Personal Assistant

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How to Choose a Personal Assistant

Hiring a personal assistant can be a tricky process involving much trial and error. Not every employer is the same, and a personal assistant should not only fit the employer's needs but also his or her personality. This article offers a few ideas on how you can eliminate some of the stress of hiring a personal assistant (PA).

When you are first looking for an assistant, it is important to equally weigh all the facets you will look at. Although skills and employment history are important factors, employers must also consider an applicant's personality and life experiences. Chemistry, an intangible quality most often discovered during an interview, is the most important factor in determining the success of this employer-employee relationship.

Qualified applicants should be

• organized
• detail-oriented
• confidential/private
• able to prioritize
• responsible
• professional
• personable
• resourceful
• dependable
• prompt
• able to delegate
• resilient
• a self-starter
• motivated
• loyal
• a team player
• honest
• trustworthy
• able to anticipate and plan ahead

The fastest and easiest way to get the applicants you are looking for is to write a descriptive and detailed job description. To you as an employer, a job description helps you to clearly define the type of person you would like to hire. Not only will you decide what qualifications and previous work experience your PA should have, but writing a job description will also help you to develop some of the questions you will ask during screening and interviewing. From the perspective of the applicants, the job description serves as a guide in helping them to know exactly what you are looking for and to make them understand that this is a serious position. A clearly written list of needs tells applicants that you, the employer, have your head together and know what you need and that all the PA has to do is follow your directions and provide the help.

When writing your description, consider how much time you want to spend training your new hire. If you write a well-defined job description, you will make it easier on yourself in determining how much experience a person really has.

When written for a PA position, a comprehensive job descriptions has at least six standard parts: (1) Job title; (2) Nature of work; (3) Qualifications and qualities of employee; (4) Duties to be performed; (5) Work schedule and comments; and (6) Salary.

Not every PA will be ideal. But following the above suggestions will see you better on your way to finding a personal assistant who fits your needs and can give you the help you're looking for.

Author Description :

Temporary Personal Assistant (http://my-tpa.com) offers part-time personal assistants in Los Angeles who work closely with busy individuals to provide personalized service. Rachel Spohn is a freelance writer.

The Job Description of a Personal Assistant

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A lot of people employ a personal assistant. But what does a personal assistant really do? What is his or her job description?

The personal assistant is called by many names. They can also be referred to as executive secretary or executive assistant. He or she works closely with the manager then coordinates with the various departments.

But most of the time, this person deals with administrative and secretarial tasks like answer the phone, enter, welcome the visitors, make appointments, deal with deliveries and faxes, make schedules, take dictation and minutes, produce presentations, do background research, organize meetings, liaise both internally and externally, arrange travel accommodations, organize paperwork and make decisions in the absence of others.

In order to be an effective personal assistant, you should be able to know the company and the business inside and out. This will allow you to get in touch with the right people when you are instructed to. Given that you handle matters that are important to the company, you should be trustworthy and exercise confidentiality and discretion at all times.

The personal assistant may sometimes be instructed to do other duties. This may involve handling accounts and budgets, carrying out a specific project and take some of the manager’s load which means being given the opportunity to be involved in the decision making process. Some companies do that while others don’t and just stick to the basics as mentioned.

Celebrities, professional assistants and politicians are just some of the few examples of people who need a personal assistant. Small businesses also do and the average salary of a personal assistant these days is $37,000.

If you think about it, there is no specific educational degree that lands you the job of a personal assistant. It just happens which is why a company who feels the need for one will probably hire someone internally before posting a job posting.

In order for the two to work together, both the manager and the personal assistant should have good rapport otherwise nothing gets done.

Should you consider being a personal assistant, keep in mind there are some drawbacks. For one, you will have to work 40 to 80 hours or more especially when your boss has a late night meeting or tells you to accompany him or her to a business out of town. You may be on call 24/7 so you may have to rush from one place to another even late at night or the in early hours of the morning.

But there are benefits for being a personal assistant. You get to meet other celebrities and high level executives that could lead to better job opportunities. You get to attend business dinners or even parties. Those who travel get to work and go on vacation at the same time which often includes free travel and an expense account.

Working any job even that of a personal assistant has its ups and downs. Those who can take it will be able to stay in this position for a very long time while others who have tried but could not stomach it will look for a better job role. For you to succeed here, you have to be trust worthy, hard working, can work under pressure and have a strong work ethic.