What Is an Executive Assistant? And How to Become One

Executive assistants support company leaders and executives, fulfilling high-level administrative needs, including scheduling meetings, planning travel, and fielding communications. If you're organized and have strong communication and problem-solving skills, this could be a good career choice.

Learn more about what executive assistants do, key skills you'll need to develop to succeed in this role, and what factors can affect earning potential. Afterward, if you're interested in developing your skills in this line of work, consider enrolling in the Master Microsoft Office 365 and Power Platform Specialization to strengthen your knowledge of one of the key platforms used by assistants.

What is an executive assistant?

An executive assistant plays a major role in a company's structure by providing clerical and communication assistance to senior executives and leadership. Working directly with these executives requires discretion and organization. Executives rely heavily on their assistant's ability to handle most communication with clients, partners, and other direct reports.

Executive assistant salary

Executive assistant salaries will vary by company size and expectations. This job title typically requires at least a few years of experience serving in an administrative capacity [1].

Because this is a more advanced role, they earn an annual average US salary of $72,078, according to Glassdoor [2]. Certain factors, like education, experience, location, and technical skills, can impact your earning potential.

Build important AI skills—in demand across roles—with the Google AI Essentials course.

What does an executive assistant do?

Executive assistants are responsible for a variety of tasks, such as scheduling, writing emails, answering phones, and record-keeping. Depending on the company and executive’s needs, your duties can include:

• Performing administrative tasks such as writing emails, creating memos, and drafting communications 

• Maintaining comprehensive records and creating accurate reports

• Submitting expense reports for travel and other expenditures

• Planning meetings by managing schedules and sending reminders

• Answering the phones in a timely and helpful manner

• Being the face of the company for anyone entering the office

• Managing the executive's calendar, appointments, and travel details

6 essential skills for executive assistants

Organization is a critical skill for executive assistants. In fact, employers tend to look for candidates who can handle a large workload of varying tasks and projects because it's growing more common for executive assistants to support more than one executive or leader. That means knowing how to prioritize and multitask is also important.

1. Calendaring and scheduling

Executives will likely need you to schedule meetings and appointments, make travel arrangements, and maintain their calendars, so being familiar with some of the major productivity software is crucial.

2. Communication

To craft emails and reports, make phone calls, and network effectively, you'll need to build strong written and verbal communication skills so that you represent your executive (and the company) well, since you may be in touch with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.

3. Microsoft Office

Being proficient in Microsoft Office and its full suite of apps can enable you to use spreadsheets, build presentations, arrange meetings, compose documents, and more in your executive assistant role.

4. Administrative support

You'll want to be skilled in other administrative support tasks such as data entry, record keeping, managing office supplies, and conducting research. Increasingly, companies are looking for professionals to build or strengthen their AI skills and streamline tasks that can be done more speedily by genAI.

5. Expense reports

You may need to assist executives with tracking their expenses and submitting reimbursement requests, as well as monitoring budgets, which often entails coordinating with finance or accounting departments.  

6. Presentations

Executive assistants may also be called on to help build visual presentations, so it's a good idea to have some familiarity with PowerPoint so that you can address any requests you receive.

As an executive assistant, you represent both the executives and the company. Think of yourself as the "face" of the company, as you interact with customers, clients, and coworkers. In many instances, you'll set the tone for the workplace. You may even find yourself as the first line of defense when issues arise, so it's a good idea to develop strong interpersonal skills.

For ideas on the social and emotional skills that may enhance your performance as an executive assistant, watch this video from UC Davis's Professional Skills for the Workplace Specialization:

How to become an executive assistant

f you're looking to advance to an executive assistant role—or pivot from your current position into an EA job—follow the steps below.

1. Get an education.

Over 60 percent of executive assistants hold a bachelor's degree, according to Zippia, while over 20 percent have an associate degree [1]. While a degree may not always be a requirement, larger companies with high-performing executive teams may expect it. Depending on your industry—for instance, in health care, tech, or law—you may find that you're expected to have additional industry-specific knowledge and training.

2. Gain relevant experience.

Executive assistants typically start out in entry-level roles, such as office assistant, administrative assistant, or even project coordinator. These roles provide the key experience and technical skills development needed to move into an executive assistant position.

Read more: Office Management Careers: Skills, Qualifications, and Salaries

3. Expand your technical skill set.

Having a robust technical skill set can help you stand out as a job candidate when you begin applying for executive assistant jobs. Consider enrolling in one of the Professional Certificates on Coursera below, which are all skills that can strengthen your EA career.

• Intuit Academy Bookkeeping Professional Certificate

• HubSpot Sales Representative Professional Certificate

• Google Project Management Professional Certificate

4. Apply for executive assistant jobs.

Look for EA jobs on career sites like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed. As you set about applying, make sure to read each job description carefully to get a sense of what employers are looking for and the qualifications you'll need. Prepare for upcoming interviews by researching the companies, reflecting on your experience, and practicing your answers.

Here are some additional resources to support you in your job search:

• How To Make a Resume: 2023 Guide

• How to Answer STAR Interview Questions

• Questions to Ask at the End of an Interview

Career advancement for executive assistants

As you gain more experience as an executive assistant, consider career advancement opportunities, including the titles below, which include the average annual US salary on Glassdoor as of January 2025:

• Office manager: $56,815

• Operations manager: $107,911

• Director of operations: $107,679

• Chief operations officer: $168,361

For the above roles, you will likely need at least a bachelor's degree. If you're interested in advancing toward more leadership and executive opportunities, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or master's degree can be advantageous.

Build important executive assistant skills on Coursera

Keep expanding your skill set by learning on Coursera. Become an expert in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Power with the Master Microsoft Office 365 and Power Platform Specialization. Over eight courses, you'll analyze and visualize data using advanced Excel formulas, and design engaging presentations with multimedia elements in PowerPoint.

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