Executive Assistant Resume Example & Writing Tips 2024
An executive assistant is responsible for completing multiple office-specific tasks. From answering telephone calls, booking appointments, working with customers, running errands, and completing other office tasks, those in this position must multitask to succeed. However, before they get ahead of themselves, every candidate needs to be hired first. And a critical first step is writing an executive assistant resume.
Every executive administrative assistant job begins with an application to a job description and posting. Whether it's online or onsite, a candidate will typically attach a cover letter along with their experienced executive assistant resume. Sometimes the application will circulate through a recruiting agency or hiring firm. Nonetheless, it's critical to add the right action verbs or skills, relevant work experience, and a well-written opening statement to capture the hiring manager's attention.
So, how do you write an eye-popping and engaging senior executive assistant resume summary? Are there best practices to follow that will help to streamline the process – without compromising results? And more importantly – are there good executive assistant resume examples you can review to learn from?
The answer to all these questions will be answered in the content below. Let's get started.
Executive Assistant Resume Sample
A great executive assistant resume will be short, sweet, and to the point. It should be no longer than a single page unless the position requires extensive work history or education. The best way to start writing any resume or essential document is to review a great example – perhaps one written by a professional writer.
That's what we have done for you. The sample executive assistant resumes included in this article were created by our professional resume writers. The resume is for our mythical candidate "Diana." She is applying for an executive assistant position in Dallas, Texas. Take some time to review the entire resume – from top to bottom. Once you're done – we'll break down each section and provide some tips on tackling this project.
As it's clear to see in the resume's objective paragraph, Diana has written an executive assistant to CEO resume. She's mentioned the company's name in the resume's professional summary, included her years of experience, and mentioned many of the hard and soft skills that will allow her to be a great employee.
The work history section follows the professional summary, and it's clear that the experience she initially mentions is backed up with facts in this section. In the work experience section, she speaks about her ability to handle travel arrangements, provide administrative support, fill out expense reports, create powerpoint presentations, and other administrative tasks. She is great at calendar management, project management, and time management.
Further, you'll notice that she has added her education - earning a business administration degree and provided a few professional and personal references – that align with her work and education. Finally, her executive assistant resume skills section is easy to see – located cleanly in the sidebar of the finished document - thanks to using a resume builder.
Since she took time to proofread the document, the resume is grammatically accurate showcases her confidence and ability to communicate. Moreover, the resume format is clean, tells a story – and it will help her gain that valuable first interview.
Let's explore how to write, structure, edit, and finalize the resume from start to finish.
How to Write a Good Resume for Executive Assistant in 2024: Full Guide to Executive Assistant Resumes
A professionally written, experienced executive assistant resume can be quite intimidating. However, you must remember that experts wrote this sample resume for executive assistants with years of professional writing experience. Believe it or not, they use similar techniques that we're going to dive into with the content below.
The first item on the punch list is to create a master resume – which is essentially a working word document. It permits you the flexibility to write each primary section, insert content, organize it, and edit it with professional software – like Grammarly.com.
We suggest keeping the resume to a single page for an executive assistant resume. To accomplish this task, here are the primary sections you should add.
Contact Information: Personal contact information includes your professional legal name, mailing and email address, and mobile phone.
Professional Summary: The executive assistant resume summary is a quick elevator pitch. This is your first opportunity to make an impression.
Work History: This is the section where you'll add practical work experience. Keep it to less than three entries.
Education: Nothing fancy here. List your highest level of completed education – documenting any degrees you've earned.
Skills: It's a good idea to list five to seven assistant skills that will make you a great executive assistant. An applicant tracking system will usually search the skills section for action verbs - so include them here.
References: Find two professional references like a business owner or manager and a personal contact who can testify to your character.
Now that you know which significant sections to include in your executive assistant resume, write them down in areas on your master resume. Make them a larger font and bold type – so you know they are significant sections.
The following sections below will help you build out the content for each.
Section #1 – List Your Contact Information
Your job search begins with a well-written executive assistant resume. And the first item to add to this resume is your personal contact information. Since attention to detail is a critical skill that the best executive assistants possess, you should display this skill on your resume.
Here is what we recommend. Ensure that the contact information you include on the resume matches your application 100 percent. But keep it simple – by including your full name, mailing address, email, and your mobile phone. There is no need to add your LinkedIn or Facebook page – unless the prospective employer requires or requests this personal information.
How to Format this Section
It's a great idea to use an executive assistant resume template to help format your finished project. If you use one, formatting will be clean, easy, and professional. If you're going to freeform write the resume, make sure to list your information in this order – name, mailing address including address, city, state and zip code, email, and phone number.
Section #2 – Professional Summary
The executive assistant resume objective or professional summary gives you the first chance to prove that you'll be an excellent executive assistant. You'll write this with a clean and professional tone focusing on your experience, skills, and work ethic. A good executive assistant resume will include action verbs or abilities that focus on you being a problem solver, having strong communication skills, being detail-oriented, multitasking, and working unsupervised.
You can see that Diana has done precisely this by reviewing the sample section above. She writes this professional summary to the company she is applying for and hoping to join. Diana goes further by requesting to join the company as the executive assistant to the CEO – which is the job posting she is replying to.
How to Format this Section
A well-written professional summary for an executive assistant should only be a few easy-to-read sentences. You should keep it to 200 to 250 words max and write it with a professional yet relaxed and conversational tone. Before writing this section, please read the job posting several times and read the professional summary aloud to ensure it sounds natural.
Section #3 – Employment History
The work history section can be skipped if you're applying for your first job. However, for those with previous work experience, you must choose jobs like the one you are applying for. For example, in the sample resume below, you can see that Diana has listed two previous executive assistant jobs in the Dallas metro area.
In the work history section, it's critical to be 100 percent accurate. This applies to the dates of employment, your job title, and the key tasks you were responsible for achieving daily, weekly, and monthly. It's also great to list key bullets of administrative experience tasks in this section.
How to Format this Section
Best practices for resume writing suggest listing your previous work history in reverse chronological order – or from your most recent to former. In the work history section, you should list the business's name, location, dates of employment, and a few bullet points of your responsibilities.
Section #4 – Education
Education is typically a critical section for jobs that require advanced degrees – such as a doctorate, master's, or bachelor levels. However, some executive assistant positions will require a minimum of a high school diploma or GED certificate. The key is to review the job posting before starting on this section of the resume.
If the job requires a high school degree, it is essential to document this on your resume. However, it might also help if you're currently enrolled in college to list this on the resume as well. If you're going to list current education, keep it simple – by listing the school's name, location, and the degree you are seeking.
You can see in the sample resume section above that Diana has only listed her college degree – as this was the requirement. She mentions currently being enrolled in secondary college in her professional summary and a cover letter that would be sent with the resume.
How to Format This Section
Best practices for resume writing suggest keeping the education section extremely simple. Just list the name of the school, its location, dates, and the degree earned. Again, make sure to match the information you documented in the application and other filled-out documents to apply for the job.
Section #5– References
An excellent resume for an executive assistant will include references that can vouch for your experience, professionalism, and work ethic. Most resumes will consist of three complete references: professionals (who speak to your work history) and personal contact. The personal reference is typically a family friend or mentor who can support your interpersonal skills.
In Diana's sample resume, you'll note that she selected her manager at the most recent job. The second reference was a college professor where she earned her degree. The personal reference is a family friend – who is a business owner. Personal references should be individuals with credibility.
How to Format This Section
Keep this section simple – and private. You'll list the first and last name of your reference, their place of employment, and the phrase "available upon request." This will keep their contact information private unless requested by the company you are applying to join.
Section #6 – Skills
If there is a section that is often overlooked – it's the skills written on a resume. This is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of those trigger or action verbs – that many automated software solutions seek and find in a resume.
In Diana's sample resume, you'll notice that she mentions her strength with attention to detail, communications, multitasking, and conflict resolution. She also listed some hard skills, such as working with Microsoft Office and Social Media accounts.
How to Format This Section
Using a resume template makes formatting skills a snap. It's best to select your top six skills and format these in order of your greatest strengths to those you're continuing to develop. If you use a template, you can list them in the sidebar, bottom or top, or a separate page if you choose. We recommend the sidebar – as it will save room on your resume – and permit you to put everything clean, neat, and organized on one page.
Other Related Resume Templates
When planning any project, it makes sense to do some research before getting started. One of the best tools available to you is professional resumes written by experienced resume wordsmiths. We have several related executive assistant resumes samples within our catalog that you're more than welcome to review. Take some time to review these samples and take as many notes as possible.
Final Points on the Best Executive Assistant Resumes
A great executive assistant will thrive working under pressure, have extraordinary multitasking abilities, and be exceptionally friendly. They can showcase these interpersonal skills during their interview, but the first step is to get through the resume and application process. And the best tool is a powerfully written executive assistant resume.
For a quick recap, here are some specific executive assistant resume bullet points and tips to remember.
- Make sure the resume reads and flows easily.
- Always write your resume on a plain white background with black font.
- Edit the document SEVERAL TIMES – through Grammarly.com and visual inspection.
- Ensure its well-spaced, organized, and professional.
- Finally, read it aloud a few times before you're ready to paste the content into a template for executive assistants.
The best resumes tell a story from the professional summary to the reference section. It's like a legal case – where you build an argument and support it with evidence, witness testimony, and a fantastic closing argument. Always remember to edit the resume multiple times, and don't be afraid to have some of your peers review it.