executive assistant

Networking is a great way to meet professionals from different fields and areas of expertise. According to LinkedIn, 70 percent of people are hired through a connection. Almost 80 percent of professionals consider networking an essential factor in their career success.

As an existing or aspiring executive professional, networking can help you expand your circle and expose you to opportunities that can further your career.

Where Can You Find Networking Groups/Events?

The traditional form of networking involves attending a conference or a business event. However, today the concept of networking has expanded to other mediums. Most social media sites (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram) promote online events and webinars that offer opportunities for people to network and expand their circle.

While it can be hard to mingle with a group of strangers, you can reap many benefits once you overcome that initial hesitation. Here are some tips you can use at the next networking event.

Be Yourself

People can see when you are being forceful or trying to be someone you are not. Be your authentic, confident self!

Prepare an Elevator Pitch

The elevator pitch is like a mini overview of your professional accomplishments. It is typically a 30-second pitch that you deliver when meeting new people. The idea of an elevator pitch is to quickly tell someone about yourself and make a good first impression. It is also a great icebreaker as it can give people a topic to talk about. Someone you meet at a networking event may be a C-suite level executive looking to hire an executive assistant. Your pitch can be your first selling point.

Go With a Give-and-Take Mentality

Networking isn’t about finding people who can place you at their companies. Instead, it is about building mutual connections. Share your background, interests, and career aspirations with people and show interest in their careers. Offer help if they need it.

Share Contact Details

If you have met someone who can help you in your career or know someone who can help you, make sure you exchange their contact information. Typically, people exchange their business cards, but you can also add them on LinkedIn.

Follow-Up

After the event, send an email or a LinkedIn message thanking them for their acquaintance. Let them know that you are looking forward to establishing a professional relationship with them.

Suppose you are interested in an administrative or executive assistant career. In that case, executive search companies can help you prepare for interviews and help you get hired successfully at some of the best companies.

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Whether you have just found your executive assistant (EA) or are looking for one, onboarding is an essential step in the post-hiring process. Preparation will ensure the process goes smoothly, not just for your EA but also for you.

Being a CEO, your executive assistant will be tasked to take care of all the administrative and executive tasks, such as scheduling calendar meetings, responding to emails, collaborating with different teams, booking flights, and more. Before onboarding, it is vital to equip them with all the tools necessary to carry out their job efficiently.

We have created this guide to help you, a CEO or a leader, successfully onboard your executive assistant. Let’s get started!

Prepare the Paperwork

Before the onboarding begins, you want to make sure all relevant paperwork is complete. Make sure HR has all the required forms. Touch base with HR to ensure the employee is ready to be onboarded. Some example documents include:

• Offer letter
• Job title and description
• Hiring forms (e.g. W2, I-9, etc.)
• Tax form
• Direct deposit details
• NDA

Contact the IT department

Get in touch with IT to ensure the employee’s badge is ready and has access to the building and required rooms. Also, check if their email address is set up and have access to all the essential folders/files. IT should also set up their workstation with the necessary equipment.

Executive assistants typically use software and applications like Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Google Meet, TravelPerk, Slack, Smart Receipts, Asana, SnagIt, and more. IT should provide them access to the tools and resources needed to get the job done efficiently.

Prepare the Workstation (If on-site)

If your executive assistant is hired for an on-site role, their workstation should include everything they will need to operate. Some of the essentials include:

• A desk, chair, lamp
• Monitor, keyboard, mouse
• Printer
• Keys
• Stationery items (sticky notes, notepad, stapler, pins)
• Company merchandise (e.g. mug, glass, T-shirt)

Provide Access to Required Files and Folders

As the CEO or the leader, there are files and folders that only you have access to now. However, your executive assistant will need to use some of these files for their day-to-day tasks. When providing them access, remember to discuss confidentiality.

Are you thinking of hiring an executive assistant for yourself? Executive search firms can help you find dynamic and forward-thinking executive assistants who can effectively assist a team of leaders and CEOs in any domain or industry.

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Legal restrictions prevent CEOs from asking support staff possibly biased questions in interviews. That’s a good thing!

When interviewing support staff, avoid asking questions like these:

• How many children do you have?
• What church do you go to?
• When are you planning to retire?

Some questions are better left unasked out of respect for the candidate. Avoid asking any of these questions:

• Do you have to wear that scarf on your head?
• Why are your clothes so dated?
• Is that your natural hair color?

Instead, try asking open-ended questions based on work-related scenarios.

 Questions the CEO CAN ask support staff in an interview

It can seem like there are a lot of questions you can’t ask in an interview. Rather than focus on what you can’t do, try these more positive questions that reveal behavior:

• Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?
• This job sometimes requires working after 5 pm or on weekends. Often, tasks like making reservations or scheduling meetings can be done from anywhere. Could you commit to working like this?
• What prior experience do you have that would be useful in a job like this one?
• Tell about a time when a challenge prevented you from completing a critical task.

Applicants can use the STAR method for answering questions: explain the situation, task, action, result. For example:

• SITUATION: Two days before a major holiday, our company held a quarterly board meeting at a retreat. Weather forecasters predicted severely inclement weather – the kind that could cause significant travel delays.
• TASK: My job required that I secure travel arrangements home for board members and the C-Suite. Most of them were flying.
• ACTION: I worked with the other executive assistants to create several backup arrangements, including car rentals and chartered grand transportation. We also secured hotel reservations, just in case. Then we made “survival bags” consisting of bottled water, snacks, and a few other necessities for each person.
• RESULT: As it turned out, air travel was canceled for only a few hours, so everyone made it home safely. The survival bags were a big hit!

Open-ended behavioral questions allow candidates to respond in more detail, especially when using a template like STAR.

About the vaccine

Applicants are curious about vaccine requirements for work. Some candidates may find that the provision gives them peace of mind, while others may decide they cannot comply for various reasons.

No current laws prevent you from asking about someone’s vaccination status. Still, it’s better to let your HR department explain your company’s requirements. The applicant can then decide if they can agree to the condition or are better off finding work elsewhere.

Need help figuring out the questioning process? Your recruiter can help by vetting the candidates you interview. If you are the candidate, the recruiter can help you prepare for questions.

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Entrepreneurs growing a start-up find that one critical staff position is crucial to early success: the executive assistant.

Some CEOs balk at the idea of hiring an assistant right out of the gate. They want to avoid appearing too pampered, too self-centered, too corporate. Start-ups, after all, are supposed to be independent, aggressive, and robust. Why would the CEO want to delegate any responsibility to an executive assistant?

The real question is, why wouldn’t the CEO delegate to an executive assistant?

Every CEO Must Have an Executive Assistant

The most important reason to hire an executive assistant for your start-up is to give you the time to focus on the business matters that only you can handle. Your start-up is your vision, and you already devote most of your waking hours to its success.

The executive assistant is your chief of staff, the person who will take care of all the tasks you don’t have time for. If you have the financial capacity to bring one employee onboard, hire the staff position that will grow with your company and help develop your vision.

The Many Chiefs of Staff Duties

An executive assistant (EA) is invaluable to your success because of three critical skills:

• Prioritization: An EA will prioritize workload, meetings, and who will be allowed to interrupt your work. Probably no one, including your mother-in-law, will get past your EA gatekeeper.
• Organization: Count on your EA to know where to find everything, from your accounting documents to local zucchini lasagna that melts in your mouth. Your EA can even tell you where the latest version of your pitch deck is filed.
• Communication: Well-known for their communication skills, EAs will initiate conversations via email, phone, and virtual meeting software. They’ll also make sure you have the words you need for expressing ideas. The EA hires copywriters and speechmakers.

You’ll find that your EA can meet demanding deadlines, handle impossible tasks with grace, and apply emotional intelligence in situations that would unnerve 5-star generals.

Eventually, your executive assistant will become your chief of staff, overseeing other assistants’ work in the workspace you created.

Hiring the Executive Assistant for Your C-Suite

Once you hire your c-suite, the executive assistant becomes your center of operations, often handling multiple roles simultaneously.

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, including start-up entrepreneurs. How you use these hours is up to you.

Hiring an executive assistant can give you the additional hours you need. With an EA onboard, you can build your business, practice work-life balance, or even catch on your sleep at night.

To make even better use of your time, turn to an executive assistant recruiter who can help you find the right person to make that happen.

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Executive Assistant salaries are often money well spent in any company. This position supports the role of the executive, serving as the company’s senior management liaison for communication and planning.

Since COVID-19 erupted worldwide, executives have become even more reliant on the one hero or heroine that holds it all together during global panic: their executive assistant.

As a result, EA salaries have been on the increase.

Skills for the job 

EAs are experts with technology, whether they coordinate electronic meetings and calendars or keep up with messages in software apps like One Note and Telegram.

Other duties include:

• Initiating and responding to communication
• Taking notes
• Conducting research
• Planning events
• Preparing reports, data, and meeting materials
• Coordinating travel on the ground, in the air, and by sea
• Training assistants and support staff
• Maintaining office supply inventories

Since the pandemic, many EAs have redefined their roles by spearheading new initiatives. For example, executive assistant Ratna Sreerangam asked his travel industry CEO for permission to assist customers needing airline refunds. With no other travel permitted during the pandemic, a strategy like this can keep a business afloat until flying is once again permitted.

Executive assistant preparation and training

Most training takes place on the job, but an EA will have to meet foundational requirements, such as having a high-school diploma. In some fields, having a bachelor’s degree might complement the executive office needs. A law office might require that a senior EA have a law degree. Similarly, a construction firm might favor EA candidates with a degree in construction sciences.

The EA might also earn software proficiencies and have certificates verifying their competency. They may also take advantage of other professional development opportunities that will help them excel in their jobs.

Executive Assistant salaries 

With excellent job and communication skills, a versatile EA can earn a good salary.

Industry and location can play a significant role in salary. For example, the average annual EA salary is $53,199. At Walmart, EAs average $75,865, but the same job pays $101,073 at Paramount Pictures.

You may have heard that, despite the salary increases, there are fewer EA positions available. Positions are down by 4% and are expected to decrease more. Still, top-notch EAs are more in demand than ever because many senior executives share executive assistants – especially those who take the initiative and redefine their roles.

Now is the time to reach out to hire the executive assistant that will help you be more successful.

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