What Does An Executive Assistant Do – Job Description

Executive assistants can be the heartbeat of a company – they usually provide high-level administrative support to other executives in a company or organization. Much like a secretary or general administration, they perform clerical duties, but at a far higher level. Normally executive assistants’ work can have a direct influence on profitability, turnover, market research, staff training and ensuring general business operations run smoothly.

What are the job requirements for an Exec Assistant?

When looking at requirements for this specific role, educational requirements are varied from company to company. Some require that there is a high school degree and others require far more advanced education levels such as Masters or doctorates. Prior experience working in an assistant capacity is usually preferred for these types of roles.

As of May 2019, the median salary in the USA for executive assistants was $59,000 – quoting the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, interestingly, the same company project that there will be exponential rises in this figure in years to come leading up to 2024.

Duties as an exec assistant

As mentioned above, the actual job roles carried out by an EA can be extremely varied and as such, this demands a person to be extremely versatile in their workloads. C Suite Executive Assistants has a list to check out or here are some duties you may carry out:

• Administrative assistance – In many ways, the role of an EA is very much similar to a secretary or a general admin assistant. They’ll perform clerical tasks like making and receiving phone calls, sending memos, meeting agendas, visitors, setting a CEO’s daily agenda and reviewing incoming reports.
• Gatekeepers (gulp!) – Company executives (at least ones that work for larger corporations) are generally well-known public figures with huge amounts of influence in their immediate communities. Because of this, the CEO’s are normally in high demand. A good executive assistant will ensure that all calls and contact attempts made to a CEO are fully screened and decipher which would be useful to the CEO to talk to. The EA will also schedule meetings accordingly from this.
• Supervision of clerical staff and training – In the hierarchy that is the executive’s clerical team, the EA is normally head honcho. However, some EA’s work closely with lower-level assistants to complete tasks that require a certain level of collaboration. It is imperative that a good EA knows their staff completely and that they supervise and manage the clerical team with efficiency and ongoing training. A good EA will normally continually strive to evolve its clerical team for maximum output and maintaining a happy workforce.

Whether you’re seeking a new challenge or just fancy yourself as a well-organized machine with some good general admin experience – an Exec assistant career can be an extremely rewarding one. There are numerous Executive Assistant Courses (such as these ones provided by SoutersTraining) that can provide you with the experience necessary to really bolster your career.

From understanding the basics, all the way through to advanced level learning, you will need to encompass all areas to get the EA job you’ve always dreamed of. Good luck in your endeavors!