Personal Assistant

What is a Personal Assistant?

A Personal Assistant (PA) works with senior staff to provide one-to-one support. Typically PAs support senior managers by offering administrative help such as monitoring a manager’s email, drafting communications on their behalf, planning and organising meetings and their travel.

A Personal Assistant needs to have a deep understanding of the company and know who the key personnel are, as they are representing a senior member of staff. For this same reason, it is important a PA has great interpersonal skills, is well-presented and professional.

Personal Assistant job description

Ultimately, the duties of a Personal Assistant can be extremely broad and vary on a day-to-day basis. A Personal Assistant job description should include:

Monitoring a reporting manager’s email and responding if required

Preparing communications on behalf of a manager

Answering phone calls

Organising travel and itineraries

Organising and planning meetings

Taking notes and writing minutes during meetings

Conducting or preparing any research that the reporting manager may require

Various ad hoc requests

Personal Assistant job qualifications and requirements

There are no formal education requirements expected of a Personal Assistant. However, there are a number of professional qualities that should be included in the duties of a Personal Assistant:

Computer literacy

Verbal and written articulacy

Professional discretion

Efficiency

Well-developed time management skills

Strong organisational skills

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Spreadsheets

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

QuickBooks

Microsoft Office Suites

Schedule Appointments

Customer Service

File Management

Calendar Management

Photocopying/Scanning documents

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