| The main duties of a personal assistant are to | | | | One of the great perks to working as a PA is |
| provide administrative support to a senior | | | | that you can find jobs across all sectors, including |
| manager or director and help them perform their | | | | finance, media, legal and medical. Choose a sector |
| daily tasks. | | | | that suits your personality. |
| Secretarial duties carried out by a PA include | | | | For example, you may enjoy working as PA in a |
| arranging meetings, screening phone calls, dealing | | | | celebrity management company. Typical perks |
| with correspondence, writing letters and emails, | | | | include attending events and receiving gifts passed |
| taking diction and minutes, and looking after | | | | on from the artists on the company's books. But |
| visitors. | | | | you might also be expected to work long hours, |
| In addition, a personal assistant may be expected | | | | including evenings and weekends. |
| to carry out research, deal with office budgets, | | | | If earning more money appeals, then consider |
| organize corporate events, purchase supplies for | | | | working for a finance director, or in the legal and |
| their employer, coordinate projects and give | | | | medical sectors, as those personal assistants are |
| presentations. | | | | generally paid more. |
| However the role of the PA can vary widely | | | | How you can progress |
| depending on your boss or the industry you work | | | | If you're looking for career progression, consider |
| in. A PA in Hollywood would have a completely | | | | improving your IT skills. Some industries, including |
| different experience than a PA for a Wall Street | | | | legal and medical, also require specialist training. |
| investment bank. | | | | Networking is important so make the most of |
| What skills will you need? | | | | your boss's contacts. Talk to people who work in |
| Personal assistants should have excellent | | | | the sector you want to move into, then use a |
| communication, interpersonal and influencing skills. | | | | specialist secretarial job recruitment site to search |
| Working in the shadow of a senior executive can | | | | for jobs. |
| be demanding. An important part of your job is to | | | | What training you may need |
| protect your boss from unnecessary interruptions | | | | You don't need a degree to become a PA. |
| or requests. | | | | Experience is more important. You should be |
| To be a successful PA, you need to be proactive | | | | proficient in MS Office, including Word, Excel, |
| with excellent organization and problem solving | | | | Access, Powerpoint and Outlook. Audio typing, |
| skills. You should be a confident decision-maker, | | | | shorthand and Publisher 2000 may also be useful. |
| with first class time-management skills. Top notch | | | | Your touch typing should be at least 50wpm, and |
| word processing, IT and administrative skills are | | | | you should be able to do a mail merge and surf |
| also essential. | | | | the web without asking for help. |
| Type of industries you can work for | | | | |