The highest level of executive assistant is the chief of staff. This is the next professional step after being a senior executive assistant. This position allows them to take on more responsibilities and move to higher executive level functions. While high-level positions also venture into many areas of a company, they are much more technically complicated than entry-level or mid-level positions.
They generally spend most of their time working with executives and on business processes. Unlike lower-level positions, they don't usually get involved in small-time jobs, minor emergencies, or small-scale tasks. Rather, as high-level employees in the hierarchy of administrative positions, their work is more specialized and involves managing people. Senior executive assistants provide assistance to high-level executives and corporate managers. Unlike a typical executive assistant, your role encompasses organizational and administrative functions that affect high-level staff.
Managing directors are first-level employees. They oversee the daily operations of the entire company and are responsible for its overall performance. A senior receptionist will perform tasks similar to those of a regular receptionist. However, senior receptionists oversee and supervise the receptionist's work. In addition, senior receptionists report directly to the administrator.
They also offer general assistance to practice teams. Ultimately, her role includes more responsibilities than a typical receptionist. Administrative assistant, executive assistant, office manager and administrative director are just a few of the titles you might consider when hiring for an administrative position. However, a question that many people in human resources and even those who work in these roles ask themselves is: how are administrative titles defined? Two of the main management titles you'll find are executive assistant and administrative assistant. These terms are often used interchangeably, but their functions show a difference in their level of responsibility within a company.
An executive assistant typically performs many of the same tasks as an administrative assistant, but with additional responsibilities and often for high-level company executives. This is often the role an administrative assistant plays after a promotion. Senior administrative assistant or office manager positions are higher than administrative assistant positions. After the senior administrative assistant, the specialized administrative assistant, followed by the executive administrative assistant, tends to be next in the progression of promotions. The position of executive assistant and the various titles that may accompany it are their own complicated website. Executive assistants have a lot of different functions, and the functions are incredibly diverse depending on the executive, company, or industry.
Executives must understand who they are looking for once they decide to hire an “assistant”. Is the executive looking for a chief of staff or a personal assistant, a director of operations or an executive assistant? Different degrees and opportunities will attract different types and levels of talent. A personal assistant manages the personal and family life of an executive. This position may overlap with that of Executive Assistant.
The personal assistant and the executive assistant work together to manage the executive's schedule. The personal assistant is responsible for personal items, such as personal bills, household purchases, family trips, medical appointments, and personal events. An administrative assistant manages the day-to-day details of an office, division, or several executives. Most of the functions of the administrative assistant revolve around the management and distribution of information within an office.
This usually includes answering the phone, managing all the administrative tasks in the office, and maintaining the files. Administrative assistants may also be in charge of sending and receiving correspondence, as well as greeting customers or being responsible for additional tasks, such as office administration or marketing. An operations manager is responsible for establishing internal and external processes and key performance indicators for the company. They ensure that the company has the appropriate operational controls and administrative reporting procedures in place to meet operational and financial objectives.
An executive assistant is a tactical genius and is responsible for managing the Executive. Executive assistants live in the present (or, generally, between 1 week and 30 days). Their work is driven by the demands of the day and the week. They take care of all the day-to-day details, such as scheduling, travel, meeting preparation, events, and general office management.
In addition, the executive assistant maximizes the CEO's reach through exceptional leadership and communication skills. A chief of staff lives in the future (a minimum of 90 days, albeit between 90 days and 1 year, and often longer). They take care of what they need to do in the moment, but much of their time is focused on longer-term planning and projects to ensure the growth of the organization and the success of the CEO. Their work is based on the requirements of the long-term vision of the founder or executive director: interviewing for future leadership positions, creating a family office, writing a book, creating presentations or writing speeches to share the vision, meeting with potential business partners, refining hiring and retention processes, establishing OKRs (objectives and key results) and above all maximizing reach of CEO in collaboration with executive assistant.
Titles are never more important than when you've decided to leave your organization to look for another opportunity. Let's say your title is Executive Assistant (but you work as an operations manager) and you want to move on to position chief operating officer with SEO optimization & keyword research used in current hiring processes you're likely to be overlooked by operations positions with title Executive Assistant. On other hand if your title is chief operating officer yet you're in role executive assistant at first glance it doesn't always translate when you're interviewed for EA positions. Clearly defined job descriptions are very important because if you work as an operations manager but your title is EA you may not be qualified or have skills needed to fill EA position.
Whether it's interviewing posting your resume on job boards attending networking events or simply conducting quarterly review at your current company make sure that your position & job description accurately reflect what you do & what you're capable of doing.
