Finding the perfect executive assistant is by no means an easy task. You will have to sift through dozens of resumes, test the applicants, conduct interviews, and conduct background checks before you can find someone who’s the perfect fit for your company. However, here’s something you should know. The most important part of the hiring process is the first step – creating the perfect executive assistant job description.
We’ve already talked about how an executive assistant can help you run your business in a previous blog post. Now, we’re going to help you craft a job description defining the essential skills, responsibilities, and qualifications needed for the role.
Okay, the first thing you have to do is to provide a short description of the role. It can be something simple like “I’m looking for a full-time executive assistant to join my team,” but ideally, you’ll want to provide more information. In a couple of sentences, tell the applicants what they will do in their role, who they will be working with, and the general qualities you’re looking for in an executive assistant. Try to visualize the ideal candidate that you want for the position.
It is also a good idea to give them an overview of the working conditions. People want to know what to expect in their future work environment. Aside from that, you may want to talk about how the position contributes to the company’s goals and objectives so the applicant will understand the role he/she will be playing in the business’ success.
Here’s an example:
“I’m looking for a well-organized, detail-oriented executive assistant to join my team and perform a variety of administrative duties including managing my calendar, organizing meetings, and doing market research. The perfect candidate should have the ability to multi-task and handle everything from customer service to managing a team. I want someone resourceful and proactive, someone who has the ability to take initiative and do what needs to be done before anyone else recognizes it needs to be done.
The #1 thing anyone should know about me when applying to be a member of my team, is that I believe in enabling my team members and getting out of their way – I do not micromanage or butt in unnecessarily when someone takes ownership of their work and does a great job!
Also, I have highly detailed video training to help you step-by-step through the work for this position. This is PAID training – I never asked my team members to do the work or training for free.”
As you can see in the example above, I also painted a picture of what it’s like to work at the company. That’s because I want the applicants to get a sense of the company’s culture.
Hiring for culture fit is critical when you’re growing your business because you want to attract the top candidates who can see themselves as a part of your team. You want people who are more inclined to stay with the company for the long term.
Justin Cerilli, Managing Director at Russell Reynolds Associates, understands how culture is an important component of business success.
“Culture is everything in recruitment. Everything eventually comes back to a candidate asking themselves, ‘Will I be a good fit and really enjoy working there?’ So it’s critical that culture is all over a job description,” says Cerilli (CIO.com)
“Cultural fit is just as much of importance to both employees and employers as technical and experience fit, if not more so. A bad hire costs money and drains productivity; a lack of culture fit and employee engagement increases turnover, so you’ve got to get it right.”
Make culture a part of your hiring process. For an executive assistant, this is essential because he/she will be working closely with you, so that person has to be someone you can get along with.
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We have reached the part of the job description where you explain the responsibilities and requirements of the position in detail. For this section, It’s best to use bullet points so applicants can quickly scan through your job ad. Remember to keep your bullet points short. Don’t write paragraphs in bullets. This defeats the purpose of using bullet points in the first place.
Don’t write it this way:
“An executive assistant’s duties include managing calendars, organizing meetings, making travel arrangements, producing reports and presentations, maintaining the database system, and acting as the point of contact between you and your customers, vendors, and other employees.
The candidate must have the ability to multi-task with ease, the ability to give direction to others, excellent verbal and written communication skills, outstanding organizational and time management skills, and familiarity with productivity software like Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel. The applicant also has to be Internet savvy and have work experience as an executive assistant, administrative assistant, or a similar role.”
Do it this way:
Executive Assistant Responsibilities:
Executive Assistant Requirements:
Once you’re done with your job description, the next step is to create a job ad. We have covered this before in a previous blog post, but it’s worth repeating here.
Since it can cost you over $50,000 per year to hire an executive assistant in the US, you may have to look overseas to find the perfect person for the job. If you want to hire a virtual executive assistant, I recommend OnlineJobs.ph because of the talent available on the site. You should find several candidates who can carry out the duties outlined in the job description.
All you have to do is create a free account, put your executive assistant job description up, and wait for the resumes to come in. Of course, the free account only enables you to post job listings and view applications. To hire someone, you need to upgrade to a paid account. The $69 per month Pro plan should be enough if your goal is to hire one executive assistant. Just cancel your OnlineJobs.ph subscription once you’re done recruiting so you only have to pay for a single month.
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