University of Pennsylvania Administrative Assistant Interview Questions & Reviews

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Interview Experience [?] Based on 2 ratings

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3.0

Average Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2009 in Philadelphia, PA (took 2 weeks)

I applied online and got a response two weeks later. I would recommend applying the day the job is posted to get in the pool of applications that actually get received. There was a scheduled phone interview where I was asked questions like "Describe yourself", "Describe how you handle stress", "What is your experience with MS Office?", very basic, non-behavioral based interview questions. After a successful phone interview, I did a 1:1 interview with the Assistant Dean of the dept., who was nice and asked several of the same questions in the phone interview. Then I was sent to a series of panel interviews that combined lasted about 3 hours. The questions were all focused on my skill sets and past performances.

Perception of the office: It seemed to me that the people who worked there were rather cold and professional, and one woman indicated that I would be everyone's servant (without actually saying that, but she impressed that idea quite firmly) and that I would have to deal with people who were in bad moods often (again, not her exact words, but the general idea). I came away from the interview not wanting the position. I do not know who they hired for the job, but the last person who held the job had a master's and was working on a Phd...so obviously extremely overqualified for a job that requires a minimum h.s. diploma.
The salary seems fair with the market, $30,000 for an admin. assistant job.

Interview Questions

Questions were generally easy, and no behavioral based interview questions (example "Tell me about a time when you...), which was fortunate because I'm pretty sure everyone hates those questions.

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Other Details

The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Group/Panel Interview.

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3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Feb 2009 in Philadelphia, PA (took a day)

After submitting application online I heard a response via phone message within 2 weeks requesting an interview. Met with a panel of managers who would share supervisor duties for the position. Questions focused on my personal goals and how I handle stress in the workplace. I had done research of the department online and was able to format my answers to apply to the position/department. All of the four managers facilitating the interview asked questions and participated; rapport was congenial. I made a point to make eye contact with all questioners when answering questions. After this group interview I was introduced to another administrative assistant and given an opportunity to discuss the position and the work environment.

I sent thank you letters to all of the managers I met with as well as the admin assistant. I followed up via e-mail after a week with no response. A week later I received a phone message thanking me for the interview and informing me they went with another candidate who had more experience I was encouraged to continue applying to U Penn. . I had a mistake on my resume that was pointed out during the initial interview; I have a feeling that was the one thing that cost me this position more than anything else. I sent another thank you letter asking for any advice as I continue my job search but received no further response.