Executive Assistant job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

15

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$76,590

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants (O*NET-SOC 43-6011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Manage and maintain executives' schedules. importance 4.4 of 5
2. Make travel arrangements for executives. importance 4.2 of 5
3. Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software. importance 4.2 of 5
4. Coordinate and direct office services, such as records, departmental finances, budget preparation, personnel issues, and housekeeping, to aid executives. importance 4.1 of 5
5. Answer phone calls and direct calls to appropriate parties or take messages. importance 4.1 of 5
6. Prepare responses to correspondence containing routine inquiries. importance 4.0 of 5
7. Open, sort, and distribute incoming correspondence, including faxes and email. importance 4.0 of 5
8. Greet visitors and determine whether they should be given access to specific individuals. importance 4.0 of 5
9. Prepare agendas and make arrangements, such as coordinating catering for luncheons, for committee, board, and other meetings. importance 3.9 of 5
10. Conduct research, compile data, and prepare papers for consideration and presentation by executives, committees, and boards of directors. importance 3.9 of 5
11. Perform general office duties, such as ordering supplies, maintaining records management database systems, and performing basic bookkeeping work. importance 3.9 of 5
12. File and retrieve corporate documents, records, and reports. importance 3.8 of 5
13. Read and analyze incoming memos, submissions, and reports to determine their significance and plan their distribution. importance 3.7 of 5
14. Provide clerical support to other departments. importance 3.6 of 5
15. Attend meetings to record minutes. importance 3.5 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Getting Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work and Communicating with People Outside the Organization.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Process payroll information.
• Interpret administrative and operating policies and procedures for employees.
• Set up and oversee administrative policies and procedures for offices or organizations.
• Meet with individuals, special interest groups, and others on behalf of executives, committees, and boards of directors.
• Compile, transcribe, and distribute minutes of meetings.
• Supervise and train other clerical staff and arrange for employee training by scheduling training or organizing training material.

Knowledge areas: Administrative, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Computers and Electronics and Administration and Management.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Google Workspace software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft SharePoint. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists less than 5 years of work experience in a related occupation as typical.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become an executive assistant.

The most common answer among executive assistants surveyed by O*NET is an associate's degree (34%).

Job title: Executive Assistant
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring an Executive Assistant to provide high-level administrative support by conducting research, preparing statistical reports, and handling information requests, as well as performing routine administrative functions such as preparing correspondence, receiving visitors, arranging conference calls, and scheduling meetings.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Manage and maintain executives' schedules.
- Make travel arrangements for executives.
- Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software.
- Coordinate and direct office services, such as records, departmental finances, budget preparation, personnel issues, and housekeeping, to aid executives.
- Answer phone calls and direct calls to appropriate parties or take messages.
- Prepare responses to correspondence containing routine inquiries.
- Open, sort, and distribute incoming correspondence, including faxes and email.
- Greet visitors and determine whether they should be given access to specific individuals.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists less than 5 years in a related occupation as typical; adjust to this role]
- Strength in reading comprehension, active listening and speaking
- Working knowledge of Administrative and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Google Workspace software or Microsoft Excel]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $76,590 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $36.82. BLS estimates about 459,910 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants to show no change from 2025 to 2035, with about 43,300 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full executive assistant salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real executive assistant posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Manage and maintain executives' schedules”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only executive assistant work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and active listening); executive assistant interview questions turns them into practice questions.