The best executive assistant courses will depend on the type of executive you want to work for. You'll definitely want to make sure you are well-versed in most typical office related programs, including word processors and spreadsheets. It will also be helpful if you know as much as possible about the industry in which you will be working. For instance, if you want to become an assistant in the advertising industry, it will probably be beneficial if you have some education related to advertising, public relations, marketing, or a similar field.
There are several types of executive assistants, and many assistants do a little bit of work within each category. One type of assistant handles mostly mundane tasks such as picking coffee for the executive, delivering mail, or dropping off dry cleaning. If you want to do this type of work, you may need very little training aside from perhaps learning to talk to people in a professional manner. You'll also have to have a valid driver's license in many cases. The majority of executive assistants do more than just run errands, so you will probably be doing a combination of these tasks and office-related ones.
Most likely you will be typing up documents, answering phones, writing letters, and doing other administrative tasks. Executive assistant courses in this case may include classes at your local community or technical college on using common office suites and similar programs. It will also be important that you are able to type very quickly, so if you aren't comfortable with that you should also consider some typing courses to help you learn proper form and so you can gain speed.
It's also beneficial for personal assistants or executive assistants to keep up-to-date on technological advances in their industry. This may require ongoing training to stay current. Assistants should also have good time management, event planning, and people skills. All of these things can also be learned through classes offered through a wide variety of college courses.
There are also courses tailored specifically for executive assistants. These are aimed to teach most of the skills a good assistant will need, although they often cannot give insight into particular industries. Many of these courses can be taken online, and they are a good way to learn basic skills in one place.
You may also want to take executive assistant courses in programs that are industry-specific. For instance, if you want to work in healthcare, you may need to learn to use certain computer programs and software applications relevant to that industry. Some companies have their own software systems specially design for them, so in those cases you won't likely to be able to learn to use them beforehand.
It's also a good idea to considering taking executive assistant courses related to the industry you want to work in. This is especially important if you would like to move up within the company you are hired to work for. If you already know about the types of projects your superiors are working on, you will greatly increase your chances of climbing the corporate ladder. The exact executive assistant courses you'd take in this case will vary depending on your industry.
