Most Important Skills For An Executive Assistant At Boost VC

The biggest ones, well, there are so many big ones. I'll list some of them off. Patience is definitely one. You have to be personable. You have to have compassion, empathy, and prioritization.

A lot of "P"s like patience, prioritization, and people skills. It's true because when you're building up to an executive assistant career, you're usually starting in a position like a receptionist, an administrative assistant, or even a personal assistant. These roles are very content-heavy.

However, when you transition into executive assisting, and then perhaps chief of staff, or even VP of people, VP of ops, or head of events, you become the person representing whoever it is you're working for. To fully understand that person takes time, so you have to be incredibly patient.

The flip side is that they may not be patient, asking why you don't know something already. You've only been there for a short time, so you can't possibly know their social security number or order something for them. It's about being able to work in conditions where you will hit walls and then figuring out how to jump over them or break through them.

Patience is probably one of the biggest skills because people are interesting and have different quirks and ways of operating. Being patient is huge because the person you're working for is essentially putting their life in your hands by organizing it. My boss jokes about what he did before me, and everyone in the office agrees it's thanks to Claire.

Prioritization is another key skill. I always have a running list of questions for my boss that I need answers for. Even though I haven't been working for him for a full six months, it feels like longer because I've accomplished so much.

It's important to prioritize what needs an answer right now, what needs an answer in the next hour, and what can wait until the end of the day. Some unanswered questions might stress you out, even if they've been sitting on your list for weeks. You need to know what's important to ask, and what's important to the person you're working for, which may not be what's important to you.

Great executive assistants know when to tell their boss what's truly important. They can offer pushback and provide perspective to help the person they're working for operate at their best. This leads to another skill: resilience and grit.

If you don't build up resilience, you'll be pushed over in your career, burn out, and never grow. With patience and prioritization, you can hold your ground and bring perspective. Many people are so busy they don't know what to prioritize or what their goals are. It's about reminding them of what they're trying to achieve.

These are character-trait related skills, not hard skills like knowing how to run a Zoom. Those technical skills can all be learned. Skills like patience, prioritization, and not taking things personally are crucial, even if some people try to attack you personally. You control the schedule, so they might not get a meeting unless they have a solid pitch.

It's about exercising these character-related skills because everything else can be learned, especially with technology. What's difficult are people skills. For example, with limited partners who invest in our funds, we need to impress them and prove their money is being used well.

When greeting them or booking a dinner, it's important to choose a tried-and-true restaurant, confirm reservations, and ensure everything is set. People skills encompass small things like greeting a guest, offering them water or coffee, and making sure they're taken care of.

People skills also mean knowing when your boss is low energy, ensuring they've eaten, or simply placing water and their favorite croissant in front of them. You let them enjoy it quietly and then leave. You might offer fruit and yogurt the next day.

Ultimately, being able to read people and know them is crucial for executive assisting. It's about adjusting yourself to situations so you don't burn out and are also pushing yourself forward.