r/ExecutiveAssistants

How does your executive introduce you in a group setting? Mine has been introducing me to donors/colleagues in the field as his colleague, while I don’t mind introducing myself as his assistant. I feel respected by him:)

I accidentally became emotionally attached to other people’s Google Calendars. If anyone suddenly has meetings appearing on time… it wasn’t me. 👀

I’ve been an EA for 12 years to a variety of execs and at companies spanning many sizes and industries.

I am very good at my job - I am naturally organized, assertive, a quick thinker. But I had a sort of hard hitting moment of clarity this weekend where I realized I’ve never actually liked my job. Whether it was the executive’s personality, the 24/7 pace and expectations, the lack of appreciation…sometimes all of that and more at one job. There are absolutely aspects of the role I love, like the flexibility to work on many different things and the proximity to the top of the food chain, but I’m wondering if that’s enough to keep me happy for the next 30 years in this type of role.

I feel really sad thinking I went down a path I’m not suited for. Has anyone felt like this and then done something to change it, whether that be a different career path or starting over with a new job/company?

Any advice and insight is so appreciated. Thank you!

...but taking my first week off since July 2024, now supporting five people (previously, I had one big bad and aligned my PTO with his, so coming back from PTO was pretty manageable), hearing my phone buzz incessantly starting around 4:30a every day (most of my team is ET and I'm PT), and peeking through my fingers at my inbox on Wednesday morning (600+)...

I have a legit pit in my stomach imagining logging in tomorrow.

I was planning to start the week in the office, but I suspect that after I log in at 5:30a [I can't imagine waiting till 7:30a or 8a], I won't even be able to think about a shower, much less a commute, until something like 6p.

I'd ask who can relate, but I already know everyone can.

Send good vibes!

I feel insane sometimes!

When booking travel for my executives, I know that for VIP things that if I want something that will be accurate and professional, I will use Blacklane.

I will also often take my chances with Uber/lyft when it is not serious and when we can afford a little wiggle room.

Is there any version of food delivery apps that offer a similar type of professionalism?

Yes, I prefer to use the catering option when planning in advance for large meetings. BUT sometimes, I have to get things the day of and it feels crazy to me that I can schedule an order to be delivered at 2:00 and it will actually not be delivered until 2:30 or 3.

Certainly understand that things might not be possible when requesting them so last minute. But I do not mind paying extra as I know these things are a rush!

I just simply can’t wrap my head around being able to select something and when it comes time, the service not being able to be provided.

I would prefer just not being able to order!

Any EAs know of an app that I don’t!? Happy fourth!

I've been in my Admin role for 3 months now, though have done admin tasks for yeaaaaars. I support two Directors and between them there are multiple meetings where I should be providing updates of some sort.

I find it feels only relevant to mention large things that are happening like a vacation, team wide training, needing timeshares entered early because of payroll cutoff earlier for holidays...that kind of thing.

This is across twice a week 1:1s with my primary Director, bi-weekly meetings with the entire team (one Director has one week, the other is offset ; so it's essentially weekly), plus bi-weekly senior management team meetings, and a every two months meeting with the admin staff overall with one of the other directors (plus I'm supposed to chair that meeting next month and I've not done that before)

Overall I feel like I'm coming across like I'm not doing anything because I don't have updates to say. And my task management is still scrambled and I don't feel in control there either however I'm told nothing has fallen through the cracks so I'm ontop of things at least.

What does everyone else do?

Hello my fellow EAs. I support a few execs and some mornings a big chunk of my time goes to the same prep over and over. Pulling their meetings together, chasing docs, matching emails to what is coming up that day. Lately I keep thinking about what I would offload if I had the option. So I am curious what you would pick. If you could hand off one recurring task and get that time back, what would it be. Always looking to steal a better system from people who get it.

I’ve been offered an Executive Assistant role in a particular industry that I’m passionate about, and I’m really struggling to decide whether I’m seeing genuine red flags or whether anxiety is making me overthink everything.

On paper, it’s an exciting opportunity in an industry I’ve wanted to get into for years. However, throughout the recruitment process I’ve picked up a lot of things that have left me feeling uneasy.

Here are the main concerns:

• The current Executive Assistant warned me several times (without me prompting her) that the executive I’d be supporting is “difficult” and not particularly well liked around the office. She mentioned it more than once, which stuck with me.

• During my interview, the executive herself said she has “no filter” and that people often mistake her for being rude. She also said she has exceptionally high standards and doesn’t tolerate mistakes of any kind. She made it clear she expects perfection from the people who work for her.

• Employees don’t really get a proper lunch break. Instead, everyone is expected to eat lunch together in the office every day. It sounded less like an optional team lunch and more like an expectation.

• The notice periods seem very one-sided. The company only has to give me one week’s notice if they want to dismiss me, but if I want to leave, I’m expected to give two months’ notice.

• The salary is well below what I’d expect for an EA role supporting someone at this level, especially considering the workload and expectations.

• The culture places a huge emphasis on socialising outside work. During multiple interviews they stressed how important it is that everyone goes out drinking together regularly and that being part of the social scene is a big part of fitting in. I’m not against socialising, but it felt more like an expectation than an optional perk.

• The hours are long and it’s very much an “always on” type of role. It is 5 days in the office.

• I also know someone who previously worked there, and they gave me a pretty negative review of the environment.

• The interview process itself was unusually long. There were multiple stages and I had to complete tasks at almost every stage.

• For my final interview I spent hours preparing a presentation that they specifically asked me to create. When I got there, they didn’t ask me to present it at all. It wasn’t mentioned.

• During the interview, the executive also commented that she’s had a lot of Executive Assistants over the years. She didn’t elaborate, but given everything else, it made me wonder about turnover.

The thing that’s making this difficult is that I don’t know whether these are genuinely significant warning signs or whether I’m becoming overly cautious because I’ve had difficult experiences in previous workplaces.

Part of me thinks this could still be a fantastic opportunity and that I’m focusing too much on the negatives.
Another part of me feels like there are simply too many independent warning signs to ignore.

If you were offered a job with all of the above, would you accept it? Which of these would concern you the most, and which (if any) do you think are perfectly normal?
I’d really appreciate some objective opinions because I feel too emotionally invested to judge it clearly myself.

Today my exec told me about an awkward surprise celebration in the office. I told him a colleague had asked me earlier if we should organise something for him, but I mentioned I didn’t think he’d want a big fuss.

He reacted with a ❤️ and replied “You know me so well”

Such a simple sentence, but it genuinely made my day.

Would love to hear yours. :)

There is a board that oversees the governance of the organisation, but essentially they leave the CE to 'run' everything with very little oversight, aside from checking the financially each month.

The CE is an inconvenient combination of micromanager, that is rarely in the office and takes a lot of leave, often holding up processes or leaving things completely up in the air until they get back or remember to look at it again. They will tell middle management that they have delegated authority in their absence, but will be upset if anyone dares to actually make a decision on anything before they return.

Recently their have been complaints made about employee conduct that ultimately go no where, because the CE favours the employee in question, with no follow up or even a response to complainants. The CE have themselves flipped out at middle managers recently, with no apologies or admission of wrongdoing, just carry on as if nothing happened.

So my question - has anyone here gone to the board or over the head of your CE to make a formal complaint? How did that work out for you - was it taken seriously or brushed off, did you ultimately end up leaving the organisation/company? This is a not-for-profit organisation, so less about KPIs that are more easily monitored, however this laissez faire attitude will impact our funding and very well already may have.

Lately I've seen a lot of EA positions where theyre looking for the EA to do sales. CRM and socials management are common, but outbound calls and sales? I’ve always seen that as a very different role, anyone else find that weird or are we headed that way?

Have you been responsible for business development/sales and how was it?

Mostly a rant because I am so tired of applying for jobs where on paper I am over-qualified (asking for 3-5 years when I have more than 10) but apparently that's not enough. I know so many people are out of work right now and every job app is even more flooded than usual but it's just exhausting.

Getting laid off is always a setback - it means you don't have the luxury of picking a role where you can move up or challenge yourself or grow because you pretty much have to take the first job you can get. So no flashy projects or resume-builders, no title or pay bump, no continuity or obvious career path unless you have tens of thousands of dollars saved up to wait for something good. Nobody has that.

Now I've had the same set back four frickin times and I'm tired. The last time I applied for a job I didn't need (one I actually wanted and was excited about) was in 2018. That job hunt was, not pleasant, but frankly luxurious in comparison. I did a trial day at a job, decided it wasn't a step up for me, and declined it. The job I ended up taking was exciting and challenging and I learned so much from it and it was actually putting me on a great path forward (thanks so much covid for ruining that). And ever since then it's been back-to-back "just stay here long enough that you don't look like a job hopper" and I haven't even been able to get that before another crisis or layoff.

I'm getting interviews, I know my resume is solid, I'm being told by the hiring manager that I'm getting passed over for the randomest stuff (last one was "the office manager component seems like it would bore you" and like yeah it would, work is boring sometimes, and you didn't even include that requirement in the job description). I know I'm great at this job, every manager and mentor I've had has said so, but it's so hard to feel like it's even worth it when I'm struggling like this. And it's so hard to get actually excited about the career again when I'm stuck just looking for a job to get me through.

This sucks. Just needed to get that out of my system <3

Why I'm looking: My current VA has unfortunately become sloppy in recent months... adding items to my calendar that belong to their other clients, repeated typos / ignoring requested formatting, and ill-equipped to handle recent/expanded tasks like speaking with retail SAs (it's very easy, they just seem very unfamiliar tbh). The asks are straight-forward and only ~10/hrs per month. I can see increasing hours in the future with the right person (ex. email mgmt), but I don't want to overpromise at this stage. It's objectively light work (my life is pretty dull), but management of these tasks are a mega help to me.

Ongoing asks (all personal):
- Calendar management
- Manual bills & one-off invoices - payments
- Service scheduling and comms (like landscaping, grooming, doctors), most of which is by phone.

As needed:
- Reservations
- Retail comms / Finding and purchasing items. Should be familiar talking with SAs.
- Light research (like: best doctor for X in this city based on X criteria)
- Groceries ordering
- To-do list organization

Must be located in the US and willing to sign NDA. Hours are generally whatever works for you (contractor). Paid via Venmo. I prefer to email tasks; I hate texting. Apologies if this is the wrong sub for this!

If interested, if you'll please: 1) share your state, 2) confirm 21+, and 3) share any brief, relevant details. No need to share resume (though, you're welcome to) or any personal/identifying info at first contact. Thank you!

Curious to know people who have done this through pocketbook, JR berry, Career group, and similar EA agencies and how they ultimately made it into a job opportunity?

You: Would you like me to do this, or this?
Your Exec: Yes thanks

Please, let's not turn this into an AI debate. I just need to rant and get this out of my system.

For context, I come from an industry with extremely strong anti-AI sentiments. I recently switched and found myself at a different company which is currently enthralled in an AI love affair. They are implementing it everywhere and, if I may, shoving it down a lot of the employees' throats. Everyone I encounter says they hate it, it doesn't work properly, and is more time-consuming and expensive than it's worth. I've also been told that the millions they've invested into AI tools could've just gone to hiring more people on the teams that need extra help. It's this whole thing.

I'm the EA to the CEO and on a few occasions, she's asked me to review materials but later changed her mind to have Claude do it. One time I reviewed a report written almost entirely with AI...guys. It was so bad. I cannot believe the C-Suite thought it was suitable to present at a major meeting with company leadership. At one point, I gave up on trying to make it coherent because I was redlining everything. I focused on grammar and punctuation and that was it. She hasn't asked me to review anything else since.

Until today! They've recently given me more important tasks and I've never felt so proud and excited. Today, she asked me to review and edit the deck for the Board Meeting and I was so happy I got emotional. I know it sounds silly but it finally feels like I'm being trusted with important and meaningful work. I also come from a highly literary and academic background so writing is my strong suit. She gave me access and I started working on it this morning.

I feel it's important to note that we are closed today and tomorrow (yes, I will be paid for the hours I worked). But my CEO was traveling for the past week and we have not been able to meet until today. Because of the weekend and the holiday, I knew we needed to touch base and that I'd have to work a few hours before our board meeting next week. I did so willingly and happily, it's genuinely fine! I don't have plans today, only tomorrow, and I fully prepared to work a little bit today.

I was halfway through the deck when she messaged me that I was off the hook because the deck was going to get put through Claude. It felt like my bubble popped. Again, I know this doesn't mean much to them but it meant a lot to me and they are constantly asking AI to do the things a traditional EA should be doing. And not very well, mind you. Claude had already gone through the deck once before me and I found quite a few errors. Nothing life ending but enough for me to know it needed a HUMAN editor. CEO said Claude found a bunch of number errors and I was like...yes, I saw them too, but I didn't dare touch them because numbers are sensitive and I'm not familiar enough with them to know that! That's why the finance team is also in there editing and adjusting!

I don't know...I don't know if I have a future here. To be frank, I don't believe I'm cut out for an AI-first company the way this one is turning into.

I practically begged her to just message me if she needed help. I am genuinely trying to help her!!! Why is she wasting time going through a 60+ slide deck editing numbers and punctuation and grammar when I COULD BE DOING IT!!! This is time sensitive and they aren't even done yet. There isn't even an agenda yet! Like! Ugh!! Please, let me help you, I am trying to make your life easier which is what you hired me to do. You want Claude to review, fine. But delegate the editing itself to ME so that YOU don't have to spend over an hour making those manual edits! I just don't understand. I'm so tired and frustrated not to mention disappointed. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and realize this is stupid and I shouldn't be upset anyway.

But, that's why I'm here ranting to you guys LOL.

So I did a interview at a prestigious school which is near where i live.

There were 4 people interviewing me. It was verbal then there was an assessment.

The role was to support the schools senior management team. They knew my background was investment banking and that i had 13 years of experience.

At the end of the interview we were talking about the package. The lady was like what did you make in your last job, i was honest and said 8,000 USD per month. She said schools dont pay that high and i understood as i have teacher friends. Where we live a teacher salary is between maybe 4-6 k per month. I told the lady as long as the offer is not under 4 k USD id probably be ok given the other benefits.

Their offer was 2,500 usd per month.

The benefits were

- 1 fully paid off flight per year (the lady interviewing me said this was standard for all staff. (In my offer it said 1 flight every 2 years)

- my children can study in the school (the school is part of a portfolio of schools in the country) in my offer it said my kids can attend the indian school which is the cheapest fees wise of all the schools. The lady interviewing me said that 3 of her kids go to that school where i was interviewing for. Why did they offer me the indian school?? I am british but im brown so they know my kids would be studying gcses etc…

I feel so offended and i feel like they discriminated me. I know for a fact that brits in the country i live in never take jobs for 2,500 USD the cost of living is very high here.

Am i right to feel upset by this, is the norm ?

I did decline the offer but i just wanted to vent i guess.

I find it hard to keep pace when someone is speaking fast, especially in situations where asking them to repeat isn't really an option. Would love to hear how others manage to catch the key points when the speaker is going through things at speed.