Executive Assistant CV Example (Australia)

An Executive Assistant in Australia is usually hired by the person they will support, and that person reads the CV for three things: the level of the executives you have worked for, the complexity of the diary and travel you ran, and whether you acted as a gatekeeper and a trusted second pair of eyes rather than a diary booker. Discretion is assumed. Judgement is what the page has to show.

The Sample CV below is for an Executive Assistant with seven years supporting a chief executive and a chief financial officer at an ASX-listed infrastructure company in Sydney. Its bullets describe the scale of the support, the work owned end to end (the board cycle, the annual general meeting, a leadership offsite) and the time or money the executive got back.

Tailor it to the executive's world. A chief executive at a listed company wants board and investor coordination; a founder wants range and speed; a partner at a law firm wants precision and client handling; a public service EA role wants selection criteria answered one by one. The US counterpart of this page is the executive assistant resume example, written for American executives on Letter paper, and the Chronological template keeps the support history in the order an executive reads it.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in Australia; the page for applicants in the US is the executive assistant resume example.

Executive Assistant sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper an Australian CV is printed on.

Bronwyn Teale

Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer

North Sydney, NSWbronwyn.teale@example.com0491 572 915

Summary

Executive Assistant with seven years supporting the chief executive and chief financial officer of an ASX-listed infrastructure company with 1,400 staff across four states. Run the chief executive's diary, travel and board cycle, own the logistics of six board meetings and the annual general meeting each year, and act as the first filter on everything that reaches her desk. Known for anticipating the week before it starts and for keeping confidences without being asked.

Experience

Executive Assistant to the CEO, Tallowood Infrastructure Group

– Present

North Sydney, NSW

  • Manage the chief executive's diary, correspondence and travel across four states and Singapore, including same-day changes around investor meetings and site visits.
  • Own the board cycle end to end: agendas with the company secretary, board papers in Diligent, travel for eight non-executive directors and the action register after each meeting.
  • Planned the annual leadership offsite for 70 people within budget and renegotiated the venue contract, saving A$18,000 against the previous year.
  • Introduced a Friday priority review with the chief executive that halved the number of meetings accepted without a stated purpose.
Executive Assistant to the CFO, Tallowood Infrastructure Group

–

North Sydney, NSW

  • Supported the chief financial officer and a finance leadership team of six through two half-year results and an annual audit each year.
  • Coordinated the audit timetable and document requests with the external auditors so that no deadline slipped in two years.
  • Processed executive expenses and department invoices in Concur with no late payments.
Administration Officer, Rosella Private Health Group

–

Chatswood, NSW

  • Supported three general managers with diaries, travel and the formatting of board papers.
  • Ran the meeting rooms, catering and visitor sign-in for a head office of 120 people.

Education

Bachelor of Business (Management)

University of the Hawkesbury, Richmond, NSW

Skills

  • Executive diary management
  • Board papers and Diligent
  • Domestic and international travel
  • Event and offsite planning
  • Confidential correspondence
  • Expense management in Concur
  • Microsoft 365 and Teams
  • Minute taking and action registers
  • Stakeholder liaison
  • Project coordination

Certifications

  • National Police Check, current, Australian Federal Police,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this example

How an Australian CV differs

An Executive Assistant's CV in Australia reads differently from the American one. The executive is a chief executive, managing director or general manager rather than a president; the work is the diary, not the calendar; the board cycle at a listed company runs with the company secretary and the ASX reporting calendar; and the application itself may ask for selection criteria if the role is in the public service. Two pages is normal, referees are expected at the end, and the executive themselves will usually read the page before the recruiter does.

For a executive assistant in Australia

  1. Diary, managing director, general manager

    Use the titles and the words the executive uses: diary, not calendar; managing director or chief executive; general manager; company secretary. Give the executive's title for every role you supported, even where you leave out the name.

  2. The board cycle at a listed company

    If you have supported an ASX-listed executive, say so and describe the board calendar, the papers, the annual general meeting and the half-year and full-year results. That experience sets a senior EA apart.

  3. Selection criteria for public service EAs

    Commonwealth and state public service EA roles ask for a statement against the capabilities, often as a one or two page pitch. Keep your CV bullets in whole sentences so they can be pasted into it with the example and the result intact.

  4. Referees and a police check

    Name two referees at the end, usually the executive you support now and a previous one, or write that they are available on request. Many employers ask for a National Police Check before an offer; note that you hold a current one.

  5. Two pages, no photo

    An Australian EA CV runs to two pages, with the current executive and the scale of the support on the first. Leave out a photo, your date of birth and a street address.

Every CV in Australia

A4 paper
Australia prints on A4. A Letter-sized PDF prints short on A4 and tells a recruiter the CV came from a US template.
Two to three pages
Australian CVs run longer than UK ones: two pages is normal and three is accepted for experienced applicants. One page suits a first job.
No photo
No photo, date of birth or marital status. Australian employers do not expect them, and anti-discrimination law makes most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, month and year for each role. The US month-first order reads wrong to an Australian recruiter.
Australian English
Australian English follows British spelling: organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise.
Suburb and state, not a street address
"Parramatta, NSW" is enough on the contact line. A full address is not expected, and the US-style ZIP line never is.

More on applying in Australia, with every CV example for it, on the Australia page.

Templates for the executive assistant CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same executive assistant CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

Administration Officer with three years' experience, including six months covering an executive assistant's parental leave, ready to support an executive directly.

  • Covered the general manager's diary and interstate travel for six months during the executive assistant's leave.
  • Prepared the papers and took the minutes for the monthly leadership team meeting.
  • Coordinated a department planning day for 35 people, from the venue to the catering.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Executive Assistant with five years supporting a chief operating officer at a national logistics company, owning the diary, travel and the leadership meeting rhythm.

  • Support the chief operating officer and run the fortnightly operations leadership meeting.
  • Plan interstate and overseas travel with full itineraries and a back-up option for every leg.
  • Coordinate cross-division projects on the executive's behalf and chase the actions.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Senior Executive Assistant and executive office lead with twelve years supporting chief executives at listed companies and managing a team of three assistants.

  • Lead the executive office team of three assistants supporting the executive leadership team.
  • Run the company's operating rhythm, from the board calendar to the quarterly planning cycle.
  • Represent the chief executive on internal projects and draft her all-staff communications.

Skills to put on the executive assistant CV

Hard skills

Diary management at executive level
An executive's time is the company's scarcest resource, and running a diary that reflects the priorities, not the loudest request, is the core of the job.
Board cycle and company secretarial support
At a listed company the EA to the chief executive works the board calendar with the company secretary, and board-paper experience is asked about in the first interview.
Travel planning
Interstate and Asia-Pacific itineraries with same-day changes test judgement, and a trip that ran smoothly is remembered.
Event and offsite planning
Offsites, investor days and the annual general meeting are visible projects that show you can own something end to end.
Microsoft 365, Concur and board portals
Adverts name the tools, and a keyword match on Diligent or Concur gets the CV past the first screen.
Minute taking and action registers
An EA who captures the decisions and chases the actions keeps the executive's commitments visible, which executives notice and value.

Soft skills

Discretion
You see results before they are announced and staff matters before they are decided, and the executive has to trust that nothing travels.
Anticipation
The best EAs have the brief printed, the car booked and the apology drafted before the executive thinks of them.
Judgement at the door
Deciding what reaches the executive today, what waits and what you handle yourself is the gatekeeping that gives their time back.

Mistakes that cost executive assistant interviews

  1. Not giving the executive's level

    Supporting a managing director at a listed company and supporting a team leader are different jobs. Write the title of each executive, the size of the organisation and how many states or countries the work spanned.

  2. A diary and nothing else

    Managed the diary and booked travel describes every EA. Show the projects you owned, the board or leadership meetings you ran and the decisions you helped move along.

  3. No scale

    Give the details that show complexity: the number of directors, the travel frequency, the time zones, the size of the offsite and the budget you held.

  4. American titles and layout

    Calendar, president, a one-page layout on Letter paper and a street address tell an Australian recruiter the CV came from a US template. Use diary, the executive's Australian title and A4.

  5. Telling the reader something confidential

    A bullet that names a deal, a restructure or a director's personal matter proves you cannot be trusted with the next one. Describe the scale of the work without the secret inside it.

Questions about the executive assistant CV

What should an Executive Assistant CV include in Australia?

The title and level of each executive supported, the scope of the diary and travel, board or leadership meeting work, events and projects owned end to end, the tools you use, and two referees, with a note that you hold a current police check if you do.

How long should an EA CV be?

Two pages. The current executive, the scale of the support and the biggest project you own belong on the first page; earlier administration roles can be a line or two each on the second.

Should I name the executives I have supported?

Give the title and the company, not the name. The executive reading the page will take the omission as discretion, and you can give names at interview if asked.

How do I show results as an EA?

Time given back to the executive, costs saved on travel or events, a board cycle run without a late paper, a process the leadership team adopted. Give the number where there is one, such as the venue saving or the drop in purposeless meetings.

How do I move from Administration Officer to Executive Assistant?

Lead with any direct support of a senior leader, including covering an EA's leave, and the projects you ran from start to finish. Then apply for EA to a general manager or a divisional head before aiming at the chief executive's office.

How do I answer selection criteria for a government EA role?

Take one example per capability from your CV and write it as the situation, what you did and what happened. Paste the role description into Resume Master and it rewrites the CV against it in about two minutes, which gives you the examples to build the pitch from.

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