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General Description

This is an ideal career for intuitive thinkers. As an executive assistant, your job is to provide advanced administrative support and to reduce the workload for a high level executive such as the CEO or a senior executive director in a business or organisation. Your services may also be utilised by politicians, celebrities, and other prominent public figures, where you often find yourself managing both their professional and private lives.

Your work may include both drafting and reviewing letters and reports, conducting research, preparing statistical reports or correspondence, diary management, arranging conference calls or meetings, managing travel bookings and itineraries. You may find yourself screening away overzealous colleagues, running personal errands or otherwise helping manage your busy employer’s  personal life.

Your work is more demanding and more personal than that of an administrative assistant, and your employer may well use other clerical staff within the workplace to undertake standard tasks such as word processing or taking dictation. An increasing number of executive assistants have completed an undergraduate or postgraduate degree and university education will certainly enhance your career prospects. You will need advanced organisational abilities, strong administrative and succinct communication skills, and high level discretion to ensure your “boss” is always kept informed and never placed in a compromising position.

What you do every day

Depending on the nature and size of your employer’s company, you could perform a number of tasks during a standard working day. In large organisations you find yourself screening phone calls; making travel and meeting arrangements; communicating with other management and staff; greeting visitors and clients; composing reports and financial data; conducting research; training and supervising clerical staff; following up delegated work to guarantee a met deadline; and even taking initiative in the executive’s absence.

You are likely to manage many personal matters for your employer, sharing private and highly confidential information which cannot be disclosed to anybody. A close professional working relationship evolves that is underpinned by mutual respect, trust and high levels of competency. Your advanced skills in office software or application programming experience and general corporate knowledge and experience relieve your boss of administrative detail on all fronts.  

Personality that best fits this career

As an executive assistants, you must have strong administrative, project management and problem solving skills. You should understand the business and the responsibilities of your executive. Your job will require you to have strong computing skills, with an advanced ability to use word processing programs, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations.

You are an ituitive thinker who has the ablilty to be flexible, and to multitask. As the position is high-level, it also comes with tight deadlines, high stress and constant problem solving. You will need the ability to work well under pressure, maintain composure and act professionally under all circumstances.  You will need to be two steps ahead of your executive, but never let them know you are.  You are there to help your executive perform at their best.

You should have an innate interest in travel and current affairs, as well as good market or industry knowledge to assist you in decision making and planning.

Communication skills are vital for this role. Not only will you need to be in regular contact with your executive, able to understand their needs and instructions, but you will be interacting with clients and other staff members. Your interpersonal skills must be of a high standard to get the best results from your daily interactions.   

Best thing about this career

Executive assistants provide a vital service for senior executives of companies, personalities and public figures. To many you are their ‘right hand’ and a high level of dependency is vested in you. Your work is well appreciated and well paid, often with bonuses,. Knowing you are making a meaningful contribution to the organisation is satisfying. 

Worst thing about this career

An EA career can, however, be draining and very stressful. Mistakes, inaccuracies or the wrong information are not tolerated the second time. Executive conflict and personal losses can make your working environment moody or uncomfortable. Many CEO’s have a short three to five year tenure, and then you find yourself with a new executive.