Executive Assistant Resume Examples in 2023

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Frank Hackett

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)

Frank Hackett is a professional resume writer and career consultant with over eight years of experience. As the lead editor at a boutique career consulting firm, Frank developed an innovative approach to resume writing that empowers job seekers to tell their professional stories. His approach involves creating accomplishment-driven documents that balance keyword optimization with personal branding. Frank is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PAWRCC).

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In countless large companies around the country, executive assistants serve as the proverbial man behind the curtain, handling the tasks required to keep a business running smoothly. A critical administrative function that supports both departments and executives, executive assistants are an essential part of day-to-day operations. Unfortunately, the hiring climate for these vital professionals isn’t so positive: the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a decline of 7%, or the equivalent of 276,700 jobs, between 2018 and 2028.

For those who are passionate about supporting the needs of others in a corporate environment, the future of executive assistant jobs is sadly far from bright. This means that competition will be stiffer than ever in the upcoming years, making it even harder to land a great job. These executive assistant resume tips can help you attract the attention of hiring managers and improve the likelihood of job searching success.

Downloadable Resume Examples

Entry-level
Executive-Assistant_Entry-level.pdf

Example #1 Entry-level

Mid-career
Executive-Assistant_Mid-career.pdf

Example #2 Mid-career

Senior-level
Executive-Assistant_Senior-level.pdf

Example #3 Senior-level

Executive Assistant Resume Examples

Years of Experience
  • Entry-level Entry-level
  • Mid-career Mid-career
  • Senior-level Senior-level

Jebediah Smith
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
123 Address Rd, Anywhere, USA

Profile

Talented administrative professional and recent graduate in Communication Sciences and Disorders. 2+ years experience in customer service avenues, including receptionist and wait staff positions, that demonstrate a commitment to identifying needs and working hard to accommodate them.

Key Skills

  • Strong verbal and written communication
  • Customer service skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Scheduling
  • Planning
  • Organizing

Education

Bachelor of Arts, Communication, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
August 2015 to May 2019

Professional Experience

Hostess, TGIMonday, Amherst, MA
December 2018 – Present

  • Greet guests at the front door and welcome them to the restaurant
  • Manage the seating chart, seating guests in rotation based on server sections and capacity
  • Bus tables and arrange table settings for new patrons
  • Communicate consistently with wait staff and cooking staff to ensure customers receive their food in a timely manner
  • Expedite to-go orders, including adding sides, plastic silverware and condiments to prepare for pick-up

Receptionist, Morty’s Salon, Amherst, MA
May 2016 – July 2017

  • Greeted guests at the front door and welcomed them to the salon
  • Looked up reservations in the management software to ensure customers were attended to on time
  • Answered phones and booked appointments for clients
  • Kept the salon clean, including washing out sinks, wiping down chairs, sweeping floors and keeping the front desk tidy

Joaquin Smith
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
123 Address Rd, Anywhere, USA

Profile

Enthusiastic executive assistant with 7 years of experience in providing consistent support to C-suite professionals and other corporate leaders. Expertise in scheduling, event planning and general office management. Ready to support corporate growth and development through hands-on assistance for key executives.

Professional Experience

Executive Assistant to the CEO, Aloricorp, Plantation, FL
January 2016 – Present

  • Support the CEO of a multinational organization on a day-to-day basis, including answering phones, sending and receiving mail, scheduling meetings and attending to all other needs
  • Oversee C-suite calendars for all executives as well as managing conference room availability
  • Draft, review and distribute corporate communications from the CEO specifically and the company at large
  • Coordinate corporate events, including arranging for catering, renting out spaces, negotiating payment and scheduling

Event Planning Assistant, Windesk Inc., Hollywood, FL
January 2013 – December 2016

  • Served as the point person for organizing all corporate events, communicating upcoming conferences and social gatherings with all team members
  • Worked with other event management staff to plan events of all kinds from start to finish, including conferences, trainings, seminars, parties and off-sites
  • Assisted in event budget planning, working to find venues, decor, support services and food that fall in line with spending expectations
  • Managed guest lists to determine proper food and drink orders as well as adequate space needs
  • Coordinated with event staff at venues to ensure all events follow predetermined schedules

Education

Associate of Science, Business Administration, Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, FL
August 2007 to May 2009

Key Skills

  • Event planning
  • Vendor coordination
  • Excellent customer service
  • Expert written and verbal communication skills
  • Organization
  • Inventory management
  • Microsoft Office

Jack Smith
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
123 Address Rd, Anywhere, USA

Profile

Passionate and talented administrative professional with over a decade of practice in promoting company objectives. Experience in supporting teams as well as C-suite executives. Expertise includes corporate event planning, scheduling, administrative tasks, travel coordination and other office management tasks.

Professional Experience

Executive Assistant, APQ Media Inc, Kent, OH
June 2014 – Present

  • Serve as a dedicated resource for the CFO, providing day-to-day assistance including answering phones, booking appointments, communicating with SVPs and EVPs and ordering lunch
  • Write and send corporate communications on behalf of the CFO, including team-level distributions and company-wide memos
  • Prepare for events, including preparations for SEC filings and earnings calls as well as training sessions and town halls
  • Assist in any other manner requested, such as one-off research projects, mailings and package delivery and presentation organization

Administrative Assistant, Auto Repair Shop, Mansfield, OH
July 2009 – April 2014

  • Served as company receptionist, greeting visitors, answering phones, providing directions and contacting team members about visitors and deliveries
  • Acted as the primary point of contact for visitors as well as employees with administrative support queries
  • Oversaw office supply inventory, including assessing use, price comparison and ordering
  • Coordinated with supply and repair vendors to manage office needs, such as equipment repair and furniture requisition

Education

Bachelor of Arts, History, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH
September 2007 – May 2011

Key Skills

  • Strong verbal and written communication
  • Customer service skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Scheduling
  • Inventory management
  • Vendor coordination
  • Planning
  • Organizing

Common Key Skills and Action Verbs for Executive Assistant Resumes

In a competitive field like executive assisting, getting your resume in front of a hiring manager is critical. However, most companies use ATS software, or applicant tracking systems, that prescreen resumes to alleviate the strain of high volumes of applications. Resumes rejected by an ATS will likely never make it to an HR representative or hiring manager.

Using the right keywords and skills can be a good way to increase the likelihood of making it through the initial screening provided by an ATS. These skills and action verbs will apply to many different kinds of executive assistant jobs.

Key Skills & Proficiencies
Attention to detail Customer service
Event planning Microsoft Office
Multitasking Operating system experience
Organization Software
Written communication Verbal communication
Action Verbs
Attend Answer
Coordinate Create
Develop Evaluate
Execute Implement
Maintain Manage
Plan Provide
Procure Respond

Tips for Writing a Better Executive Assistant Resume

Detail Administrative Experience

Due to the nature of executive assistant jobs — minimal industry-wide educational requirements in a competitive market — a stand-out resume highlighting administrative strengths is absolutely essential. Executive assistant jobs can vary greatly from one position to another, with some favoring scheduling and coordinating while others are more secretarial in nature. By going into detail about administrative experience, it becomes easier for hiring managers to identify your strengths as an executive assistant. Don’t assume even simple duties like answering phones are implied; hiring managers read the words in front of them, not between the lines.

If there is one area of administrative experience that you prefer or at which you particularly excel, make sure to feature this prominently. In-depth knowledge demonstrates passion and professionalism and will make you a front-runner for the jobs requiring these skills.

Example #1

Good


Manage comprehensive day-to-day activities for the CEO, including answering phones, communicating with direct reports about C-suite priorities, scheduling meetings, planning corporate events and distributing corporate communications

Bad


Manage the day-to-day schedule for the CEO, including scheduling meetings and greeting visitors

Example #2

Good


Support the accounting team as a whole, including scheduling team meetings, setting up conference calls, placing lunch orders, organizing group recreational events and accommodating personal requests from the SVP of Accounting

Bad


Support the needs of the SVP of Accounting and the accounting team

Focus on Customer Service

While working as an executive assistant isn’t a customer service job in the same way as food service or retail, succeeding as an executive assistant means creating relationships and serving others. Some assistants support a specific person, such as a CEO, and others support a whole department, such as the corporate finance team. The fact remains that being a good assistant means determining needs and rising to meet them.

Demonstrating an excellence in customer service, even for those with limited experience as an administrative assistant, can indicate the ability to meet the demands of others. While working in retail, for example, is a different skill set, serving the needs of customers and other associates can be comparable to supporting an executive and their team.

Example #1

Good


Provide comprehensive support to all members of the accounting department, including assisting individual team members to print presentations, store documents, obtain office resources and organize small group meetings

Bad


Support the needs of all members of the accounting team, including the SVP and other high ranking staff members

Example #2

Good


Acted as part-time floor manager, partnering with associates to manage the availability of inventory, resolve customer conflicts and provide the highest possible level of service for shoppers

Bad


Served as part-time floor manager, keeping the retail associate team running smoothly

How to Align Your Resume With the Job Description

In a competitive field, the right resume can make or break success when job searching. While it’s unfortunately common for job seekers to send the same resume out to every job, this can be the wrong decision, reducing competitive advantage significantly.

To become a more appealing candidate, resume customization is highly recommended. This means that instead of creating one resume and using it as an all-purpose application tool, applicants customize their skills and experience sections to address the most important elements present in a job description. By aligning a resume with a job description and ticking all of the boxes a hiring manager wants to see, it becomes far easier to demonstrate that you are a great fit.

Example Executive Assistant Job Description


XYZ Broadcasting Co. is searching for an executive assistant to serve as the right-hand person for the SVP of Finance and Accounting. The executive assistant role is expected to meet the general needs of the department at large in order to keep operations running smoothly. This individual will also work closely with the SVP, providing one-on-one support in a wide range of day-to-day activities, including:

Responsibilities:

  • Scheduling meetings, phone calls and corporate travel
  • Organizing events, including training sessions, conferences and town halls
  • Assisting with document presentation, including printing, binding and distributing reporting
  • Managing office supply inventory, including price comparison shopping and placing inventory orders
  • All other general administrative requirements, including answering phones, preparing mailings, signing for packages and ordering meals

Qualifications:

  • College degree preferred
  • Prior administrative experience preferred
  • Microsoft Office skills
  • Timeliness
  • Attention to detail
  • Strong organizational skills
  • Strong communication skills

In reading this job description, it is clear that the following skills and experiences are desired by the hiring manager:

  • Experience with scheduling and event organizing
  • Document preparation abilities, including Microsoft Office skills
  • Office supply inventory management
  • General administrative duties
  • Strong organizational and communication skills

This kind of information can then be used to inform the ways in which you choose to draft your resume. For example, even if scheduling meetings was only a small part of your last job, it is logical to include this information as it is a top priority listed in the job description.

Executive Assistant Work Experience Example


Finance Administrative Assistant

Lily Marketing Firm, Hartford, CT, June 2019 – Present

  • Support administrative requirements for all office staff, including answering phones, handling mail, setting up conference rooms for events and ordering meals
  • Schedule meetings for the executive team, both in person and via web conference
  • Organize corporate events for the finance departments, including parties, conferences, panel discussions and training seminars
  • Prepare and distribute corporate communications using Microsoft Office, including Word, PowerPoint and Outlook
  • Organize requests, requirements and supply orders from numerous different teams throughout the overarching finance department to keep the office running smoothly