An executive assistant is truly a right-hand partner – crucial to an executive’s productivity. They ensure that meetings begin on time with prep material delivered in advance. They optimize travel schedules and enable remote decision making, keeping projects on track. Perhaps most importantly, they filter the distractions that can cause a manager to sit answering e-mail and instead, enable a leader to focus on setting the organization’s goals and agenda.
Of course, recognizing the perfect executive assistant when you see one is easy. Knowing the best way to hire one when an executive assistant job opens, is another. Here are some tips for hiring a great executive assistant in Houston, where the skill is high and the market is competitive:
Write an accurate executive assistant job description:
Be sure to list all the responsibilities the candidate will be expected to handle in your executive assistant job description, and be DETAILED AND SPECIFIC. For example, will you require your executive assistant to stand in for you at meetings? Will he or she be required to manage and train support staff? How often do you travel? Are the itineraries International and complex? The job description should serve as an outline of expectations, so the more detailed you are in describing the executive assistant job, the more effective it will be in attracting the right candidate with the right personality and skill set.
Evaluate the candidate as a whole, not just based on his/her wpm:
Reviewing a candidate’s skill set as it relates to your executive assistant job description is fairly simple: Can he/she preform the executive assistant job based on past work experience? If you have checked all the boxes for “booked complicated international travel” (check), “submitted high-level expense reports” (check) etc., it is important to evaluate the candidate’s true fit within your organization. Just because an applicant is an experienced administrative assistant, for example, don’t assume he or she has what it takes (personality-wise) to transition to an executive assistant role. Both positions share a basic core skill set, but an executive assistant job requires more initiative, creative and analytical problem-solving and stronger self-discipline.
Tailor the interview questions:
You can gauge whether a candidate is self-directed enough for an executive assistant position by assessing the way he or she answers thought-provoking questions during the interview process. For example, asking a candidate how they would handle an urgent matter where a senior executive needed to be pulled out of a current meeting, will determine whether the candidate has the problem-solving skills, tact, and instinct needed for an executive assistant job.
Finding a skilled executive assistant requires time and expertise. Consider using a specialized executive assistant recruiter to assist you in finding the right person for the executive assistant job. Executive assistant recruiters are skilled at assessing talent quickly and can keep you informed of the latest administrative hiring and compensation trends for executive assistant jobs in Houston.
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