What an administrative assistant does
An administrative assistant supports a manager, a department or a small team with the tasks that keep work moving: scheduling meetings, preparing documents, managing correspondence, organizing files and handling travel or event logistics. Some roles are general, while others call for industry knowledge such as legal terminology, construction document control or real estate paperwork. The common thread is reliable, accurate support that lets professionals spend their time on the work only they can do.
When an assistant is a good match, the team rarely has to think about the details. When the match is wrong, staff end up redoing documents, chasing missed messages and covering for gaps. Finch looks at how candidates have actually supported people before, the volume and type of work they handled and how they respond to feedback. You meet a shortlist of suitable candidates, and we arrange the interviews around your schedule.
Typical responsibilities
- Manage calendars, schedule meetings and send reminders
- Draft, format and proofread letters, reports and presentations
- Organize electronic and paper files, including shared drives
- Book travel, prepare expense reports and coordinate events
- Take meeting notes and track follow-up items
- Handle incoming calls and email for the team
Qualifications and credentials
- An office administration diploma or certificate is common but not always required
- Strong Microsoft 365 skills, particularly Word, Outlook and Excel
- Typing accuracy and a careful eye for formatting and spelling
- Experience supporting more than one person or a full team
- Industry knowledge, such as legal or medical terminology, where your setting calls for it
Who hires an administrative assistant
- Corporate offices and head offices
- Law firms and accounting practices
- Real estate, construction and engineering companies
- Colleges, schools and non-profit organizations
Where we recruit administrative assistant candidates
We fill administrative assistant roles for employers across Toronto and the GTA, including North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Oshawa and Pickering, and for employers across Canada. GTA employers can meet us at our North York office by appointment.
What Finch checks before you meet a candidate
- Software skills checked on realistic tasks such as formatting a document or managing a calendar
- Spelling, grammar and attention to detail in a written sample
- How the candidate has supported multiple people with competing deadlines
- Reliability and attendance, confirmed through references
Interview questions to ask
- How do you keep track of tasks from several people so nothing falls through the cracks?
- Tell me about a mistake you caught before it reached a client. How did you spot it?
- Which tools or shortcuts do you use to work faster in Word, Outlook or Excel?