Executive Assistant vs Secretary: Key Differences You Need to Know

Understanding the differences between a secretary and an executive assistant is essential for both job seekers and hiring managers. This is ensuring which position is a right fit for your business and strategy. Moreover, both titles are essential to utilize for your business, and significantly contribute to separate positions.

Furthermore, a secretary is playing a role in organizing internal manpowers, and supports the company’s mid-level management. Again, an executive assistant connects with top management and performs, supports, and sets business goals with specialised approaches. Let’s see the key comparisons between the two important roles within your business operations.

What Does a Secretary Do? Understanding the Core Task of a Secretary

A secretary mainly performs by providing administrative support and clerical tasks, which align with management’s strategic direction. The core activities of a secretary are to provide complete administrative support services to the organizational key personnel or executives. The secretary also has a variety of clerical, organizational, and communication tasks to help others focus on their primary responsibilities.

Secretarial duties have diverse functions:

• Managing business correspondence, the secretary answers phone calls, handles emails, drafts memos, and prepares internal and external communications. They also perform scheduling & managing the calendar, keeping records in systems for documents and databases. The secretary also supports ordering supplies, manages guest logs, and greets clients & visitors, in accordance with front-line management.
• Regarding the skill requirement of a secretary for prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively to manage multiple projects and schedules. They must have efficiency in MS Suites, Google Suite, and Outlook to learn with the new system.
• A secretary plays a role in an organisation, and their reporting line varies depending on position and organisation size. Their reporting functions line up with the senior management or CEO of the organization.

What Are the Responsibilities of an Executive Assistant?

A hiring executive assistant performing in your company or business as remote support, but is key to higher executive positions. Besides, an EA has large-scale capabilities in using advanced technology, recognizing up-to-date research & market analysis. They’re tasks and business analysis insights deeply align with the company hierarchy due to the nature of tasks and confidential issues.

An executive assistant’s duties have diverse functions:

• Consider a support assistant who works from a remote location, and tasks are related to higher authority of the company. An executive assistant’s main responsibilities involve specialized support to the administration, using tools to quickly research & analyse the cognitive market. They provide data-driven insights and market trends to company executives for setting a long-term strategy in the market challenges.
• Supporting from remote but aligning with hierarchy, executive assistants are highly certified in project management, financial projects, and advanced technological knowledge. An EA strengthens your business’s strategic plan and communicates with stakeholders. Also, an EA has the skills CRM, IRM tools for customer support, MindMeister, & Miro for mind-mapping and problem-solving issues.
• An executive assistant position reports to top-level management, and typically, they report to the company chairperson, CEO, executives, or directors.

6 Key Differences Between Secretary and Executive Assistants

Both a secretary and an executive assistant have significant differences considering their roles, positions, and the nature of their work.

1. Scope of tasks: Most significantly, identifying the key difference between a secretary and an executive assistant, both performing administrative tasks, and monitoring operating systems. An executive assistant performing with specialized support for top management, while secretary support to interdepartmental, office support, and administrative issues.
2. Level of responsibility: An executive assistant providing specialized & strategic support to top management. These tasks influence operational strategy, project management, financial projection, and business growth. Moreover, an executive assistant performing essential tasks includes a high degree of skill and advanced methodical approaches.

   In addition, a secretary provides support to administrative issues, inventory monitoring, company ins and outs issues, and meetings with interdepartmental. Also, they mainly support aligning with the company’s mid-level management without adding strategic value.

3. Decision-making authority: Between two vital positions of the company, an executive assistant makes decisions, connecting to top management. They’re more authoritative, deciding independently to facilitate policies, market research, and contracting with stakeholders, and securing confidential issues. Whereas a secretary is involved with a large scale of multitasking and making decisions from pre-determined policies, and following guidelines.
4. Skills & qualifications: Between a secretary and an executive assistant, a secretary must be able to support a range of multitasking, and minimum diploma certification. They have more tasks to communicate within the company, attention to detail, organization, time management skills, and computer & technical efficiency.

   An executive assistant has specialized knowledge & capability to use software, tools, and professional platforms, and autonomous decision-making skills. They’re highly qualified with international certifications and practically qualified with tactical works.

5. Salary range: Typically, considering a secretarial role, they annually receive $46,594 per year. Salary range generally  $31,000- $69,000.

   While an executive assistant annually receives around $50,539 per year, and a salary between $35,000 and $71,000

6. Career path: Analyzing both positions’ career paths, a secretary’s position may be senior administration or a secretary position. They’re hiring for monitoring overall administrative activities, logistic support, and scheduling for departmental meetings.

   On the other hand, an executive assistant career line straight to the company hierarchy position, having a strong profile as a highly efficient, skilled professional. Considering the importance, you should take the initiative to upskill the executive assistant precisely.

Core Comparisons (Secretary vs Executive Assistant)

Particulars	Secretary	Executive Assistant
Primary Focus	Performing with an organizational and administrative role with large-scale support functions	Boosting tactics with a high degree of professional excellence. Contribute to business growth
Importance of the position	A secretary has a wide range of supporting functions and works with inter-departmental resources.	Provide support to the higher authority (strategy setting, booking travel, appointment, and travel plan, with email)
Certifications	Generally, certification is not required, but rather having practical experience.	Required specialized certification with a strong educational background.
Technical Advancement	Required knowledge of typical operation tools & software knowledge. Especially MS Word and MS Excel work.	Must be familiar with advanced tools with multiple versions for every segment. Specially, IRM, CRM, Mind mapping, and data analytical tools.
Project Management, Financial Projection	No track of handling project management skills required. Working with finance within policy & guidelines	An executive assistant capable of handling new projects efficiently. Also, they have authorization to make financial projections that may turn into a loss or a profit.

Conclusion: Which Role Fits With Your Business

Understanding the individual roles of Secretary vs Executive Assistant differentiates their tasks, and is essential to business. A secretary performs multitasking regarding support to inter-company resources and controls any operational complexities with no specialized assignment. On the contrary, an executive position supports and contributes to top positions supporting related tactical business decisions, and provides personalized support.

FAQ

Is an Executive Assistant Higher Than a Secretary?

Yes, an executive assistant deserves a position that a secretary does due to providing services with high-level efficiency and strategic decisions.

Can a Secretary Become an Executive Assistant?

Comparatively, considering two positions and the degree of performance analysis, it is generally difficult to become an executive assistant from a secretary role.

Do Companies Still Hire Secretaries?

It depends on size, financial strength, and the position of the company. Besides having an in-house administrative position, companies may additionally not hire a secretary.

What’s the Salary Difference?

Both positions are getting high-figure salaries; comparatively, two positions are getting salaries with a very slight difference.