Executive Secretary Interview Preparation Guide

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.