Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
Provide high-level administrative support by conducting research, preparing statistical reports, and handling information requests, as well as performing routine administrative functions such as preparing correspondence, receiving visitors, arranging conference calls, and scheduling meetings. May also train and supervise lower-level clerical staff.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Writing
- Service Orientation
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Administrative
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Communications and Media
- Mathematics
What the work involves
- Manage and maintain executives' schedules.
- Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software.
- Read and analyze incoming memos, submissions, and reports to determine their significance and plan their distribution.
- Open, sort, and distribute incoming correspondence, including faxes and email.
- File and retrieve corporate documents, records, and reports.
- Greet visitors and determine whether they should be given access to specific individuals.
- Prepare responses to correspondence containing routine inquiries.
- Make travel arrangements for executives.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Enterprising, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (33.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (29.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (39.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 77% of occupations compared | 80% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 68% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 80% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 63% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 50% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 54% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 64% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 89% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 10.58%
- Contact with others most of the time: 9.01%
- Constant contact with others: 80.41%
n = 45, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 11.7%
- Fairly important: 10.78%
- Important: 12.58%
- Very important: 9.44%
- Extremely important: 55.51%
n = 45, Incumbent 07/2017
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.82%
- Fairly important: 3.64%
- Important: 6.25%
- Very important: 13.18%
- Extremely important: 76.11%
n = 45, Incumbent 07/2017
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0.16%
- Very little freedom: 3.32%
- Limited freedom: 10.07%
- Some freedom: 43.54%
- A lot of freedom: 42.91%
n = 45, Incumbent 07/2017
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.21%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.76%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 44.64%
- Every day: 29.39%
n = 45, Incumbent 07/2017
Conflict situations
- Never: 9.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.29%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 51.88%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.13%
- Every day: 2.95%
n = 45, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 8.42%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 54.13%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.69%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.14%
- Every day: 4.62%
n = 45, Incumbent 07/2017
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 41.34%
- Fairly serious: 32.7%
- Serious: 6.95%
- Very serious: 15.75%
- Extremely serious: 3.25%
n = 44, Incumbent 07/2017
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O*NET-SOC 43-6011.00 · SOC 43-6011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8