Executive Secretary Interview Questions And Answers

You’ll want to be careful with this one. The recruiter is trying to find out what type of working environment you like and what irritates you. Give the wrong answer for that particular job, and you could find yourself passed over, even if you’re qualified. The best way to answer this question is to gather as much information as you can about what your prospective employer is like. Pore over the job description for clues. If you know anyone at the company, get their input. And listen closely for hidden clues in what the recruiter says. If you can do that, then you can tailor your answer to be a perfect match. If not, say something that won’t backfire on you, like “I worked at a company that was struggling financially and where everyone was looking for any opportunity to stab someone else in the back. It went far beyond normal office politics; it was vicious. I didn’t like working in that environment.”

Executive assistants must handle a variety of tasks of varying importance and scope. This question is designed to find out how you handle the workload. A good answer shows how you used a combination of input from your boss and your own time management skills: “I made a plan each morning based on the tasks I had to do, how important each one was, and how much time I thought they would take. Of course, there were always things that came up unexpectedly. When that happened and I wasn’t sure of the importance or urgency, I would touch base with my boss to find out whether I should drop what I was doing or get to it later.”

Based on my experience in the field, no two days are alike so I am aware that my day to day tasks will vary. However, my main duty that remains constant is to be the executive's right hand man and make sure his business is organized and taken care of.

About 10 months ago, I found myself in a quandary when I had to schedule appointments for 5 executives at the same time! It was a first for me as I had only been assigned a max of 3 executives at one time before this. However, I put my best foot forward, brought out my multitasking abilities and managed to correctly schedule all appointments without giving anyone cause for complaint!

In my previous role I had to work with a lot of strong-minded and opinionated consultants and found that I lacked the ability to be assertive with them and sometimes I felt they were able to get me to do work that I was uncomfortable with. After discussing this with my Manager I attended an assertiveness course and gain the training I needed to deal with them. I find it hard to say no. It is a work in progress, but I am getting there

What does motivate you will depend on your background and experience but try to make it relevant to what this position and company provides. Different motivators include challenge, increased responsibility, team involvement, interpersonal interaction, task complexity, learning opportunities and growth.

If your current or past experience conforms to the position, you should briefly describe your background and the related responsibilities.

In fact, the interviewer wants you to tell about yourself – your greatest achievements as a manager assistant and how efficiently you performed the various tasks required for the position.
You should demonstrate that you are detail oriented and confident in providing higher quality benefits to your superiors.

You can describe the working relationship with your chief executive, including workload management, organizing reference material for bids/proposals, outlining new business opportunities, and tracking progress on all up-to-date projects.

The most important skills are good organisation, excellent computer skills and a very high standard of writing, copying and audio typing. A PA’s role is to ensure that the manager is well organised and to produce perfect written documents.

If you have done your research, read the company website and annual reports you will be able to give a concise answer about the company and then say what you know about the role. The job description should be accurate so use this information.

I would love to work as a secretary in five years time and do a really good job. I enjoy doing this job and would be more than happy to have this position for a long time. I really feel this position is what makes me happy in my daily life, so I am not looking for anything else.

We live in 21st century. Each and every secretary needs to work with computer, on a daily basis. You, as a good applicant for this job, should have a pretty good knowledge of MS Office, including MS Outlook. So, you should rate yourself 10 out of 10. It is simple, isn’t it?

In fact, it is not as simple as it seems. First of all, your answer should be more complex. You should backup your knowledge with some experience, saying where and when you have worked with MS Word or Excel. You should also elaborate on it with your efforts to improve.

The purpose of this question is to find out what kind of working relationship you have with your boss. Do you handle issues on your own, and inform your boss later? Or do you get instructions first, and then carry them out? Since different executives have different preferences, it’s best to just be truthful when answering this question. If you’re used to being self-directed, you’d be miserable working for an executive who didn’t want you to move an inch without being told to do so (and vice versa).

Executive assistants usually need to have at least basic skills in a broad spectrum of computer programs. Talk about any experience you have using word processing programs, spreadsheet programs, social media, calendars, email, etc.

I prioritize my tasks using to-do lists so that I can clearly lay out the things I need to accomplish. I prefer to sort my responsibilities by deadline because I believe that to be the most crucial component. Through my years of experience, I have become adept at multi-tasking without losing the quality of my work

I try to avoid conflict as much as I can because I do not feel that it is very constructive. However, in the event that I do have to deal with it, I always have a pro-resolution approach to it. Conflict does not affect me because I begin thinking about effective solutions as soon as I am faced with one. My stance on conflict is to keep a straight face, resolve the problem and move on.

Use the information you gathered from your background research to prepare for this interview question, this way you will stand out from the other candidates for the secretarial vacancy. Find something specific about the company and position that attracts you.

Look at the company mission, vision and successes and at the responsibilities and activities involved in the job itself.

I am looking for a position that will allow me to use my experience in the ______ field, including xxx and xxx. I am also ready to take on increased responsibilities in a management capacity when the opportunity arises. I am eager to work in a company that can provide the opportunity for professional growth.

Answering the salary question at this stage of the interviewing process can be dangerous; however, you must answer if asked, and your answer must be an honest one. Most advice you hear or read will tell you to avoid answering this question whenever possible. But, by avoiding it, you may cause your interviewer to think that you are hiding something or not being honest about your earnings. Our suggestion is to answer in one of the following ways:

☛ "I'd like a salary that reflects the responsibilities of the position. My current salary range is low- to mid- $30's."

☛ "At this point, salary is not an issue for me. I'm more concerned with the position and the opportunity to learn".

You may then feel free to inquire if your salary requirements are within the company's range. Do not feel obligated to justify or apologize for your current salary! Do not offer to take a cut in pay unless asked, and only you truly mean it. This could be appropriate if you are changing careers or looking for less responsibility.

Research the company, read their values and mission statement and make your answer fit with these values. Explain how you are impressed with the company ethos and that you wish to be able to contribute to the future success of the company.

Many job applicants underestimate questions about past working experience and education. However, they have no idea what the answer can reveal about them. Interviewers are actually assessing way more than just your working experience when using this question in an interview.

First of all, the task is to tell a little about your experience. But many applicant do not catch this important word in the question. They start to talk about each job they had, similarly to the act of reading their resume to the interviewer. It’s a clear sign that they do not listen carefully, that they do not speak to the point. It is something a good secretary can not afford in her job. She should be an excellent listener, understand the orders of the boss and do exactly what she is told to do.

Well, this is a really tricky question. Before you start to think about an answer, you should ask yourself the following question: Will there be any business trips in this job?

When I was interviewing women for positions of secretaries, we used this question all the time, doesn’t matter if accompanying on business trips was a part of a job, or not. If it wasn’t and candidate got too excited about a question, saying how she would love to travel and enjoy such a part of a job, the decision was clear- we did not choose her.

Why did we do so? Well, she would not be happy about her job. She would expect something more than the position could offer… Some other applicants got offended with the question. They imagined everything that one can imagine, when I mentioned “accompanying boss on business trips”. Needless to say, these candidates were also not hired, doesn’t matter if there was need to do such trips or not. It is a common thing to accompany a boss on a business trip and it’s work – nothing else, nothing more, nothing a job applicant should get offended with.

One of the main roles of an executive assistant is that of gatekeeper. Controlling access to the boss is an extremely powerful role, and your potential employer wants to know that you can handle it. A good answer would be something like this, “First, I’d try to understand the situation so I can know why that person is trying to reach you and why you’re trying to avoid it. Then I’d see if there’s any way I could help that person myself. If not, I’d just continue to politely take messages without making any promises on when you’d be available to respond.”

The purpose of this question is to find out the degree to which your boss trusted you with access to the company’s funds. Be ready to describe every type of transaction you made, including whether you did them autonomously or had to get approval each time. Examples could include using credit cards to book travel, writing checks for expenses, or managing a petty cash fund.

As an executive secretary, I have been actively involved in maintaining executives’ calendars, by planning appointments, board meetings and conferences. Furthermore, I was required to attend meetings and take and record minutes, and prioritize all outgoing and incoming correspondence, including letters, emails and packages.

The most satisfying aspect of my role is being able to help the executives make informed decisions that affect the rest of the Company. I enjoy working with and supporting successful people at the top-level of their career. The most frustrating aspect is the slow pace in the office and it can be difficult to get things done on occasions.