top of page
Search
Writer's pictureSAMUEL CHIBUNNA
Jul 25, 20193 min read

Guest Post: Things I Have Learned as Executive Assistant and Why It is A Rewarding Career

I love reading someone’s experiences in their career because it gives me an insight what it is like to walk a mile in that job scope with that role’s responsibilities (seriously, I don’t think there are any jobs that is easy and fun, not even flight attendants). So when I chance upon Misskhae article, I just have to share it with you all. Be sure to hop over to her website here and check out her Instagram for her gorgeous pics!

I’m a former Executive Secretary to the Executive Vice President– and he was just recently promoted as President, I’m so proud– of one of the respective college in my hometown. I know it’s a huge deal, even most people say so, and I wish I could’ve cherished every moment of my stay there. On my defense, I really do love that company– I love what I do especially working with my boss.

That’s why on this post, I want to share my thoughts on the things that I have learned and why I believe that being an Executive Assistant is a rewarding career for me.

I hear some people say how amazing this job is. They’d be like,“It’s so easy for you to be an assistant because you’re pretty and it suits you.” Other tells me,“Anyone can do that job. You just take notes and make an appointment for your boss.” It bothers me because I realized that most people do not really know what it takes to be an assistant. It’s more than just being pretty, you know. I hear it both sides of the desk from office after office, saying it doesn’t take any special skill to be an Executive Secretary/Administrative Assistant. Well these people are naive, to say the least.

I believe and from what I experienced, a stellar Executive Assistant must think of every detail for every function that a company requires. She’s like the entire employees rolled into one. That sounds exaggerating but it’s true. She must at least have the knowledge into almost everything and do over a hundred things well. Calendar management, travel planning, meeting preparation, taking minutes, filing, e-mail management, and execution. Those are just fundamentals. And by saying she, I’ve done that and I wish I could have done more.

What have I learned?

  1. I have learned to multi-task, to use most of my brain cells thinking, used all the energy that I have to execute & do my job well, and even worked on things way beyond what I have studied. But still for me, I felt that that wasn’t just it.

  2. I have also learned that being an Executive Assistant must also be a leader, patience, organized, intuitive, persuasive, a mind reader, creative, technically proficient, director of office operations, probably can be a liaison too, should be approachable and pleasing (I believe this is where being pretty comes in), and more.

I wish I have known better because I just realized that being an Executive Assistant, the opportunities can be limitless. You can never stop growing, expanding, and learning. In fact, you need to continually learn and grow. That’s why I believe that working in this profession can be very rewarding if you choose to step outside your comfort zone and take risks. I could’ve chosen to expand my job right where I was. Having a boss so lenient and kind, I could’ve strive to be a strategic partner with my executives. I know it takes a lot of work, but I could’ve worked it out.

So, if there’s something that I regret, maybe it was treating this career as something that I am just doing and not fully choosing it while waiting for something better to come along. That’s wrong in so many levels. But it has also taught me a lot of things and I’m bringing it with me on my next career journey.

Thank you father boss for everything.

Love to be my guest? Welcome to drop me an email at kally@MiddleMe.net for further collaboration!

Can’t get enough of MiddleMe? You can find me sharing my thoughts here as well: Instagram @kallymiddleme Twitter (MiddleMe_net) FaceBook (MiddleMe.net) LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/kallytay

Best things in life are meant to be shared, start spreading MiddleMe around, after all, sharing is caring.

0 views0 comments

Comments

bottom of page