What if you could hire a right-hand person to boost your productivity, streamline your operations, and help your business grow? That’s what an executive assistant (EA) could do for you and your business. However, there are a few things to consider before hiring one. First, you should understand the strengths of executive assistants and how to pinpoint them during the recruitment process. This will help you find the right EA for your organization and its unique needs.
If you’re looking to hire an EA, working with executive assistant recruitment agencies or leveraging virtual marketing assistants' growth engine service can help you find candidates with the right skills to drive your business forward. This blog will discuss the strengths of an executive assistant and why they’re important.
Table of Content
What Are the Strengths of an Executive Assistant? 19 Must-Have Traits
What Are the Duties & Responsibilities of an Executive Assistant
What is an Executive Assistant?
An executive assistant works directly with top executives in a company or organization, fulfilling high-level administrative needs and standard assistant tasks. Effective assistants can enormously contribute to productivity at all levels of the organization.
A Significant Return on Investment
As of May 2022, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that over 475,000 people are employed in the field nationally, and the median salary is $65,980. The return on investment from a skilled assistant can be substantial at very senior levels. Consider a senior executive whose total compensation package is $1 million annually, who works with an assistant who earns $80,000.
For the organization to break even, the assistant must make the executive 8% more productive than he or she would be working solo. For instance, the assistant must save the executive roughly five hours in a 60-hour workweek.
In reality, good assistants save their bosses much more than that. They ensure that meetings begin on time with prep material delivered in advance. They optimize travel schedules and enable remote decision-making, keeping projects on track. They filter the distractions that can turn a manager into a reactive type who spends all day answering e-mails instead of a leader who proactively sets the organization’s agenda.
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• Skills for Administrative Assistant
• Executive Assistant Duties
What Are the Strengths of an Executive Assistant? 19 Must-Have Traits
1. Organizational Skills: The Heart of an Executive Assistant's Role
Organizational skills top the list of executive assistant strengths for a good reason. These high-level professionals juggle countless tasks and large quantities of information. With an orderly system, assistants can easily stay caught up, meet deadlines, and keep track of important details.
The organized assistant can find answers quickly and keeps operations flowing smoothly. These individuals are calmer, more efficient, and appear more competent.
2. Multitasking: A Juggling Act of All Juggling Acts
Rarely does an executive assistant have the liberty to move leisurely and focus on one mission at a time. Skilled assistants must be multitaskers, ready to pivot at a moment’s notice when an urgent need arises. Then, they must resume the previous task when the crisis ends. Often, this shift occurs many times throughout the day.
Problems present themselves, and colleagues have questions. Phones ring, and plans change. Savvy executive assistants must take interruptions in stride and learn how to prioritize effectively.
3. Time Management: The Key to Success as an Executive Assistant
Time management is one of the most critical executive assistant competencies. Assistants’ duties are time-sensitive, so staying focused and completing tasks on time is crucial for job success. Executive assistants also receive steady work streams and can easily fall behind if they do not stay on top of assignments.
Good time management skills keep operations flowing smoothly and reduce stress levels. Assistants need a good sense of which jobs to prioritize and how much time to spend on each endeavor. Good assistants know when to reach out for help or delegate the job to a teammate when a task takes longer than expected.
Also, capable assistants know how to carve out efficient workflows and set boundaries. If executive assistants do not cycle through responsibilities within the workday, they can find themselves working late hours or overworking.
To avoid burnout, the smart assistant stays focused during work hours and unplugs at the end of the day, responding only to emergencies after hours.
4. Communication Skills: The Ability to Speak and Write Well
Communication skills are crucial for executive assistants. First, assistants must know how to speak and write professionally to executives, business partners, and high-level clients. Grammar and writing conventions are also crucial. For instance, assistants should know how to properly format a formal business letter and triple-check spelling before sending emails.
Tone is also important. Savvy assistants know when to strike a more personal and friendly tone and which situations call for strict formality. Length and medium should be appropriate, too. A passing mention or a memo may suffice for lesser news, while bigger announcements or issues merit a detailed email or formal report.
Executive assistants should also be able to give directions. Top assistants often oversee other administrative assistants and coordinate departments on special projects. These responsibilities require the ability to give clear instructions and communicate respectfully with staff.
5. Data Entry: The Unsung Hero of Executive Assistant Skills
Data entry is one of the most desirable technical skills for executive secretaries. Record-keeping is one of the key functions of assistants. Executive secretaries often:
Take and edit meeting minutes
Upkeep databases
Manage filing systems
These individuals must be able to input information quickly and accurately and retrieve data quickly.
Basic technological skills are also helpful. In a perfect world, the IT department would answer the call whenever a spreadsheet went wonky. In reality, issues often take time to diagnose and fix. Exceptional assistants can find workable solutions to ensure important data is accessible.
6. People Skills: The Ability to Get Along with Others
People skills are essential for executive assistants. Every day, assistants interact with dozens of people, both inside and outside the organization, digitally, on the phone, and in person. To excel, executive assistants must develop relationships with many of these folks.
Assistants often have to ask for favors, and rapport makes a big difference. Folks are more inclined to lend a hand to pleasant individuals. Extra points if the assistant has helped the potential helper in the past or remembers personal details like kids’ names or recent vacations.
Cultivating Strong Executive Relationships
Most importantly, personal assistants must develop positive relationships with their executives. The best executive assistants are personable yet tough. They can tell when to challenge the boss and when to acquiesce. They know when to lighten the mood and when to stay serious. They are friendly with the boss without crossing boundaries. Executives both like and respect these individuals.
Great executive assistants also build relationships with the executive’s inner circle, including the boss’s family and closest colleagues.
7. Persuasion: The Ability to Get Others to Say Yes
Executive assistants need to be just as adept at the art of the deal as executives. They may need to score sold-out concert tickets for the boss or negotiate a discount on catering. The assistant may need to recruit a committee to set up an event or get colleagues on board with a big company change.
Persuasion skills quiet dissenters, win over would-be collaborators, secure special favors, and keep operations running smoothly.
8. Problem-Solving: The Ability to Tackle Challenges Head On
Executive assistants are expert problem-solvers. Executives often enlist the help of assistants to tackle challenges they don’t have the time or bandwidth to remedy. Folks constantly bring issues to the executive’s attention, and the boss may not have time to deal with every hiccup.
These obstacles range from the mundane, like finding a new supplier for printer ink, to the unusual, like tracking down a tablet left on an airplane during a business trip. Often, assistants face multiple hurdles or stare down strange problems.
Out-of-the-box, imaginative thinking is necessary to resolve these issues. The ability to propose alternative solutions and think on your feet is critical for executive assistants who deal with daily curveballs.
9. Composure: The Ability to Stay Calm Under Pressure
One of the most critical qualifications for an executive secretary is staying calm in stressful situations. Executives dealing with organizational crises often call on assistants to help, and as a result, executive assistants usually find themselves dealing with high-stakes situations.
Even mundane job situations can become stressful, though.
For instance, perhaps the boss misses his flight because of traffic or delays making a dinner reservation until the last minute. Maybe an upset colleague demands to see the boss and vent frustrations to the assistant. Perhaps the day’s agenda is jam-packed, and the assistant worries about finishing everything. Or maybe the boss has a bad day and is prickly.
No matter how stressful the situation, good executive assistants do not panic. They stay calm, figure out a solution, and do not let anyone see them sweat.
10. Decision-Making: The Ability to Make Judgments Independently
Executive assistants make dozens of decisions every day. Though executives sometimes assign tasks or assignments, there often needs to be more oversight and direction. The role tends to be independent and self-guided. Executive assistants know what they need to do and must decide how best to accomplish tasks.
Sometimes, personal assistants must make time-sensitive decisions when executives are not around. The best assistants understand the limits of their powers and know when to make the call and sign off on a decision themselves and when to track down the boss.
11. Technical Savvy: The Ability to Learn New Software Quickly
Some executives buy the newest devices, while others rock palm pilots from the 90s. Some leaders host meetings in virtual reality, while others peck when typing on their keyboards. Either way, assistants have to stay current on technology.
If bosses are technologically behind, it is even more important for an assistant to be tech-savvy. When the boss needs to retrieve a password for an account linked to a phone number he hasn’t had for three years, his assistant will be on the phone with tech support.
At a minimum, personal assistants should have essential Google Suite or Microsoft Office Suite skills. They should also be able to type upwards of 70 words per minute, learn new software quickly, and be comfortable with email and internet research. Getting familiar with the boss’s phone and laptop OS is also wise, as the assistant may need to troubleshoot at some point.
12. Tenacity: The Ability to Keep Going When Things Get Tough
Tenacity and grit are essential characteristics for executive assistants to possess. Executives are highly particular, and some are downright prickly. Even with a great boss, assistants will regularly deal with difficult people and challenging situations.
Resiliency is key for lasting in the position. Executive assistants need to bounce back from failures and bad days. They need to persist or pivot after hearing repeated no’s. Building a thick skin and tolerance can be tough, but this role is necessary to weather disappointment and adversity.
13. Discretion: The Ability to Handle Sensitive Information
Executive assistants deal with confidential information and delicate situations; discretion is necessary. Assistants must act with tact and maintain confidentiality. They should not leak information to other departments, intentionally or otherwise.
Gossip is out of the question. Meeting conversations should not turn into break room conversations. Assistants should also be conscious of where they leave sensitive documents or step away from their computer screens without first closing windows.
Personal assistants tend to be privy to the boss’s home life details. They may be closer to the boss’s family than other employees, and they must understand that this is a privilege. Assistants should gauge and respect their executive’s outside-of-work boundaries.
Balancing Transparency and Confidentiality
If a medical emergency with the boss’s children necessitates canceling a meeting, the assistant should determine how much information to divulge. A simple “had to leave early” or a “medical emergency” might suffice if the guest is essential. Saying “little Billy’s appendix burst” is probably inappropriate. A good assistant protects the boss’s privacy, even if colleagues pry.
14. Event Coordination: The Ability to Plan and Manage Events
Event coordination is a valuable skill for an executive assistant. Not every assistant’s job description includes planning parties and events, but there are still situations where these skills are useful. For instance, perhaps the assistant must order catering for a board meeting. Or maybe the assistant needs to shift the scheduling order at a company retreat because the keynote speaker has not arrived yet.
Being able to research vendors, make calls, negotiate prices, recruit helpers, write a run of the show, decorate, and take care of tiny details comes in handy when you are the right hand to an executive who might need to throw an event.
15. Leadership: Taking Charge as an Executive Assistant
Not only are personal assistants the executive’s right hand, but they are also leaders in their own right. Executive assistants often oversee the administrative assistants or head up special projects. They also self-manage and establish their own goals and workflows. Leadership skills help executive assistants take ownership over their roles. Taking initiative, giving instructions, and being accountable for results serve assistants well.
16. Attention to Detail: The Ability to Catch Mistakes
Attention to detail is one of the most critical personal assistant skills. Executives and their inner circles have high expectations. While a typo might not be a big deal in lower positions, errors can have compounding consequences at higher levels. For instance, misspelling a name might seem like a small deal.
Nevertheless, misspelling a prospective client’s name or a board member’s name could convey disrespect and sour the relationship. Misplacing an important piece of mail might lead to a lawsuit. Even if the worst-case scenario does not occur, mistakes look unprofessional.
Executives are busy and often in a hurry. Executive assistants are the last line of defense against errors. It is up to high-level assistants to double-check every detail, triple-check every document, and ensure total accuracy.
17. Adaptability: The Ability to Change Course When Necessary
Change is constant, especially in today’s business environment. Executive assistant duties often change day to day in the stablest of times. Sometimes, assistants need to shift course mid-task. Great assistants are pliable, available, and willing to try new approaches for experimentation.
As the first team members to hear about significant decisions, executive assistants are often on the frontlines of organizational changes. By adopting a positive attitude, assistants can lead the charge and convince coworkers to adapt to these changes. They can also convey concerns and sentiments to the executive.
Above all, great executive assistants take a change in stride and are rarely thrown off by shakeups to their routines. The best assistants welcome and embrace change, relishing the ability to rise to the challenge.
18. Anticipation: The Ability to Predict an Executive's Needs
Good executive assistants respond to the boss’s requests. Great executive assistants anticipate those requests and have solutions ready. For instance, they have a contact list for meeting attendants and can contact late arrivals. They also have a couple of lunch delivery options handy when the executive has back-to-back meetings.
Anticipation is an unspoken requirement of the job. The role is about providing an executive’s needs; part of the job is pinpointing and predicting those needs.
19. Humility: The Ability to Keep the Spotlight Off Themselves
Humility is one of the most essential traits for executive assistants. Executive assistants have a behind-the-scenes role. The assistant’s mission is to help their boss succeed and look competent. Recognition is nice, but assistants should not expect excessive thanks. Nor should these team members point out how helpless their boss is without them. The best executive assistants run the show without stepping into the spotlight. They are like stagehands, running around backstage to make it possible for the star to shine on center stage.
High-level assistants should be competent yet not cocky. Pairing high performance with humbleness is no easy task, yet it is necessary. Great executive assistants have confidence in their abilities yet maintain an air of modesty.
They are essential but not self-important. This capacity for humility serves them well and helps them get along better with bosses and colleagues.
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What Are the Duties & Responsibilities of an Executive Assistant
The Time Keeper: Calendar Management
Calendar management is the cornerstone of an executive assistant's role. The executive's calendar directly impacts their productivity, so executive assistants prioritize optimizing this schedule to allow the executive to focus on their responsibilities and make the best use of their time.
To this end, they ensure the calendar is free of unnecessary meetings and that all commitments align with the executive’s goals and priorities. They also pay attention to the executive’s working style and preferences to create a calendar that suits their needs.
The Communicator: Communication Handling
Executive assistants act as filters for all communications to and from executives. They manage emails, phone calls, and other messages to reduce the burden on the executive and ensure they stay organized and informed. An executive assistant will respond to routine inquiries, redirect essential communications, and relay urgent matters to the executive promptly to avoid delays.
The Organizer: Meeting Coordination
An executive assistant coordinates the many meetings an executive must attend. They arrange meetings by sending out calendar invites, reserving rooms, preparing agendas, and distributing relevant materials to meeting attendees. Executive assistants may also take minutes during meetings to ensure action items are completed promptly.
The Travel Agent: Travel Arrangements
An executive assistant coordinates all travel arrangements for an executive. This includes:
Booking flights, hotels, transportation
Preparing detailed itineraries for the executive to follow on their trip
They ensure that all travel plans align with the executive’s preferences and that all logistics are taken care of to ensure a smooth trip.
The Writer: Document Preparation
Executive assistants prepare various documents for their executives, including reports, presentations, and correspondence. They often draft, proofread, and edit these materials to ensure they are:
Well-organized
Professional
Error-free
They ensure documents align with the executive’s preferences and writing style.
The Discreet: Confidentiality
Executives often deal with sensitive information and high-stakes situations that require discretion. Executive assistants help to manage this confidentiality by handling communications and documents on behalf of the executive. They are trusted to maintain discretion and keep private matters from leaking to third parties.
The Researcher: Research and Data Analysis
Supporting an executive’s decision-making capabilities involves researching and compiling data to prepare reports and summaries. Executive assistants will take the initiative to understand various topics or projects to brief the executive and help them make informed choices.
The Project Manager: Project Management
Executive assistants often help manage projects to keep workloads organized and on track. They may create timelines, assign tasks, and ensure everyone completes their responsibilities to avoid delays. Should any issues arise, an executive assistant will work to resolve the problems and get the project back on track.
The Liaison: Stakeholder Interaction
Executive assistants serve as a point of contact for internal and external stakeholders. They help manage communications and the flow of information between the executive and other parties to keep operations running smoothly. This coordination helps maintain positive relationships and reduce the executive's burden.
The Administrator: Administrative Support
While an executive assistant’s role involves many strategic tasks, they also perform administrative duties to help the executive and the organization. These responsibilities can include:
Expense tracking
Budget management
Office organization
The Gatekeeper: Information Management
Executive assistants help manage an executive’s workload by acting as gatekeepers. They filter information and communications to reduce the executive's burden and ensure they can focus on their top priorities.
The Problem-Solver: Problem Solving
Executive assistants tackle challenges proactively, finding solutions and making quick decisions when necessary.
The Planner: Event Coordination
They may be responsible for organizing corporate events, conferences, and other gatherings, ensuring smooth execution and attention to detail.
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How To Hire the Best Executive Assistant
Crafting the Perfect Job Posting
Everything begins with updating and tailoring the existing job description. This step is crucial because the job posting will be based on the job description, which must attract the right people singlehandedly (at least initially). Be specific about hiring an executive assistant with the qualities you're looking for.
List in detail whether the executive assistant will be expected to:
Manage your calendar
Prepare financial and data reports
Help coordinate key projects
All of the above
The Soft Skills of an Effective Executive Assistant
What about interpersonal skills? Executive assistants should be resourceful, collaborative, adaptable, and able to think independently. They should have excellent verbal and written communication skills because they may interact with everyone, from clients to vendors. The executive assistant is often the go-to person when an executive is out, so good problem-solving and leadership skills are essential.
Also, because executive assistants are often privy to sensitive information, they must be able to be relied upon to maintain strict confidentiality. Do you expect a certain level of education? Special credentials? Some employers ask for the certified administrative professional (CAP) designation.
An effective job posting consists of more than simply a laundry list of the job's duties and background you seek, though. It must convey what you consider essential skills and traits. Here’s where you should get detailed about how you expect your partner to collaborate.
Given the pace of digital disruption, you will also want to include technical skills in the posting, especially:
Software skills
Internet research capabilities
Social media savvy
Advanced proficiency with:
Microsoft Word
Excel
Outlook
Typically, candidates also should have a working knowledge of database management software, such as Microsoft Access and FileMaker Pro, or other specialized software used by your firm. Knowledge of Workday and Salesforce is also highly valuable.
Evolving with Tech
Mention the importance of keeping pace with industry tech trends. In a recent Robert Half survey, HR managers reported that the primary ways technological advancements such as AI and robotics will change the administrative profession are to:
Replace routine responsibilities
Enhance employees’ productivity
Require new skills
In short, the more time you spend on the job posting, the more effective it will be in attracting the right candidates. Also, assuming you’re posting the job online, you’ll need secure systems for taking in, evaluating, sorting, and tracking resumes.
Get Some Help from the Specialists
Consider using Founders Arm, a specialized talent solution, to help you find the right person faster. Recruiters have access to a broader range of candidates for executive assistant jobs. They can also vet applicants more quickly and keep you abreast of the latest administrative hiring and compensation trends.
If you decide to go this route, make sure someone in the company, either you or the hiring manager, is directly involved with the executive assistant recruiter handling the search.
Narrow the Field While Reviewing Resumes
After posting your job, it’s not time to sit back and wait for resumes to pour in. Monitor your recruiting efforts closely. Evaluate your progress by the number of inquiries you receive and their quality, meaning applicants who meet and exceed your basic requirements.
When reviewing resumes and cover letters, look carefully to see if candidates have the skills and attributes needed for the position. Because applicants are experienced administrative assistants, don't assume they have what it takes to transition to an executive assistant role.
Both positions share an essential core skill set, but an executive assistant's role typically requires more initiative and problem-solving—note evidence of this in the job history. Sometimes, candidates’ involvement in professional organizations and volunteer activities (if they list them) also indicates these qualities.
Fine-Tune Your Job Interview Questions
When it comes to the in-person interview, make time to prepare appropriately. After all, you’ll work closely with the chosen person, so you want to learn as much about their skills and finesse as possible. Fashion your questions in a way that elicits the most revealing answers.
Here are 10 examples:
What kind of work environment brings out your best performance?
How would you describe my ideal boss?
What appeals to you about our company and this particular executive assistant job?
Can you tell me about a workplace conflict you were involved in while in an administrative role and how you handled it?
How do you learn new software programs and keep up with technology?
How do you anticipate the needs of the senior leader you’re supporting?
Tell me about a project you are particularly proud of managing.
Why are you leaving your current job?
How would your coworkers describe you as a team member? As a team leader?
What have you done at my current company to save time or reduce costs?
Make a Thoughtful Choice
While the requirements and preferences you listed on the job posting should serve as your guide throughout the evaluation process for most new hires, bringing on an executive assistant is different.
True, you don’t want to become so enraptured by one particular aspect of the candidate, a particular credential, for instance, that you let that aspect influence all my other judgments, but you do need to rely to some degree on my gut. Is this a person who can be a true partner to you?
Check References
Rushing through the process of checking references can be tempting. But top candidates have many opportunities today, and only some are patient with a lengthy evaluation process. Still, getting reliable information from former supervisors and peers is essential to avoiding what turns out to be a bad hire.
Don’t skip reference checking. Be transparent with candidates from the outset that your company will check their references. This helps ensure the answers they give you during the interview are truthful. Also, don’t delegate this part of the process. Calling someone at your same level may prompt a more honest and detailed reference.
Get a Free Custom Plan on How to Delegate Tasks and Scale
Executive assistants have a broad skill set that allows them to support executives across various tasks and projects. They are especially adept at reducing an executive’s workload by taking on administrative and business-critical tasks to ensure organizational efficiency.
Executive assistants' specific skills and strengths may vary based on their training and background and the needs of the executive they support. For instance, an executive assistant with a background in marketing may excel at managing a business’s social media profiles and coordinating marketing campaigns.
In contrast, an executive assistant with experience in finance may excel at budgeting and financial reporting.
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