Working as an executive assistant is one of the most rewarding and challenging branches of the secretarial world. The office environment is often high stress, demanding, and fast-paced, especially in executive offices. Additionally, being an executive assistant requires a lot of multi-tasking, excellent communication skills, and knowledge of working well under pressure. It is essential to develop good working relationships with your colleagues to get the job done. So, here are 14 things to help you become a better executive assistant.
The best executive assistants don’t react to their bosses’ requests. They anticipate them before they happen. That means keeping a close eye on their calendars and ensuring that everything is set up for them before they need it.
Think about how to help your boss save time rather than doing what’s asked of you. For instance, if they have a meeting at 4 p.m., ensure they have all materials ready beforehand.
Do this so that they don’t have to worry about getting there on time, or worse, running out of materials during the meeting because they forgot something important like a laptop charger or another file that he needs to review.
It helps you accomplish more in less time by eliminating the need to check in with your boss constantly. Use software like Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar to create calendars and reminders that remind you when things need completion.
Learn how to use these tools effectively so that you don’t have to spend time going back into your emails after each meeting or call. Having one place for notes is essential for keeping track of what needs to get done and who said what during an interaction.
As an assistant, there’s nothing better than getting others involved in projects to end work more efficiently and effectively. Therefore, if another department has better experience with specific tasks, ask them if they are willing to help, and let them.
Don’t wait for your boss to tell you there’s a problem. Let them know so that they fix it before it gets out of hand. Similarly, if there’s a solution that needs implementing, step in and take care of it yourself if necessary (with permission). It saves your boss time and energy, which they then spend on other things that require their attention instead of dealing with minor issues.
An executive assistant needs to be able to protect their boss from everything, including unnecessary meetings and emails to phone calls and emails from angry clients. Additionally, understand your boss and how they like things done.
Then use this information to anticipate what they need next and how they want information delivered: whether they like it in bullet points or paragraphs, email threads forwarded or cc’ed, etc.
An excellent executive assistant will be ready for anything, from scheduling meetings and sending out thank-you notes to responding to emails and handling phone calls. But one of the most critical duties for an executive assistant is answering correspondence.
It means communicating effectively and professionally with your boss, colleagues, and clients daily. It also means sorting through piles of documents, keeping track of important deadlines, and managing multiple tasks.
You must know how to delegate responsibilities to complete your work and ensure other employees do theirs. When delegating, start by listing every task that needs to be done on a spreadsheet or in a document.
Go through each item and assign it to someone else. Assign the most difficult things first, as they take longer to complete. Once you’ve finished distributing all tasks, check back over each one to ensure you did it correctly.
Ensure you delegate the work to individuals with the skills to handle the tasks with professionalism, detail, and accuracy.
Make sure your boss’ social media profiles are up-to-date and engaging. Post links to content relevant to customers, industry news, and other topics pertinent to your company’s goals or mission statement.
You should also respond quickly to comments and messages so that customers feel like they can reach out if they need help or have questions about products or services. Do this by using automation tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule posts in advance, so they don’t get buried by other tasks on your plate at work.
This is also another excellent delegation area, especially if you don’t have the time to engage with customer responses.
If your boss travels a lot for business, they’ll probably need help planning each trip, whether for an upcoming conference or a short one-day trip to another city.
A comprehensive travel itinerary should include flight information, hotel reservations, and transportation arrangements between airport and hotel and between hotels on different trip days (if applicable).
If you don’t know your company’s goals, you are not helping your company or boss. You need to be familiar with the business strategy and its relation to the overall mission statement and operations.
Even if your boss doesn’t share this information with you openly, ask questions until they do! The more information they give you, the better equipped you’ll be to complete tasks effectively and efficiently.
Being a good researcher means more than just knowing how to use search engines effectively. It takes practice, patience, and the ability to ask the right questions to get the most accurate answers. Here are some tips on how to become a better researcher:
Ask for clarity. If you’re conducting research for a new client or company, start by asking them what they want from your research project. Don’t assume that you know what they want. It’s your job as an executive assistant to learn their needs and wants before fulfilling their requests. Knowing what they want will help you get started quickly and avoid any unnecessary back-and-forth between you and your boss later on.
Use different sources of information. There are many types of resources available online, including:
Blogs
Forums
Social media platforms
Websites
Ensure you’re using them all when researching on behalf of your boss or client. It helps ensure you get accurate results and add context to your findings to make them easier for others to understand.
It’s not just about doing a job; it’s about ensuring it gets done correctly. One of the best ways to do that is by using technology. Be a technology-savvy assistant, and you can save your boss time and money while also making their life easier. Here are some tips on how to use technology in your role as an executive assistant:
Use project management tools like Basecamp, Trello, or Asana to manage your workload in an organized way. These tools help you stay organized with projects, tasks, and deadlines, so you don’t have to constantly ask for updates from other team members.
Use Google Apps and Docs as much as possible. If you use Word all day long and hate it, try Google Docs instead. It has everything you need to create essential documents and collaboration tools to work together with others quickly. It’s even possible to take notes in real-time with those collaborating with you on a document through Google Hangouts, making for much smoother collaboration sessions than emailing back and forth as we did back in the day.
You need to make sure that your desk is always clean and tidy. You should also keep track of all the essential documents by using filing systems like manila folders, hanging files, or binders. This way, you’ll know where everything is if someone needs a document urgently.
You should also have an organized inbox so that when people send emails regarding their issues or concerns, they find their answers easily when they come back from a lunch break or after work hours.
If possible, store everything in separate group folders so your inbox doesn’t become too crowded with unimportant emails. And remember to back up your data.
Your appearance speaks volumes about your professionalism. Therefore, always dress appropriately for work, even if it’s just for a meeting with clients. Wear clothes that fit snugly but are not too tight or loose; avoid wearing flip flops or sandals and loud colors since these colors distract people during meetings and presentations.
There’s no shortage of advice on being a practical executive assistant. There are plenty of guides and books available on the topic and other articles like this one. But at the end of the day, your performance as an executive assistant will largely depend on you, your relationship with your boss, and your ability to get things done. So do what works for you and always strive to be productive—that’s the best way to guarantee success.
Sources:
Free Travel Itinerary Templates to Edit and Print | edit.org