An executive assistant who lacks basic skills often wastes your team’s time and damages its workflow. As a result, you end up managing the assistant instead of being supported by them.

This is why it is important to invest resources in hiring a skilled executive assistant.

The following are some key qualities that an ideal executive assistant must possess to be considered your potential right-hand.

Top 7 Skills That Every Executive Assistant Should Have For Successful Collaboration

A professional and experienced executive assistant (EA) should always have the following skills.

Exceptional Organization Skills

Since they are your EA, they should be professional at all times, especially when booking and managing meetings. But that’s not all.

To really understand their skill set and organizational ability, invite them to walk you through how they have managed complex, competing priorities. The right candidate will describe the specific frameworks or methodologies they use.

Smooth Communication Skills

Communication skills are essential. A professional EA is of no benefit if they cannot maintain fluent and clear communication across varied channels.

From board members to junior employees, from formal emails to quick Slack messages, they should be capable of adapting their messages to different settings with different tones.

Can they articulate complex information clearly? Do they ask clarifying questions that demonstrate active listening? These questions can give you insights into whether their skill set is up to the mark.

Hands-On Experience With the Tech

Google Workspace and Microsoft Office are just two tools that are essential in the modern workplace. As an executive, you have to look for familiarity with project management tools, expense tracking software, video conferencing platforms, and ideally, whatever specialized tools your industry uses.

The key indicator here is adaptability. During the C-Suite executive assistant recruitment process, encourage the candidates to describe a time they had to learn a new software system quickly.

The best EAs approach technology with curiosity rather than resistance. If you find these qualities in a job candidate, they are an ideal fit for the job.

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Emotional Intelligence and Relationship Management Skills

Your executive assistant will be a gatekeeper, but the best ones are bridges. They should be able to say no gracefully and have the ability to handle tough employees with emotional maturity and diplomacy.

During the recruitment process, consider asking candidates for evidence of high emotional intelligence: Can they read between the lines? Do they understand office politics without getting caught up in them? These things will tell you more about their interpersonal skills.

Stress Management and Composure

The nature of executive support means operating in high-pressure environments where last-minute changes are routine and multiple crises can emerge simultaneously.

Your EA needs to maintain composure when everything seems to be falling apart. Assess their ability to remain graceful under pressure. Ask about their most chaotic workday and how they handled it. Strong candidates will describe staying calm and composed.

Executive assistants who can't take care of themselves won't be able to support you effectively over the long term.

Cultural Awareness

If your business requires active communication with international clients and stakeholders, you must check each candidate’s skill set in this area as well.

This might mean understanding appropriate greeting customs, being mindful of religious holidays when scheduling, or knowing how to navigate different decision-making styles.

Invite candidates to describe their experience working with diverse teams or international colleagues. The best answers will show genuine curiosity about other cultures and an understanding that effective communication requires adaptation and respect.

Resourcefulness and Problem-Solving Attitude

The most valuable executive assistants are creative problem-solvers who take ownership. They do not just identify issues; they apply problem-solving skills that drive business growth. They come with solutions. During the hiring process, assess their resourcefulness.

Give candidates a real problem your office faces and invite them to explain how they would approach it. Their problem-solving process matters as much as their solution.

Notice if they ask good questions or take multiple approaches to solve the issue as this will be an excellent indication of their ability.

Top Questions to Ask When Hiring an EA for Your Company

To select the most appropriate executive assistant for your company, it is necessary to ask them a combination of different questions to ascertain their hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

Once you’ve identified the essential skills, use the following questions to assess candidates effectively.

Questions Based on Hard Skills

These questions test their technical proficiency:

1. What software systems and tools are you most proficient in? Can you walk me through how you've used them in previous roles?

2. Describe your experience with calendar management systems. How do you handle scheduling conflicts across multiple time zones?

3. How do you approach expense reporting and budget tracking? What tools have you used?

4. Explain the filing system (digital and/or physical) you've implemented in previous roles. What made it effective?

5. Tell me about a time you had to communicate bad news or push back on a request. How did you handle it?

Questions Based on Behavior and Emotional Intelligence

Questions such as these will help you to assess a candidate’s emotional intelligence and self-management:

1. How do you handle your own stress when working in a high-pressure environment?

2. Give me an example of when you had to deliver feedback upward to your executive. How did you approach it?

3. Describe how you've helped an executive prepare for an important meeting or decision. What was your thought process?

4. How do you stay informed about your industry or company to better support your executive?

5. Describe a mistake you made. What did you learn, and how did you apply that lesson?

Questions Based on Soft Skills

The following questions explore how interpersonal skills show up in day-to-day work:

1. Tell me about a time when priorities suddenly shifted. How did you adapt, and what was the outcome?

2. Give me an example of when you anticipated a need before being asked. What was the situation and result?

3. Tell me about a time you had to make a judgment call without being able to consult your executive. What factors did you consider?

4. How do you decide what information needs to be escalated versus what you can handle independently?

5. Describe a time when you went above and beyond your job description. What drove you to do that?

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The Bottom Line

Hiring an executive assistant is a process of finding someone whose skills complement your weaknesses and amplify your strengths.

These specific competencies ensure that the EA will remove bottlenecks from the daily workflow so you can focus on the business side of things.

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