Executive Assistant resume examples & templates

The life of an executive assistant is one of facilitation and selflessness. All executives have their own priorities to keep their part of the business running smoothly, but often there are tasks where they simply don’t have the time or expertise to take on.

Good executive assistants are worth their weight in gold, because sometimes those distractions can cause business-critical harm if they are not dealt with in the right way. As an executive assistant, your resume has to demonstrate how you always keep things moving.

Resume guide for an executive assistant resume

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This resume guide and corresponding executive assistant resume example will cover the following:

• How to write an executive assistant resume
• Choosing the right resume format for an executive assistant
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your executive assistant experience
• Listing education and relevant experience
• Picking the right resume design/layout
• What the executive assistant market looks like, and what salary you can expect

How to write an executive assistant resume

Ready to get started on your executive assistant resume? The first step is knowing what to include. Let’s take a quick look at the main resume sections: 

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

Writing a resume that captures the reader’s imagination doesn’t have to be hard. Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. They are looking for value above all else. Showcase yours by using the following approaches: 

• Figure out what your unique selling proposition is first. What is it that you have above everyone else? When you know that, you should be able to sell your skills and expertise with a powerful statement upfront.
• Don’t make the mistake of merely listing your duties. Highlight accomplishments and detail how you made your boss’ job easier. This approach shows the hiring manager that you understand the unique demands of this type of position.
• Keep things plain and simple by using a professional template. Since this is a high-level job, the hiring manager will expect your resume to reflect that.
• You should also optimize your resume to get past the ATS screening software. If you want to give yourself a competitive edge, use an ATS resume template, too.

Choosing the right resume format for an executive assistant

We recommend using reverse chronological order when writing an executive assistant resume. This approach shows off the experience you have and your expertise well. It is also the resume format that most hiring managers expect to see. 

However, if you happen to be pivoting from a different position, you can use either a functional format or a hybrid format. These layouts allow you to give more weight to your skills.

The format should be easy to read. Be consistent in your use of bullet points and lists, and don’t go into too much detail that could be expanded upon during a job interview. 

Try not to repeat activities or skills in multiple parts of the resume. Make sure that you include enough keywords for the ATS, but there is no need to repeat them for impact. Ensure that it can be “read” by humans and machines and make it easy to scan during a busy interview.

Include your contact information

Within your resume header, you can share your basic contact details. You need to keep this clear and concise. The number one priority is readability. Make the hiring manager’s job easy for them.

Let’s take a look at what you need to include in this section: 

• Full name & title. Start by writing your full name and the role title on the advert.
• Professional email address. Next, add an email address that is suitable for work.
• Phone number. Include a phone number. Always make sure you check the answer phone message as the hiring manager may hear it.
• Location. Don’t write your whole address here. Only include your city and state.
• LinkedIn. Having a stellar LinkedIn profile could give you an advantage. Ensure that yours is up-to-date before including it here.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth. Letting the hiring manager know how old you are has the potential to lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details. Don’t include your marital status, social security number, passport number, etc.

Make use of a summary

More than anything else, your prospective bosses are looking for someone who can make their lives easier. Your summary has to adopt a tone of willingness and assistance. You will do whatever it takes to make things happen for your boss.

Don’t just describe what you do, describe how you do it. Cultivate an air of exclusivity and excellence in the summary. Help the reader imagine what it is like to have you as an ally. Make them feel like they must hire you or, otherwise, a competitor might. 

Add in some action verbs to create a powerful summary. Examples include delivered, oversaw, managed, transformed, and completed.

You can find adaptable executive assistant resume examples summary below:

Outline your executive assistant work experience

The mix of how you communicate your experience base is important. Include the more basic skills and experiences in your earlier roles and go into more detail about your more advanced attributes in the more recent ones. Your seniority may not have changed hugely, but it will give a sense of increased responsibility.

Executive assistants rarely include facts and figures in their resumes, but if you have taken part in or led any operational changes, this is exactly what will set you apart from your peers. Using some results-based points will pique the reader’s interest.

Your future boss will be interested in the bottom line, so an executive assistant who also has a sound commercial understanding will be a great person to have on the team. 

Let’s take a look at an example of what not to do in this part of your executive assistant resume: 

• “Organized and managed calendars”
• “Offered everyday business support”
• “Prepared business meeting materials”

Adding extra details here can help you to prove your worth. For example, here’s what you might choose to include in your employment bullet points: 

• “Organized and managed calendars for two busy executives, while liaising between departments to ensure there were no issues ”
• “Offered business support, such as correspondence, filing, and admin tasks”
• “Prepared business meeting materials using Microsoft Office Suite”

Take a look at the executive assistant employment history resume sample below:

How to write an executive assistant resume with no experience

If you don’t have direct experience on your resume, don’t panic. You can still write an executive assistant resume that impresses the hiring manager. Follow this advice.

• Highlight your transferable skills. Reference any skills you have that are relevant to this role. Most admin-based skills apply, such as organization, time management, and knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.
• Let your personality shine through. Since you will be working one-on-one with an executive, your personality matters. Use captivating language to draw in the reader.
• Include any volunteer work that you have completed. If this is in the same sector as the vacancy, you could find that it gives you a real advantage.

Above all else, make sure that you tailor your resume to the job advert. This approach allows you to create an application that will suit the hiring manager’s needs. 

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great executive assistant

The role is so varied that any employer would expect a lot of skills. It goes without saying that you should include a mixture of both hard and soft skills on your resume.

A common mistake that many executive assistants make is assuming that a potential employer knows what they do, and they do not go into enough detail on their resumes. 

This is a problem from an ATS perspective because it does not see the keywords that it is expecting, and it is a problem from a hiring manager's perspective because they think that the individual does not care enough to share the details. 

First, here are a few longer-form examples of how an executive assistant might list his or her skills. These longer examples are ideal to sprinkle throughout the employment history section and can use much of the same vocabulary that is included in the separate skills section:

• Administrative and operational support for a range of board directors
• Coordination and planning of all aspects of business activity
• Writing presentations and managing all business correspondence
• Full responsibility for all data management and IT integrations
• Inventory management of equipment and business supplies
• Organizing and scheduling calendars, travel and meetings in a busy office
• Management of information flow, with only the biggest issues escalated

Remember that balance is everything. Include hard skills which relate directly to the position and your duties. However, you also need a range of soft skills that allow you to do your job well. 

When using our resume builder, the tool delivers pre-written key skills to choose from. You can also write in your unique skills to add them.

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our executive assistant resume template. 

Aside from listing your talents in your skills section, ensure that you include them elsewhere. You can refer to your competencies, as follows: 

• Include your use of Microsoft Office Suite when detailing the tasks you completed in prior roles, e.g. making a presentation with PowerPoint.
• Talk about your calendar management in your employment history section and note the type of software you used for this.
• Highlight your organizational skills by pointing out how you improved the efficiency of a team. You get bonus points if you can add a statistic here.

Detail your education & relevant certifications

The next step is completing your education section. There is a significant amount of discipline involved in achieving solid academic results, and some employers may have minimum educational requirements that should be reflected on your resume. 

While a track record of experience is important, the mix of education and training will still be a consideration if there are several similar candidates. The same goes for on-the-job training. Here’s what you may include in your education section: 

• Degrees. If you have a degree, you should include it here. List the college, the dates you finished, and your final grade.
• High school education. You may not have gone to college. In that case, include information about your high school education and your GPA.
• Administration certificates. You may also have admin-centric training. For example, you could be a Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) or boast the Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence (PACE).
• Social media and tech training. Executive assistants need to show that they are on top of the latest technology and social media innovations. You may have undertaken one of the courses offered by Google, for example.
• Leadership courses. Finally, you may have taken leadership courses that equip you with the tools to support an executive. If so, list them here.

If in doubt, always go back to the original job advert and see whether there are any courses you have completed listed there.

Pick the right resume layout and design for an executive assistant resume

Getting the formatting right is a must when creating your resume. Make sure that you send the right message to the hiring manager. This professional expects to see a clear and concise document. Since executive assistants are organizational pros, your resume should reflect that.

Keep creative flourishes to a minimum. That means leaving out any images (including a headshot!) and graphics. Choose one or two colors to use throughout the document. You should also make sure that the font you use is easy to read. Space your resume sections out equally. This small thing will make a major difference when it comes to the look of your resume. 

If you’re not a design whiz, use one of our designed resume templates to help you along the way. We have a range of categories including, Modern, Creative, Simple, and Professional.  

Executive assistant text-only resume example

Executive assistant job market and outlook

The job outlook for executive assistants could be better. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), projects a 10% decline in these types of roles between 2022 and 2032. That may be, in part, due to the rise of AI streamlining many office-based tasks. With that in mind, if you want to land a role, you need to make sure that your resume stands out in the sea of applications. 

What type of salary you can expect as an executive assistant

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), executive assistants and secretaries can expect a median wage of $22.12 per hour, or $46,010 per year. 

Key takeaways for building an executive assistant resume

In conclusion, write your resume around how you help others and make work streams smoother. Portray yourself as efficient, unflappable and ruthlessly organized. Make sure that your written resume is clear and concise—key for any executive assistant. Detail how you have positively impacted the work of those around you. And finally, know the sort of work that you do well and be specific about what you enjoy.

Ready to get started? Use our online resume builder to create your next application.