Sick of being an Executive Assistant - feel trapped

[Remmy123]

On my way to work with dread I work as an executive assistant in London and I'm sick of being at someone's beck and call all day every day.

i feel so trapped as I am not qualified to do anything else with similar salary.

this job along with kids needs and father in a care home I feel like I'm the one that needs a PA!

not sure what eise I can do 😩

😞 What industry are you in?
does your company have any internal vacancies?

Would your boss be supportive if you wanted a conversation about how you could develop your career? You've got the advantage of having access to a fairly senior member of the organisation so you should use that. The obvious thought to me was moving into project management. Does your company have PMs?

In my industry EA’s work can overlap with Project Coordinators, junior PM roles (although you’re a very experienced EA that may mean a pay cut)

How about Chief of Staff roles? They're often looking for ex-EAs if they're very experienced.

Thanks all - I work in executive search and all other EA roles just fill me with dread when i read the job description

i just feel this job gives others the right to blame you for things out of your control - expected to be a mind reader at all times!

think I've totally out grown the role - chief of staff jobs come up but not that often and ask for experience. I am in a v small company currently.

The advantage of a small company is you're more able to take on extra responsibilities outside of your department. I started as an EA then started helping another department doing the kind of work I was interested in (very different from EAing). When someone in that department left, I applied for his job and got it. That became my new career.

10 years later I'm now with a small company again and doing the same thing. I've taken on responsibility for two functions in addition to my main role and finding it very enjoyable.

I wasn't able to do the same thing in the large companies I was with.

My sister felt trapped and fed up as a corporate PA but you get used to the salary and pigeon holed somewhat.
she now does EA temp work around training to be a barrister. Good hourly rate.
If you have an idea what you’d like to move towards you could temp maybe so less pressure and workload?

Definitely don't move into project management then, that's just more of the same.

How much of your issues with your current job are due to your current employer? Would moving to a similar role elsewhere help at all?

Be careful what you wish for. I was a high level EA and was made redundant so decided to take a less stressful office admin job and was bored shitless! Went back into PA work - much more interesting :)

What sort of salary range? Your skills are very transferable. Civil service etc is much more family friendly.

Are you well paid? Could you make a plan for a career change with any training needed. Yes you will still have the boring job but having a goal to get out might help.

EA skills are very transferable. I've left now but I had a boss who started her own design business after being an EA for two decades. she hires in any needed skills as she is business manager and brings in the clients. Excellent at schmoozing etc

Any ideas for what you would want to do instead? Personally I would be terrible as a PA. Anything person facing with heavy admin is the opposite skill set.

I was an EA, changed to project management and hated it.

I went back to EA work but found a manager who was willing for me to expand the role into parts of the company I was interested in. Like pp this was a small company, so there was scope to do that. I now do half EA and half research. This suits me as I like the comfort of the mundane admin stuff but also can stretch myself.

I'm surprised you are so pigeon-holed in a small company, I've always found big corporates the worst for not letting you develop. Is it in a sector where there is just no way to expand as it's specialised, like an Accountancy Firm?

Thanks all very helpful

I do cover other aspects such as events and office management , new joiners

my boss is very controlling and nit picks I think actually she is the problem - she makes me very anxious as I'm so worried about making a mistake as she is not very forgiving and blows up!

I'd look for another EA position and hope for a better boss. I had one of those bosses - blew up about everything, asked the impossible. They aren't all like that and it makes the job a lot more pleasant.

I'd look at the big five exec search firms. They pay very well and always have vacancies.

Exec search EA work is more legwork than working for the other side - also, some women are more likely to be micromanagers (IME) than men.

If you’re happy with rolling diary and travel with changes then move to financial services on the client side. So you have people ringing you for meetings and trying to get into your principal’s diary, rather than the other way around. Don’t go to Management Consultancy (same as Exec search due to being a service provider). Look at Private Equity, hedge funds, family offices. You get good bonuses.

if you want to change careers, IR or HR are usually areas that are open to assistants proving themselves with extra work and moving up.

Thanks all - yep I was thinking about switching industries but recruiters pigeon hole me!

I have done my cv this morning so I can start looking

and yes, agree re working for women they can be a handful all of my male bosses have been much more pleasant!

It's much easier to get into a new path by moving sideways in a firm. Most companies will bin your CV if your current title isn't in the same ballpark as the vacancy. But it sounds like you need to get out of your current company ASAP - managers like yours will suck the confidence out of you eventually. Good luck!

@Remmy123 I've been in your position in the past- I would start looking for good office manager roles in mid sized companies, ideally ones with a bit of flexibility- 2 days home, 3 days office etc- The good roles will cover off some HR, bits of research, supporting owners, company management ,stocks and supplies, health and safety, events, travel requirements, sometimes expenses processing/ invoicing - I did this for several recruitment companies and one software consultancy- lots of companies at the 12 to 40 people level have such roles to get away with a need for specialists in each area. Your skills would cross perfectly for it.

I did short courses in minute taking and transferred across to corporate governance. I now have a career pathway, something to aim for and a lot less diary and travel! Plus due to the type of meetings I’m in I usually get to find out about everything first.

The one time I worked for a woman I was absolutely miserable! She was a micro-managing tyrant and I left asap. It sounds like it's your boss/this job that's getting you down OP. Find something better.

How is her sex relevant?

Because sometimes women don’t like other women.

I get your point but of the seven C-suite bosses I’ve had, the only one to have made me end up on Prozac was a woman.

And how was her sex relevant?