Would you like to offer clerical duties and personal assistance to top executives in your company? Well, we have something for you. You should try an executive assistant position. Your main roles will be helping company executives prioritize and respond to emails, respond to texts, return phone calls, maintain records, organize documents, take notes and help in scheduling.
You will need a good resume when applying for such a role, which begs the question, what exactly is a good resume? Well, a good resume is a detailed CV that shows your work experience, education, skills, and certifications that qualifies you for the job. This article will take an in-depth look at the roles, responsibilities, experience, skills, and certifications required for an executive assistant position. Let’s get started.
Position Description
As the name implies, executive assistants offer help and support to company executives. They perform several roles, including scheduling, record maintenance, document organization, note taking, email prioritization and response, phone call management, and a range of other clerical duties. Owing to these roles, you will require several skills and qualities, including time management and organizational skills. Let’s now look at the roles and responsibilities of an executive assistant.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Managing scheduling activities for different or select company executives
- Managing communication and correspondences for company executives
- Planning, coordinating, and following up on travel arrangements
- Prioritizing emails and offering the best response where necessary
- Keeping and maintaining records for company executives
- Answering and responding to phone calls
- Passing important messages to company executives
- Organizing, preparing, and coordinating meetings
- Actively gathering necessary documents and attending to meeting logistics
- Performing office duties such as managing a record database and ordering supplies
- Offering general administrative support in the office
- Handling and managing bookkeeping tasks
- Taking and maintaining accurate meeting records
- Greeting visitors, determining and arranging their meetings with executives
- Reading and analyzing all incoming correspondences, memos, and submissions
- Actively gathering and researching data to prepare documents for presentation purposes
- Routing calls to the right recipients
- Taking messages for the executives
- Filing and retrieving records, documents, and reports for the executives
- Accessing, sorting, and distributing emails and incoming faxes
- Maintaining sensitive and confidential information
- Supporting all aspects of the executive’s daily work routine
- Completing several special projects on behalf of the executive
- Performing additional duties occasionally assigned to them
- Using different software, including spreadsheets and databases
Required Knowledge and Skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
- Ability to multitask
- Ability to work in team settings
- Excellent organizational skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Attentiveness to details
- Outstanding time-management skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Excellent reporting skills
- Ability to take notes accurately
- Excellent researching skills
- Outstanding networking skills
- Information technology skills
- Willingness to learn
- Ability to work well under pressure
- High levels of professionalism
- A proactive approach to problem-solving
- Ability to meet deadlines fast
Education and Experience
- Experience using MS Office Suite, i.e., Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word
- Experience working in team settings
- Proven experience as an executive assistant or relevant administrative support job
- A high school diploma
- Experience working in a fast-paced environment
- Any necessary certification
Salary
Glassdoor estimates the executive assistant salary to be close to $73,000 a year with a base pay of roughly $50,000 and additional payments amounting to $23,000 or thereabout. Junior executive assistants make nearly $65,000 yearly, while lead executive assistants make up to $70,000. The highest-paid executive assistants are the senior assistants, who make roughly $81,000 a year. This would be a good time to venture into executive assistance if you have been considering it
Executive Assistant CV Example 1
Sam Bryant
Physical address: 506W Lambert Road, Brea, CA 9885
Email address: bryantsam85@gmail.con
Phone number: (678) 234-8907
Personal Profile
Certified executive assistant with 9+ years of experience working with management executives and departmental managers. A motivated team worker proficient in Microsoft and Gmail Suite and ready to take the organization to the next level. A specialist with high levels of professionalism and excellent organizational skills is needed for administrative assistance.
Work Experience
05/2019- 06/2022, Senior Executive Assistant, Rolex Electronics Company, LA
- Scheduled regular meetings, business trips, conferences, and engagements for six executive members of the organization
- Worked closely with the Chief Executive Officer and maintained the company’s LinkedIn profile, updating followers and LinkedIn users on available positions and the company’s progress
- Mentored 15+ junior executive assistants, bringing them up to speed with the company’s processes and updating them on best practices and solutions
- Implemented a new filing system that improved the office records maintenance accuracy from 90% to 100%
- Welcomed 20+ visitors daily, identified the purpose for their visits, and directed them to the right executives and professionals
- Managed the CEO’s calendar, arranging 5+ appointments weekly and prioritizing the most sensitive issues and matters
- Spent an average of 3 hours daily answering phone calls and directing them to the right recipient to ensure that callers got the help they needed
- Regularly prepared communications on behalf of the executive and revised them to ensure that they were error-free and 100% accurate
- Managed and supervised three executive assistants, ensuring that they upheld the required work standards
- Managed a $20,000 yearly travel budget for the CEO and made regular travel and accommodation arrangements
- Prepared weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports for top executives, including the CEO, and made regular presentations
- Recorded and transcribed minutes, ensuring that they were 100% accurate
- Spent 12+ hours a week formatting documents, including reports, presentations, emails, and reports for both internal and external communication
- Oversaw the performance of 5 clerical staff, ensuring that they met their productivity goals
- Implemented a new inventory management system to constantly keep up with office supply inventory
- Managed the CEOs calendar and ensured zero clashing of dates
- Established and implemented an effective recycle and reuse office supply database, saving the company $10,000 annually
04/ 2016- 04/2019, Executive Assistant, Bervaley Offices, Los Angeles
- Provided administrative support to 5 departmental managers and 5 section heads daily
- Supported a 50+ employee program, ensuring that they were up to date with the company’s resolutions and missions
- Used my Six Sigma certification to come up with a recycle and reuse office inventory database, saving the company $5,000 annually
- Coordinated monthly travel arrangements for the five departmental managers, ensuring that they were comfortable throughout their trips
- Managed to reduce the company’s cellphone expenses by $5,000 in the first year of work
- Coordinated the different aspects of internal and external visitor meetings and seminars
- Attended and participated in weekly executive meetings where I recorded proceedings and later transcribed minutes
- Managed a $10,000 annual travel budget and liaised with both the finance and accounting department to ensure that every spending was within the allocated budget
- Researched affordable but executive accommodation for top executives, saving the company $10,000 yearly
- Handled 5+ weekly special projects as assigned by the executives with 100% accuracy
- Schemed through 30+ emails daily and redirected them to the right recipients, ensuring that no information escaped the executives and other company employees
- Spent an average of 4 hours daily producing and editing reports, presentations, correspondences, and client proposals
- Ensured the smooth conducting of 3 work-related training seminars monthly by coordinating video conferencing
02/13- 03/2016, Junior Executive Assistant, Beverley Offices, Los Angeles
- Provided administrative support to 2 departmental heads under the supervision of the senior administrative assistant
- Collaborated with two junior administrative assistants to offer direct administrative support
- Prepared all travel-related documentation and coordinated travel arrangements twice a month for the departmental heads
- Scheduled and prioritized daily meetings, appointments, and invitations
- Managed office inventory, ensuring zero shortages hence maintaining productivity at 100%
- Attended weekly meetings, took minutes, and correctly filed them
Education
- 01/11- 12/12, Associate Degree in Business Administration, Brookdale Community College, Middletown Township, New Jersey
- 12/08- 11/10, High School Diploma, St John’s College Preparatory School, Los Angeles, CA
Skills
- Languages
- Spanish
- English
- French
Technical Skills
- Ability to manage up
- Email management
- Calendar management
- Tech savviness
- Excellent meeting management
- Travel management
- Systems and process management
- CRM management
- Excellent event planning
- Smart multitasking
Soft Skills
- Communication
- People
- Interpersonal
- Organization
- Gatekeeping
- General resourcefulness
- Emotional intelligence High levels of empathy
Certifications
10/17, Continuing Education- Executive Assistance Program, University of Utah
Executive Assistant CV Example 2
Rishel Juliet
Physical address: 658 Acacia Avenue, Ripon, California 98776
Email address: julietrish134@gmail.com
Phone number: (789) 243-7896
Personal Profile
Professional executive assistant with 10+ years of experience working with departmental heads and chief executive officers. Certified and well-trained professional with excellent organization and record-keeping skills, ready to passionately serve top-level executives. A self-motivated and tech-savvy team worker with extensive experience with Microsoft and Gmail Suite.
Work Experience
05/2019- 07/2022, Senior Executive Assistant, Oswald Holdings International, TX
- Offered direct administrative support to 5 departmental heads
- Prepared regular weekly reports for the departmental heads and updated internal databases
- Regularly reviewed company policies and came up with recommendations for improving them
- Earned the best employee of the year award twice due to my diligence and dedication when performing my duties
- Coordinated the departmental heads’ calendars daily, ensuring that there was no clash in dates
- Participated in the regular planning of appointments, travels, and events
- Managed a $100,000 annual travel budget for the five departmental heads and ensured that every expense was accounted for
- Received and sorted 100+ emails daily, ensuring that they were redirected to the right recipient
- Came up with suggestions aimed at optimizing office management and solving problems, participating in the improvement of office operations by 15%
- Attended 10+ administrative activities, including preparing expense reports, inventory purchase orders, and memos
03/2016- 04/2019, Executive Assistant, Barry’s and George Inc, TX
- Managed complex schedules for six company executives and three departmental heads using different organization and management programs
- Made at least three travel arrangements for top-level executives monthly, ensuring that all expenses were within the allocated budget
- Saved 30+ hours of manual effort monthly by implementing an expense management software
- Wrote three monthly speeches for the CEO, passing them through software such as Grammarly to ensure that they were error-free
- Coordinated training meetings attended by 2000+ employees in 3 years
- Managed account receivables and daily deposits with the help of 3 finance administrators
02/13- 05/16, Junior Executive Assistant, Boyle’s and Grace Inc., TX
- Offered direct administrative support to 2 departmental heads through Gsuite and MS Office Suite
- Used MS PowerPoint to prepare two templates for the departmental head’s monthly board meeting presentations
- Attended 100% of office meetings and wrote accurate meetings
- Liaised with two other junior executive assistants to offer excellent administrative support to a total of 3 business heads
- Received and sorted 50+ emails daily, ensuring that the departmental head received all important correspondences
Education
- 10/2010- 11/2012, Associate Degree in Business Administration, Austin Community College Austin, Texas,
- 05/2008- 05/2010, High School Diploma, Austin College Prep High School, Austin, TX
Skills
- Languages
- Croatian
- English
- Spanish
Hard Skills
- Email management
- Calendar management
- Strategic thinking
- Travel management
- Meeting management
- CRM management
- Project management
- Event planning
- Systems and process management
- Tech savviness
Soft Skills
- Interpersonal Communication
- Organizational
- People
- Interpersonal
- Empathy
- Ability to work well under pressure
- Ability to thrive in team settings
- Excellent multitasking
Volunteer Programs
10/16, Mentor, The Young Executive Mentorship Program, Network of Executive Assistants, Chicago, Illinois
Executive Assistant Resume Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Which Are Some of the Certifications That I Can Pursue in the Executive Assistance Role?
Pursuing the right certifications in a given field makes you more qualified and gives you an edge over other applicants. Luckily, you have several options to choose from in this role. You can either pursue several available free online courses or attend a business school. Some of the reputable online learning sites offering training and certifications include Coursera through their University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign strategic leadership and management specialization course, Alison through their communication skills- persuasion and motivation course, and Udemy through their Gmail Masterclass and related courses. Other expensive but highly recommended training programs resulting in certification include ASAP EA Ignite, American Management Association through their Management Skills for Administrative Professionals course, and USC Silicon Valley Extension through their Administrative Professional Specialization course. Other online comprehensive executive assistant training courses that will give you a certificate include Event Trix Executive Assistant and Continuing Education- Executive Assistant Program from The University of Utah.
2. What Are Some of the Keywords Required in an Executive Assistant Resume?
You should add keywords in your resume’s work experience, education, or skills sections to enrich it and make it as friendly as possible to applicant tracking software. However, only include them if you have related experience. Some common keywords that you should add to your executive assistant resume include office administration, Microsoft access, executive administrative assistance, administration, diary management, executive support, human resources, customer service, event planning, management, travel arrangements, and project management, among many others. Make sure that these keywords are evenly spaced in your resume.
3. Which Technical Skills Do I Need to Include in My Resume?
Like any other job or position, executive assistance also requires technical skills. Also known as hard skills, these abilities and competencies are job-specific and are often required for the successful completion of projects and tasks. Some common technical skills for executive assistants include email management, calendar management, meeting management, travel management, project management, CRM management, systems, and process management, strategic thinking, tech savviness, smart multitasking ability, and gatekeeping skills. An executive assistant with the above skills will have a better chance of getting a job compared to their counterparts. However, as we mentioned, only include the above skills if you possess them. It is important to be as honest as possible in your resume and job applications.
4. Which Soft Skills Should My Executive Assistant Resume Have?
Similar to hard skills, your executive assistant resume should also have soft skills, which normally come in handy in maintaining proper relations with those around us. Some of the soft skills required in this job include excellent organizational skills, ability to multitask, outstanding time management skills, communication skills, excellent people skills, ability to persuade others, excellent problem-solving skills, high degrees of composure, outstanding decision-making skills, high levels of discretion, attention to detail, excellent leadership skills and high degrees of adaptability. Remember that you can easily develop the above-mentioned skills by serving as a personal assistant. You will learn and perfect a significant percentage of what your job entails while working. Another great way to improve your executive assistant skills and land even better jobs include watching tutorials, reading books, taking online courses, and practicing conversations. You can also practice with office software.
5. What Should I Expect in My Executive Assistant Position?
By now, we assume that you know what an executive assistant does. However, if you still don’t, keep in mind that as an EA, you will be offering administrative support to top-level executives in your company, including the president, CEOs, and departmental managers. You are expected to coordinate meetings, answer phone calls and other correspondences, prepare and file documents, and perform an array of other essential tasks. Note that the scope of your job and responsibilities will differ from one organization to the next. All in all, expect to supervise other administrative assistants and spearhead several special projects depending on your company.