• Home
  • Courses by Subject
    • Accounting
      • Accounting
      • Bookkeeping
      • Payroll
      • Xero
    • Administration
      • Administration
      • Business Administration
      • Medical Secretary
      • Personal Assistant
      • Secretarial
    • Animal Health & Wellbeing
      • Animal Care
      • Dog Grooming
      • Vet Assistant
      • Zoology
    • Building & Construction
      • Construction
      • Landscaping
    • Business & Finance
      • Banking
      • Business
      • Business Communication
      • Business Management
      • Consultancy
      • Excel
      • Finance
      • Logistics
      • Sales
      • Supply Chain Management
      • Trading
    • Design
      • Gardening
      • Graphic Design
      • Interior Design
      • Web Design
    • Digital Skills
      • Analytics
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing
      • CompTIA
      • CompTIA A+
      • Computer Science
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Cyber Security
      • Data Science
      • Ethical Hacking
      • IT
      • IT Support
      • Networking
      • Penetration Testing
    • Ecology
      • Sustainability
    • Education
      • A-Level
      • GCSE
      • Teaching
      • Teaching Assistant
    • Fashion & Beauty
      • Hair & Beauty
      • Massage
      • Nail Technician
    • Health & Safety
      • Construction Health & Safety
      • Work Health & Safety
    • Healthcare
      • Care
      • Childcare
      • Counselling
      • Criminal Psychology
      • Disability
      • Health
      • Healthcare Management
      • Mental Health
      • Nursing
      • Nutrition
      • Personal Training
      • Psychology
      • Public Health
      • Social Care
    • Hospitality & Events
      • Event Management
      • Floristry
      • Hospitality
      • Wedding Planner
    • HR
      • CIPD
      • Human Resources
      • Learning & Development
    • Law & Justice
      • Criminology
      • Forensic Science
      • Governance
      • Law
      • Legal
    • Management & Leadership
      • Agile
      • Change Management
      • Leadership
      • Lean Six Sigma
      • Management
      • Operations Management
      • Personal Development
      • PRINCE2
      • Project Management
      • Quality Management
      • Real Estate
    • Marketing & Communication
      • Digital Marketing
      • Marketing
      • Media
      • Music
      • Public Relations
      • Social Media Marketing
    • Microsoft
      • Microsoft
      • Microsoft Azure
    • Programming
      • App Development
      • Cisco
      • Cisco CCNA
      • Coding
      • Programming
      • Python
      • Software Development
      • SQL
      • Web Development
    • Tourism
      • Travel & Tourism
    • University
      • Business Management
      • Business
      • Criminal Psychology
      • Criminology
      • Finance
      • IT
      • Law
      • Marketing
      • Psychology
    • Blended
    • In-class
    • Online
    • A-Level
    • Advanced Certificate
    • Advanced Diploma
    • Award
    • Bachelors
    • CertHE
    • Certificate
    • Certified
    • CPD
    • Diploma
    • ELCAS
    • Extended Diploma
    • Foundation
    • GCSE
    • Level 1
    • Level 2
    • Level 3
    • Level 4
    • Level 5
    • Level 6
    • Level 7
    • Level 8
    • LLB
    • LLM
    • Masters
    • MBA
    • MSc
    • Postgraduate
    • Practitioner
    • Short
    • Undergraduate
    • University
  • Courses by Providers
    • Acudemy
    • Avado
    • BARBRI
    • Brunel University London
    • CIPP
    • Course2Career
    • DLC Training
    • DPG
    • Hudson
    • ICS Learn
    • Institute of Supply Chain Mana
    • International Career Institute
    • ITonlinelearning
    • Learning People
    • London Academy of Trading
    • London College of Contemporary Music
    • London Governance & Compliance Academy
    • London School of Business and Finance Online
    • Next Level Impact
    • Online Courses Learning
    • Open Study College
    • Samuel & Co
    • The Career Academy
    • TPT Consultancy & Training
    • University College of Estate Management
    • University of Essex Online
    • University of Liverpool Online
    • University of Roehampton Online
    • Walbrook Institute London
    • How To Become
    • The Workforce Training Hub
    • Career Advice
    • Study Tips
    • Quizzes
    • Resources
    • Industry Insider
  • Top Courses
  • Become a Partner
  • Contact us
 
How To Become An Executive Assistant

How To Become An Executive Assistant

  1. Home
  2. Administration
  3. Secretarial
  4. How To Become An Executive Assistant


How to Become a Executive Assistant



If you’re highly organised and enjoy working at the very top of companies, you may be suited for an executive assistant position.

This job is greatly fulfilling and could be a stepping-stone to something bigger. Let’s take a look at everything that you need to know before you get started. 

What Does an Executive Assistant do?

Sometimes called an administrative assistant, an executive assistant supports professionals with a wide range of admin duties. Often enough, these highly-skilled assistants will work with the senior manager team or even the CEO of a business. 

It’s not merely about offering a level of administrative support. When you take on this role, you will act as a personal assistant to your manager. That means helping them with administrative tasks but also giving them memos, taking phone calls, dealing with their travel arrangements, and scheduling meetings. 

The day-to-day duties of an executive assistant will vary depending on the sector in which you work and your manager. For example, working for a senior executive may look different to working for a founder. 

There are many different types of job openings. You may want to work part-time or in a full-time executive assistant position, for instance. Often enough, you will find yourself working alongside top executives, so you need to make sure you have what it takes.

What Qualifications Are Needed to Become an Executive Assistant?

To become an executive assistant or any type of executive secretary, you won’t necessarily need a degree. Your experience, training, and personality can be enough to land you this type of role. When you look for executive assistant jobs, you can showcase your professionalism and organisational skills in your cover letter. 

While you don’t need a formal degree, it’s highly valuable to undertake some expert training. Gaining the proper certification will increase your chances of getting hired. Fortunately, there are plenty of online courses that will put you in the best position for your future success. Starting out with some secretarial courses is a good idea. Through courses like these, you can perfect your organisational skills and learn the key skills to become an office assistant. This type of qualification will prepare you for working with top executives. 

Another option is to look into business administration courses. These courses will give you a chance to learn more about office management, general admin, budgeting, and more. You may also get the opportunity to improve your everyday Microsoft Office skills and learn how to create stellar spreadsheets using Excel. 

If you want to really hone your skills, you can also take some generalised administration courses online. Becoming a certified administrative professional will put you in an excellent position when it comes to applying for new executive assistant jobs when they come up. You may also choose to join the international association of administrative professionals. 

Ready to take your professional development to the next level? Signing up for a course will help you stand out from the crowd. Much of the time, the executive assistant job description will specify the qualifications that you need. However, the more certifications and training that you have under your belt, the more likely you are to land your next job.

 

What Skills are Needed to Become an Executive Assistant?

It goes without saying that an executive assistant should have extremely strong organisational skills. You are the person on whom managers rely to organise everyday tasks and activities. If you want to make it in this role, you should also have a healthy balance of soft skills since you will need to work closely with the manager. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the core competencies you need to have to do this job: 


  • Microsoft Office skills (e.g. Word, Excel, Powerpoint)

  • Verbal communication and written communication

  • Problem-solving and analysing

  • Database management

  • Business administration knowledge

  • Interpersonal skills

  • Bookkeeping and accounting

  • Business development

  • Excellent time management


You will need to have each competency if you want to get an executive assistant position. Of course, you should keep in mind that there may be additional skills you need depending on the company in which you work. For example, you may be tasked with giving in-person presentations, planning trips, and communicating with stakeholders. Whenever you are thinking of applying for one of these roles, be sure to read the job description closely first. 

Does Becoming an Executive Assistant Need Any Work Experience?

Starting out as an executive assistant? You will find that many employers require this type of professional to have at least a few years of experience in a busy work environment. Before you start your job search, make sure you have some work experience and the right qualifications for the job. 

While you may not have worked as an executive assistant before now, some employers will accept other types of work experience. For example, if you have worked as a personal assistant or an officer assistant, you may be a good fit for this type of position. Should you be applying to this job without tons of experience, highlight your hard and soft skills. Showing that you are a driven and highly-skilled person may help you get an interview. 

Career Prospects For an Executive Assistant

When you have started along this career path, it’s worth knowing that there are plenty of opportunities coming your way. You may start out working for a manager and then work your way up the career ladder to work for a high-level executive. As you pick up more and more executive assistant skills, you will become an attractive prospect for employers. 

If you want to take a side step out of the assistant sector, you could go into project management. The unique talents you acquire in your career will allow you to excel in this type of career.

In this guide, we have taken a look at how you can become an executive assistant. No matter where you are now in your career, you can be sure that there is an opportunity for you. Take a look at the training options today and get things moving. 


Browse Secretarial Courses Now!
  • Popular Subjects
  • Qualification Type
  • How to Become
  • Bookkeeping
  • Computer Science
  • Counselling
  • Hair & Beauty
  • Human Resources
  • IT
  • Networking
  • Payroll
  • Psychology
  • University
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Web Development
  • View More
  • Advanced Diploma
  • Bachelors
  • Certificate
  • Diploma
  • ELCAS
  • Foundation
  • Level 2
  • Level 3
  • Level 4
  • Level 5
  • Level 6
  • Level 7
  • Masters
  • MBA
  • MSc
  • Postgraduate
  • Short
  • Undergraduate
  • A-Level
  • Award
  • University
  • View More
  • How to Begin a Career in IT
  • How to Become a Bookkeeper
  • How to Begin a Career in Trading
  • How to Become a Change Management Consultant
  • How to Become a Cloud Architect
  • How to Become a Construction Health & Safety Officer
  • How to Become a Cryptocurrency Expert
  • How to Become a Forensic Scientist
  • How to Become a Financial Modeller
  • How to Become Java Certified
  • How to Become a Leadership Coach
  • How to Become a Manager
  • How to Become a Mentor
  • How to Become Microsoft Certified
  • How to Become a Psychologist
  • How to Become a Public Health Consultant
  • How to Become a Software Developer
  • How to Become a Software Tester
  • How to Start Your Career in Human Resources
  • How to Become Xero Certified
  • View More

Newsletter sign up

We'll email you updates on job trends, career advice, study tips, news and more.
Courses
  • All Courses
  • Online Courses
Education Providers
  • Our Providers
Resources
  • Our Blog
  • How to Become
About us
  • About CoursesOnline
  • FAQs
Contact us
  • Advertise your course
  • Become an Affiliate
Privacy Policy Terms of Use
Certified B Corporation
Tafecourses Facebook Tafecourses LinkedIn Tafecourses Instagram
Certified B Corporation
Copyright © 2025 Coursesonline.co.uk
All Rights Reserved.
Back to Top

Newsletter Sign Up

We’ll email you updates on job trends, career advice, study tips, news and more.

By submitting this enquiry I accept the "Privacy Policy" and "Terms of Use"

Coursesonline.co.uk uses cookies. By continuing you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more.

GDPR - Logo
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Additional Cookies

This website uses additional cookies to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Cookie Policy

More information about our Cookie Policy