In honor of Administrative Professionals Day, I want to share my thoughts on why I believe being an executive assistant is a rewarding career. When people tell me, “Anyone can do that job,” it bothers me. It tells me that person doesn’t really know what it takes to be a great assistant.

I hear it from both sides of the desk. I hear assistants talk about their job or the profession as if it is no big deal. I hear managers or Human Resource Professionals say it doesn’t take any special skill to be an administrative assistant. These people are naïve, to say the least.

A true Executive Assistant must do over 100 things well. A stellar Executive Assistant must think of every detail for every function such as calendar management, travel planning, meeting preparation and execution, and e-mail management. Those are just the fundamentals. [Read more…]