Fortune 100 Company, make $40K

I am an executive assistant for a Fortune 100 Company. I have worked here for three and a half years. This is my first job out of college. I am languishing over the fact that I do not believe my salary is in line with the market average for this position.
In conjunction with providing personal assistance to the company's CIO, I also somehow ended up with the task of secretary/administrator for the entire office. So, one second I will be preparing metrics to present in the company's steering committee meetings, and the next second I will be climbing on top of office furniture to repair a broken projector.
I have received an "exceeds expectations" on all of my yearly and six month reviews, yet the only raises I get are the standard annual raise of around 1k per year.
To add to this, my job duties have quadrupled in size due to the office growing from 40 staff members to near 160 members. Shouldn't my pay increase as well to reflect this?
I seem to be the "catch all" for all tasks which aren't specifically assigned to a certain job role. I am the office health and safety coordinator, furniture and hardware asset manager, ergonomics specialist, event planner, handy-woman, purchaser of supplies, I arrange fire drills, indoor plant service, cleaning service, vending machine service, liaison to HR and new hire orientator, the list goes on and on and on.. Now a days, managing the CIO's schedule and preparing meeting materials has become a full time task, and it is only when they are away, traveling for business that I get to catch up on all things office related.
I am just wondering if this is because I am young and still considered to be "entry level" or am I truly being swindled?
How would I even approach the subject? Isn't it tactless to ask for a raise i.e. good things come to those who wait?

Hi,

I read your post and thought I should reply. I think that you are being taken for granted. You should definitely bring up the subject, but before you do that, you should document and prepare a good argument of why you know you deserve a salary adjustment. To start, you should go to the association of executive and administrative professionals to get a free salary benchmark report for your region and industry (www.theaeap.com/survey/). I would also get 2 additional salary reports with job descritions from salary.com and payscale.com. In addition to that, you should make a copy of your original job descrition and responsibilities and make a separate list of the additional duties and resopnsibilities you have taken over since. Also, get a copy of every review you have received since you started. Lastly, create an outline of all of your achievements and a summary of the salary research you gathered. All of this will put you in a position to have a good argument and reason for getting a well deserved salary adjustment. I hope this helps!

You did not indicate you salary, therefore I am unable to state a figure. Depending on your salary as to how many jobs you are responsible for.
The impression you give is you are the all girl Friday and whatever needs to be accomplshed they pass it to you. You should consider looking into a govt. job where you would not be responsible for everything that transpires in the office. I was employed with the US Govt for 27 years and recently retired in 2009 by the Base Cmdr. I am originally from Boston, MA. I worked in the Boston State House for years. My father was a politician from East Boston and served in the House of Representatives. Now I reside in the warm climate and enjoy living in the south. Again, unless you are making top dollar I would keep my eyes and ears open for another job.

And the more you let them walk all over you, the more they will. Absolutely you should approach your boss and ask for a time to discuss your position and future with the company. Do this as professionally as possible and keep a warm, but strong, edge to your voice.

Write down the changes that have evolved since your start date and all the extra work you are asked to do, in particular, things that are really not of an executive nature. Complete a salary survey/comparison (you can do these online) and attach it. Give your boss a copy of this at the meeting...not beforehand! Be assertive without being aggressive....and no whining. Let him/her know that you're worth the raise!

The term "Executive Assistant" covers such a wide spectrum of duties and salaries and this, my friend, is very condescending to those of us who are well-educated, experienced and highly polished.

$40,000 is not the lowest salary I've heard of for an EA but it's not great either. When are employers going to understand that a good Executive Assistant is worth her weight in diamonds? The truth is, this position is often the catalyst that keeps the cogs oiled in many companies.

Hope this helps!

I too am an executive assistant for a multi million dollar corporation, but I do have to say that I do not know of one person who can say that they were hired for a job, and only do exactly what they were hired for. I understand that you are frustrated, trust me, I've been there too, but the reality is that while we should be thankful we have jobs, it doesn't mean that we can be taken advantage of. If you feel that you deserve more, speak up (of course during your mid point review and then salaried review do this in a professional manner). If your job offers training seminars off site (AMA seminars), see if they will send you to one to take a course on communications. I do them twice a year and enjoy the time out of the office as well as the learning experience. While 40k isn't a lot (especially here in NY), it is better to stand on furniture fixing the projector (this was funny bc I've done it many times!), it's better than standing on the unemployment line.

In this economy employees are expected to do more than one person's job. My best friend has the same situation going and she has not received additional compensation, she is the President's Assistant and been tasked with the Facilities Manager responsibilities and no additional income. I am currently living of $40K only I have been working for 20 years and have been downsized, laid off, etc. and have not made it back to where I used to be. It is a disheartening economy and most people are happy to have a job.