What is A Virtual Personal Assistant

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If you are having a hard time managing your affairs, you should get a personal assistant. These days, there are two names namely the personal assistant and the virtual personal assistant.

The personal assistant is there everyday doing the tasks that you tell them to do. Examples of these are answering the phone, checking the mail, filing your paper and so forth. A virtual personal assistant can do the same thing using various methods of communication such as the web, telephone and fax. The only thing it can’t do is make your morning coffee.

Another difference with the virtual personal assistant is the he or she is not a temporary or full time employee. This person is hired on a contractor basis so you only call upon them when they are needed. This enables you to save money when you can do certain things on your own.

These individuals are paid on an hourly fee which could be from $15 to $40 depending on their geographic location.

Just to give you an idea, someone who is based in Los Angeles, California will charge a much higher hourly fee compared to someone who works in Austin, Texas. One way you can save money is to agree to pay a certain amount of hours per week.

Should you always get a virtual personal assistant from out of town? The answer is no because sometimes you need them to be familiar with the places where you are residing.

The best place to find a personal virtual assistant is online because these people do their business using the web. You can of course put an ad in the newspaper or bulletin board and specify there what are the duties and responsibilities that they will be doing.

In the next few days, you should screen the applicants just like how you will do it when you are hiring someone for a job.

But what should be the criteria when you hire a virtual personal assistant? Naturally, this should be based on their work experience. But you should look deeper into the personality of the person so you know how their work attitude. The best one to get should not always be the most experienced but the one who takes interest in your line of business and will do their best to help it grow.

To see how well they will perform, give them a small project to do and see how well they perform. If they do a good job, then this person is worth hiring. If not, check out the other applicants.

You have to maintain a good relationship with your virtual personal assistant by keeping the lines of communication open so you will know a little bit about them.

You should also provide them some feedback so they can improve if there are a few mistakes. But don’t forget to give praise when they did a superb job.

The internet has made the world a smaller place because you can talk to anyone regardless of where they are in the world. The personal virtual assistant could be from somewhere in the United States, Europe or in Asia. The most important thing is that the person is able to perform his or her task just like regular personal assistant.

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Benefits of Having a Personal Assistant

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People who have personal assistants such as politicians, business tycoons, entertainment moguls, company executives and celebrities are literally free from doing daily tasks and can fully concentrate on their jobs and routine because there is somebody who takes care of everything they need.

But, aside from having somebody who can do all the errands, there is more to having a personal assistant. This is having the peace of mind that everything that you need to do and everything that should be done is taken cared of without you doing a single thing except giving out specific instructions.

What do you get from a personal assistant?

Depending on the description of their job, a personal assistant can be considered as the most reliable person around an employer or a boss. This is because he or she does everything in order to make the employer feel less stressed and can concentrate more on the task ahead. The personal assistant does this by ensuring that everything—from office works and other menial tasks—are properly taken cared of.

A personal assistant (PA) is expected to maintain the business, the household, and the social calendar of his or her employer. The PA is expected to do all the scheduling in all appointments for the boss be it in the business or personal life. He or she is also in-charge in making all travel arrangements in local and international destinations while handling all the events and functions of the employer. Since the personal assistant is one of the closest people in the boss's circle, he or she takes charge in various social planning and meetings.

Aside from overseeing personal, office, home and business affairs, the personal assistant is also expected to do public relations and media works for the employer. He or she is also handles all mail matters, writes the correspondences to different people, does the money-matter affairs such as paying the bills, bookkeeping, and maintaining the account, as well as maintaining personal or business files.

The personal assistant also handles the maintenance of private contact database and does the coordination for various business conferences and meetings. She or he also takes charge of menial jobs such as monitoring computer and office supplies, and writing personal invitations, greeting cards and even thank-you notes.

For a personal assistant to become effective, he or she must have at least two to three years of experience as a personal PA either in a home or office set up. The PA must also have at least a Bachelor's Degree, knowledge in computers especially in running basic programs in the computer such as Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, and others, and should possess a strong communication skills, have keen organization skills and displays people skills.

Extra requirements especially for those who will be working with prominent business people is extensive knowledge in the etiquette when it comes to social, business, and personal aspects, have a strong professional attitude and moral outlook, must have professional bearing and should be fit to travel in case the boss needs to send him or her to a certain destination.

Other benefit of having a personal assistant is that you can rely on somebody on the things that need to be done. And if you are nice enough to the PA, you might have a personal companion and a friend who you can trust in times of need.

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How Do You Become a Personal Assistant

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Do you have what it takes to become a personal assistant? Some people do and others don’t. But if you are serious about working at this level, what do you need to do?

First of all, you don’t have to take a course in college to become a personal assistant because there aren’t any. You may have an advantage over others who apply if you have a business or accounting degree since some employers need someone who can do some budgeting.

In fact, anyone can become a personal assistant as long as they are willing to work long hours, be able to do multi-tasking, handle the pressure that goes with the job, internet savvy and very comfortable using modern technology.

You should also have people skills since you will relate to people both internally and externally in the organization. Some employers want their personal assistants to learn a second language so if they have to travel, he or she can act as a translator.

Given that you are working in the inner circle, certain information that is classified as confidential should remain that way. You should be able to keep this under lock and key. If people ask, don’t make the mistake of revealing what you know since this will cost you your job.

The first step in becoming a personal assistant is to apply for the position and hope you get it. This will give you the opportunity to learn how things work in a company because even if there are differences in various working environments, there are a few activities there that are very common.

During the interview, remain calm and highlight your assets. It will be a great if you can tell the interviewer your previous work experience if you had the chance of working as a personal assistant in the past.

However, if you just graduated, highlight other things like you are conversant in foreign language, you can type X number of words per minute, you are internet savvy and very familiar with the latest high tech gadgets in the market.

If you are not able to get a job yet because the employer wants someone who is experienced, try to become a personal assistant through an apprentice program or offer your services for free.

There are also some agencies that help applicants look for a job so you can also consider sending your resume to them.

It is also possible to get the job by working first for a non-profit organization and building your network so when there is an opening, your name will be on top of the list.

Some people don’t sign up to become a personal assistant first. They enter the organization working in one position and then when there is an opening, they decide to apply for it since most employers are likely to hire within the company before putting an ad in the newspaper.

There are many ways to become a personal assistant. You can apply for the job directly or making your way to that position. Whatever happens, expect to work longer hours because your job does not end at 5PM. There will be times you will have to travel and stay up late longer than usual so don’t expect to have a social life.

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How to Hire a Personal Assistant

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Are you overwhelmed by what you are doing at work? A lot of people do especially when they are executives. If this happens, the best thing to do will be to hire a personal assistant and here is how you do it.

First, you have to create a job description for the personal assistant. It must have the duties and responsibilities that you will require for someone in that position.

When you are finished with that, it is time to post your ad. Some people do this the old fashioned way by putting this in the newspaper. If the company has a website and it has a section on careers, it can also be posted there. Another way to attract applicants is to use a job site where you can post this by simply creating an account.

Applicants outside the company should be required to pass a letter of intent and their resume to a P.O. Box or forwards this to the company email.

If you don’t want to hire from the outside yet, put this in the office bulletin board so anyone who wants to shift from their present positions may do so by simply informing the human resource department.

After you have collected a list of candidates, it is time to consider which applicants to interview. This should be based on their work experience but it wouldn’t hurt to also interview some fresh grads, college students and retirees. Graduates or those studying are very enthusiastic while those who want to join the workforce once again bring with them the maturity for the role.

The next step is to give each candidate a call and tell them they are scheduled for an interview and exam. Those who pass the initial screening will then move on to the next stage until there are about 5 to 10 candidates left to choose from which you will interview yourself.

During the interview, try to get a feel of this person. Can you see yourself working well with this person? If the answer is yes, you can discuss other things in more detail like how much they will be paid, what are the work hours and what benefits they will be getting.

If they are really interested, give them one last exam preferably one that will evaluate their computer skills. Naturally the ideal candidate should know how to use a computer because there will be instances wherein you need them to type a report or work on a special project and have this given to you in a short period of time.

Should this satisfy you, then its time to say, “You’re hired.” During the first three months, think of this as a trial period and evaluate well their performance. If they do well, then there shouldn’t be any problems.

If things are not working out, you better look for a replacement already without letting go of your current assistant. That way, this person will be able to turn over everything you make the announcement that you are letting him or her go.

Hiring a personal assistant is easy but it just takes time to find the right person for the job. If you are patient, it won’t be long before someone qualifies come along that could be within the company or from the outside.

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How to Start a Home Based Personal Assistant Business

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Time is one thing we don’t have. We sometimes wish that we could be in two places at once but we can’t. If you want to help people make that wish come true, you can by starting your own home based personal assistant business.

The first thing you have to know is figure out what your home based personal assistant business should focus on. Studies show that a lot of people miss out on paying their bills on time, meetings, appointments, birthdays, anniversaries and errands.

So they don’t miss out on it again, your business is designed to remind them about it or be the one to do the legwork. For this to work, there are a few things you need namely your business setup, pricing and marketing.

When you setup a business, naturally you must have an office, a computer, phone and mobile. You probably have this already in your house. The only thing you need to do is convert a small room. You also might want to invest in a fax machine so you can send or receive a quote. A filing cabinet may come later when you are already handling many clients.

Pricing can be done on an hourly or monthly rate. If you are starting out, it will be crazy to charge a monthly rate since people don’t know you yet so don’t be too greedy. The quality of your services will speak for itself and soon after, these clients of yours will even refer you to others.

The third is marketing your business. If you quit your old job to open this business, ask your friends and family members for help.

If you don’t have the budget to pay for a billboard but you can make posters and put this in community bulletin boards. You can also coordinate with your alma mater and post this in the alumni magazine or in other publications. Don’t forget to advertise on the web because a lot of people use it to access information.

When you are able to get more clients and you are not able to handle everything by yourself, this is the time that you hire people to work for you. It will be a good idea to provide them disability and insurance since you never know what could happen while you are on the job.

One of the things you should not forget to do is be bonded and insured. This will protect you if something happens to be damaged or missing when you are working with a client.

Credibility is important in any business and the same goes for your home based personal assistant business. To make this happen, you should get a bank reference and join a small business association, be part of the Better Business Bureau or the local Chamber of Commerce.

If business has been good for the past few months, use the names of your clients as references since a new client will probably ask about how well you worked for them in the past.

When you work for a client, remember that this is not a temporary or full time job but rather it is a contractual one. They don’t need you to be there everyday but you better be ready to respond whenever they give you a call.

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Starting Your Own Personal Assistant Service Business

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You have probably heard of cleaning services. They drop by your home once a week or more depending on the arrangement and they fix up the place for a certain fee. Did you know that there are personal assistant services as well?

But what does a personal assistant service actually do? Someone from their office will deliver or pick up personal items, wait for contractors, deliveries or installations in your home, shop for gifts, groceries and other items, take your car for repair or cleaning, take your pet to the vet, arrange business or personal travel, simply your way of paying bills and organize your home or office space.

Since you don’t need the personal assistant service all the time, you can simply call them up and only pay them for the number of hours rendered. Some companies have a flat rate for an hour or two which is more than enough to get a simple task done when you are busy doing something else.

You can find a personal assistant service online or through the phone directory and be happy to know that most of these are bonded and insured.

Given that the idea of a personal assistant service is not hard to do, you can make one yourself if there are not that many yet where you live. In fact, you can start by doing this at home and then when you take the call, you do the work or have some other people do it for you.

The skills you need to have to get into the personal assistant service business are not that difficult. You and your team should be internet savvy, knowledgeable about the latest gadgets, be able to do some basic financing and be well organized.

You then advertise to your neighbors and friends about your business and hopefully get referrals whenever it is needed.

The amount you charge depends on the kind of service you are providing. The best way is to aim for an annual salary so if you are able to finish the job in a much shorter time than expected, what you earn stays the same.

But if you are just establishing your presence in the market, it is best to charge hourly. You can charge extra when your services extend beyond the agreed upon time. Be sure to put everything written in a contract and have them sign it. You should be paid for your services the minute that the job is done. When things pick up, you can demand that clients should pay for this a month in advance.

Don’t forget to be bonded and insured so you will never be accused of theft if something is missing. You should also apply for disability and insurance to protect yourself and the people you send over.

To make yourself credible, you should have a bank reference and belong to the small business association, better business bureau or the chamber of commerce. After working with a few clients, use them as your reference since the client will probably do a background check and feel safe knowing you are a legitimate business.

Having a personal assistant service business is great since you don’t have to work everyday. You get a job whenever the phone rings while the rest of the time, you get to relax and enjoy doing some other activities.

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The Four Main Duties of a Personal Assistant

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The job of a personal assistant or PA has been used in many movies and TV shows alike. And what image do you see in these portrayals? Usually, the assistants look calm and at the top of their game while juggling so many tasks all at once. While they are typing on the computer, the boss will come out to ask for another task to be completed. And while trying their best to accomplish such, a visitor will ask if they can talk to the boss and the assistant will make excuses as to where the boss is.

Looks complicated? Well, that is really how the work environment for a PA looks like. The tasks will vary depending on the kind of industry they are in. If you ever fancy about this profession, you must be apt and alert all the time. You are your boss’ second hand. You don’t want the big guy to find himself missing an arm.

The Duties
You may think that what you’ve seen on TV shows or movies are exaggerated interpretation of what it’s really like, you will be amazed that they are greatly similar to the real thing. Here are the basic duties of a PA.

1. Administrative support. As a PA, you will provide assistance to the management with regards to their daily tasks. The accomplishments of such tasks will depend on how you and your boss coordinate. The latter cannot miss a meeting and cannot leave the office with an important document unsigned. It is your responsibility to see over their schedule and plans so that you can aid them in sorting those out to do what needs to be done according to their priorities.

2. Secretarial tasks. It is also part of your job description to take calls or screen the calls coming in for your boss. You will take care of the correspondence like writing letters and emails. You will have to look after the visitors. You are also tasked to arrange meetings for your boss and do the necessary cancellations whenever needed. At meetings, your boss may ask you to take the minutes and diction and sum it up for them.

3. Other tasks. These include going on events when your boss is not available. You may also be asked to research on certain topics depending on the need of your immediate superior. You may also have to look upon the overall budget of certain promos and events. If your employer needs certain supplies, you can also be asked to purchase the needed products. So you must take note of the important contact number such as the suppliers of office equipments or what your boss often require. This way, you can easily give the materials whenever your boss needs them.

4. Personal assistance. You must also be ready to accept duties like ordering flowers for your boss’ wife or date. You may also be asked to buy personal gifts that your superior needs for other personal purposes. Your boss may ask you to reserve tickets for concerts and other events or reservations at restaurants. This may be already beyond your job description, but doing the tasks without qualms will put your working relationship with your boss at a good light.

Your success as a personal assistant will greatly vary on the type of boss who will ask you to carry out your tasks and the industry where you choose to be of service. So make sure that you know a lot about the people you’ll be working with and the type of business they are in before you even submit your CV.

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The Four Must Have Traits of Personal Assistants

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Personal assistants are vital to busy bosses whatever industry they belong to. The tasks may vary according to what type of superior they have. The salary will also depend on the kind of trade where the superior is involved with.

You may be used to celebrities having their own PA’s. If you have been exposed to the corporate world, you should know that all the executives on such setup have their own PA’s. The duties of the assistants will greatly differ on the tasks of their bosses.

They may differ on the industry where they thrive. The salary may also be different depending on the business and their employers. The tasks, of course, also vary. But a personal assistant must have the following skills to be able to cope with the challenges that their job poses each working day.

1. Brilliant communication skill. As a personal assistant, you would have to interact with the people whom your boss is transacting business with. You would have to set up meetings with them. It is your duty to accommodate them when they arrive at certain locations where your boss will be conducting meetings with them. You have to relay to these people important messages in ways that you will be clearly understood. This way, you will be helping your boss carry out the tasks that they could no longer bear by themselves. And that is also their main reason why they would hire an assistant.

2. Pleasing personality. You should appear bright, attentive and at the same time, pleasant. It cannot be helped that sometimes, certain guests will arrive at the office at times when your superior doesn’t want to be disturbed. You have to tell the guests in the manner that they will not be offended about the situation. You need to stay calm amidst all turmoil. Your composure will help your boss a lot in times when they feel that business is tough and everything seems so incontrollable.

3. Good with problem solving. There are times when you have to decide things on your own. There are simpler situations and problems that your boss does no longer need to be concerned about. And it is your duty as their assistant to judge the situation accordingly and do the necessary action. Also, your superior may ask you for your advices at times, especially when they deem you as expert in such situation. You should be able to assess the problem and give out the right words and suggestions to help alleviate the problem in your own little way.

4. Hardworking. As a personal assistant, it cannot be helped that your services will still be needed beyond work hours or even on your rest days. This usually happens when the boss thrives in a business where transactions happen almost every day and they have to deal with a lot of situations and people all at once. You are your boss’ shadow. They will be able to work better with your aid. For this reason, you must be ready to extend your patience and service way beyond the agreed hours and days of work.

All the abovementioned skills are must haves for personal assistants. You must value your job and you must really love it in order to last. The payoff will surely be good once you’ve gotten used to how things work in such environment.

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The Right Attitudes for a Person to Carry Out Personal Assistant Services

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What are the scopes of personal assistant services? Do not undermine this job because it entails a lot to be successful in this venture. You need to be a jack of all trades if you are a PA. And if you are a boss, it might really take some time and a lot of scrutiny before you can find the right candidate for the position.

Finding the Right One
If you are a business owner or a very busy executive and you want to lessen the pressure and tasks off your shoulders, this is the ideal set up that you can opt for. But finding the right PA whom you could trust confidential business matters to is not a piece of cake. To start with, you should look for the following qualities for the right candidate.

1. The right PA must be open to sudden schedule adjustments. It cannot be helped, especially in the corporate world, to extend work hours beyond the usual 9-5. So you must first ask applicants if they are up for the challenge and are willing to take that extra route at times. You need to find someone who will be there for you, to aid you at crucial business moments and to be there for you whether at good or bad times.

2. You must also look for one who is sociable. There are times when your PA has to meet important people whom you are transacting business with. Your assistant sometimes has to take them to places, to take a look around the area or be entertained while on the waiting process. This can also be possible when you are doing business with these people and they would like to have a break or experience the nearby view for a while.

3. A good PA is someone who is flexible and easy going. Such person must be able to relate with others with ease and confidence. They must not be irritable because that will not do you any good as a boss. They must set good example to other employees. They must keep them composed at times when you seem fed up with work.

4. Choose someone who can handle pressure well. Whatever business you are dealing with, it cannot be helped that there will be times when the going gets tough. Your PA must be able to relate with you and keep up with their job even if pressure is already getting into you.

5. Your PA must be able to multi task. It will be very helpful for you to have an assistant who is adept on different tasks. Select the person who is a master on different programs on the computer. They must also know how to work using the Internet and other office equipments like the fax and phone lines.

6. It will also do you good if you will choose a person who has a good background. This applies not only on their personal lives but more so, on their work history. Opt for the person who has good time management as well as organizational skills.

All these skills and attitudes will make up the overall characteristics of a person to be able to perform different personal assistant services at the top of their game. So make sure that you check this list twice before hiring a person for the task.

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The Duties of a Personal Assistant

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Through the years, the term "personal assistant" has evolved. Technically, a "personal assistant" or "PA" is a person who attends to the things that busy and successful people cannot attend to. He or she is specifically hired to assist another person in his or her personal activities, schedules, and tasks every single day.

But with the modern and complex office and business setting today, the roles and duties of personal assistants have been also redefined. Before, personal assistants—Girl or Boy Friday—only attend to very specific tasks. But now, their job description can be compared to what the secretary does, or even more. This is because the personal assistant has to be there always no matter where the boss or the employer goes. He or she has to be there to attend to all the things that the employer needs to make the workplace and the job easier and more efficient.

All in all, a personal assistant is person who is trusted by the high-ranking person in the corporate world. He or she is a junior employee who—with the directive and instructions of the boss—assumes the duties and role of the chief-of-staff in any executive office or of any executive personnel.

Preparing for the PA's duties

The major qualification for becoming a personal assistant is reliability. Since a high-ranking person will rely on almost everything when it comes to work on the personal assistant, he or she must be skilled enough to do the tasks ahead.

If you want to be a personal assistant, the first thing that you should do is to determine which type of working environment you would want to be. With the complex work setting now, everyone—at least those that have high ranking positions and popular figures in the society such politicians, celebrities, communications executives, entertainment moguls, business tycoons, and the like—needs a personal assistant.

If you want to be effective in becoming a personal assistant, it is a must that you know before hand whom would you want to and what type of tasks would you want to perform. Consider this, if you are a personal assistant for a politician, you will be involved in various political affairs such as dealing with people from all walks of life.

If you will become a personal assistant for a celebrity, you will be living a glamorous life by attending various functions or social events and even dealing with the fans. In a corporate or business world, you will be involved in everything that has to do with the business or the company of your employer.

After finally deciding whom would you want to work for, it is now time for you to do a research on the duties of a personal assistant so you would have an idea what it is like to be in their shoes.

Before finally deciding if you are fit for the position, you must know that a personal assistant is: good in appointment and schedule keeping; fast in running errands; reliable in scheduling for travels locally and internationally; knowledgeable in book keeping and managing accounts; computer literate for correspondence through email, scheduling tasks, typing documents, and preparing presentations; a master of language skills; excellent in managing a small office or even the household; and keen in planning and organizing meetings and other events such parties.
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The Qualities of a Personal Assistant

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People who are always on the go need someone to watch their back. In business, we call that individual a personal assistant. But this job is not for everyone which is why there are certain qualities that you have to look out for when you are hiring one.

First, that person should be a jack of all trades. This means he or she is used to multi-tasking. The successful candidate must have a flexible work schedule that goes beyond the nine to five job. You can call them up at anytime, be able to work on weekends, holidays or even overnight if necessary. If this person is not able to do that, then you better hire someone else.

The personal assistant should be internet savvy and computer literate so certain projects can be typed up, research can be done and a presentation can be made. If you are using some programs that the personal assistant is not familiar with, then this person has to learn it quickly in order to adapt to your needs.

When you hire a personal assistant, it is best to get someone with experience so more or less they know what to do in the position. You just have to brief them on how things are done where you work.

The candidate has to be very dependable especially when you are not around because he or she represents you. If a judgment calls needs to be made, the personal assistant has to step up and do what needs to be done. Having such a quality shows this person is self-confident and has the leadership potential to handle more responsibility in the future.

They should show that they are trust worthy so everything you say that is concerned with the business does not leak out of the office.

What does a personal assistant want in return for what you expect from them? Simply put, fair pay because no one is going to work beyond 8 hours everyday and only get paid minimum wage. If you have to travel and you need this person, be prepared to shell out their travel and living expenses.

From time to time, give them tickets to a party or a show if you are not around. As you can see, money is not the only thing that a personal assistant looks for when looking for a job.

How do you look for a personal assistant? By putting down on paper what is their job description and then posting an advertisement saying that you are in need of one. If your company is quite big, you can announce for an opening first within the organization before opening this for outsiders.

Once you have a list of potential candidates, you can now go through the screening process. Those who pass the initial interview and exam can be scheduled to meet you. To help you decide which candidate you think is best, have someone from the company interview this person with you.

If you want to see them in action, let them do something and if you are happy, keep them on a probationary basis first before you decide to regularize them.

At the end of the day, the personal assistant is another employee. If this person does not perform as you expect, they can easily be replaced.
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What You Need to Know About a Personal Digital Assistant

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Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are handheld computers that are small in size so it can be brought when a person needs to go places. Also known as a "small computer," "palmtop computers," "palm tops," "palms" and "palm pilots," the PDA enables someone to do things that can be done using a personal computer.

Today, more and more manufacturers come up with newer models that have modern and updated features. These changes come in sizes, colors, and audio capabilities of the PDA. In fact, in the market today, most of the models have colored touch screens, higher definition of and audio components, and lighter, slimmer appearance.

Majority of which can also be double as a mobile phone, a portable media player with high storage capacity, and can even serve as a web browser because they can have access to the Internet through built-in intranets and extranets, through wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), and through Wireless Wide-Area Networks (WWANs).

PDA 101

Although there are so many guides in using PDA, it greatly helps a lot if the user finds time to know its history and the movement of its progression. Did you know that the very first PDA was released 21 years ago? In May 1983, the CASIO PF-3000 released by GO Corp. penetrated the market and made the breakthrough. But, its fame did not materialize until John Sculley, the Chief Executive Officer of Apple used the term "PDA" at the Consumer Electronics Show which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1992, referring to the "Apple Newton."

What makes that PDA a hit is that its touch screen means of entering any data, the large capacity of data storage through the memory card, and wireless connectivity such Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and IrDA. One unique feature about PDAs is that its software enables it to have a customized calendar for appointments and scheduled activities, an organized "to-do-list", an easy to use address book that has large capacity of memory for saving names and other details of contacts as well as a program that lets you take down some notes.

But, what makes it truly a hit for many people is its touch screen feature. Even the first batches of palms have touch screens for user interaction. This feature only has a few numbers of buttons that serve as shortcuts for specific programs. Although touch screen phones can operate using the bare hands, manufacturers came up with a "stylus" to make the touch screen feature more effective. Here, interaction is made easier and faster by just tapping the screen itself for the menu choices to appear. And just by tapping the screen, the stylus can easily activate the buttons you need for any program to work.

Aside from the touch screen feature, PDAs also have stroke recognition wherein there are a predetermined number of strokes which corresponds to the characters needed to be used. Other PDAs—especially those that are being used purely for business purposes—offer thumb or scroll wheels as well as full keyboards to make entering the data and navigation easier and more accurate.

For the personal digital assistant to work, it needs an operating system or OS. This is predetermined depending on the maker of the PDA.

Common PDA operating systems include the PalmSource's "Palm OS", Microsoft's "Windows Mobile Professional" and "Classic" for Pocket PCs, Apple Inc.'s "iPhone OS", and Research In Motion's "BlackBerry OS" among others.

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