How to hire an Executive Administrative Assistant

How to hire an executive administrative assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step executive administrative assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an executive administrative assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new executive administrative assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an Executive Administrative Assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the executive administrative assistant you need to hire. Certain executive administrative assistant roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect executive administrative assistant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents executive administrative assistant salaries for various positions.

   Type Of Executive Administrative Assistant	Description	Hourly Rate
   Executive Administrative Assistant	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$14-29
   Administrative Support	Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries... Show More	$12-25
   Administrative Staff	As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll... Show More	$27-48

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • PowerPoint
   • Customer Service
   • Phone Calls
   • Data Entry
   • Calendar Management
   • Payroll
   • Meeting Minutes
   • Financial Statements
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Office Equipment
   • Word Processing
   • Provides Administrative Support
   • Conference Calls
   • Administrative Functions

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Format, edit, and manage the daily Visio blueprint documents for all software engineers.
   • Assist SVP with managing transition to effectively disband correspondent department and close office.
   • Orchestrate hotel special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary to all customers.
   • Manage and coordinate complex internal and external meetings and/or events via videoconferencing, WebEx and teleconference calls.
   • Arrange domestic travel including airline reservations, grind transportation and accommodations.
   • Perform accurate data entry and decrease backlog of proposals, proposal requests and future opportunities in Microsoft SharePoint

   More Executive Administrative Assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your executive administrative assistant job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An executive administrative assistant salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, executive administrative assistants' average salary in oklahoma is 54% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level executive administrative assistants earn 50% less than senior-level executive administrative assistants.
   • Certifications. An executive administrative assistant with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an executive administrative assistant's salary.

   Average executive administrative assistant salary

   $44,665yearly

   $21.47 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level executive administrative assistant salary

   $31,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 13, 2025

   Average executive administrative assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	New York	$59,009	$28
   2	California	$57,763	$28
   3	Massachusetts	$57,083	$27
   4	Washington	$52,943	$25
   5	District of Columbia	$50,914	$24
   6	Virginia	$47,470	$23
   7	Illinois	$45,420	$22
   8	Pennsylvania	$45,192	$22
   9	Minnesota	$45,093	$22
   10	Maryland	$44,612	$21
   11	Oregon	$43,331	$21
   12	Colorado	$42,447	$20
   13	Wisconsin	$42,174	$20
   14	Georgia	$42,096	$20
   15	Texas	$40,961	$20
   16	Ohio	$40,604	$20
   17	Arizona	$39,961	$19
   18	Michigan	$38,288	$18
   19	Tennessee	$37,674	$18
   20	Indiana	$37,479	$18

   Average executive administrative assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Microsoft	$97,854	$47.05	11
   2	Maxim Integrated	$96,843	$46.56
   3	Cisco	$92,816	$44.62	13
   4	Ampere	$90,810	$43.66
   5	Micron Technology	$89,073	$42.82	1
   6	STMicroelectronics	$88,475	$42.54
   7	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$87,994	$42.30	244
   8	Apple	$85,407	$41.06	14
   9	Texas Instruments	$84,763	$40.75
   10	Tata Group	$83,958	$40.36	10
   11	AbbVie	$81,342	$39.11	29
   12	Edelman Financial Engines	$79,203	$38.08
   13	IBM	$78,631	$37.80
   14	Duquesne Light Company	$78,468	$37.73	1
   15	American Express	$76,689	$36.87	11
   16	General Motors	$69,198	$33.27	2
   17	Citi	$68,617	$32.99	10
   18	BlackRock	$67,306	$32.36	11
   19	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$66,501	$31.97
   20	Johnson & Johnson	$63,716	$30.63	37

4. Writing an Executive Administrative Assistant Job Description

   An executive administrative assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an executive administrative assistant job description:

   Executive Administrative Assistant job description example

   University of Minnesota Physicians (M Physicians) is a non-profit organization seeking driven individuals in both clinical and non-clinical areas to help transform health and medicine. Headquartered in Minneapolis, our organization employs more than 1,200 physicians, 300 advanced practice providers and 2,200 health professionals and staff throughout Minnesota and beyond.
   Join us on a mission to advance medicine.
   
   Why UMPhysicians?
   
   Regardless of role, we at the University of Minnesota Physicians recognize that every member of our team is vital! The Executive Administrative Assistant provides administrative support to UMPhysicians' Executive Leadership and their division leaders by coordinating their schedules, appointments, communications, and resources for day to day operations and related projects. The position ensures the smooth performance of the office services functions in their location by providing outstanding service to partners and behind the scenes, and by taking on improvement projects and other initiatives that support executive effectiveness and company performance.
   
   Overview
   
   Key responsibilities include but are not limited to :
   Maintains executive calendars, schedules meetings, communicates changes, and ensures accuracy. Supports area communications by contacting or e-mailing appropriate groups to coordinate day-to-day operations. Prepares documents and manages records, including correspondence, presentations, spreadsheets, databases, and reports. Provides file management support as needed. Completes expense reports and p-card reconciliations and provides assistance with travel arrangements. Assists with purchase of office items like supplies, small equipment, or furniture. Actively participates in facility or executive led projects and initiatives as assigned. Coordinates changes and improvement projects. Demonstrates ability to provide customer service in all aspects of job duties and recognizes importance of role as UMPhysicians representative in all interactions.
   Minimum Qualifications:
   Post-secondary education (vocational/technical training or Associate's Degree) or equivalent administrative knowledge, skills and experience. 3-5 years of administrative assistance experience supporting progressive executive/director level leaders. MS Office skills, experience with databases, and electronic calendar skills required. Excellent phone management and customer service skills. Outstanding organizational skills, ability to prioritize, attention to detail, written and verbal communication skills. Demonstrated ability to use independent judgment and decision making. Exhibits professionalism. Diplomatic and able to follow strict confidentiality guidelines. Outstanding interpersonal and influence skills. Ability to handle complexity and organize executives.
   
   Location: 909 Fulton St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
   
   Hours: 1.0 FTE
   
   Benefits: This is a fully benefit eligible position: Competitive wages, Health Care (including vision and dental), 401K, parking assistance, tuition assistance
   
   M Physicians offers competitive salary and excellent benefits and provides you with the opportunity to enhance your career in the exciting field of health care through rewarding and challenging assignments and the opportunities for advancement.
   
   We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find executive administrative assistants for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any executive administrative assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level executive administrative assistants with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your executive administrative assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit executive administrative assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting executive administrative assistants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new executive administrative assistant

   Once you have selected a candidate for the executive administrative assistant position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new executive administrative assistant. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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