Executive Assistant CV Example & UK Expert Tips

The fact that you’re looking for an executive assistant job already says a lot about you. You’re tireless (at least as far as anyone knows), quick on your feet, very good at multitasking and switching gears, constantly in a cat-like state of awareness, and definitely not thin-skinned or easily discouraged.

To attract the kind of company you’ll want to work for, you’ll have to demonstrate your value. This article is here to show you how you can use your executive assistant CV to do just that.

In this guide, you'll see a top-level executive assistant CV example and step-by-step instructions on writing your own. You're also lucky to get expert tips and UK examples to cover specific executive assistant CV sections. Go for it!

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We created the sample on the right using our builder. See other good CV examples like this one.

Need a different CV example? Check these samples:

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Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our CV examples.

Executive assistant CV example for the UK

Now that’s a great CV model! Let’s use it to write your own CV.

1. Start your executive assistant CV off with a personal statement

You know better than most people the importance of introducing yourself properly. As the cliché goes, you only get one chance. The CV personal statement (also called a CV profile or a CV summary) is where you get that one chance. You have 3–4 sentences, 50–150 words—here’s how to make the most of them.

Take a sentence to introduce yourself as an EA, how many years’ experience you have and in what contexts. Take another sentence or two to either describe one of your more impressive on-the-job achievements or selectively summarise those from your CV job descriptions. More on this in the next section.

Use your final sentence to show that your goals just happen to line up perfectly with the company’s goals. This sounds difficult, but really isn’t if you know this simple trick: just answer the question of what is it that you hope to achieve for your new employer in this new role. Viola, your goals now match theirs.

An increasing number of companies are resorting to the use of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) in the recruitment process. These algorithmically based organisms are generally not your friend, but they can be tamed, somewhat. Be sure to mention the name of the company and the job title, as advertised.

It’s going to be far easier for you and you’ll do a much better job of writing your personal statement if you leave it until after you’ve finish the rest of your CV. At the very least wait until you’ve prepared your job descriptions and skills section. Keep this section in the back of your mind till then.

Executive assistant CV examples: personal statement

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

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2. Frame your executive assistant CV job descriptions the right way

It’s not like your duties as an executive assistant aren’t interesting: there’s enough variance between employers of EAs to limit the assumptions that can safely be made about your day-to-day responsibilities. It’s just that each duty you add to your CV is a nail in the coffin of your chances at an interview.

A much, much more effective approach is to list concrete, quantified achievements to make up each job description. They still speak to your responsibilities while providing an answer to the question ‘what can this candidate do for me?’ by describing what you were able to do for your previous employers.

If you’re creating a career change CV, focus on highlighting your transferable skills and achievements that apply to the executive assistant role. Even if your previous positions were in a different field, you can showcase accomplishments like project management, organizational skills, or client communication that demonstrate your readiness for the new position.

First, we need an overarching structure for all this. The chronological format is by far the most appropriate CV format for an executive assistant CV. Contrary to its name, this format will have you listing things in reverse-chronological order. It’s what employers and ATSs expect to see and prefer.

You can use the following executive assistant CV template to create a subheading for each of your CV job descriptions (start from the most recent):

[Job Title]

[Company Name, Location]

[Dates of Employment]

Then all that’s left to do is to populate each subheading thus created with up to six achievements. Achievements are at the crux of writing an effective executive assistant CV. They’re the quantified descriptions of actions you took at work and the benefits that your employer got as a result.

Build each achievement around a strong verb, like ‘organised’, ‘managed’, or ‘increased’. Put numbers to whatever you can, but focus on the benefits your employer scooped up first and foremost. You can use something like the CAR (Challenge Action Result) formula to help structure your thoughts.

If you have limited experience as an EA, then focus on any other administrative support, project management, and secretarial work you’ve done. If you have no experience at all, then you’re very unlikely to be hired at this level. However, you can still use a dedicated CV builder or a free AI CV builder for suggestions and inspiration on how to present yourself effectively despite limited professional experience. In such a case, a skills-based CV can also come in handy, allowing you to highlight your transferable skills and strengths.

Executive assistant CV examples: job description

3. Strengthen the education section in your executive assistant CV

Just as there are many de facto kinds of EA, there are many paths to becoming one, and not all of them require any particular level of education beyond GCSEs in Mathematics and English. Most, though, will require a Bachelor’s in a related field. In any case, your education section has to be up to the task.

Stick to a reverse-chronological order here, starting from your highest level of education and working your way back from there. There’s no need to mention high school once you have a degree and a years’ worth of experience. Provide your expected graduation date if you’re still studying at a given level.

Here’s how to write university degrees and other tertiary qualifications, like NVQs:

[Degree Type] [Degree Name](Degree Class), [Years Attended]

[Institution Name], [Institution Location]

Use the following executive assistant CV templates to detail your high school education:

A-levels: [Subject Name 1], [Subject Name 2], [Subject Name 3]

[School Name], [School Location], [Years Attended]

[number of GCSEs] GCSEs (including Mathematics and English)

[School Name], [School Location], [Years Attended]

Executive assistant CV examples: education

4. Showcase the right skills in your UK's executive assistant CV

There’s an unusually wide range of skills involved in being an EA, and it can be difficult to capture that variety in an executive assistant CV. An EA often does the work of a secretary, project manager, HR specialist, personal assistant, and more. Here’s a way to get a good cross-section. 

First of all, know that you’ll need to prepare a new skills section for every new job application. A generic approach to writing your CV would suggest a generic approach to dealing with the executives you support, and that’s no way to get hired by people who expect highly personalised service.

You can save a lot of time and effort down the line by investing very little of both into the creation of an EA skills master list. Brainstorm as many of your skills as you can. Aim for a mix of soft skills, hard skills, and technical skills. Now comes the crucial step that will take your skills section to the next level.

Go back through your master list and add a sentence onto each skill in which you describe how you’ve demonstrated that skills on the job. Be as specific and concrete as you can and quantify everything you can (don’t worry if you can’t, though, the bar is lower here than with your achievements).

Check the job advert to which you’re responding and take note of any skills explicitly and implicitly required there. Now simply copy 5–10 skills (with supporting sentences) from your master list into your executive assistant CV. Substitute synonyms to match the keywords from the advert and you’re done. Remember to include communication and IT skills.

Executive assistant CV examples: skills

5. Consider adding extra sections to your executive assistant CV

You’ve seen how to squeeze as much as possible out of your work experience, skills, and education sections, but there’s still so much that goes into being a good EA that falls outside of those categories. So take the initiative and add your own categories to the mix through the use of extra CV sections.

You could add a section that details any non-academic courses you’ve completed, certifications you’ve earned, awards you’ve won, even your personal interests and hobbies are fair game if they’re relevant to the job. That’s the one and only rule: anything you add has to be relevant to the job application at hand.

One thing that’s virtually always relevant, and very much so in the CV of an executive assistant, is the ability to speak languages other than English. Studies have shown numerous benefits to language learning, many of which extend to the employer. So include your languages whether you think you’ll use them or not. 

Executive assistant CV examples: additional sections

6. Always pair your executive assistant CV with a cover letter

You’ve attended c-level and maybe even board meetings, you’ve probably taken minutes in more than one formal meeting. You know that there are often protocols for things like attendance and the keeping of official records that are not open to negotiation. It’s the same with your job application.

Your job application is made up of two main parts: your executive assistant CV and a cover letter. Unless an employer explicitly asks you not to include a cover letter, you always have to assume that one is required. And most often that’s true: most employers require one even if they don’t read it.

Follow a good guide to writing your cover letter. Know to whom you to address your cover letter. Learn how to effectively start your cover letter. Use it to showcase your achievements, keeping the length of your cover letter down. End your cover letter with a confident call to action that shows you’re ready for the next step.

7. Keep these things in mind before marking your executive assistant CV as done

In the rarefied (in corporate terms) world of executives and senior management, attention to detail and even general appearance take on a new and even greater importance. Put your attention to detail and professional, aesthetic judgement on display in your executive assistant CV.

Proofread both your executive assistant CV and cover letter. Once you’re satisfied that it’s free from spelling and grammatical errors, give it to someone you trust to look over with a fresh pair of eyes. Then proofread it again. Communication skills are vital to your job, as is the ability to catch mistakes.

The length of your CV shouldn’t exceed a single A4 page for every decade of experience you have. Cap this at two A4 pages even if you have over 20 years’ experience. Use subheadings and plenty of white space to clearly demarcate different sections. Leave your contact details near the top.

Choose an understated, professional-looking CV font like Noto, Garamond, Liberation, Arial, or even Calibri. Leave the font size at a readable 11–12 points. Use a modern CV template. If you are familiar with the tool, you might want to try Canva CV templates. Make sure, though, they are ATS-compliant. Save your work in PDF to protect its formatting. 

Your date of birth and full address don’t belong on a CV. Add your name and surname, telephone number and email address only (LinkedIn URL is optional).

And, finally, follow up if you haven’t heard back after a week. A quick email or phone call is all it takes.

Good luck! Now you know what a good CV looks like.

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

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I hope this article was half as helpful to you as you are to your company’s senior management. Is there anything I’ve mentioned that you’d like more information on? Drop any questions, comments, experiences or feedback down below, we’ll be sure to get back to you.

How we review the content at LiveCareer

Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.