Executive Assistants make the world go round. They have become indispensable to the successful functioning of many organisations and businesses and have never been more in demand. They are the trusted right-hand person to the senior executives at the company and have a high degree of responsibility. According to Reed Recruitment, the average salary for an Executive Assistant in the UK is between £55,000 and £60,000 per annum.
How do I become an Executive Assistant?
An Executive Assistant is a logical career progression from being a Virtual Assistant, Personal Assistant or Administrator and is a step into a senior management role. Stepping up to a more senior role can be challenging, especially in gendered working environments. To move up to this new level in your career, you should take an Executive Assistant course to ensure that you have all the skills required before applying.
What does the Role of an Executive Assistant Entail?
An Executive Assistant’s critical skills revolve around time management and ensuring that necessary tasks are completed on time. Scheduling meetings when they work for everyone is also expected by default.
The role of an Executive Assistant is often a high-pressure one. It is, therefore, vital that you can multitask effectively and communicate well, even when feeling stressed. High-quality communication, whether written or spoken, is crucial. You will be the information conduit from the senior executives through the chain of command at the company. and you can’t afford to make errors.
As the approachable face of the senior executive team, you will be expected to have impeccable people skills. This area shows the difference between a good Executive Assistant and a great one. You will have a lot of responsibility and may have to prioritise meeting requests in ways that don’t make everyone happy. Sometimes, having to say “no” to coworkers can be difficult, but being willing and able to do so is a prerequisite for this role.
Increasingly, Executive Assistants are being delegated to project manage things that would have had a company executive heading up previously. If there is a renovation of the office or something similar, you could be asked to project manage it from start to finish. Managing a project involves talking to contractors, setting expectations, and signing off on stages and milestones as they are completed and delivered.
Which Executive Assistant Course Should I Choose?
There are many competing Executive Assistant courses available online, but it is important to choose the one that is right for you. The Institute of Executive Assistance and Administrators (IEAA) is a not-for-profit organisation which holds training courses for those wishing to develop their career. The courses are all accredited and have been created in conjunction with employers and industry professionals. The IEAA is determined to raise the bar and set the standard for the industry, ensuring that the next generation of Executive Assistants is even better than the last.
Prospective Executive Assistants can take these courses in person in London, Manchester, Dublin or other major cities in mainland Europe and further afield. It is also possible to complete them via online classes, which are both excellent options and appeal to different types of people.
The in-person classes are better for building your social network within the industry and making contacts for the future. Online courses are better suited to those who prefer to work as a Virtual Executive Assistant. These different options reflect competing views within the profession of where the industry is heading, with some people preferring to continue to work remotely and others being happy to return to the office.