and minuted four management board meetings per month: agenda, documents sent 5 days in advance, action item list with a 96% on-time completion rate.
- Managed time tracking and absences for 180 employees, reporting 210 accident and illness cases per year to Suva and the daily allowance insurer.
- Built an onboarding process with a 22-point checklist, reducing new employees' queries in the first week by around 40%.
Commercial Clerk, Back Office and Reception — Vogtsberg Immobilien GmbH, Zürich, 08/2017 - 02/2021
Property management company with 60 employees and 2'300 managed rental units; first point of contact for tenants and tradespeople.
- Ran the switchboard handling around 70 calls per day, resolving 85% of enquiries directly without transferring the call.
- Prepared 1'100 rent adjustments and utility cost statements per year ready for dispatch, keeping the complaint rate below 3%.
- Migrated a 480-linear-metre archive to DMS filing, reducing the average search time for tenancy agreements from 12 minutes to under 2 minutes.
- Mentored two commercial apprentices in Profile E, both of whom passed their qualification procedure.
Kauffrau EFZ, Secretariat and Order Processing — Seematt Verlag AG, Zürich, 08/2013 - 07/2017 (including apprenticeship 2013-2016)
Specialist publishing house with 40 employees; rotation through secretariat, subscription management, and accounting.
- Administered 6'500 subscriptions, triggering annual invoicing of around CHF 780'000 on schedule.
- Processed order handling for an average of 55 orders per day and created shipping documents, keeping the complaint rate below 1%.
- Revised Word and Excel templates for customer mailings, cutting processing time per mail merge letter by around 30%.
Education
Federal Diploma of Higher Education, Executive Assistant — Handelsakademie Rütiberg, Zürich · 2023
Diploma, edupool.ch/veb.ch, Accounting Specialist — Kaufmännischer Verband Winterthur · 2019
Federal Certificate of Proficiency (EFZ), Kauffrau, Profile E (Service and Administration) — Berufsfachschule Limmattal, Dietikon · 2016
HR Administration and Social Insurance Specialist (2022) · ECDL/ICDL Advanced: Word and Excel (2020) · Abacus User Certificate, Accounts Payable and Payment Processing (2021) · BLS-AED-SRC Complete, Workplace First Aider (2024)
Common questions
- What language should I write my CV in as a Administrative Assistant?
- 65% of adverts are in English, 30% in German. In this occupation two versions earn their keep.
- Where in Switzerland are Administrative Assistant most in demand?
- Spread out, Geneva first at 14%, then Zurich and Zug. Across a language border, apply with the matching version.
- What language level do Administrative Assistant adverts ask for?
- English in 87% of adverts that state a requirement, 90% of them at professional level. "Good knowledge" will not do — give A2 to C2.
- Are Administrative Assistant roles offered full or part time?
- 90% full time, only 10% part time. If you need part time, say so early rather than leaving it open.
- Who hires Administrative Assistant in Switzerland?
- Currently Nestlé, CERN, Kinderspital Zürich, among others. Their adverts are the best word list for your own CV.