Leadership & Team

Personal Assistant
Interview Questions

If you're an entrepreneur or CEO who knows they need an executive assistant, but you have no idea how to locate, hire, onboard or manage one, then:

  1. Check out the blueprint my team and I use to find great Executive Assistants at: GreatExecutiveAssistant.com
  2. If you'd like to see the interview questions we use to hire great Executive Assistants, you can download a copy at: chrisguerriero.com/ea/EA-sample-job-questions.pdf

Best,
Chris Guerriero

Related Reading How to Hire Great Employees → Related Reading Building a Strong Team →
Common Questions

Frequently Asked
Questions

How do you delegate in your business as an entrepreneur without losing control?

Delegation starts with hiring someone who can own tasks entirely, not just execute steps you hand them. The right executive assistant doesn't just follow directions. They anticipate what you need, manage up, and protect your time. The interview process has to reveal whether someone is wired to take ownership or wired to wait to be told what to do. Those are two very different hires.

What should you look for when interviewing a personal assistant or executive assistant?

Look for candidates who have managed chaos before, made decisions under pressure, and recovered from mistakes without drama. The best executive assistants are proactive problem solvers, not reactive task completers. In the interview, put them in real scenarios. Ask how they'd handle a scheduling conflict when you're unavailable, or a vendor issue that needs an immediate decision. Their answer tells you everything.

Why is hiring a great executive assistant the most important delegation decision an entrepreneur can make?

Knowing how to attract and onboard talented team members can grow your company's bottom line faster than almost any other task you could focus on. A great executive assistant multiplies your effective hours. They take the lower-leverage work off your plate so your time goes toward the decisions only you can make. The wrong hire costs you more time than having no one at all.

How many interview rounds should you do before hiring an executive assistant?

At least two to three. One of those should be off-site, in a setting where you can see how they carry themselves outside a professional environment. Do they stay sharp when the context is casual? Are they present, organized, and tuned in? The person who manages your calendar and your communications needs to represent you well in every setting, not just in a formal interview chair.

What is the best way to start delegating as an entrepreneur if you've never done it before?

Start by documenting everything you do for one week. Every task, every interruption, every decision someone else could have handled. That list becomes your delegation roadmap. The goal is to move everything repeatable, predictable, or time-consuming off your plate and onto someone else's. Your executive assistant is the first and most leveraged place to start. Get the hire right and the rest becomes much easier.

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