Executive assistants are found in almost every office. An executive assistant, often known as an executive administrator, handles senior executives’ schedules.
Executive assistants are also responsible for prioritizing emails and phone calls, organizing documents to prepare for meetings, and making travel arrangements.
So in this article, I will show you how to become an executive assistant and your job description.
Quickly review the table below for an overview of what to expect from this article.
Table of contents
- Who is the executive assistant?
- What does an executive assistant do?
- Where do executive assistants work?
- How much does an executive assistant earn?
- Executive Assistant: Training, skills, and requirements
- Executive Assistant Job Description Template
- Frequently Asked Questions on Executive Assistant Job Description
- Conclusion
- Recommended for You
- References
Who is the executive assistant?
As stated earlier, an executive assistant is an assistant to the boss or any other senior executive in a corporate work setting.
They are usually found answering phones, screening visitors, making travel arrangements, preparing reports, filing and organizing documents, recording meeting minutes, and performing basic bookkeeping tasks for their senior executives.
In the following lines, I’ll show you some other things executive assistants do. Do follow me!
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What does an executive assistant do?
Executive assistants have a variety of tasks in a corporate work setting. They handle the boss’s schedule, coordinate meetings, and take messages, and provide high-level administrative support to the organization and its senior executives.
Let’s quickly see some of the duties of an executive assistant. An executive assistant is tasked with;
- Providing administrative support, such as writing and editing e-mails, generating memoranda, and preparing messages on behalf of the executive
- Keeping thorough and reliable records
- Minor accounting responsibilities
- Meeting organization includes scheduling, sending reminders, and arranging catering as needed.
- Responding to phone calls in a courteous and professional manner
- Greeting visitors and determining the reason for their visit before guiding them to the proper department
- Managing the executive’s calendar, which includes scheduling appointments and prioritizing the most critical issues
Where do executive assistants work?
Executive assistants work in corporate organizations as secretaries and clerks. They can be found in government offices as PAs also.
How much does an executive assistant earn?
How much an executive assistant earns largely depends on several factors: level of experience, location, and capacity of the organization.
However, the average salary for an executive assistant is $52,000 per year, according to PayScale. Depending on your experience and the company you’re working with, you could see a compensation package above $70,000 per year.
Executive Assistant: Training, skills, and requirements
To become an executive assistant, you’ll need to follow a path. Here below is a step to step guide on how to become an executive assistant.
Obtain the appropriate education.
An entry-level administrative assistant often requires a high school diploma to begin their job. You should take one step further and get a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Getting a job based on previous work experience is uncommon, but it depends on your potential employer.
Obtain the necessary certification.
Various courses are available to help anyone interested in becoming an executive assistant get a leg up on the competition. These are typically centered on certain areas of the job, such as;
- The International Association of Administrative Professionals offers a course called Certified Administrative Professional.
- Computer skills classes – designed to improve your knowledge of important IT platforms such as Microsoft Office, G Suite, and others. These will demonstrate to prospective employers that you have the computer skills to accomplish your job effectively and efficiently.
- Project management courses – knowing the foundations of project management is an important component of becoming an executive assistant.
Get the necessary training and work experience
The right education and certification will provide a solid foundation for your profession, but nothing beats the vital experience you’ll gain on the job.
When applying for entry-level work, major in those that will provide you with the necessary training in your first few weeks or months. It’s much great if you can learn directly from other assistants!
The executive assistant position is considered to be extremely senior due to the rigorous and sensitive nature of the job. An aspiring EA would need to start with entry-level jobs like administrative assistants, receptionists, or office assistants and work their way up.
Sharpen the necessary skills
The best executive assistants have a diverse set of skills that allow them to excel in a variety of areas. They must be masters of time management, have excellent communication skills, understand how to handle sensitive material, be problem solvers with a cool head, and much more.
Collaborate and learn
Getting that EA job isn’t enough. You must keep an open mind to learn about the sector and keep up with the latest news and trends. Networking is an important aspect of this.
Engage in LinkedIn activities, attend relevant events and conferences, and identify the contacts and resources to help you flourish in your profession.
Also Read: 15 Highest Paid Jobs in Florida
Executive Assistant Job Description Template
Here below is a sample of what a typical executive assistant job description should look like. This is as found on Betterteam.
Sample 1
We are looking for a new executive assistant to support our executive team. You will manage mostly business-related tasks for the team such as creating reports, organizing travel and accommodation, taking minutes, and other organizational tasks.
To do this role properly, you should have a detailed understanding of the full Microsoft Office suite, be extremely fast at solving problems and have past experience as an executive or administration assistant.
Executive Assistant Responsibilities:
- Preparing financial statements, reports, memos, invoices letters, and other documents.
- Answering phones and routing calls to the correct person or taking messages.
- Handling basic bookkeeping tasks.
- Filing and retrieving corporate records, documents, and reports.
- Researching and conducting data to prepare documents for review and presentation by boards of directors, committees, and executives.
- Helping prepare for meetings.
- Accurately recording minutes from meetings.
- Greeting visitors and deciding if they should be able to meet with executives.
- Using various software, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation software.
- Reading and analyzing incoming memos, submissions, and distributing them as needed.
- Making travel arrangements for executives.
- Performing office duties that include ordering supplies and managing a records database.
- Experience as a virtual assistant.
- Opening, sorting and distributing incoming faxes, emails, and other correspondence.
- Provide general administrative support.
Executive Assistant Requirements:
- Proven experience as an executive assistant or other relevant administrative support experience.
- In-depth understanding of the entire MS Office suite.
- High school diploma.
- Ability to organize a daily workload by priorities.
- Must be able to meet deadlines in a fast-paced, quickly changing environment.
- A proactive approach to problem-solving with strong decision-making skills.
- Professional level verbal and written communications skills.
Frequently Asked Questions on Executive Assistant Job Description
When hiring an Executive Assistant, look for clean resumes with proper grammar and no typos.
A CV for an Executive Assistant should demonstrate experience handling clerical chores in a high-pressure setting.
Previous experience as a Personal Assistant or Administrative Assistant is required to ensure that candidates can meet the organizational needs of an office. They should have prior expertise in handling many phone lines, adhering to tight deadlines, and maintaining high-level business contacts.
Executive Assistants and Administrative Assistants provide clerical support for office personnel, but Administrative Assistants have broader responsibilities, whereas Executive Assistants specialize in assisting a particular company leader.
Executive Assistants typically have extensive administrative experience and may be tasked with client research, report preparation, and interviewing candidates for various administrative positions.
Administrative Assistants may handle team schedules for an entire workplace, as opposed to Executive Assistants, who are primarily concerned with the hectic schedules of firm executives.
Executive Assistants may also be required to work overtime, accompany bosses on business travels, and help with personal chores.
Conclusion
An excellent executive assistant expects the demands of the executive before they are asked. They can respectfully deflect non-business guests, diffuse disputes, and make visitors feel welcome in the office.
Executive Assistants that excel at their jobs are meticulous in preparing executives for meetings. We hope this job description helps you learn what your executive assistant job entails.
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References
