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The differences between executive receptionists and executive/personal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an executive receptionist, becoming an executive/personal assistant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive/personal assistant has an average salary of $64,511, which is higher than the $41,640 average annual salary of an executive receptionist.
The top three skills for an executive receptionist include front desk, scheduling conference rooms and reservations. The most important skills for an executive/personal assistant are financial statements, powerpoint, and calendar management.
An executive receptionist works with chief officers of organizations, handles administrative tasks, schedules meetings, arranges travel, and handles secretarial tasks. For board meetings, they ensure that conference rooms are clean, prepare refreshments, and refill supplies. They also manage an executive director's schedule, transcribe meeting minutes for board meetings, and ensure materials are ready for presentations.
An executive/personal assistant is responsible for performing secretarial duties, including administrative and clerical tasks as needed, helping the business operations run smoothly and efficiently. Executive/personal assistants receive and respond to client's calls and inquiries, schedule and maintain an organized record of executive and staff meetings, sorting files and documents, and attending general meetings on behalf of the executives. They should also have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills, especially on providing recommendations for business decisions and profitable opportunities. An executive/personal assistant creates expense reports, monitors the adequacy of stock inventory, and coordinates with planning company events.
Executive receptionists and executive/personal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Receptionist | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $41,640 | $64,511 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $54,000 | Between $44,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | ONE Sotheby's International Realty |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between an executive receptionist and an executive/personal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Executive Receptionist | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between executive receptionists' and executive/personal assistants' demographics:
| Executive Receptionist | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6% | Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 6.1% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |