Resume Examples
Administration
Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant Resume Example

An executive assistant runs the working life of a senior leader: guarding the calendar, sequencing travel and inbox, prepping the materials a meeting needs before anyone asks, and closing the loop on every decision the leadership team makes. The sample above shows a scale-up EA who grew from office coordinator into a near chief-of-staff role, and this guide breaks down why it lands so you can write your own.
Written by Emily Radcliffe
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Søren Madsen

Executive Assistant
[email protected] | 443972973048

Summary

Executive assistant with nine years supporting founders and senior leaders at tech startups and a scale-up in Copenhagen. Thrives in the fast, ambiguous world of a growing company, where the EA has to be part diary-manager, part project-runner and part chief-of-staff all at once. Took on special projects beyond the diary, from planning offsites to running the leadership team's operating rhythm. Manages calendars, travel and inboxes, prepares materials and decks, coordinates the leadership team, and quietly removes the friction that slows a busy executive down. Proactive, discreet and genuinely indispensable. Looking for a senior executive-assistant or operations role supporting a leader or team in a fast-moving company.

Work Experience

Executive Assistant
Nordic Cloud (Scale-Up), Copenhagen, Denmark
Feb 2017 – Present
  • Support founders and senior leaders in a fast-growing company, juggling diary, travel, projects and priorities at once.
  • Took on special projects beyond the diary, from planning company offsites to running the leadership team's operating rhythm.
  • Manage complex, shifting calendars and travel, protecting the leaders' time and resolving the constant clashes a scale-up creates.
  • Prepare board decks, materials and reports, pulling together inputs from across the company against tight deadlines.
  • Coordinate the leadership team's meetings, follow-ups and priorities, keeping decisions tracked and actually acted on.
  • Quietly remove the friction that slows a busy executive down, anticipating needs and solving problems before they surface.
Team & Office Coordinator
Harbor Tech Startup, Copenhagen, Denmark
Aug 2013 – Jan 2017
  • Coordinated the office and supported the founders of an early startup, managing schedules, travel and day-to-day operations.
  • Ran events, onboarding and projects as the company grew, learning to wear many hats in a fast, ambiguous environment.
  • Learned executive support, project coordination and working in a startup on the job over several years.
  • Gained the executive-support certificate and grew into a full executive-assistant role at a scale-up.

Education

BA in Organisational Communication, Communication
Copenhagen Business School
Sep 2010 – Jun 2013
  • Degree in organisational communication covering business, communication and coordination. The study built strong organisational and interpersonal foundations. It set the path into executive support in fast-moving companies.
Certificate in Executive Support & Project Coordination, Administration
Nordic Business Academy
Jan 2015 – May 2015
  • Certificate covering executive support, project coordination and stakeholder management. It broadened the role beyond the diary into projects. It supported the move into supporting founders and leadership teams.

Highlights

Beyond the diary
  • Took on special projects beyond scheduling, from planning offsites to running the leadership team's operating rhythm. An EA who can own real projects, not just the calendar, becomes genuinely indispensable in a fast-moving company.
Removes the friction
  • Anticipates needs and quietly solves problems before they reach the executive, smoothing a chaotic scale-up day. Spotting and removing friction before it becomes a fire is exactly what makes a great executive assistant.

Certifications

Executive Support & Project Coordination
Nordic Business Academy
May 2015 – Present
  • Certificate covering executive support, project coordination and stakeholder management to a recognised standard. It broadened the role beyond the diary into projects and grounded the proactive support applied to leadership teams.

Leadership Operating Rhythm

Leadership Operating Rhythm
Jan 2021 – Sep 2021
  • Designed and ran the leadership team's operating rhythm of meetings, priorities and follow-ups as the company scaled, which kept decisions tracked and acted on and freed the founders to focus on growth.

Languages

  • Danish — Native or Bilingual Proficiency
  • English (UK) — Full Professional Proficiency
  • German — Professional Working Proficiency

Technical Skills

  • Calendar & Travel Management
  • Project Coordination
  • Board & Deck Preparation
  • Leadership Team Support
  • Inbox & Priority Management
  • Event & Offsite Planning
  • Stakeholder Liaison
  • Confidentiality
  • Process Improvement
  • MS Office & Notion

Personal Skills

  • Proactivity
  • Discretion
  • Organisation
  • Adaptability
  • Composure

Activities & Interests

  • Horror Movies
  • Cards
  • Driving
  • Football
  • Baby

What Matters Most

Before the detail, here is what actually separates a strong executive-assistant resume from an average one:
  • Lead with the seniority of who you support (founder, C-suite, a whole leadership team), not just the tasks you perform, because that is the first thing a hiring manager screens for.
  • Prove judgement and discretion, not busywork: recruiters want an EA who decides what reaches the principal, not one who forwards everything.
  • Show scope beyond the calendar, such as board decks, offsites, budget owning, or running the leadership operating rhythm, since that is what separates an EA from an admin.
  • Quantify the load you carry, such as inboxes triaged, executives supported, or trips booked per month, because volume signals you can hold a real principal's pace.
  • Name the stack: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, Concur or TravelPerk, Notion or Asana, plus DocuSign and expense tools, so ATS keyword filters clear you.
  • Keep it to one page and pristine; a typo on an EA resume reads as a red flag for the exact job you are applying to.

Why This Executive Assistant Resume Works

The sample reads like someone a founder would trust with the keys. Here is what it gets right at a structural level, so it survives a rewrite:
  • The summary anchors on who is supported (founders and senior leaders at a scale-up) before it lists any task, so a reader instantly places the seniority tier.
  • It frames the role as part diary-manager, part project-runner, part chief-of-staff, which pre-answers the recruiter's real question: can this person operate above pure admin?
  • The first experience bullet leads with the hardest thing an EA does at a growing company (juggling competing priorities for multiple principals) rather than a rote calendar line.
  • It gives concrete scope signals (board decks, offsites, the leadership operating rhythm) that prove ownership of projects, not just support of them.
  • The Highlights and Project sections repeat the strongest theme (removing friction, owning a rhythm) so the one idea a recruiter should remember is reinforced without padding.
  • Discretion and proactivity appear as demonstrated behaviour woven through the bullets, not as bare adjectives in a skills list, which is how those traits actually get believed.

How to Write an Executive Assistant Resume That Gets Interviews

An EA resume is judged on trust and scope more than on tools. Work through these moves in order:
Open with who you support and at what altitude
Your first line should tell the reader the seniority you operate at: 'Executive assistant supporting a CEO and two C-suite leaders at a 400-person SaaS company.' Supporting one founder at a five-person startup and running EA cover for an entire exec team are different jobs, and the reader needs to place you in three seconds.
Turn tasks into judgement calls
Anyone can 'manage a calendar.' Show the decision: 'Owned inbox triage for the CEO, answering or redirecting roughly 60% of mail without escalation.' Gatekeeping, prioritising conflicting requests, and deciding what reaches the principal are the skills that separate an EA from a scheduler.
Prove scope beyond the diary
Board-pack preparation, offsite and event planning, budget tracking, headcount coordination, and running the leadership operating cadence all signal chief-of-staff range. Pick two or three and quantify them, then build the resume itself on a clean structure so the scope stands out; you can draft it fast by picking the layout closest to the EA role you want and dropping your own wins in.
Quantify the load and the tools
Numbers make an EA credible: executives supported, monthly travel bookings, calendar events managed, expense reports processed, event headcounts. Pair them with the real stack (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, Concur, TravelPerk, Notion, Asana, DocuSign) so both a human and the ATS believe you can hold the pace.
Signal discretion without saying 'discreet'
Handling board materials, compensation data, and personal logistics for a principal shows confidentiality far better than the adjective does. Reference the sensitivity of what you handled ('managed confidential board and comp materials') rather than claiming the trait outright.

What to Include in an Executive Assistant Resume

Beyond the standard blocks, these are the elements that carry real weight for an EA and are worth making room for: Turning years of behind-the-scenes support into two or three scope proofs is the hardest part of an EA resume, because the best of the work is invisible by design. You can build those scope proofs into a clean one-page layout that names your principals' seniority before it lists a single tool.
A summary line naming the seniority of the principals you support and the size or stage of the company.
Tooling laid out plainly: calendar and email platform, travel and expense systems, and project or knowledge tools, since these double as ATS keywords.
Two or three scope proofs (board decks, offsites, operating cadence, budget owning) that lift you above pure admin.
Languages, if you support international leaders or coordinate across time zones, which is a genuine differentiator for global principals.
A short achievements or highlights block that names the single thing you are best known for, such as building a leadership operating rhythm.

Executive Assistant Resume Summary Examples

Your summary should place you on the seniority ladder in its first clause. These three add angles the sample does not, so borrow the shape rather than the words:
Entry-level resume summary example
Administrative professional moving into executive support after three years coordinating a 30-person office, managing scheduling, travel and vendor relationships for two department heads. Comfortable owning a shared inbox, booking multi-leg travel through Concur, and turning around meeting agendas and materials on short notice without being chased. Fluent in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, with a reputation for catching diary clashes and expense errors before they ever land on anyone's desk. Organised the office move and two quarterly team events on budget while keeping day-to-day operations running smoothly. Looking to step up into a dedicated executive-assistant role supporting a senior leader who needs a proactive, detail-safe right hand from day one.
Mid-level resume summary example
Executive assistant with six years supporting VPs and C-suite leaders across finance and tech, managing complex calendars, high-volume inboxes and global travel for up to three principals at once. Runs the logistics of leadership meetings end to end, from agenda and pre-reads to minutes and follow-up tracking, and handles confidential board and compensation materials with complete discretion through two funding rounds. Known for protecting an executive's focus time, triaging roughly a hundred emails a day, and resolving scheduling conflicts across three time zones without escalation. Trusted to make judgement calls on what reaches the principal and what gets handled quietly. Seeking a senior EA role where trust, judgement and calm under pressure matter as much as raw organisation.
Senior-level resume summary example
Senior executive assistant and de facto chief of staff with twelve years supporting founders and CEOs through hypergrowth, scaling one company from 40 to 600 people without the leadership team ever losing its operating cadence. Owns the leadership operating rhythm, board-meeting preparation, offsite planning and cross-functional project follow-through, freeing the CEO to spend time where it actually moves the business. Manages a small admin team, sets EA and travel processes company-wide, and is trusted with the most sensitive strategic, legal and personal matters. Runs board logistics for a five-person board and keeps quarterly priorities on track across every function. Looking for a top-tier EA or chief-of-staff role supporting a leader building something ambitious and fast.

Executive Assistant Work Experience Examples

Strong EA bullets carry context, a quantified action and the outcome for the leader. These sets show the range across settings; every line is distinct from the sample:
Startup / founder support
  • Managed the full calendar and inbox for two co-founders at a 45-person startup, triaging roughly 120 emails a day and answering or redirecting around 55% without escalation to protect their focus time.
  • Booked and rebooked complex multi-city travel through TravelPerk for founders averaging eight trips a month, absorbing last-minute changes so a missed connection never cost a customer meeting or an investor call.
  • Built a lightweight meeting-notes and follow-up system in Notion that captured every action from leadership syncs, cutting dropped tasks to near zero and giving founders a single place to track commitments.
  • Planned two all-hands offsites for 40 to 60 people end to end, from venue and travel to agenda and budget, delivering both within a 30,000 kroner cap while the team rated them the best-run events yet.
Corporate / C-suite support
  • Supported a CEO and CFO at a 500-person firm, owning two overlapping calendars across four time zones and resolving competing meeting requests daily so neither leader lost protected strategy or focus blocks.
  • Prepared board packs each quarter by pulling inputs from finance, product and people teams, formatting a 40-page deck and circulating it 48 hours ahead so directors were never reading cold in the room.
  • Coordinated quarterly leadership offsites for 20 executives, handling travel, venue, agenda and a five-figure budget, and consistently brought the events in under budget without cutting the parts leaders valued.
  • Handled confidential compensation, legal and personnel materials for the executive team, maintaining complete discretion across two funding rounds and one restructure where a single leak would have been costly.
Chief-of-staff / operations range
  • Designed and ran the leadership team's weekly and monthly operating rhythm, keeping decisions, owners and deadlines tracked in one place so nothing agreed in the room quietly died after the meeting ended.
  • Managed a small team of two junior assistants, setting shared EA processes and travel and expense standards that cut booking turnaround from two days to same-day across the wider leadership group.
  • Drove cross-functional projects on the CEO's behalf, chasing owners across product, finance and people teams so quarterly priorities actually shipped rather than slipping between functions with no clear owner.
  • Rebuilt the expense and travel-approval workflow in Concur, cutting the average approval cycle from six days to under two and giving finance clean, on-time data instead of a month-end scramble every period.
Extra tips
A three-plus-year stint with one principal beats a longer list of short ones on an EA resume.
Trust roles screen job-hopping hard, so lead with the executive you stayed with.

Top Executive Assistant Skills

Recruiters scan an EA resume for a blend of proven judgement and the exact tooling they run. Lead with these:
Hard skills
  • Complex calendar management
  • Inbox triage and gatekeeping
  • Domestic and international travel booking
  • Board and executive meeting preparation
  • Presentation and deck building
  • Expense management and reconciliation
  • Event and offsite planning
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
  • Concur
  • TravelPerk
  • Notion
  • Asana
  • Slack and Zoom administration
  • DocuSign and e-signature workflows
  • Minute-taking and action tracking
  • Budget tracking
  • Stakeholder coordination
Soft skills:
  • Discretion
  • Proactivity
  • Composure under pressure
  • Judgement and prioritisation
  • Anticipation
  • Adaptability
  • Clear written communication

Certifications for an Executive Assistant

No certification is required to work as an EA, but the right credential signals seriousness for senior roles and clears you past HR filters. These are the ones that genuinely carry weight:
  • CAP — IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals)
    Optional but the most recognised EA/admin credential; covers organisational management, communication and technology.
  • PACE — IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals)
    Optional; a lighter-weight IAAP credential aimed at established administrative professionals.
  • Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) — Microsoft / Certiport
    Optional; useful proof of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook fluency, which underpins most EA work.

Executive Assistant Resume FAQs

The questions candidates most often search when writing an executive-assistant resume, answered straight:

Lead with calendar management, inbox triage and gatekeeping, travel booking, meeting and board-deck preparation, and expense management, then name your tools (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, Concur, Notion). Pair those hard skills with proven discretion, judgement and proactivity shown through your bullets, not just listed.
One page for most EAs, two only if you have 15-plus years or have supported multiple C-suite principals. Recruiters screening EA resumes read fast and treat brevity as a proxy for the prioritisation skill the job needs, so cut anything that does not prove judgement or scope.
No, a certification is not required. Most EAs are hired on experience and references, but the CAP credential from IAAP or a Microsoft Office Specialist certification can help you clear HR filters and stand out for senior roles where the field is crowded.
Reference the sensitivity of what you handled rather than claiming the trait: 'managed confidential board, legal and compensation materials' proves discretion far better than the word 'discreet.' Naming the stakes you were trusted with is what makes a recruiter believe it.
An executive assistant supports one or more senior leaders and owns higher-stakes work: board preparation, gatekeeping, project follow-through, and often chief-of-staff tasks. Make the distinction explicit by naming the seniority of who you support and the scope you owned beyond scheduling.
Yes. A three-to-four-line summary that names the seniority of your principals and your standout strength is the highest-value real estate on an EA resume. It lets a recruiter place you on the ladder before they reach your experience, which is exactly how these resumes get screened.
Use the numbers that describe your load: executives supported, emails triaged per day, monthly travel bookings, calendar events managed, event headcounts, and budgets owned. Volume proves you can hold a real principal's pace, which is what a hiring manager is actually trying to gauge.

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