What does an executive assistant do?
Executive assistants are employees who are assigned to work under the supervision of company executives. They manage the activities of the executives they are assigned to by manning the executive's calendar, scheduling appointments, setting meetings, ensuring that the executives are familiar with their schedule for the day, and taking note of any deliverable that may be needed. They are also responsible for taking care of any document or paperwork that the executive needs, as well as preparing presentation materials or briefers for meetings. Executive assistants are also usually exposed to actual company operations to further understand how the business works and to be of better help to the executive.
Executive assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real executive assistant resumes:
- Manage and maintain AVP calendar and schedule using independent judgment.
- Manage and review WinStar (KRONOS) time clock hours for hourly union employees.
- Organize and manage administrative, audio/visual (WebEx, GoToMeeting), and catering of department meetings.
- Manage the scope of accounting processes including billing, bookkeeping and expense data management with strong oversight of A/R and A/P.
- Create and manage executive presentations using Visio and PowerPoint.
- Compile, manage and organize travel and expense reports processing and submitting reports using PeopleSoft for reimbursement.
- Prioritize and schedule internal/external meetings and conference calls, including room reservations and technical arrangements; record meeting minutes as requested.
- Utilize Salesforce to process orders, quotes and client cases on a daily basis.
- Draft communications on behalf of SVP for company-wide distribution.
- Transition manual attendance and payroll management to an efficient, low-maintenance computer operate system.
- Schedule internal and external meetings including booking rooms and equipment, arranging catering and transportation.
- Possess significant experience in operations and operations management that include payroll, budgeting and client/community experience.
- Demonstrate excellent, communication, prioritization, time-management and proofreading skills necessary in handling important documentation.
- Operate autonomously while SVP travele by acting as liaison with executive officers to ensure efficient office operations.
- Obtain authorization requests and benefit investigations for treatment patients from workers compensation insurances and private insurance companies.
Executive assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Executive Assistants are proficient in PowerPoint, Customer Service, and Phone Calls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Executive Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PowerPoint, 13%
Managed senior leadership schedules, correspondences and day-to-day operations; coordinated meetings and appointments, and constructed job-related PowerPoint presentations.
- Customer Service, 8%
Managed heavy phone volume with superior customer service skills including lead tracking between borrower and loan specialist and broker-to-lender correspondence.
- Phone Calls, 6%
Demonstrated efficiency and professionalism in handling phone calls, attending executive meetings and delivered internal administrative communications to various functional teams.
- Calendar Management, 6%
Provide calendar management for executive leaders including extensive meeting coordination, both internally and with executives and assistants at other firms.
- Administrative Tasks, 3%
Coordinated travel arrangements for the District Commander and Assistant District Commander and assisted with expediting travel claims and other administrative tasks.
- Financial Reports, 3%
Coordinate mission meal for department including engaging volunteers, assigning responsibilities, updating inventory, and preparing & submitting financial reports.
Common skills that an executive assistant uses to do their job include "powerpoint," "customer service," and "phone calls." You can find details on the most important executive assistant responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an executive assistant to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Executive assistants often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide support to the senior executives and their direct reports, with exceptional professionalism, communication and interpersonal skills. "
Organizational skills. Many executive assistant duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so an executive assistant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways executive assistant responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "prepared organizational budget, ap/ar, and monthly financial reports utilizing quickbooks. "
Writing skills. executive assistants are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to executive assistant responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." An executive assistant resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "perform general office duties: word processing, data entry, clerical, invoicing, writing/editing documents, and correspondence. "
The three companies that hire the most executive assistants are:
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group307 executive assistants jobs
- Amazon223 executive assistants jobs
- Northeastern University196 executive assistants jobs
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Compare different executive assistants
Executive assistant vs. Assistant to vice president
An assistant to the vice president (VP) is an individual who acts as executive-level administrative support to an organization's vice president to oversee projects. Assistants to the vice president must help organize and manage managers' activities and clarify the strategies and business plans of the organization to them. They review the business activity and sales report from the organization's different departments and summarize the executives' information. Employers would also prefer their assistants to the vice president to hold a bachelor's or master's degree.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between executive assistants and assistant to vice president. For instance, executive assistant responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "phone calls," "project management," and "meeting materials." Whereas a assistant to vice president is skilled in "travel arrangements," "expense reports," "avp," and "purchase orders." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Assistants to vice president earn the highest salaries when working in the media industry, with an average yearly salary of $128,662. On the other hand, executive assistants are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $64,689.assistants to vice president tend to reach similar levels of education than executive assistants. In fact, assistants to vice president are 3.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Executive assistant vs. Administrative assistant to vice president
As the name entails, administrative assistants to the vice president (VP) provide administrative and secretarial support to an organization's vice president. They are responsible for managing the vice president's administrative and operational activities by managing the VP's schedule, arranging meetings and teleconferences, and organizing the incoming workflow. Also, administrative assistants are responsible for reviewing policy compliance, updating the VP's travel and vacation details, and auditing the reports on travel expenses.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, executive assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "phone calls," "project management," and "human resources." Meanwhile, an administrative assistant to vice president has duties that require skills in areas such as "purchase orders," "domestic travel arrangements," "hotel reservations," and "clerical support." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, administrative assistant to vice presidents earn a lower salary than executive assistants. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, administrative assistant to vice presidents earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $53,811. Whereas executive assistants have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $64,689.In general, administrative assistant to vice presidents achieve similar levels of education than executive assistants. They're 2.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Executive assistant vs. Assistant to executive vice president
Assistants to executive vice presidents are responsible for managing the day to day operation and administrative activities of the executive vice presidents. They have varied roles and responsibilities, which include organizing the workflow of the executive vice president, preparing for meetings, and monitoring schedule. They are also expected to respond to the electronic mail as per the VP's request, prepare papers and documents, and handle all aspects of the VP's vacation and travel. This position is essential in helping the VP manage and prioritize competing demands for attention and time.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from executive assistant resumes include skills like "customer service," "phone calls," "project management," and "human resources," whereas an assistant to executive vice president is more likely to list skills in "travel arrangements," "hr," "travel expenses," and "visio. "
Assistants to executive vice president earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $62,845. Executive assistants earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $64,689.assistants to executive vice president typically earn similar educational levels compared to executive assistants. Specifically, they're 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Executive assistant vs. Assistant executive director
An Assistant Executive Director helps the director in planning and monitoring the progress of the department. They ensure compliance with regulations and internal policies, participate in budgeting and monitoring expenses, and create reports and submit them to the director.
Updated January 8, 2025
