You can present a lecture to a packed conference room, write error-free reports, and organize even the most cluttered inventory. And no matter how busy an executive is, you always find a way to make their schedule manageable.
Overall, you’re an incredible executive assistant. But even with your superior writing skills, writing an effective resume isn’t as easy as it sounds.
We’ve analyzed hundreds of resumes to determine what does and doesn’t get you an interview. We put all our knowledge into a resume writing guide, and our seven executive assistant resume examples that have helped people land jobs in 2023.
Use our resume samples and writing tips to avoid the dreaded blank page and get the executive assistant job you’ve always wanted!
Why this resume works
- Your responsibilities are all-encompassing, which means it’s hard for employers to know exactly what you’re capable of. Thus, it’s vital to include specific capabilities in your resume skills section on your executive assistant resume.
- Including skills like “Slack,” “Microsoft Office Suite,” and “Networking” showcases your communication abilities, technical skills, and entrepreneurial attitude.
- Not having much experience as an executive assistant can be a drawback, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get the job.
- If your most relevant experience isn’t related to the job at hand, highlight transferable skills instead.
- Skills like collaboration, customer service, product knowledge, and time management are great for non-relevant experience.
Why this resume works
- Most executive assistants don’t need a resume objective. However, an objective is perfect for when you’re changing fields or just starting your career.
- Tailor your objective by mentioning the job title and name of the company to whom you’re applying. If you can, you should alter your content to match the job description, too; every little bit counts when it comes to getting noticed!
- As an entry-level candidate, you have more flexibility to add optional sections.
- For instance, adding a hobbies and interests section on your entry-level executive assistant resume can underscore that you’re a responsible leader and capable researcher.
Why this resume works
- Since you’ve advanced in your career, you must demonstrate your growth as an executive assistant to potential employers. So, you need to list some of the most important tasks on your senior executive assistant resume.
- For example, launching a networking event and editing the CEO’s calendar are examples of increased trust and responsibility.
- If you have over 10 years of experience, you may wonder if you need to use a CV versus a resume.
- Both are useful career documents, but CVs are generally geared towards academia and highly technical fields. You can probably get away with simply using a resume, although you should always check the executive assistant job description to make sure.
Why this resume works
- It’s tricky to demonstrate exactly how your work as an executive assistant impacted the company, which means it’s hard to know what metrics to include on your executive administrative assistant resume.
- You can start by listing how many team members you’ve worked with, how many customers you helped, and how many schedules you managed.
- Because of your vast range of responsibilities, it’s hard to keep your executive assistant resume to a single page.
- Using a resume template is the easiest way to format your content on a single page, and it allows you to add and rearrange sections, but be sure not to go overboard with stylistic choices.
Why this resume works
- When you’re an executive assistant to the CEO, the primary focus of your job is supporting the head of the company. So, if you’ve gone above and beyond to help your co-workers in previous positions, include it on your executive assistant to CEO resume.
- For example, did you organize travel arrangements for the entire staff? Did you volunteer to draft correspondence or take notes at meetings? If you can show your dedication to helping others, hiring managers are sure to take notice.
- Sometimes it’s the smallest things that have the biggest impact; for example, a few typos might be enough to send your resume into the recycling.
- Before you hit “submit” on your application, check your resume for errors like misplaced commas, typos, and hanging sentences.
Why this resume works
- An executive assistant to the president operates a lot like a duck; while they appear composed on the surface, underneath it all, they’re paddling like mad to stay afloat. Thus, your executive assistant to the president resume needs to reflect your cool-headed attitude and professional capabilities.
- You can start by using a resume template to structure your content and provide stylistic flair—we recommend choosing a template with a pop of color to help you catch a hiring manager’s eye.
- Even though you have a lot of experience, you must limit your resume to one page—easier said than done, right?
- Before you cut your content to make room, start by checking the job description. You need to make your resume a near-perfect fit, so only include the most relevant positions you’ve held.
- Next, cut any filler (like unnecessary adjectives and adverbs). Remember to make your work experience bullet points into sentence fragments to save on space, too.
Why this resume works
- Whether you’re writing an executive assistant resume, a receptionist resume, or an executive assistant & receptionist resume, you must demonstrate your ability to perform essential functions beyond just answering calls and responding to emails.
- Make sure you list relevant positions that match the job description; for example, if the employer wants someone with experience planning corporate events, you should include any positions where you’ve handled that responsibility.
- Office jobs required some degree of technical knowledge, so use your skills section on your resume to list your technical know-how. The more tech you know, the better!
- For example, are you amazing at database entries? What about making documents using Microsoft Office? Both examples are great to include on your executive assistant & receptionist resume.
Related resume guides
Writing Your Executive Assistant Resume
When you’re writing your resume, the format you use is essential. Good formatting ensures that your executive assistant resume is complete, has a logical flow, and is easy to read. Without the right format, businesses may not give you an interview.
Let’s take a comprehensive look at what it takes to properly format your executive assistant resume:
- Reverse-chronological format, functional format, and combination/hybrid format
- Where to place name and contact information
- Be smarter than the ATS
Reverse-chronological format, functional format, and combination/hybrid format
There are three primary resume formats you can use when creating an executive assistant resume:
- Reverse-chronological format: This format emphasizes your experience and employment, which allows companies to see your career progression.
- Functional format: This format focuses on the skills that ensure you qualify for a job as an executive assistant, which also helps to mitigate issues with employment gaps.
- Combination/hybrid format: This format combines the reverse-chronological format and functional format by placing equal focus on employment history and skills.
While all three resume formats have their advantages, the reverse-chronological format is the top choice for an executive assistant resume. Along with being the most popular resume format across most industries, it’s also preferred by the majority of employers because it makes your work history easy to skim.
Where to place name and contact information
Your name and contact info should be the first pieces of information you place in your resume. Without it, you won’t be able to get either good or bad news regarding your job application!
Start by positioning your name at the top of the page in a large font size. While your choice of font is up to you on a resume template, if you’re building your resume in word processing software, use either Times New Roman, Cambria, Calibri, or Arial font. Underneath your name, include the title of the job you’re seeking in a slightly smaller font. If you choose to include color, including it in your name or job title would be appropriate.
As for your contact details, place the following details on the left or right side of the page near your name and job title:
- Your name
- Executive assistant title
- Phone number
- Location (city and state is fine)
- Possible LinkedIn profile
Your contact details should be between 10-12 pt font to be easy to read.
While the contact information you include in your executive assistant resume is pretty straightforward, you can be creative in how you include it. Here is just one sample of how you can format your header and contact information:
Be smarter than the ATS
Many companies receive dozens (or even hundreds) of executive assistant applications and resumes, which means it’s practically impossible for recruiters to read every resume. Because of this, most businesses use applicant tracking system (ATS) software.
This system is designed to sort resumes by searching for keywords and scanning resume formatting. Any resume that makes it through the ATS without being discarded will then be reviewed by a recruiter. So, to get an executive assistant job, you must pass the ATS scan.
Adhere to these ATS-friendly tips when building your resume:
- Margins: Use half to one-inch margins on all sides.
- Fonts: Use standards like Times New Roman, Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Cambria, or Garamond. Fancy fonts are hard for the ATS to read.
- Font sizes: As a rule of thumb, use 10-12 points for contact info and resume content, but increase the font size to 20-24 points for your name and job title (though the job title should be a slightly smaller font).
- Header names: Section headers should stand out, so consider using a bold font and all caps. Adding a touch of color to your section headers can help recruiters later down the line.
- Skills: Take care to customize this section according to the executive assistant job description, but make sure not to copy/paste it from the job description. (Honesty is the best policy!)
- Logical order: We recommend the reverse-chronological format because it’s easiest for the ATS to read. Thus, the bulk of your resume should be work experience, which should be listed with your most recent experience first.
- Page count: Use only one page for the entire resume, and this should be an exact page.
While you can tackle this yourself, it’s often easiest to use Word resume templates or Google Docs resume templates to help you choose content and organize your information quickly.
Writing your executive assistant resume like a pro
Even though the idea of writing a resume for an executive assistant position might seem insurmountable, you can avoid a lot of stress by doing some simple research about what to include on a resume.
You’ve come to the perfect place to learn more about resume sections. In this section, we’ll cover:
- Objective or summary
- Job history
- Key executive assistant skills
- Education
- Projects, interests, and hobbies
- Customizing your resume
- Proofreading your resume
When do you need an objective or summary?
When writing your executive assistant resume, you candecide to add an objective or summary. These optional sections give recruiters a sense of who you are without them needing to read your entire resume. However, they may not be in your best interest, depending on your situation.
Refer to the following definitions when deciding whether you need one of these statements:
- Resume objective: A resume objective is two to three sentences that tell recruiters why you’d like to obtain the role. An objective is best used when you’re changing fields or seeking an entry-level position. Unless you’re going to specifically demonstrate your candidacy and customize it for the particular job, just leave it out.
- Resume summary: A resume summary is two to three sentences that highlight your skills and how these skills have helped you obtain quantifiable results over your career history. Summaries are used when you want to tie together years of past work experience. However, you should avoid them if you don’t have at least 10+ years of work experience (or if you don’t have the time to customize them to the job).
The following takes a look at a poorly written objective as well as a poorly written summary.
Objective: Would like to obtain a job as an executive assistant as the next step in my career.
Summary: Have extensive experience as an assistant and receptionist.
These statements are vague and fail to provide recruiters with any value. They distract from the core components of the resume and may cause an employer to discard your resume before they’ve even read it entirely.
Instead, an objective like the following would work much better:
Analytical and detail-oriented executive assistant with 5+ years of experience in helping high-level executives within Fortune 500 companies. Searching for a unique opportunity to assist the CEO of Fiori Financial Group by completing ad-hoc special projects, boosting shareholder value, and enhancing employee efficiency and procedures.
And a summary like this one is effective:
Meticulous and results-driven executive assistant with more than 15 years of administrative experience managing office operations for presidents and CEOs. From data entry, presentations, customer support, scheduling appointments, arranging itineraries, and more, I am eager to share my talent for combining administrative knowledge with business objectives to boost efficiency and conserve time at a proactive financial company like Stockd Group.
These examples provide recruiters with metrics and valuable information that they can use when trying to select the right hire. Both the sample objective and summary demonstrate specific skills and are customized to the particular role.
Job history
Your work experience is the most important section of your executive assistant resume. You should include two to four job experiences pertaining to the executive assistant field.
However, if you’ve held more than four jobs, focus on the last 10 years of experience. If you have an ample amount of experience in that timeframe, include the experience that’s most relevant to the job position.
Conversely, if you’re seeking an entry-level role, you may be short on experience. In this case, consider adding projects, which we’ll discuss a bit later.
How to write job bullet points
Your job history should be written in bullet points, which allows you to focus on the most relevant information. Start by using active language instead of passive language.
For instance, “the cashier sorted the money” is an example of the active voice.
However, “the money was sorted by the cashier” is an example of passive voice.
Which is easier and more pleasant to read? Active voice conveys a clear and strong voice that works well on resumes (and in any type of writing, really).
We’d also recommend avoiding personal pronouns and ending periods. Additionally, make sure that you use the past tense for your work history. (Even if you’re currently in a position, past tense is the most accepted verb tense for resumes.)
With that information at hand, you’re ready to write your job description bullet points! Well, almost.
Above all, avoid writing bullet points that are vague and underwhelming like the ones here:
- Performed customer service 5 days each week
- Used different technology and software for documentation
- Performed demanding tasks when working for the CEO
These bullet points don’t lack quantifiable data and are too short to provide value to recruiters. Beyond that, they don’t go beyond typical job duties, and even what’s listed is awful blah. You should be detail-oriented with your work experience bullet points:
- Completed follow-ups with all contacts made by the CEO, and supported the development of ongoing relationships by making at least 30 calls every week
- Efficiently performed various accounting activities that included expense reports, invoices, financial documents, and purchase orders weekly
- Improved productivity rates by 23% between 2018 and 2020 by providing continual reports on product issues and operational concerns
These work experience bullet points are effective because they contain verifiable details as well as metrics that tell recruiters how much value you could potentially add to their company.
Add numbers to demonstrate your impact
As we’ve mentioned, it’s highly recommended that you add numbers and data to demonstrate the impact you’ve had in previous jobs. Recruiters want to know how hiring you would benefit the company, which is easy to show when you provide quantifiable information about your work experience.
These metrics could include anything from boosting revenue by a certain percentage to improving efficiency at a specific rate. The following offers a few examples of how you can place metrics into your job description bullet points:
- Performed 10-20 check requests every week as part of accounting activities
- Managed all international and domestic travel reservations, which reduced company travel expenses by 15%
- Improved office efficiency by 20% by transforming the company’s primary filing system, which also resulted in reducing paper usage by 63%
Key executive assistant skills to include on your resume
When you’re building your resume, the skills section of your resume is essential if you want to show recruiters why they should hire you.
Keep in mind that the ATS looks at your skills to determine if you’re a good applicant. Write between six to 10 skills in your list, and include a combination of soft skills and hard skills.
Soft skills are universal and can be placed on any resume. However, they’re more difficult to measure. Examples of soft skills include adaptability, time management, and communication.
Hard skills are more important for executive assistant resumes because they’re specific to the job, easy to define, and measurable. Some of the hard skills you might consider placing on your executive assistant resume include Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and expense reports.
The purpose of your skills section is to quickly show the company what you offer and the technologies you know how to use. Since you shouldn’t include a laundry list of skills on your resume, search for keywords within executive assistant job descriptions. You should be able to find the exact skills recruiters are seeking.
One quick word about this, though: never lie and claim you’ve mastered a skill when you haven’t. If none of the skills in the job description sound like you, it’s probably a sign that’s not the job for you. Keep searching for other jobs that better match your skills (we know there’s something amazing out there you simply haven’t found yet).
Education
An executive assistant role is one of those jobs where the education level required can really vary. Some employers may request at least an associate’s degree while others will want a bachelor’s.
Even still, some employers will be just fine with a high school diploma. While every employer has different requirements for the level of education and experience they want from potential hires, some basic pieces of information should be provided on every resume.
When it comes to listing your education, there’s no need to give an abundance of information unless you are newly graduated and need to use your education as a means to demonstrate your capabilities. Otherwise, you should just include the university name, degree, and graduation year. If you hold an associate or bachelor’s degree, you don’t need to list your high school diploma.
Should you add projects, interests, and hobbies?
Although most resumes don’t include information about projects, hobbies, or interests, there are times when you may benefit from adding this information.
If you lack lengthy work history or have just graduated from college, adding projects and interests is a great way to show that you have what it takes to be an executive assistant, even if you don’t have the work experience.
The key for adding projects or interests and hobbies is that you should be able to intelligently discuss its relevance to the executive assistant role in an interview.
For example, if you listed “backpacking in the Pacific Northwest” or “mastering woodwork” as interests and hobbies on your resume, they may seem unrelated to assisting the CEO. However, this demonstrates your ability to plan and organize your own trips and itineraries. Mastering woodwork could showcase your ability to persevere through tedious and challenging tasks, particularly new tasks.
Projects can be treated more like work experience. This could be volunteer work or even a creative project you took on for a friend or family member.
As long as it reasonably demonstrates relevancy to the executive assistant role you’re seeking, this can be an excellent way to create bullet points that prove your value when you’re lacking traditional work experience.
Customizing your executive assistant resume to each role
It’s important to customize your resume for the specific role for which you’re applying. When you send in a resume for a job as an executive assistant, the information you include shouldn’t apply to just any type of assistant or receptionist position.
Recruiters who are searching for the right hires want someone who can handle the extra demands that come with being an assistant to high-level executives and CEOs.
Luckily, you don’t have to rewrite your entire resume. Simply change keywords and some responsibilities in the objective/summary section, your work experience bullet points, and your skills section.
Proofreading your resume
Just when you thought you were done, there’s one last step. This specific tip is probably the easiest to follow, yet also the most overlooked.
As an executive assistant, there’s no doubt your attention-to-detail and writing abilities are top of the line; however, there’s always a possibility that you’ve made a typo, punctuation, or grammar error. These mistakes are simple to rectify as long as you check your completed executive assistant resume for errors before sending it in.
Give your eyes a break for a day or two before proofreading. Additionally, ask some friends or family members look at your executive assistant resume to gain other opinions and perspectives.
Executive Assistant Resume FAQs
They can, especially if the company you’re applying to has a bit more of a casual environment. As an executive assistant, hobbies like “hiking the Appalachians” or “hosting dinner parties” are intriguing tidbits to add to your resume. If asked about these in an interview, these are opportunities to further demonstrate your tenacity, ability to take on a challenge, planning, and organization.
Check the job listing to see if the company requires a degree; some will and some won’t since executive assistant roles vary. Always list your highest education first, and if you’ve obtained a higher degree, there’s no need to add your high school education. Keep in mind, though, that even if a company asks that you have an associate’s degree, for example, that’s not necessarily a deal breaker. Use your resume to show how your executive assistant experience qualifies you to meet the specific organizational and planning challenges of the role.
Because this role can mean a lot of different things across companies, how are you supposed to know what skills to add to your executive assistant resume? Think about the skills you possess as you read the company’s job description. Some executive assistant roles will have a stronger focus on technical skills, such as data entry. Other executive assistant jobs may require you to dabble in customer service, and still, others may need someone to consistently manage calendars and plan itineraries.
