Interviewing for a Company Secretary Role

Why use us?

It is possible to become a company secretary with either school leaver or degree-level qualifications. Where a degree is requested, subjects related to finance, business and law are advantageous to have.

The role of the company secretary in the UK has gained greater importance than was originally intended, especially in listed companies which are required to comply with law and policy to mitigate exposure to lawful and reputational risk. We can help you find the best of the growing number of those wanting to apply for this role.

Skills to look for when employing company secretaries

• Strong administrative skills - attention to detail and a keen eye are a must for this role.
• A skill for using IT software – Having the technological skills to perform data entry and understand specific software is crucial when it comes to making big calculations that will be necessary within the job role. It will be important to be familiar with Microsoft Office software such as Excel, Word, Outlook and more. It is always helpful to look for employees with a good understanding of computer software, browsers and operating systems.
• Attention to detail - In handling sensitive client or partner communications, company secretaries need to be extremely detail-orientated to catch potential typos, especially when it comes to finances.
• Interpersonal skills - A good company secretary will want to work alongside you to better your business. It’s important for them to have the ability to communicate or interact well with other team members.
• Outstanding organisation & time management - Not only are strong organisation skills necessary as a company secretary, but they are needed to keep the whole office organised as well. It is their job to look at the work that is already being done, assess circumstances and think critically as to how it can be improved upon.
• Flexibility and practicality – The suggestions and improvements that company secretaries have must be reasonable. They need to be able to effectively work with you through some issues and work flexibly as the workplace is often unpredictable.
• Discretion - It’s important that the candidate can be trusted with taking in and processing large amounts of information while keeping all sensitive information confidential.

How can you find these qualities in your employees?

So, you have advertised your job online or in the paper and people seem interested… Instead of arduously sifting through all of their CVs, make use of our quizzes and get them to prove their knowledge and skill, instead of taking their word for it!

Construct your unique interview quiz

You are free to choose whichever 4 categories you want but here are our 4 suggested tests for the job of a company secretary:

1. English Advanced – As an advanced level of communication is necessary in this job role, we would suggest our advanced English quizzes. This will test your applicant’s ability to communicate by finding how well they can understand and use advanced language.
2. Numeracy Basic - Our basic numeracy quizzes will quickly determine whether or not your candidates are ready to handle your finances. If they underperform in this area for this job role, they may not be the best fit for your company.
3. Maths Advanced – Test the extent of their mathematical knowledge with the advanced maths quizzes. This will really separate the wheat from the chaff.
4. Microsoft Excel Advanced – As discussed, it is really important for a company secretary to have a strong skill for IT software and Microsoft Excel is excellent when it comes to calculating business statistics. More bespoke software can be used alongside Office for these jobs, but Microsoft Excel is an absolute must.

At the Interview

When it comes to the job interviews, you will be armed with a page showing the results of each candidate’s online quizzes. This will highlight who is good at what and it will be the ideal tool to help you formulate the best interview questions to ask.

Conclusion

We can't decide who is best for you but we can provide the tools to help you MAKE BETTER DECISIONS, FASTER.