Learn all about personal assistant jobs

A personal assistant (also abbreviated as “PA”) has more to do than just schedule meetings and answer the phone. Tasks may include managing your boss’s journal, delegating duties to other staff members, and helping your employer organize your daily activities.

A personal assistant is also known as a private or executive secretary, and works closely with senior and managerial staff. PAs provide administrative assistance, often on a personal basis. They help managers make the best use of their time by handling administrative and secretarial tasks.

As a PA, you must have extensive knowledge of the organization and know key staff members, both internal and external, including the organization’s goals and objectives.

Company executives and business people are often busy and have tight work schedules, requiring a personal assistant to help with meeting scheduling, daily management, note-taking, and correspondence. Ideally, you do most of these tasks in your absence, as they’re locked into meetings and other business activities, which means they have minimal time to run their personal agendas. In addition, they expect you to be a well-trained and well-versed person who is not only confidential but also able to handle their work efficiently in your absence.

The basic skills you need are strong communication skills, impeccable phone etiquette, the ability to multitask, some management, documentation and research skills. You may consider pursuing an administrative assistant degree to complement the above qualities. You must always maintain a high level of confidentiality and enthusiasm.

Salary largely depends on your skills and experience. They can earn between $30,000 and $50,000 a year. However, they can also increase this salary depending on the industry and who employs them. For example, working for a celebrity, high-profile businessman, or movie personality could earn you more money.

Many people who don’t have enough hours in the day to complete their tasks, or who have multiple tasks running at the same time, will need a personal assistant. This may include having to stay at the employer’s home and wait for a plumber or technician, make your travel arrangements, cook, run errands, clean, among other duties as delegated by the employer.

Initially, only millionaires and celebrities employed personal assistants; however, today you can find numerous opportunities for these jobs. Many agencies recruit personal assistants and connect potential employers with job seekers. One way to get this job is to sign up with an agency and they will send you regular notifications about open positions, depending on your experience and the requirements of the job. You can also sign up to a freelancing website and search for available opportunities that are a good fit for you.

Characteristic duties of a personal assistant may include:

• Answer and make phone calls
• Work closely with other executive managers and other influential people in employer circles.
• Prioritize appointments from employers
• Handling your emails and letters
• Organization of presentations and reports.
• Making your travel arrangements
• Accept your important invitations on behalf and manage your business proposals.
• Managing your budgets and accounts.
• Represent the employer in his absence.
• Playing the role of an office manager
• Supervision of administrative staff

As mentioned above, roles and duties largely depend on your skills and responsibilities. The busier the employer is, the more duties they will assign you.