Executive secretaries are highly skilled professionals who provide administrative support to top executives in an organization. They conduct research, manage schedules, and provide efficient and effective assistance. These secretaries are highly skilled administrative workers and are experienced in reviewing information, crafting reports, booking travel, scheduling meetings, and supervising other administrative staff. These secretaries can be a lifeline for their executives, as they help them do their job more efficiently while they handle further day-to-day details.
Unlike entry-level secretarial or office assistant jobs, which are sometimes available to high school graduates, executive secretary positions go to higher-level employees who often have post-secondary or vocational training and experience. Some of the basic skills considered necessary for all secretaries include communication, writing, and word processing proficiency. Employers are also increasingly looking for candidates with knowledge of computer software, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, and other computer-related skills. Executive secretaries generally need strong project coordination, Internet research, and interpersonal relations skills.
The reported average annual salary for an executive secretary is approximately $59,340. However, this figure can vary significantly depending upon academic qualification, having previous experience, and possession of the aforementioned skills
Executive Secretary Overview
Executive Secretary Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an executive secretary. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.58 an hour? That's $44,878 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -276,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Executive Secretary Do
There are certain skills that many executive secretaries have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed interpersonal skills, organizational skills and writing skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an executive secretary, we found that a lot of resumes listed 9.4% of executive secretaries included office procedures, while 7.2% of resumes included outgoing correspondence, and 6.5% of resumes included scheduling meetings. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the executive secretary job title. But what industry to start with? Most executive secretaries actually find jobs in the health care and finance industries.
How To Become an Executive Secretary
If you're interested in becoming an executive secretary, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 34.5% of executive secretaries have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.0% of executive secretaries have master's degrees. Even though some executive secretaries have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an executive secretary. When we researched the most common majors for an executive secretary, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on executive secretary resumes include high school diploma degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an executive secretary. In fact, many executive secretary jobs require experience in a role such as administrative assistant. Meanwhile, many executive secretaries also have previous career experience in roles such as secretary or office manager.
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Executive Secretary Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an executive secretary can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as office manager, progress to a title such as operations manager and then eventually end up with the title food service director.
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Average Salary for an Executive Secretary
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Mid Executive Secretary Executive Secretary | Mid Mid | 03/31/2021 03/31/2021 | $65,72803/31/2021 $65,728 |
Geo Group Inc. Executive Secretary Executive Secretary | Geo Group Inc. Geo Group Inc. | 03/24/2021 03/24/2021 | $31,30503/24/2021 $31,305 |
State of Minnesota Executive Secretary Capitol Area Architectural & Planning Board Executive Secretary Capitol Area Architectural & Planning Board | State of Minnesota State of Minnesota | 03/19/2021 03/19/2021 | $75,20903/19/2021 $75,209 |
State of Michigan Executive Secretary Executive Secretary | State of Michigan State of Michigan | 03/18/2021 03/18/2021 | $43,22203/18/2021 $43,222 |
Geo Group Inc. Executive Secretary Executive Secretary | Geo Group Inc. Geo Group Inc. | 03/04/2021 03/04/2021 | $39,17303/04/2021 $39,173 |
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Executive Secretary Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming an Executive Secretary. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write an Executive Secretary Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Executive Secretary resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Executive Secretarys
1. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Public
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
3. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Public
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH • Public
6. Cedar Crest College
Allentown, PA • Private
7. Morgan State University
Baltimore, MD • Public
8. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
9. Siena Heights University
Adrian, MI • Private
10. University of Akron
Akron, OH • Public
Top Skills For an Executive Secretary
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 9.4% of executive secretaries listed office procedures on their resume, but soft skills such as interpersonal skills and organizational skills are important as well.
- Office Procedures, 9.4%
- Outgoing Correspondence, 7.2%
- Scheduling Meetings, 6.5%
- Office Supplies, 5.4%
- Word Processing, 5.2%
- Other Skills, 66.3% See All Executive Secretary Skills
Best States For an Executive Secretary
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an executive secretary. The best states for people in this position are Maryland, Washington, Hawaii, and California. Executive secretaries make the most in Maryland with an average salary of $58,940. Whereas in Washington and Hawaii, they would average $56,905 and $56,804, respectively. While executive secretaries would only make an average of $56,025 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$56,905
Avg. Salary
2. Maryland
$58,940
Avg. Salary
3. District of Columbia
$56,952
Avg. Salary