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Although hard to believe right now, with so many strong EA/PA candidates on the market, I predict an Executive Assistant talent shortage over the next five years.
We have only a few professional schools dedicated to training the new generation of Executive Assistants.
The number of high level Executive Assistants has dwindled over the past ten years due to the increase in career options for women. Women have traditionally filled the highest percentage of Executive Support positions.
Salaries have dropped this year, but I predict that: Salaries will go up higher than they were in 2008...over the next two years! Why?
Supply and Demand!
- The more candidates available for a job, the lower the salary.
- Geographic location dictates salary also because of supply and demand. In the bay area, highest? Silicon Valley and South Bay, then..San Francisco, East Bay and Marin.
- Is there growth potential into another field, or is it a career EA/PA position. If career EA/PA..because of the shortage, the salary will be higher.
What type of EA/PA job is in most demand right now?
The fastest growing segment of business in the US today is small business.
The "Command Central" executive support role where the EA/PA wears five hats will be a job we will see more and more of over the next year. Brush up your cross functional skills so that you can wear many hats and offer as many skills as possible!
RESUME WRITING TIPS: 2009
- Small and medium sized businesses are a strong segment of the current economy and are hiring
- Small business employers are searching for candidates who can function as "command central" and utilize a wide variety of skills, talents and abilities
- Small business employers are searching for people with flexibility and a willingness to do "whatever it takes" to support the success of the company
- Small business employers are concerned that candidates who have worked in executive support for large companies are not flexible and not willing to do the "washing and ironing" of daily small business life
- Resumes are seldom read and are instead often just quickly reviewed. This glance generally means reading information at the top-third of the resume
- Resumes should highlight strongest and most "in demand" skills, talents and abilities in the first one third of the resume
- People often make decisions and judgments in the first 20 seconds of reading a resume as they "glance" at the top third of the resume
- If you are applying for a job which mirrors the job title titles of past jobs, such titles should be highlighted and bolded
- If you are applying for a job that does not mirror your past job titles, do not use titles in bold and do not highlight them.incorporate them into the descriptions of your past jobs
- Utilize as many transferrable adverbs that pertain as support the right for you to be applying for the job for which you are applying for. Such adverbs should reflect skills needed for success in that job.
- Create an objective that is generic and reflects cross functional experience and skills "Seeking position in Executive Administration utilizing my skills, abilities and experience"
- Next Section: "Related Skills and Abilities. Highlight and bullet the skills and abilities which reflect cross functional talent and abilities
- Next Section: "Related Experience”. Highlight experience that most relates to the Objective and to the position for which you are applying
- Next Section "Other Experience” Summarize experience, if any, that does not which doesn't directly relate to the "Related Experience” section
- Next Section: "Education"
- Final Section: "Honors, Awards, etc"
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