You’re an executive or a founder of a startup. You are looking for an Executive Assistant. Your question to recruiters is “I need an EA, do you know of anyone who is looking?”
That is too vague and high level of a question to ask. I know a lot of EAs who are looking, but are they looking for someone like you to support or a company like yours to work for?
The right question to ask is “I’m the founder of XYZ company. We are 35 people, series A, based in San Francisco. We work 5 days in office and are now looking for an Executive Assistant who can help us support two founders and potentially manage the office. We are scrappy, culture focused, and hard working, and need someone with ABC qualities. Do you know anyone in your network who is looking for a role like this?” Even better would be if you already have a job description ready. :)
This shows that you’ve thought about this thoroughly, you’ve spent the time to put together a JD, you have a good idea of what type of EA you need and want, and you’re ready to devote time into finding one of the most important hires in your company.
Here are some common misconceptions I see when executives or internal recruiters are hiring for this role:
They assume all EAs do the same thing - Wow, if only. Every single EA I know is a different EA to their executives. Why? Because their executives are all different. EAs know how to adapt to their execs. Yes, we have overlap in our work, but we focus on different tasks, we have different strengths, different things motivate us, we approach our work differently, our execs ask different things of us.
They think number of years of experience as an EA equates to whether the EA is good or not - And let me just tell you this is absolutely not true. Hiring an EA is one of the most important decisions you can make. If you hire the wrong one, it’ll be a huge time suck. It will be emotionally and mentally draining trying to push them out. If you hire the right one, your life can be changed. Don’t hire solely based on what the resume says.
They don’t realize that “fit” is CRUCIAL - Sure, you want to make sure your EA candidates can do the foundational work. You want to vet for intelligence, work ethic, likability. But what’s most important is how they gel with you. You will be talking to them everyday, they will become your closest work friend, you will rely on them and trust them. So you want to make sure they’re a good fit and that you like them. Don’t hire someone who can do the job, but who you don’t really mesh well with. No, no, no.
They think our job is easy - LOL. In reality, the role requires constant context-switching, good judgment, intuition, constant juggling, empathy, anticipating needs, proactivity, and emotional intelligence while doing all the tasks we’re being asked to do and getting pinged by everyone in the company.
They think being an EA, a PA, and an Office Manager can and should all be done by one person - also lol
They think an EA can support 4-6 people - Ugh this kills me every time. “Oh but we’re not that busy, an EA can support all 6 of us” - NO THEY CANNOT! And also, you THINK you’re all not that busy, but combine it all with the context switching, the different personalities, all sorts of tasks, and personal preferences, and there’s no sign of success on the horizon. At this point, the EA is just a machine booking conference rooms, scheduling, rescheduling, canceling meetings, rebooking trips, and barely surviving being thrown in the ocean, and with AI tools now, this is totally not necessary. You don’t need a human EA if you just need them to be a scheduling master and grab you all lunch.
They’re not clear with the expectations - This is typically because the executives don’t know what they want and need in an EA. They assume the EA will know what to do. Some EAs might, if you’re willing to pay a pretty penny. But most need some sort of guidance.
They underestimate the importance of the soft skills - Hard skills can be learned. Soft skills are harder to learn. No one puts soft skills on their resume. So interview for these skills. It is so important that an EA have strong soft skills - ability to build relationships, having integrity and good judgment, having high EQ and empathy, being likable, caring deeply about their exec, customer service, etc.
Here’s what to do when looking for an EA:
Be prepared - If you are prepared to hire for this role, it will show through in interviews. You will attract the type of person you need and want as your EA.
Have some expectations and share them - Being able to speak confidently about some of the things you’ll want this EA to help you with and work on will also help you find the right type of EA. Obviously, our role is ever changing, but having some sort of structure is helpful.
Be honest about your culture and your personality - I’m looking for the right match for you as a recruiter. This means the EA needs to be a culture fit but also complement your personality and working style. You know you and your company best, so be honest with your internal recruiter or an external recruiter if you’re working with one so they can help you find the right match.
Be patient - After you hire an EA, do not expect them to do well on day 1, even if they have a lot of experience. They are learning a brand new company, executive, working style, culture, work, etc. Give them some grace, give them the time to learn, observe, ask questions, grow. When you make new friends, you don’t know everything about them on day 1. It takes time, trial and error, mistakes are made, miscommunication happens, disagreements happen, certain situations and environments create different memories. Have some grace.
Respect the candidate experience - I introduced a candidate to a role, and she was in this interview process for 6 months. 6 months of stringing a candidate along. That is extreme and unacceptable. If you don’t know what you want, then you’re not ready to hire. If you don’t respect this role and don’t understand the value of this role, you’re not ready to hire. If you string someone along for that long, you’re clearly looking for someone “better”, so do the candidate a favor and just let them go while you continue your search.
All in all, executives can find great EAs if they attract great EAs.
Some of the best executives I know continue to “get lucky” and find incredible EAs who stay on with them for 5+ years. This is not a coincidence. It’s because they understand how much of a powerhouse a great EA can be. They’re willing to devote the time to unofficially train by providing immediate feedback, they have their EA’s back, and they show how much they value their EAs whether it’s through verbal acknowledgment, public praise, monetary gifts, remembering things about them, saying Happy Birthday, listening to their opinions, etc.
I wish all executives good luck in their searches for an EA. I’ve had the pleasure of supporting some incredible executives and working with some amazing executive clients who truly value their EAs and understand how crucial the role is to the company. Treat this role like you would any executive hire (yeah, it’s that important), and you will find a gem who will hopefully stick with you as long as possible and become a huge asset to you and the company.
Godspeed!
All of this!
PREACH!