Executive Assistant Resume: Your Complete Guide

Your executive assistant resume is key to getting invites to interviews and negotiating an attractive starting salary. A well-written resume can set you up for job-hunting success by demonstrating that you’re the ideal candidate for the role.

Using executive assistant resume templates will ensure that your resume is machine-readable, professionally laid out, and includes the most important information. If you need help, Rocket Resume’s executive assistant resume templates even come with recruiter-approved phrasing for key skills and accomplishments.

But even with a resume template, you’ll need to tailor your resume to the company you’re applying for.

If you’re drafting an executive assistant resume, keep reading. We’ll share essential executive assistant resume tips, including how to customize your template to specific roles, draft an impressive objective statement and identify the most important skills to include.

General Tips for Executive Assistant Resumes

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty details, let’s cover some resume-writing fundamentals.

First, it’s always a good idea to customize your executive assistant resume templates to the job posting. Read the job listing and highlight keywords for the executive assistant resume. You’ll want to include these exact keywords in your resume so that your application isn’t overlooked.

Next, unless you’re writing a senior executive assistant resume, stick to a one-page resume. Don’t use columns, colored fonts, or graphics. Instead, maximize white space and use key headings to organize your resume.

You’ll also want to opt for a traditional font such as Arial or Times New Roman with a minimum of font size 11. Keep to standard margin sizes and use bullet points to better highlight relevant experience and education. If you’re struggling with your formatting and organization, keep in mind that you can always adapt professional resume samples for executive assistant roles.

Essential Components of an Executive Assistant Resume Template

There’s nothing like seeing an example to help you understand what to do. These executive assistant resume examples contain all the essential sections that should be on your own resume.

Anna Example

anna.example@gmail.com

(123) 456-7890

linkedin.com/anna-example

Objective Statement

Trilingual executive assistant with excellent organizational skills looking for a career in the supply chain industry.

Skills

• Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Scheduling
• Telephone communications
• Spanish (fluent)
• Portuguese (intermediate)

Experience

Executive Assistant, Import Intelligence, February 2022–present

• Schedule meetings
• Take calls in English, Spanish, and Portuguese
• Organize business trips for the executive team

Education

City University Miami

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Certifications and Licenses

Microsoft Office Specialist: Associate (Microsoft 365 Apps), Microsoft

Volunteer and Extracurricular Activities

Weekly Language Exchange Organizer, May 2020–present

• Manage weekly language exchange
• Promote events via social media

Tips for Writing Each Section of the Executive Assistant Resume Template

The examples above, along with our executive assistant resume builder, will help you get started. But to craft a truly excellent executive assistant resume, take these tips into account:

Executive Assistant Resume Tips: Contact Information

Use your name as the resume’s title. Add your email address, phone number, and any relevant URLs, such as your LinkedIn, beneath it.

Executive Assistant Resume Tips: Objective Statement

A strong resume objective for executive assistant roles will highlight your most relevant skills, along with your career goals, in three sentences or fewer. If you review resume samples for executive assistant, you’ll notice that these sentences tend to skip your personal pronouns. Begin them with a noun, adjective, or verb.

Executive Assistant Resume Tips: Skills Section

Use a bullet-point list for four to eight relevant skills for executive assistant resume. Potential skills include Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, time management, scheduling, communication skills, foreign languages, database entry, data management, and more niche skills such as Mailchimp, Hootsuite, or QuickBooks. Again, prioritize the skills mentioned in the job listing.

Executive Assistant Resume Tips: Education Section

List your educational background in chronological order, including the degree or certificate title and school name. In most cases, you don’t need to mention your GPA or the year you graduated.

Some executive assistant resume examples place the experience section before the education section. The golden rule is that you should lead with the section that’s most impressive. For an entry level executive assistant resume, place the education section first. But if you’re writing an experienced executive assistant resume, move the education section down below the experience section.

Executive Assistant Resume Tips: Experience Section

Detail your career history in chronological order. List your job title, the company name, and your start and end dates.

Then, add a bullet-point list detailing your key responsibilities and accomplishments in each role. Start these points with a powerful verb, such as “delivered,” and where possible, add quantifiable proof of your achievements. For example, you could write that you “implemented an automated social media system that saved 6 hours a week.”

Executive Assistant Resume Tips: Certifications and Licenses

Include the certification or license title and awarding body. If your certification will expire, make sure you also add the upcoming expiration date.

Executive Assistant Resume Tips: Volunteer and Extracurricular Activities

This section is optional so only include it if your hobbies and volunteer experiences are relevant to the role in question. For example, if you’re applying for an executive assistant role at a social media marketing company, your successful YouTube channel could demonstrate your understanding of the industry. You could also include hobbies that require exceptional organizational skills, such as running committees or organizing charity drives.

How to Customize Your Executive Assistant Resume Template for Specific Jobs

If you want to make it through to the interview round, you’ll need to customize your resume to the job you’re applying for.

Begin by analyzing the job listing to identify the skills and qualifications that the recruiters want. Adapt your objective statement, skills, and experience sections to include this information.

For example, for a real estate executive assistant resume, you could mention your experience coordinating property viewings. Alternatively, if you’re writing a legal executive assistant resume, you might add “legal case management” and “knowledge of legal terms” to your skills.

Review more specific executive assistant resume templates for inspiration. In this case, C-level executive assistant resume examples may help you identify essential traits for your own executive assistant to CEO resume.

Additional Tips and Tricks for Crafting a Strong Executive Assistant Resume

You’ve chosen a resume sample and customized it to the specific role you’re applying for. Now, you’re almost ready to click send on your application. But, before you do, read through your resume.

Can you add additional evidence of your accomplishments? Remember to quantify them wherever possible with numbers or percentage points, e.g. “reduced office supply loss by $2,000+ a year” or “improved efficiency by 25%.”

Proofread your resume. Look out for typos and changes in font size or formatting, and then save the file as “Your Name Resume.”

Print your resume in grayscale: is it still professional, visually attractive, and easy to read? While you can find plenty of flashy resume samples for executive assistant roles online, it’s better to play it safe with conservative formatting.

Finally, draft a follow-up email to send after applying for the role. This will make your application more memorable.

How to Apply for Executive Assistant Jobs

When you’re ready to apply for jobs, start browsing popular job boards such as Indeed and LinkedIn to find executive assistant roles. Attending networking events can also lead to job opportunities, as could letting your professional connections know that you’re job-hunting.

Customize one of our resume templates to the roles you’ve found. These templates will help you highlight your strongest features while adapting your background to the role in question. Plus, they’ll ensure your resume is machine-readable.

You may also need to craft a cover letter to go alongside your executive assistant resume. Use this time to provide more evidence of why you’re the ideal fit for the job than you can fit on your resume. This can be especially helpful if you’re changing careers to become an executive assistant.

Don’t forget to invest time into interview preparation. Practice responses to common interview questions, and prepare anecdotes that demonstrate key skills such as time management.

With your impressive resume and thorough interview preparation, you’ll be well-positioned to capture recruiters’ attention and land your dream role.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to Write a Resume for an Executive Assistant Position

The first step in writing a resume for an executive assistant position is to choose a template; then, adapt it to your professional background, education, and skills, based on the role and company you’re applying for. Do a final proofread, and you’ll be ready to apply for executive assistant roles.

What to Put on a Resume for an Executive Assistant

When writing a resume for an executive assistant role, make sure to include your contact details, an objective statement or professional summary, your key skills, work experience, and educational background. If you have relevant hobbies or volunteer experience, you can also include those.

What an Executive Assistant Resume Should Look Like

Your executive assistant resume should look professional and reader-friendly. Don’t use columns, graphics, or images; these aren’t always machine-readable. Bullet points, on the other hand, will help recruiters quickly skim-read your resume. Generally speaking, the more white space, the better.

How to Describe Executive Assistant on Resume

When describing executive assistant roles on your resume, include accomplishments and key responsibilities in a bullet-point list. Start each point with a strong verb, such as “implemented” or “organized.”

What to Highlight on an Executive Assistant Resume

You should highlight your skills and previous accomplishments on your executive assistant resume by creating a dedicated skills section. You can also add bullet-point lists of your accomplishments under past roles. Where possible, include quantifiable evidence.

How to Put Executive Assistant Duties on a Resume

When including past executive assistant duties on your resume, focus on duties that are relevant to the role you’re applying for. Use bullet points to list them, with one bullet per duty. Start each point with as strong a verb as possible, e.g. “delivered” or “supported.”

How to Add Certifications to an Executive Administrative Assistant Resume

Add certifications to your executive administrative assistant resume under a “Certifications and Licenses” heading. Include the certification title and awarding body; if your certification expires, make sure to also state the expiration date.

What Technical Skills Should I Put on My Resume to Be an Executive Assistant?

If you’re applying for an executive assistant role, include these technical skills on your resume (if they apply to you): proficiency with Microsoft Office, database management, data entry, Zoom, and Teams. Depending on the role and your background, you could add QuickBooks, Mailchimp, or social media tools such as Hootsuite.

How to Use Excellent Communication Skills on Executive Assistant Resume

Add your excellent communication skills to the skills section of your executive assistant resume. Make sure to copy the exact phrasing that’s used in the job posting, if relevant, so that your application isn’t filtered out by machine-readers.

How to Fill an Experience Gap in a Resume for Executive Assistant

If you’ve got an experience gap in your executive assistant resume, you can consider adapting a functional resume sample for an executive assistant. This brings the focus onto your skill sets and accomplishments, instead of your career history.

What is a Strong Resume Title for an Experienced Executive Assistant?

A strong resume title is an extremely brief description of who you are. One way to approach this is to use the following structure: (adjective) (job title) with/skilled in (one key fact). For example: “Organized Executive Assistant with Five Years of Experience.”

What are Some Key Phrases Employers are Looking for in the Resume of an Executive Assistant?

When employers review executive assistant resumes, they’re looking for key phrases that match the job posting. For example, if the job listing asks for “time management,” they’ll likely scan your resume for this exact phrase.

How to Quantify Executive Assistant Resume Bullets

Quantify your executive assistant resume bullets by adding exact figures or percentage points. For example: “Created meeting reservation system that reduced double-bookings by 78%.” If you don’t have quantifiable figures, estimates may also work in certain circumstances

Ready to build an eye-catching executive assistant resume? Choose one of our recruiter-approved samples, and our resume builder will walk you through customizing it to your background. You can craft a professional resume in minutes, so get started now.