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Senior Administrative Assistant

AbbVie · Mettawa, IL · Full time · Administrative

Posted Sep 30, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you handled confidential information and someone pressed you for it.

What they are checking: Whether they keep confidences under pressure and decline gracefully, because leaders only share sensitive matters with someone who never leaks.

Tell me about a high-pressure day where several things went wrong at once. How did you keep your composure?

What they are checking: Whether they stay calm and keep sorting priorities when things go wrong, since executives lean on their assistant most on bad days.

How do you learn what a new executive needs without making them explain everything?

What they are checking: Whether they learn by watching patterns and asking smart questions, because a good assistant saves an executive time from the first week.

What system do you use to track all the open items for multiple leaders so nothing slips?

What they are checking: Whether they have a real, repeatable tracking system, because supporting several leaders means dozens of open items no one can hold in memory.

What would you do

You support a VP and several leaders on their team. Two of them want the same hour with the VP on the same day. How do you decide?

What they are checking: Whether they can weigh competing requests by the VP's real priorities, because calendar calls quietly shape what leadership spends time on.

An outside vendor for an event misses a deadline two days before the meeting. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they act fast with a backup plan and keep leaders informed, rather than hoping a slipping vendor recovers on its own.

A senior leader from another business unit is short with you because their meeting was moved. How do you respond?

What they are checking: Whether they stay courteous and solve the problem without taking it personally, since they represent their VP to every senior leader.

About the work

Walk me through how you would plan a large organizational event for a team of 200 employees plus contractors.

What they are checking: Whether they can run every piece of a large event themselves, from budget to badges, without someone checking each step.

What experience do you have processing purchase orders, invoices or expense reports, and how do you avoid errors?

What they are checking: Accuracy in the financial and procurement processing the role owns.

The posting mentions administering collaboration systems. What tools have you managed, such as Teams or SharePoint, and what did that involve?

What they are checking: Hands-on comfort as a system administrator, not just a user.

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The full job description

As published by AbbVie.

The Senior Administrative Assistant manages complex administrative activities, coordinates schedules and travel, prepares business materials, supports meetings and events, and handles confidential information with professionalism and discretion. Hybrid Model: 3 days in office (T/W/TH). Additional in-office days may be required in accordance with the business needs of the Hiring Manager and team. Responsibilities: • Provide advanced administrative support to the VP and Heads of Sales, including calendar management, scheduling travel (domestic and international), and prioritizing VP support. • Answer department phones, manage correspondence (including couriers), and monitor and prioritize executive email by highlighting actions and authoring responses as appropriate. • Coordinate, organize, and maintain departmental files in compliance with company and legal guidelines; manage confidential or sensitive information with discretion. • Plan and execute meetings and events, including booking conference rooms or boardrooms, setting up technology (teleconference, WebEx, devices), compiling materials, and ensuring seamless logistics for both onsite and offsite venues. • Process expense reports, manage billing, and prepare purchase order requests in approved systems (e.g., SNAPP); obtain and use appropriate corporate credit cards for expenses tied to meetings. • Use intermediate to advanced Microsoft Office Suite skills and other company-specific software (including Corporate Travel website and Service Now) to accomplish daily tasks and support business operations. • Coordinate onboarding logistics for new team members, including office setup and access; enter Service Now requests as required. • Take ownership of "in-house" distribution lists and Team ID mailboxes, ensuring communications are sent promptly and lists are kept updated as staffing changes occur. • Participate in weekly Team ID staff meetings and maintain a master spreadsheet tracking recurring meetings for VP and Head of Sales, noting all participants, dates, and times. • Ensure compliance with all AbbVie policies, guidelines, purchasing procedures, and business standards; proactively resolve scheduling conflicts and act as backup administrative support to other staff as needed. • Minimum 3 years of administrative assistant related experience. High School diploma or equivalent. • Experience providing support to a VP level or equivalent. • Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, understanding of business processes and requirements. • Self-starter able to function at a high level with general instruction. • Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functionally with partners outside of assigned group as necessary to enable effective and efficient Legal team operations. • Team-oriented, can-do attitude and desire to be productive contributor to overall organization. • Learns quickly and can change course quickly when needed. • Open to suggestions and innovation for improvement. • Professional demeanor and ability to maintain confidentiality. ​Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​ • The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​ • We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​ • This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs. ​ Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. ​ AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more: https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html

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