Personal Assistant: Job Profile and Role

You may remember The Devil Wears Prada where Anne Hathaway is the personal assistant of Meryl Streep. Even though most PA jobs do not result in you having to be available 24/7, this job can be challenging – but also fulfilling. If you are up for variety and challenges and not afraid to take on responsibilities, the job of a personal assistant could be your perfect fit.

To find out if that is the case, we have compiled this blog. Here, you find out which qualifications you need to become a personal assistant and which skills you will benefit from. And yes, you can check whether your average working day digresses from Andy Sachs’ working life or not. Lastly, you will receive three valuable tips to thrive as a personal assistant. 

Short Summary

• As a personal assistant, you offer organisational and personal support to your boss.
• As a personal assistant, you are in charge of diary management to ensure that your superior/employer does not miss a single meeting or appointment.
• As a personal assistant, you need to be skilled in research and be tech savvy since a lot of your daily tasks involve computer work and making arrangements.

Job description

Being a personal assistant means that you need to be a multitasking whizz who knows how to say “yes” and “no” at the right times. Why is that? For a start, you are responsible for pretty much all administrative and planning tasks connected to your employer – be it travel arrangements, diary management, or event planning. Moreover, you are the person everyone needs to get past to talk to or meet your employer. Keep in mind that you are not only responsible for various tasks but that you are also asked to be discreet and confidential at all times – these competencies are as much a part of your job description as the tasks you have to perform.

Responsibilities

• Organisational Support
• Travel Arrangements
• Administrative Tasks
• Reporting and Filing
• Meeting Facilitation
• Diary Management
• Personal Support
• Confidentiality
• Tech Savvy
• Research

Different types of Personal Assistants

• Virtual Assistant
• Personal Concierge
• Personal Care Assistant
• Executive Personal Assistant
• Household Personal Assistant

Salary

Your annual personal assistant salary can range from ￡25,000 to ￡36,000, with ￡25,000 being your starting salary. This can increase over the years, with work experience, and with being promoted to a more senior position, for instance, the job of an executive personal assistant. Here, you can expect to be paid between ￡28,000 and ￡40,000 per year.

Besides, your annual wages tend to be affected by further factors, among which are your employer and the location of your employment. Also, check whether your contract includes bonus payments and healthcare benefits which can influence your salary as well.

Working hours

Being a personal assistant usually results in 37 to 40 working hours per week. Keep in mind that these tend to take place during regular office hours from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday but can also vary.

Depending on your PA job, you may work slightly different hours, for example, if you are a virtual assistant. Here, you can have both very early starts and late finishes since your clients can live in different time zones. An increase in your weekly working hours – including evenings, weekends, and Bank Holidays – is also possible, especially during peak times and with high-maintenance employers.

Employers

Your future employer can come from various backgrounds – indeed, he or she may be seriously glamorous since you can be a celebrity’s PA! This may or may not be your dream employment but it is by far the only option.

Alternatively, you can find PA employment with less famous private individuals, companies and corporations, sports teams, non-profit organisations, and solo business owners who need organisational and personal support in dealing with their daily tasks and responsibilities.

Qualifications

College courses, apprenticeships, and university courses are the most common approaches to becoming a personal assistant. To enter one of these options, you need the following qualifications: A-Levels in foreign languages, ICT (information and communication technology), or business studies, two to three GCSEs at pass grades 9 to 3 (A* to D) for a college course, or four to five GCSEs at pass grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) for an advanced apprenticeship.

You should also invest time into the software you will be using. This can include expense tracking software like Expensify, travel software/apps like Expedia, project management software like Asana, and calendar software like Doodle. 

Skills

Being the soul of discretion will be one of your most important and valued assets when working as someone’s personal assistant. What other competencies your future employer will value is what we will look at in this section. And before we do, may we recommend the following: check the job posts for the exact skills required for the job. 

Confidentiality

You not only need to be discreet, but you also need to treat all information regarding your employer with the utmost confidentiality. This means that both in-office and out-of-office gossiping should not revolve around anything work-related. Keeping secrets is not the easiest thing in the world – but it is essential if you want to succeed in your job and keep it.

Multitasking

Being a personal assistant means juggling an awful lot of jobs at the same time. You have to answer the phone, you have to check and reply to emails and other messages. Then, you need to keep track of your employer’s diary and ensure that all appointments are written down, properly scheduled, and communicated to your employer. Strong multitasking is therefore vital if you want to get through your working day unfrazzled and stress-free.

Assertiveness

To a certain extent, you are expected to do as you are asked when working in PA. This, however, does not mean that you should not be assertive and show some backbone. Do it not, and you will likely end up like Andy Sachs and collapse under the sheer mass of expectations and obliviousness of your employer. If you want to succeed, you need to stand your ground and know how and when to say “no” – to both your employer and people harassing you for an appointment.

Being a PA means going Batman/Avengers

You may have already guessed that a PA is way more than “just” an employee. In a recent article, the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced Professional Studies (CIAPS) states five things a boss never says to his or her PA but which he or she nonetheless expects. A personal assistant should be his/her confidant, shield, extension, informant, and self-aware alter ego. 

Career Path

Which direction your career path takes is mainly down to your ambitions. If you want to climb to the top, you can eventually become an executive assistant (EA) and/or train the future generation of personal assistants. Naturally, you can always look into changing employers which can give you the option of taking on a job with more responsibilities and better wages. 

Educational Background

You can improve your job chances if you become a personal assistant through a university course. Both an undergraduate and postgraduate degree are valued by most employers and give you an advantage over other applicants. If this is the right way for you, you can do a business-related foundation degree or a Bachelor’s degree in business administration. You can also do a business administration advanced apprenticeship or do a college course, for example, a T Level in Management and Administration. 

If neither of these options appeal to you, you can work towards the role of a personal assistant. Temp jobs can be a possibility to get admin-related work experience. We recommend that you furthermore look into company training to gain the necessary qualifications.

Entry Level

You can start your career by being a junior personal assistant. Here, you are mentored by a senior colleague who takes you under his or her wings, so to speak. If the job of a personal assistant is your perfect fit, you can advance to positions with more responsibilities. Typically, promotion can be an option after about three years of working in an entry-level position but may vary depending on your employer.

Continuous Learning

Continuous learning is always a sensible idea if you want to advance and improve your career options. In PA, there are numerous ways to ensure you get to the top. Besides a postgraduate degree – this is not mandatory but can be an interesting option for you – you can do further training with the following institutes: the Institute of Administrative Management (IAM), the British Association of Secretaries and Administrators (BASA), or the London Professional Training Centre (LPTC). 

Software training is another way to improve your job competencies. Here, you can look into a Google Workspace Certification, CRM certifications, and project management certifications, such as becoming a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM).

A Day in the Life of a Personal Assistant

You already have some tips to ensure that your working day does not resemble the ones portrayed in a certain Hollywood pic. So, what does a typical day in the life of a personal assistant actually look like? Read on and find out – since in this section, we take a close look at three daily tasks you will perform.

Getting Everything Ready

Do you think that your boss has an early start? Think again – it is actually you who has an even earlier start since you need to be in the office way before your superior arrives. Your preparation tasks involve checking all inboxes and the day’s schedule. And yes, your job can extend to getting the proper coffee and breakfast in for your boss. You are also expected to know his or her needs when it comes to meetings and other business arrangements. This means that you may have to make on-the-spot decisions and changes to the day’s schedule.

Admin and Personal Support

Most of your working days will be filled with administrative and personal support. You further organise the diary, add and update meetings, file invoices and other important documents. Personal support can consist of providing important business contracts/documents, preparing a meeting room with refreshments, and taking meeting details.

Event Planning

By no means a daily occurrence, event planning can nevertheless be a part of your work life. Planning an evening do or a conference involves meticulous planning and negotiation with venues, suppliers, and participants. It also involves collaboration with other departments and knowing what your superior expects from both you and the planned event.

Tips for Thriving as a Personal Assistant

To conclude this blog, we will now look at some tips for thriving as a personal assistant. With these tips, you have all the information you need to decide whether this job is, indeed, your perfect fit:

• Needs anticipation
• Time management
• Time out

Needs Anticipation

We have already told you that you may have to make on-the-spot decisions when it comes to a day’s schedule. These decisions are mainly connected to your employer’s needs which you need to know inside out. Anticipating what he or she expects and needs will make your job a lot easier – and it will impress your employer. He or she knows that you are empathetic, that you take initiative and responsibility, and that they have an easier life.

Time Management

Since you are tasked with a lot of different jobs each day, you need to have strong time management. It is all well and good if you are a multitasking genius. But even this skill will not get you through your day if you do not know how to manage the hours in said working day. Invest some time into this particular competency and ensure that the lives of everyone involved in your PA venture run smoothly and stress-free.

Time Out

Lastly, you need to take some time out for yourself. After all, you have done nothing but take care of someone else’s jobs and needs for the day – granted, you are being paid to do that. Regardless of that, you need to switch off after you have switched off your work computer and phone. Recharge and relax and listen to your needs. This way, you will thrive in your job and ensure a healthy work-life balance.

Frequently Asked Questions