Your executive assistant is an integral part of your leadership team. The right EA brings out the best in the executive, and is single mindedly focussed on achievement of the executive’s KPIs. So, finding the right executive assistant is crucial, and hiring a specialist makes all the difference.
Specialists of all kinds have highly honed skills for their particular niche. As executive assistant recruiters, we are the same. We have amassed:
- years of experience
- finely tuned processes
- a vast network of contacts
It’s these elements that give the specialist the edge.
Imagine you’re a tennis player and you’ve suffered an injury. Your goal is to get back on the court as soon as possible. Sure, you can go to your GP for treatment. But would you rather see a sports physiotherapist who specialises in rehab for tennis injuries? Both will treat your condition and help you recover. But the tennis specialist is more likely to have seen your injury before and have a more comprehensive recovery plan. You’re more likely to get a better result, and faster too.
It’s just the same with recruiting your executive assistant.
Specialist executive assistant recruiters have extensive connections
When you are seeking the right executive assistant, you don’t want to limit yourself to the pool of candidates currently seeking work. Of course, you are likely to receive many quality applications this way. But the highly experienced, crème de la crème candidates? They may not be seeking a new career, but could be persuaded to move for the right opportunity. But they are impossible to find, without the right connections.
We value honest, open communication with executive assistants and this underpins the strength of our network. We have built relationships with top-performing EAs in Australia. We host regular invitation-only networking sessions with a small group of leading executive assistants, and maintain a database of connections of potential candidates. So, we have vast access to potential candidates (who may not be looking in the positions vacant listings). One of them may be the perfect executive assistant for your next vacancy.
Specialists offer a superior process
Malcolm Gladwell famously suggested that if you spend ten thousand hours at one skill, you have a good chance at becoming an expert at it. Practice does indeed make perfect.
In my case, I have spent 20 years as a specialist executive assistant recruiter, including time working in house as an executive assistant myself. I’ve fine-tuned my recruitment process over those decades, to arrive at my highly efficient system. It’s a rather complex process, starting with refining the position description, then placing a persuasive job advertisement. If necessary, I’ll conduct candidate outreach and headhunt if I know a perfect person who would suit the role. Then of course, conducting interviews, recommending candidates to the client, negotiating offers and helping onboard the successful candidate. The Altitude EA process is a cornerstone of our success. When you use a specialist, you get access to a highly efficient process, refined over many years to produce the best possible outcome.
Specialist executive assistant recruiters save you time
The Altitude EA system for recruiting executive assistants is streamlined and efficient. This saves clients time. If the position description and advertisement isn’t written to appeal to high-performing candidates, you can be laden with multitudes of applications from undesirable candidates. This can be extremely time consuming, leafing through each application to find the handful of quality submissions — like a needle in a haystack.
Beyond this, it’s having the highly refined system that is ready to swing into action the moment you list a vacancy means you can be interviewing the top two candidates within days and weeks, instead of months. Timely processes suit both clients and candidates. I have seen employers miss out on quality candidates due to the slow recruitment process, so a speedy recruitment strategy is beneficial for all involved.
Specialists deliver better candidate quality
We like to focus on candidates, not applicants. The difference between the two is the quality of the submission. Because we connect regularly with leading executive assistants, we know what they’re looking for in their next career move. Subsequently, we tailor position descriptions and advertisements to give the role broad appeal. This means the right candidates are attracted to the role, while the unwanted applicants are repelled.
The elusive, magical quality ‘personality fit’ is often the most difficult element of the recruitment process. You may have a candidate who looks good on paper, but doesn’t work out due to personality conflict. But with twenty years of experience, I have a good instinct for matching candidates and executives, so this gives Altitude EA a competitive edge. There’s far greater chance of securing an executive assistant who connects strongly with their executive, and far less chance of a case of a conflicting relationship between executive and assistant.
Specialist executive assistant recruiters offer strategic support
From time to time, the role clients recruit is not what they need. We offer insights into how the executive support system may best operate in order to strategically support the achievement of the executive’s and the broader business goals.
Drawing on our extensive experience in hiring executive assistants for Australia’s top employers, we can advise clients on:
- the right level of strategic support
- honing the position requirements and responsibilities
- suggesting addition and removal of support functions (that many clients have not considered)
- distributing the administrative tasks appropriately
- onboarding executive assistants to support the transition to the new role
For example, some executives may benefit from a strategic, chief of staff as an executive assistant, alongside a receptionist, office manager taking charge of administrative duties. While another client might need a more transactional executive assistant.
As specialist executive assistant recruiters we take a strategic approach, advising clients on potential solutions they may not have considered previously.
Ready to appoint a specialist executive assistant recruiter?
Contact Anastasia on today on 0421 16 55 96 or email info@altitude-ea.com to discuss your requirements.
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