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Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants Occupation Detailed Description

Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants

The main tasks and work activities of Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants are to prepare documentation for contracts, transactions, or regulatory compliance, maintain medical records, prepare research or technical reports, read materials to determine needed actions. In general, for the Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, active Listening, reading Comprehension, speaking, writing and other 10 skills are required.
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants Job Description
EducationMost occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Related ExperiencePrevious work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Job TrainingEmployees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
ExampleThese occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include hydroelectric production managers, travel guides, electricians, agricultural technicians, barbers, court reporters, and medical assistants.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants jobs. 24.20% of Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 1.27% of Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants have Post-Secondary Certificate.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
24.20%
Post-Secondary Certificate
1.27%
Some College Courses
20.91%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
33.77%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
19.85%

Tasks and Work Activities of Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants

  • Manage and maintain executives' schedules.
  • Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software.
  • Read and analyze incoming memos, submissions, and reports to determine their significance and plan their distribution.
  • Open, sort, and distribute incoming correspondence, including faxes and email.
  • File and retrieve corporate documents, records, and reports.
  • Greet visitors and determine whether they should be given access to specific individuals.
  • Prepare responses to correspondence containing routine inquiries.
  • Make travel arrangements for executives.
  • Conduct research, compile data, and prepare papers for consideration and presentation by executives, committees, and boards of directors.
  • Compile, transcribe, and distribute minutes of meetings.
  • Attend meetings to record minutes.
  • Meet with individuals, special interest groups, and others on behalf of executives, committees, and boards of directors.
  • Set up and oversee administrative policies and procedures for offices or organizations.
  • Review operating practices and procedures to determine whether improvements can be made in areas such as workflow, reporting procedures, or expenditures.
  • Interpret administrative and operating policies and procedures for employees.
  • Answer phone calls and direct calls to appropriate parties or take messages.
  • Perform general office duties, such as ordering supplies, maintaining records management database systems, and performing basic bookkeeping work.
  • Prepare agendas and make arrangements, such as coordinating catering for luncheons, for committee, board, and other meetings.
  • Coordinate and direct office services, such as records, departmental finances, budget preparation, personnel issues, and housekeeping, to aid executives.
  • Provide clerical support to other departments.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Communicating with Persons Outside OrganizationCommunicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
  • Performing Administrative ActivitiesPerforming day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
  • Interacting With ComputersUsing computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Scheduling Work and ActivitiesScheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
  • Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Processing InformationCompiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Prepare documentation for contracts, transactions, or regulatory compliance.
  • Maintain medical records.
  • Prepare research or technical reports.
  • Read materials to determine needed actions.
  • Distribute incoming mail.
  • Sort mail.
  • File documents or records.
  • Greet customers, patrons, or visitors.
  • Prepare business correspondence.
  • Make travel, accommodations, or entertainment arrangements for others.
  • Compile data or documentation.
  • Record information from meetings or other formal proceedings.
  • Transcribe spoken or written information.
  • Confer with coworkers to coordinate work activities.
  • Manage clerical or administrative activities.
  • Develop organizational policies or programs.
  • Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
  • Answer telephones to direct calls or provide information.
  • Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
  • Schedule operational activities.

Skills and Abilities for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants

  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Perceptual SpeedThe ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Desktop calculatore.g. 10-key calculators
  • Scannerse.g. Data input scanners
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Dictation machinese.g. Dictation equipment
  • Digital camerase.g. Digital cameras
  • Typewriterse.g. Electric typewriters
  • Pocket calculatore.g. Handheld calculators
  • Portable data input terminalse.g. Handheld computers
  • Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
  • Laser fax machinee.g. Laser facsimile machines
  • Liquid crystal display projectore.g. Liquid crystal display LCD video projectors
  • Special purpose telephonese.g. Multi-line telephone systems
  • Pagerse.g. Pagers
  • Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizerse.g. Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Photocopierse.g. Photocopying equipment
  • Scannerse.g. Scanners
  • ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.