I have a job offer as an Executive Assistant to CTO. What can I expect?

Question

I am a 30 year old married woman. I recently got a job offer as a executive assistant to CFO of a big Japanese Multi-national company. This company has a very conservative culture. I am not sure what I can expect from this position apart from what the recruiter already told me.

I applied for this job as it required use of my bilingual skills. However, the job description also says "schedule meetings / arrange catering / answer phones" etc apart from using my bilingual skills to interact with clients.

Will I end up serving coffee, taking phone calls and being assumed to be a subservient bimbo? What can I expect? The tone of the recruiter sounded like I would be more of a "secretary" and less of an "assistant".

Any/all advise would be appreciated.

Also, do you know if there is a generic dress code for Executive Assistants?

In one of my previous companys (I was working there as a translator), the secretary had to wear either skirts and tops or full length dress - no shirt/trousers.

I think I did not clarify, this position is not in Japan. This position is in US but for a Japanese company.

Answer 1

This seems more of a question that you should have discussed with the recruiter. I'd think each company/CTO is different in what they expect from their assistant.

In lots of large companies secretary and assistant are pretty much interchangeable words.

If you want to use your bilingual skills only - become a translator.

Answer 2

Your gonna make coffee, answer phones, and pretty much do whatever the CFO is too lazy to do himself. Administrative assistants, executive assistants, secretaries.....they differ only in the title. If your not really interested in being some "subservient bimbo", I would probably look for a job NOT headquartered in Japan, which happens to be the most male-dominated culture on Earth.

Answer 3

Good Luck with that. I personally worked as an Executive Assistant for 2 years in HR for a Japanese based company. You should be prepared for ultra-conservative not to mention sexist values from your CFO. Although, I moved up in position from that "assistant" position, I would never work for a company such as theirs again.

Although, it may seem like you are getting nowhere, trust me, a true work ethic can pay in the long run, if and only if you are willing to be treated like a 50's era secretary, in the beginning. Yes, I said it...secretary. However, it did make me appreciate my position as a true Executive Assistant in a US based company, prior to moving up the corporate ladder..

Answer 4

Is the position in Japan? Then you can expect that's it's more secretarial than assistant. You might end up teaching your boss how to use your skills effectively and take workload from him (Set up the meeting; then volunteer to create the agenda.) You dress according to the level you aspire to. If the female execs wear pants, you can to. If the female top execs only wear suits and that's where you want to go, then wear that suit. Being too casual when the execs wear suits signals everyone that you're a lower level employee with no ambitions.

Answer 5

Ha, I don't know anything about Japanese companies, other than Japan is much more sex stereotypical than the US...
BUT, all of the executive assistants to that level of leadership that I have known have spent all day taking messages, taking minutes and preparing reports, and coordinating parties and meeting refreshments plus room reservations if needed. "Assistant is the modern word for "Secretary." The plus is since you are "Executive" you can delegate annoying things to lower assistants if you are lucky, plus you are privy to high level info, gossip, etc.

Answer 6

definately secretary it sounds like, and you have to dress professionally since you will be interacting with alot of people. Japanese culture for business is much more professional attire and attitude compared to the american business casual.

Also japanese companies expect work to come first before family.

Answer 7

Japanese are not very liberal in their attitudes toward women. You will be expected to be totally subservient to the men, including serving coffee, tea, etc. It does not sound like that is the kind of job you want.

Answer 8

You will make ocha and call the cab for him when he has to run to Ginza to pump his aijin.

Edit: BTW, if you speak Japanese and English that well, why be some old Japanese man's crutch? Your use of English will be related to telling Sumisu-san that he can come to the office next Thursday. あほやろ、おまえは.

Answer 9

Sounds like a cushy job, lotsa $. Looks like you'll be pouring coffee my dear. Take it or leave it, goes with the job.

Take the job & use it to jump to the next higher level.