Personal Assistant Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a personal assistant. Feel free to use our personal assistant job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a personal assistant.
Who is a Personal Assistant?
Executives and professionals need personal assistants to ensure proper organization, planning, and scheduling. Personal assistants are responsible for various administrative tasks. They can be employed in an office setting or remotely.
Personal assistants (PA), are also called personal secretaries or executive secretaries. They help keep their employers’ offices in good order and handle routine tasks so their employers can focus on more difficult duties.
They perform administrative tasks for other professionals or organizations. Personal assistants can be assigned to support individuals with personal and business tasks.
There are many types of personal assistants, but the most popular are:
Personal assistant for real estate: This personal assistant assists realtors and other real estate professionals.
Administrative personal assistant: This assistant works in an office setting to support an employee or several employees.
Personal assistant to celebrities: A celebrity personal assistant is a professional who reports directly to the celebrity and does various business and personal tasks.
Personal assistant for executives: This personal assistant is available to assist high-ranking employees in the company.
Personal concierge: This individual is a part-time assistant who runs errands for others rather than being employed by one person and reporting to one.
Part-time or full-time personal assistants may work for an agency, or they could be employed by an employer. Personal assistants are responsible for relieving stress in the workplace and personal lives of their employers by performing tasks that lessen the employer’s daily responsibilities.
Personal Assistant Job Description
What is a personal assistant job description? A personal assistant job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a personal assistant in an organization. Below are the personal assistant job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a personal assistant job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
- Assisting senior management in secretarial and administrative tasks.
- Typing, formatting, editing, and modifying reports, documents, or presentations.
- Entering data, maintaining databases, and keeping records.
- Assisting with internal departments, answering phones, and making travel arrangements.
- Managing of senior management’s internal and externe correspondence
- Scheduling appointments, keeping an event calendar, and sending reminders.
- Copying, scanning, and compiling documents.
- Assisting with the preparation of facilities and providing refreshments, if necessary.
- Ordering office supplies and replacements and managing mail and courier services.
- Assisting in the first contact with all correspondence and telephone calls.
- Managing diaries, organizing meetings, and scheduling appointments.
- Arranging travel, transport, and accommodation bookings.
- Organizing events and conferences
- Notifying the manager/executive about important tasks and deadlines.
- Typing, compiling, and preparing reports, presentations, and correspondence.
- Managing databases and filing systems.
- Implementing and maintaining procedures/administrative systems.
- Liaising with suppliers, clients, and staff.
- Collecting and filing expenses
- Researching for the manager.
- Organizing the manager’s obligations, including travel and childcare.
- Reading, monitoring, and responding to email messages from managers
- Preparing correspondence for the manager
- Delegating work to the manager in their absence
Other important tasks include the following:
- Making an appointment
Personal assistants can schedule appointments for employers, ranging from doctor and dentist visits to meetings with colleagues. This can be implemented online by the use of phone, or email.
- Managing correspondence
Personal assistants are expected to answer phone calls, open and distribute mail, as well as forward and respond to emails. Personal assistants often deal with confidential correspondence so they must be discreet.
- Making travel plans
Personal assistants often make arrangements for employers and their families to travel. They can book flights, rent cars, and reserve hotels for work-related trips or vacations. Personal assistants also plan itineraries and suggest activities for employers.
- Managing the employer’s households
Many household management tasks are also handled by personal assistants working for private employers. They may schedule appointments for the children of their employer, manage the family calendars, or transport family members to and from appointments. While they are working on contracted jobs, personal assistants can also manage and organize household cleaning and maintenance.
Qualifications
Personal assistants require a high school diploma, on-the-job training, and a variety of soft skills. Others may choose to obtain professional certification or an associate’s degree.
Education
Personal assistants must have a high school diploma, or a General Educational Development certificate (GED), to be eligible for an entry-level position in this field. Personal assistants can demonstrate basic math, language, and reasoning skills by completing this requirement.
Employers often require personal assistants with Associate’s degrees in Business, Communications, or other related fields. This post-secondary degree can be used to advance in administrative or executive assistant positions or to become a higher-paying personal assistance position.
Training
Personal assistants are often trained on the job for each role because employers have different needs and preferences. They learn the requirements of their employer and the workflow within the first few weeks.
Certification
Personal assistants don’t need certifications to find employment. However, they do require these credentials to establish their professional networks, show their competence, and learn vital skills. Some individuals choose to earn the Certified Administrative Professional credential through the International Association of Administrative Professionals. This credential focuses on organizational communication and business. These online programs require that you complete personal assistant training and pass an exam.
Essential Skills
- Pay attention to details
Personal assistants who pay attention to details are the best. It’s not just about what you say at meetings. You’ll need to learn more about what your bosses like and dislike including their tastes, preferences, and favorite foods. You should eventually be able to anticipate their needs and desires.
It’s a good idea, at least for the beginning, to make notes when your boss talks about you. You might note what they order at a restaurant, their favorite coffee shop or where they shop for clothes. These preferences will help you to get to know them and make your job easier.
Ability to remember your boss’ schedule
Personal assistants are responsible for managing their boss’s schedule. The best personal assistants know their boss’ schedule like the back of their hands.
It is important to keep your boss informed about upcoming events.
Learn from your boss
As a personal assistant, you’ll have the opportunity to learn valuable skills from your employer. You’ll learn a lot if you pay attention to details. As a result of this, you will be able to move up in your career as an assistant. An assistant can learn a lot from their boss by watching how they interact with their colleagues.
- Great organizational skills
Personal assistants are responsible for managing their own lives, but they also have to take care of the needs of their boss. It’s important to be organized to be able to manage your priorities, space, and schedules.
Make sure all files are labeled, organize office supplies, and make sure all materials are easy to find. This will allow you to manage your boss’s time and schedule effectively, as well as your own.
Employers want to be proactive and not just hold their hands. Employers want to help others to solve the problem and make it easier. It can take time, but being proactive about your work and your responsibilities will help you get there. Personal assistants must be able to anticipate the needs of their boss, prioritize tasks, and follow up on all assignments. Your role is to make sure your employer’s work gets done. It will be easier for you to take on the role of your employer once you have gotten to know him or her.
- Good personal relationship
As a personal assistant, you will need to be outgoing and friendly, as well as a great communicator, whether you are communicating via email, phone, or in person. You will be representing your employer to the public. This means that you need to act as an extension of your employer. The skill of being polite and calm even when stressed is a hallmark of a great personal assistant. They also can balance assertiveness with courtesy when necessary.
- Flexibility
The job of a personal assistant is more demanding than others. Your job will require you to provide support for your employer’s professional and personal needs. You’ll need to be able to manage multiple tasks. A good personal assistant will adapt quickly to any changes that occur and be happy to help. This may not be the right career choice for you if you can’t control your stress when plans go wrong.
- Tech-savvy
You can’t perform the most basic tasks of a personal assistant without being proficient in computer systems and programs. You will need to be able to use the appropriate programs and etiquette when performing different tasks for your employer. These tasks may include managing email for your employer, whether you are booking flights, scheduling appointments, writing reports, or researching online. Additionally, you should be familiar with any software used by your employer.
- Reliability
The ultimate goal of a PA is to be the “right arm” for their employer. To do this, you need to be 100% and completely reliable. You must arrive on time and complete different tasks as early as possible.
How to Become a Personal Assistant
You have a variety of options to learn from if you want to become a personal assistant. This is going to depend on the company or individual that you are working for. Many smaller companies will advertise personal assistant positions like entry-level jobs. This means that you can begin working on the job without any PA experience or qualification. To become a personal assistant at a larger company, you will need to have significant experience and be able to demonstrate a variety of skills. Here are four simple steps to help you get started as a PA.
- Completion of secondary school education with relevant subjects
While there are not many requirements for PA roles, communication skills are essential. It is possible to improve your CV by getting a good grade on subjects such as English. If you want to be more involved in the financial aspect of the business, a GCSE in numeracy or A level in maths is important. You may need to learn additional languages if you are interested in a career as a PA.
You might be interested in working with high-profile people, such as actors or musicians. A background in music or drama studies can look good on your CV and will help you to establish rapport during interviews. It is worth spending some time researching the industry you want to work for before the interview.
- Earn a degree
A degree isn’t necessary for a job as PA. However, it can help you if your goal is to land a job in a big company. As a PA in large corporate organizations, you will need to prepare and present presentations, write reports and meet with the board. Working as a personal assistant for a director may be viewed as a way to move up in the company.
These degrees can help you stand out in the crowd. You can use this degree to help you plan for the future if your plans change or you want to move into a different business discipline. A degree can be of benefit if you are employed in a highly specialized company such as engineering and manufacturing.
- Demonstration of skills by looking for opportunities
You cannot demonstrate many of the key qualities that are required to be a PA by simply having academic qualifications. A reliable personal assistant must be trustworthy, organized, reliable, and adaptable to new situations.
Extra-curricular activities are a great way to practice some of these skills. These activities could include volunteering, participating in theatrical or sports groups, and any other hobbies that require organization and time management skills. You should be prepared to answer interview questions regarding these types of skills. Also, make sure that you have good examples of how they are demonstrated.
- Further study is recommended
Personal assistant jobs are competitive and require practical experience. It is important to be able to talk about your previous experience and give references. Another option is to take additional courses in a night school, part-time at a college or university.
Where to Work
There are many organizations you can work for, including large corporations, financial institutions, law firms, and legal firms, as well as private equity banks and start-up businesses. While most companies use “Totaljobs” to advertise for jobs, many companies use agencies to find employees.
Many factors affect the workplace environment. Most PAs will work in an office setting, regardless of whether it is a larger corporate headquarters or a smaller one. Some larger companies may offer additional perks such as a subsidized gym, canteen, and social areas for employees.
Personal Assistant Salary Scale
The average salary for a personal assistant in the USA is $32,170 annually or $16.50 an hour. Entry-level positions start at $25,350 per annum, while more experienced workers can earn up to $67.640 per annum.