Administrative Assistant
Frequently asked questions about hiring for the Administrative Assistant role, plus the mistakes that most often derail it.
Common hiring mistakes for this role
Confusing Administrative Assistant and Office Manager
The two roles overlap at the edges but are not equivalent. The Administrative Assistant (Kaufmännische:r Mitarbeiter:in) handles general commercial administration: order processing, invoices, correspondence, travel expenses, simple accounting tasks, reception. The Office Manager additionally steers supplier relationships, the office itself (rooms, IT, catering, events) and, at an SMB, often the HR first contact. Anyone who packs both into one ad either pays 40 k€ for a profile that cannot run an office move (frustration), or 28 k€ for a profile immediately overwhelmed by steering suppliers and events. Name the scope explicitly in the title and the tasks.
Confusing Administrative Assistant and Sachbearbeiter:in
The Sachbearbeiter:in is specialized in a clearly bounded subject area (sales back-office, order processing in wholesale, insurance claims, payroll, dunning). The Administrative Assistant works more broadly and handles several subject areas at once at a medium complexity level. A Sachbearbeiter:in in sales back-office with three years of experience in order processing can feel under-challenged in a broad commercial role; an Administrative Assistant without deep routine in a single subject area cannot hold the required pace in a Sachbearbeitung role. If you need depth in one subject area, advertise Sachbearbeiter:in with a defined area, not Kaufmännische:r Mitarbeiter:in.
Not naming the IHK apprenticeship clearly
In the classic Mittelstand the completed IHK apprenticeship (Kauffrau:mann für Büromanagement, Industriekauffrau:mann, Bürokauffrau:mann, Kauffrau:mann für Groß- und Außenhandelsmanagement) is the expected entry ticket. Anyone who leaves it at commercial training or an equivalent qualification in the ad, without naming the expected apprenticeships, attracts a very heterogeneous applicant pool: career changers with an Excel course, school-leavers without an apprenticeship, business-administration graduates with no practical relevance. Name the expected apprenticeships explicitly in the ad. If you want to hire from career changers (e.g. at tech SMBs or in the service sector), name that explicitly too, so the right profiles feel addressed.
Not testing Excel and ERP depth
Very many candidates write very good Excel skills or experience with DATEV and SAP in the CV without having mastered pivot tables, VLOOKUP or a second ERP module beyond receipt entry in practice. In a growing SMB this is a frequent stumbling block in the first three months. The practical task in stage 4 (an Excel analysis, a reminder letter, simple order processing) is the only reliable filter stage; the interview alone is weak on this point. Anyone who skips this stage buys blind.
Hiring at too low a level for a growing company
An SMB growing from 30 to 60 employees in 12-18 months is not looking for pure receipt-entry help. The role requires the ability to structure (standardizing the travel-expense process, consolidating filing, setting up dunning), a degree of initiative toward managers and a sense for prioritization, which are rarely mature below two years of experience. Hiring a pure junior profile in this context produces turnover in 6-12 months and high re-hiring costs. For a very stable SMB under 20 employees with clearly bounded tasks, a junior profile can fit; in every other case the step up to 2-3 years of post-apprenticeship experience is worth it.