You’re ready to hire an Executive Assistant. Congratulations and smart move!
A great Executive Assistant is an invaluable asset, helping you clarify your thinking, organize and implement your projects and priorities, maximize your impact, and give you time back in your day to focus on what matters most to you.
If you’re still debating whether or not you need an assistant, click here for 9 signs that you need a Force Multiplier.
Which Type of Force Multiplier Do You Need?
The first step to hiring is to make sure you are clear on the type of Force Multiplier position you need to hire for. Take a look at the job descriptions and explanations below to decide who the right strategic partner is for you.
- Executive Assistant Job Description
- Chief of Staff Job Description
- What is a Founder’s Associate?
- What’s the Difference Between an Executive Business Partner and an Executive Assistant?
- What is the Difference Between an Executive Assistant and a Chief of Staff?
- What is the Difference Between a Chief of Staff and a COO?
- Force Multiplier Job Descriptions
If you are still not sure, send me an email and let’s talk. Finding the right Force Multiplier for you and your business growth goals can be the difference between exponential success and undue stress.
Preparing to Interview an Executive Assistant
Once you know what position you want to hire for it’s time to start interviewing.
Pick and choose the questions that make the most sense for you, your business, and your company culture. You do not need to ask all of these questions. Sometimes, less really is more. Depending on your hiring process, you can also spread these questions out among a few different interviews.
For example, our interviews looked like this:
- 15 minute screening interview (phone call)
- Behavior assessment validation (in person or via Zoom)
- In-depth interview, usually including an expectations conversation (in person or via Zoom)
- Depending on the position, we would do a test project (though I like to do this for most positions)
- Group interview, if needed, for an additional perspective (in person or via Zoom)
Yes, you want to make sure the individual has the necessary skills to do the job (and that it matches what they told you on their resume). However, what you’re really looking for during an interview are leadership skills, resourcefulness, cognitive ability, decision-making skills, adaptability, communication skills, and the ability to take initiative, gather information, collaborate, and solve problems. At least that’s what I always looked for when hiring Executive Assistants!
Determine what is important to you. You can use this list for some examples of what to look for in a Force Multiplier. And then tailor your choice of questions to gather the information you need to decide if they are the right fit for your team.
21 Interview Questions for Executive Assistants & Force Multipliers
Here are a few of my favorite interview questions when hiring any right-hand Force Multiplier position (Executive Assistant, Executive Business Partner, Chief of Staff, etc.).
- What do you know about our company?
- What interested you most about this position specifically?
- Is there anything that worries you about this position?
- How does your experience relate to this position?
- Why are you looking to make a change now?
- What’s your daily routine?
- What energizes you outside of work?
- What’s the biggest misperception people have of you?
- What’s most important to you in your work?
- Tell me about a big mistake you made at work in the past 6-12 months. How did you fix it? What did you learn from it?
- What are three reasons why we would NOT hire you?
- What is getting too much of your time right now? What is getting too little?
- What are you currently overcomplicating?
- Who are the 3 people you most admire and respect and why?
- What are your strategies for managing your time when dealing with multiple urgent requests simultaneously?
- Tell me about a time that you did not agree with something your leader did or a decision your leader made. What did you do?
- If you could put one message on a billboard and have millions or billions of people see it, what would it be?
- What questions do you have for me?
3 Bonus Questions from Dan Martell
Dan Martell is an entrepreneur, investor, and author. He wrote Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire, which I particularly like because he talks a lot about the value of hiring an assistant.
Dan only participates in 15 minute final interviews (which he talks about more in this episode of Modern Wisdom), however, these questions below could be great to start with as a 15 minute alignment interview if you’re the entrepreneur or CEO handling the entire hiring process for your Force Multiplier. If you’re team is handling the bulk of the process, then these are great questions for you to jump in on during the final interview (like Dan does).
- What are some of the things you went through as a kid that shaped you as a person?
- What are the two toughest things you’ve ever gone through in your whole life and how did those shape you as a leader?
- It’s five years from now you’re living your most beautiful life (and pretend we can’t work together). Where are you living? Who are you living with? What are you making? What’s your job?
What are you favorite interview questions? Drop them in the comments or email me at hello@founderandforcemultiplier.com.
Now, it’s time to go hire some talent!
