Dear Executive, This is how you find the right EA for you
It's not always a number-of-years-of-experience thing
I get some version of this question a lot: how do I find a great EA?
The executives I’ve worked with in the past who were new to working with an EA or didn’t have luck working with recruiters always wondered what they were supposed to look for, how they should be able to tell if an EA would be great for them, and what questions they should be asking in interviews.
And my number one bit of advice always came down to: Don’t hire an EA purely based on resume or whom they supported, where they worked, or how many years of experience they have.
Though those may all be great baselines to help you understand an EA’s foundation and experience, they don’t equate to “oh this must mean this EA will be great for me!”
Instead, spend time with the EA to understand if you both are a good fit and personality match. Think about what qualities are important to you to have in your EA, and if you’ve never worked with one, think about why you need an EA right now in this moment in your career, what you need help with, what style of EA you want, how you want them to represent you, and what type of person and executive you are.
Ask yourself questions like…
Does your working style or hours of operation seem to match? - If you’re a bachelor, tech CEO of a startup, who starts work at 12pm and goes until midnight, and I’m a mother of two elementary school aged children, our hours of operation may not align
What about personalities? - If you’re introverted and like to work on your own undisturbed, but you have an EA who constantly has to ask you questions, this may not work. If this is your first time having an EA, you may need someone who has some experience and can help train you, but then do you find someone who tells you how to do things or do you find an EA who is malleable and adaptable to your needs and working style. It really depends on who you are.
Is this person someone you’d want to have representing you? - Maybe you want an enneagram 7, extroverted EA to be the face for you. Maybe you want a behind-the-scenes EA. Maybe you want someone “fun”. Maybe you want someone “chill”. Whatever it is, people will look at and interact with this EA and make assumptions on how YOU are as an exec, so this is something important to think about
Do they seem honest and capable? - It’s hard to tell if someone is honest or capable in an interview. So I rely on gut and backchanneling for this one :)
Is this someone you’d want to chat with regularly? - This EA will be someone you have to work with and interact with frequently. If there’s something about who they are or their personality or style that rubs you the wrong way in the interview, trust that instinct
Do your values (or things you both find to be important) align? - Not everything has to align of course, but being on the same wavelength can be extremely beneficial and helpful in building this relationship.
Do they seem trustworthy? - This is another “gut” thing, but being able to trust your EA is extremely important. Ask questions in the interview process that will help you determine whether this person seems trustworthy.
Also, be direct in your interview. Tell the candidate what you need, what you expect, what immediate tasks you’ll give them, and be as clear as you can or if you don’t know, then let them know that you don’t know. In which case, find an EA who can be autonomous and work with minimal guidance.
It’s important to try to find as best a match as possible because hiring a bad EA for you will make your work life more stressful than it may already be. Take your time in this search, and don’t just rush to hire a body because you need the help.
Also, fun fact (or at least my experience tells me it’s a fact). EAs are always the last to get hired. Companies start looking for EAs when shit has already hit the fan.
Instead, hire someone sooner, even if you feel like you don’t have enough full time work to give them. This will give you an opportunity to ramp them up properly and help them grow with you and the company. Once you hire them, you’ll realize you have loads of work for them (especially if they’re good), and you will be prepared when things get extremely busy and chaotic!