How To Be a Great Executive Assistant
90© Duchess O’Blunt, 2009; all rights reserved.
Executive Assistant
The Executive Assistant supports the most senior executive, particularly in corporations. She performs administrative duties, makes travel arrangements, screens incoming calls, plans meetings, takes minutes, maintains schedules, understands the governance and by-laws of the corporation and is able to apply specific industry knowledge to her tasks. She will have advanced computer skills and be able to train the staff she supervises. The Executive Assistant position calls for flexibility, project coordination, excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work well with all levels of management, staff and outside clients and vendors. She will require the ability to work well and efficiently without supervision and maintain the highest level of confidentiality.
What makes an Executive Assistant an Excellent Executive Assistant is a great attitude. When you break it down into the simplest of terms, it is her job to make her boss look good.
- The Boss is Away: Executive Assistant Tips for Sharing Files
You are a good Executive Assistant, but when your boss is on the go and in a rush how do you cope with file sharing? Here are a few tips to give her what she needs to know quickly. - Administrative Magic Tricks
Tips for organization, credibility, respect, communication, and other workplace complexities. - Executive Assistant Tips: Calendars and Blackberries
You work for the top dog in your company. The Big Cheese. She travels constantly and keeping in touch or keeping her up to date can be a nightmare. Learn some tips for today's Executive Assistant to deal with these headaches.
transferable skills
 | Amazon Price: $51.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $121.00 List Price: $125.00 |
 | Amazon Price: $29.22 List Price: $31.95 |
Skills, Knowledge, Qualifications and Experience
Education and Experience
Preference is a minimum of a high school graduate with at least 5 years of secretarial and/or clerical work experience. Certification or a business degree is sometimes expected. Courses in business and management may help in securing employment. In some cases a great deal of experience, particularly within the same company, can be substituted for educational requirements.
Skills required
- Excellent communication skills - both written and verbal - with a solid understanding of the local language(s); usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
- Knowledgeable and proficient use of personal computer with practical experience with up to date office programs and operating systems.
- Ability to prioritize and work under pressure to meet deadlines without immediate and constant supervision with a high level of accuracy.
- Stress and time management skills.
- Must be friendly, personable and able to build harmonious working relationships with clients, co-workers and the general public.
- Proven ability to exercise good judgement in recognizing the scope of authority.
- Confidentiality is a high priority.
- Able to provide support and resources to make effective decisions.
- Knowledge of honorariums.
- Experience with event management to schedule board and committee meetings
- Able to maintain records of decisions and ensure Action Items are scheduled for follow up.
- Proven ability to research and assist with the preparation of motions, policies and procedures.
- Ability to edit reports to the Board, prepare correspondence and packaged information for Board meetings.
- Able to prepare agendas, attend board meetings, record minutes and submit minutes for approval.
Personal Attributes
- Be honest and trustworthy
- Be respectful and professional
- Possess cultural awareness and sensitivity
- Be flexible
- Demonstrate sound work ethics
rules of order
 | Amazon Price: $7.54 List Price: $18.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $3.78 List Price: $7.50 |
 | Amazon Price: $2.99 |
Working Conditions
Physical Demands
You can expect at times, to spend long hours sitting and using office equipment and computers, which can cause muscle strain and from time to time may be expected to do some lifting of supplies and materials.
Environmental Conditions
In most cases your work station will be located in a busy, open area office where you can expect to face constant interruptions. You must meet with others on a regular basis.
Mental Demands
There are a number of deadlines associated with this position, which may cause significant stress. You must also deal with a wide variety of people on various issues.
Be Exceptional
It really makes no difference what choices you have made and in which career you work. Your attitude is what distinguishes you and elevates you from being good to being exceptional. A willing attitude and a desire for continual improvement, both personally and professionally, always shines through.
Take pride in doing a job well. When you can do that with assurance and confidence, rest assured your boss will always look good, and you can smile that little smile of satisfaction knowing you had a great part in making that happen.
Certification and Training Programs
Resources for Continuous Improvement
The Canadian Management Centre offers Free resources as well as the training required for certification.
The Association of Administrative Assistants provides a professional educational program
The International Association of Administrative Professionals provides opportunity for education and leadership development.
The Educational Portal provides research and educational opportunities in many fields.
If you are looking to develop your skills or further your career choice as an Executive Assistant or Senior Administrative Assistant, consider joining an association that will provide you with certification.
Even if you graduated with a business degree, upgrading your skills is a constant requirement with the development of new technology and provides you with an opportunity for continuous improvement.
Training and classes with Administrative Professional Associations will advance your skills and elevate your opportunities and salary expectations.
At the Canadian Management Centre, in addition to certified courses and training, you can find some great free resources including:
- Articles
- Upcoming and Archived Webcasts,
- White Papers,
- Downloads and Templates,
- Podcasts
- Self Assessment Quizzes.
Online Career Salary Calculators
How is a Career Salary Calculated?
There are many individual factors to be considered when determining the salary of any position;
- What is the national average for that position
- Location (larger cities generally pay a higher salary - due in large part the the higher cost of living)
- Good job performance - A great resume will draw attention to this
- Level of education
- Years of Experience
You don't often hear the question, "How much do you make?" because it is considered a taboo subject and most people are uncomfortable discussing it with others. Also, there will always be people in any career choice who make more or less than someone else.
An effective way to learn the average pay scales is to check out one or more career salary calculators on the Internet. A Google search will find dozens of options. Many job seeking sites also provide their own, but I personally think it's a good idea to find a site devoted exclusively to salaries. Here is an example, and with a little research you can find many others: PayScale Calculator
- Benefits of Choosing a Virtual Administrative Assistant
The virtual administrative assistant is of tremendous help for an online professional who wants to maximize his business through the Internet. In these times of recession and slowdown in the economy, it... - How to Set Your Virtual Assistant Professional Rates
Most virtual assistants start their business with a picture-perfect idea of flexible hours spent working with long-term clients on interesting and well-paid projects. Fast forward a few months and what many... - How to become a Virtual Assistant
When thinking about what kind of career you want, or maybe you really do just want to start your own business from home, working on your own time and at your own pace, yet being paid for your service, one...
Other Resources
Check out your local area for seminars on things like Meeting Planning and Time Management. Review the local College or Distance Learning opportunities.
Become involved in Social Networks that can assist you with certain aspects of your job.
- Linked In has many groups that might be beneficial.
i-Meet - The Social Network for People Who Plan Meetings & Events.
- Social Networking for Administrative/Executive Assistants
Office Arrow
- Collect information through monthly magazines for Meeting and Event Planners
The Planner
Meetings
The Virtual Assistant as a viable alternate to an in house Assistant
Consider this alternative if you are seeking an assistant or looking for work as an assistant. Here are some great Hubs on the subject.
Copyright
© Copyright to this article on Hubpages is owned by the Duchess O’Blunt and may not be copied without express permission from the writer. Payment for use of any photographs or articles written by the Duchess O’Blunt is by negotiation.
Join HubPages
Interested in sharing your stories, your point of view, or your talents?
I invite you to join us, it's one of the best social websites I have seen and offers opportunity to generate revenue. Sign up here.
I look forward to meeting you.
CommentsLoading...
Thanks myownworld, for the complement on the hub, for passing it on, for thinking it worthy of passing on, and for your continual encouragement. You are a great asset to hubpages because you make us all feel like we are doing a wonderful job!
Great post here. I am at the point where I need to start looking for a personal/executive assistant, so this helps a lot. It reminds me of the basics that I assume everyone has and forget to ask. Thanks
Good to hear from you MissDetails, it's been awhile. If you are looking for an assistant, don't forget the option of the "Virtual Assistant". That might come in handy for you? Possibly?
Great hub. EA's have a demanding but very rewarding job. You gave an excellent description.
Excellent Hub, with almost everything there is to say on the topic.
Pat used to have a high-powered, highly paid, highly stessed job - made possible by her wonderful EA. HIS name was Jonathan.
Wife Who Saves, thanks for dropping in, and I can vouch for the fact it is a very demanding job. Most days it is very rewarding.
Hi 2patricias. Jonathan sounds like a very good addition to any team. Any EA that makes a name for themselves is doing a great job!
You sure did a lot of work on this one. I will definitely be passing this one on! Brainiac
Wow Tammy, thank you!
Although my time for this advice has passed. However I think this is good information to pass on to young people looking for work. The personal attributes will fit any job situation. Very good hub. Keep 'em coming.
I agree fasfreta, the personal attributes are transferable skills and good for any position.
Nice and well written and useful. It is a key position. Many executives will wish their assistant will read it
Thanks
ramkkasturi, thanks for that vote of confidence. (I'd certainly love it if they would read it too.)
great job. keep the hubs comin'!
awesome. very descriptive and useful for anyone. you rock!
Thank you bubbles and bubba
Very informative and helpful hub! Thx Duchess!!
My pleasure bizziebee
Great post but maybe you should not genderize the position as their are male Executive Assistants as well. Yes, this is primarily a female based job, but to be more PA, having he/she is more appropiate (HR in me). Fantastic post though! :)
Thank you for the visit and the time to read this JL. I completely agree that the job should not be generalized as far as gender is concerned. I have written three posts regarding the position of Executive Assistant and in this one: http://hubpages.com/_3l3azcpvdnj5/hub/Executive-As I explain my reasons for doing so. this way;
"For Clarity's Sake
Let me begin by stating I will be using "her" and "she" instead of "him" and "he" because I work for the President and CEO and she is a lady. If I tried to do this to please everyone and insert both genders every time they are used, this would be a convoluted mess. If I try to use the male gender, I am sure to slip and mix up my genders. There is no slight meant and no stereo typecasting here."
I hope that helps in understanding, I do not consider this a job for women only. And again, I appreciate your kind comment.
This was a great article; however, it needs to be checked for typing errors. Good read, but funny to find typo.
If you are looking to develop your skills or further your career choice as an Executive Assistant or Senior Administration Assistant, consider joining an association that will provide you will certification.
Thanks Cathy, noted and changed.
It's not unusual to find errors in other people's work. I find I am able to spot them in something I haven't written much quicker than I can on my own work. So, thank you for pointing it out.
What I find funny is that it took thousands of views before someone mentioned it.
So, I thank you for doing so.
This is a pretty comprehensive article as it concerns being at this level of the A.A. field. I would also add that likely you will spend a lot of time alone as your boss' frequently travel, yet you have to know where they are at all times without being intrusive.
Adobe writer is a free download. It's the writer that costs, and most companies will have a license for you to add it on your system. It's a great tool because you can then send stuff along password protected.
I will add that there are some Exec. A.A. that specialize, such as in Sales, or Legal. These areas tend to require a bit more experience than 5 years to get into, and legal can be very hard to get into. Sales is a ton of excel as you do a lot of charts that basically measure the business' production rates, and these numbers often feed the reports that your CEO or Exec offers at BOD meetings or quarterly reports, or quarterly company meetings.
The big thing: contacts, contacts, contacts. Recently I cleaned out my predecessors files and whenever I found a lead on a contact, I put it into my contact list. A great exec has a wide net of contacts, and knows just who to call to solve X problem. Sometimes you may not know the precise answer, but you know who to ask!
Another area for landing that good job is to really pay attention in the interview and find ways, including asking questions, of what that person wants from you. You have to minimally have a sense of who the person is that you'll be working for, and be able to decide if you'll get along with them. I found a good fit mostly because I liked HOW I was interviewed. He asked me good questions, questions that no one else had asked.
Too many boss' don't pay attention to the 'feeling tone' of the interaction and sense how we get along. That's problematic. A great A.A. has buy-in on a personal level from the person they support. This should be a strong relationship that is well maintained, and not viewed as Girl Friday.
Don't ever get upset about making coffee. It's silly. Why? 1. it's still cheaper for you to do it than your boss. 2. It keeps business running smoothly. A good A.A. has to its personality a kind of hostess mentality.
Get along well with the other A.A.'s in the office. Everyone, in fact. It's vital.
Recently, I learned of a process hiccup and chose to resolve it by contacting the person in charge and introducing myself and explaining the system from my end of the process. It helped a lot. It should go smoother from here on.
I do everything right away. It's easier to be in a position of saying, that's taken care of. Learning what your CEO wants and how they like stuff, and coming to the point of anticipating what they will want is huge. I've been complimented on mind reading often.
I would love to teach people how to be a good A.A., and it's about this kind of attitude of doing everything really well and wanting to do even better if that's at all possible. I daily think about what I can do next.
I have my own projects and deadlines, and I don't ever want to have to be reminded of the deadline or why something wasn't done. I try to be one step ahead.
I also believe in being happy with what I have and where I am, especially in this economy. A kind of grateful view is very helpful because it really changes the feelings about going to work. I look at what work gives to me, not what it takes from me so much.
I focus a lot on what I CAN do, not on what I can't do.
It's terribly important to keep your mouth shut. Do not relay what the CEO said to you to others. Recently I had a problem with an outside employee wanting to know where my CEO was, which of course I knew, but he was handling something more personal, and yet I Have to be nice to this pushy person yet not divulge the specifics. It's none of his business. I did it with vagueness and humor. I got it done. They guy actually laughed and said he's gonna tell my boss how good I am at it. I hope he does!
Sometimes you have to kind of push a little to get an answer, and knowing how to do that with style, without pissing people off is very helpful.
IF you do not know about how a Board of Directors is run, then read Robert's Rules of Orders, or watch your local city council in action and you'll get a bit of an overview. Often the exec A.A. takes the minutes at BOD's and puts them together for reading and acceptance of the minutes at the next BOD meeting.
An understanding of what an LLC, an Inc., a Corp is can be very helpful as you begin to understand a larger company, such as a company that has many sites around the world. The interaction between such companies and how the business is set up, beyond the infrastructure of the busines, is very helpful. Fortunately, I have helped small business set up for LLC, or INC. so I understand what this means. It's not hard, and it's immensely helpful.
IF you can learn a second language. I know a second language for my position, which they requested in the application process. And I speak it with the folks from the other country. Very helpful when they visit.
Sometimes you also get to do work that doesn't really belong to you, but you do it in the interest of making a smooth happening and keeping good rapport with a client/customer.
Finally you have to value you and the work you do in this field at this level, and when the time calls for it, advocate for yourself such as, possibly, a raise or some personal recognition.
Patience is huge in this field. There are times when I am stuck to proceed because I'm waiting for someone to give me a piece of information. And you have to have a feel for giving a person a chance to provide you with that feedback and not be a bull and offend the masses in an effort to get your need met.
If you're the head Exec A.A. do not fill your head with ego and avoid invoking your boss' name at every turn. People do not appreciate it. Invoke it when you must, but try to get along well in the sandbox. The sandbox talks. My predecessor was dismissed in part because she had an unpleasant attitude when interacting with staff, and she invoked the management's name at every turn, pawning off even some of her work on others in the name of the CEO. You do not need to be the cause of a morale problem in the workplace. These days, everyone's replaceable.
Graciousness is huge. I don't stand and listen to people's conversations. IF they're occupied, I go away and email or come back later. I help wherever possible. I thank everyone for every little thing. Why?
I am the more visible representative of the CEO's office. I am the stand-in. I know people tend to straighten up when I approach, but I try not to throw my weight around, saving it for when I really must instead. Not everything is a must. Judiciousness is imperative.
Clothing, dress well, every day. Maybe a little fancier than the rest. It's not uncommon that a visitor shows that was't planned exactly. You need to be ready.
Also, you handle lots of large events. If you aren't good at managing details of food, timing, and planning to have all your binders and copying ready by X date, then this job isn't for you.
IF you resent waking up early, working a weekend, working an hour later than everyone else, this job isn't for you. My boss once told me I didn't have to work late, within the first week of employment. He had given me a large task and I could see it was time-consuming, and I said I'd stay late and get it done. He said I didn't have to and I responded, "I want to. It makes me feel better."
Knowing a little something about contracts, trademarks and such is very helpful. How to read a contract for scope of project, and term of duration (Such as an NDA), or a Representative Contract or knowing that in a report you need to insert a (TM) and an (R) after a trademark....very helpful stuff to know.
This is a field where it's all in the details, and if you aren't detail oriented, you won't do well in this job.
Karen- your comments - all of them - are very welcome and add much to the content of this hub. You went into some great details that I had every intention of writing about in another hub. I just never got around to it. Now I don't have to. Your comments and contributions are completely awesome and I thank you for taking the time to add them.
Informative and well written points on career regarding Executive Assistant.
Thanks TroyM, that's what I was shooting for. Glad you think it worked :)
Join HubPages
Interested in sharing your stories, your point of view, or your talent?
I invite you to join us, it's one of the best social websites for writers I have seen that offers real opportunity to generate revenue. Sign up here.
I look forward to meeting you and doing what I can to help you
myownworld 2 years ago
great hub....informative and well written as always! now all I need to do is to spend less time on hubpages and focus my energies on nailing a more high flying job! your hub makes it seem all so easy....so I believe there is hope! for the time being, am sending this to my husband..hopefully, he would be able to put it to better use than I ! btw. you're doing great....keep writing...and all my love x