What An Executive Assistant At Boost VC Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Professional Industry

Something I wish someone had told me before entering the industry is to be prepared for things that might seem a little ridiculous. It's really a people game.

It's about reading people and also about guarding yourself. Often, the issue isn't you, it's them. Phrases like "it's not me, it's you" or "it's not you, it's me" come up.

You have to prepare yourself for some really challenging moments. Every job comes with some level of stress, and there are healthy and unhealthy versions of stress. Going into a role like this, you need to be prepared for the unexpected.

Executive assistants see all kinds of situations. I've been in situations where, even for a friend who is a social media manager, I was reamed for the font size and style not matching company standards. You might think that's the dumbest thing, but it's taken very seriously at some places.

If it looks uniform and better presented, it maintains the reputation of the firm or event. Whether it's an invitation, a Google Doc, or a social media post, presentation matters to some extent.

You have to go in knowing that you are putting your best foot forward and doing your absolute best. Remind yourself of this constantly because there will be circumstances where you may feel gaslighted.

For example, someone might claim you spelled something wrong on a Google Doc, even when you know you spelled it correctly. They might insist it wasn't that way before, implying you changed it and then blamed them for your mistake.

In these situations, it's often easier to accept the blame, fix it, and move on. People can be interesting, and some are so focused on their careers that they put all their energy into everything, down to the font size or the color of a wall hanging.

These little things might not matter at the end of the day, but they matter to someone. This goes back to reading people and understanding what matters to them.

Learn what matters to them so you can read them and adhere to their expectations. This will cause you less stress and put you in a position to succeed. People aren't always fair, and they can be unreasonable.

Think about the saying "the customer is always right," which I learned in retail and restaurants. Customers can come up with ridiculous stories, and you have to be prepared for those moments.

In my experience, the key is to learn how to read people. If you can read people, you can make them happy, and if you make them happy, you'll be happy. That's pretty much the gist of it.