A personal assistant (PA) carries out administrative work on behalf of one individual, unlike an administrator who tends to look after a team.

A personal assistant (PA) carries out administrative work on behalf of one individual, unlike an administrator who tends to look after a team. This individual is usually a manager or executive in a commercial, not-for-profit or public sector organisation. The role of a PA is to free an executive’s time from administrative duties so that they can spend maximum time on strategic tasks.

 What would you be doing?

• acting as a first point of contact, dealing with correspondence and phone calls
• managing diaries and organising meetings and appointments
• booking and arranging travel, transport and accommodation
• organising events and conferences
• reminding the manager/executive of 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 staff, suppliers and clients
• collating and filing expenses
• miscellaneous tasks to support their manager, which will vary according to the sector and to the manager. For example, completing some corporate governance reporting (to ensure that the business is being run properly and complying with legislation and regulations) or conducting research.

What is expected from you?

• Discretion and trustworthiness: you will often be party of confidential information
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Organisational skills and the ability to multitask
• The ability to be proactive and take the initiative
• Tact and diplomacy
• Communication skills
• A knowledge of standard software packages and the ability to learn company-specific software if required.

What about the pay?

PAs can earn between £25,000 and £35,000 per year although this varies from location to location and the size of your employer.

What qualifications do I need to get?

No formal academic qualifications are required as standard, although some employers may require candidates to have a degree . If degrees are required, a degree in a communications, technology or business subject may be advantageous.

Employers sometimes require previous experience of administration or personal assistant work: often two years. This experience can often be gained via temping, which can, in turn, lead to permanent work.

What about further training?

It is possible to complete a secretarial course or diploma online or via further education colleges.

Anything else I might need to know?

Please note that in some organisations, the job titles ‘personal assistant’ and ‘executive assistant’ are interchangeable. In some places, an executive assistant is more senior than a personal assistant and will take on more responsibility, such as some corporate governance or team organisation work. Sometimes, a PA role is an entry-level job.

In others, it requires a great deal of experience and is paid accordingly. Depending on the employer, too, a personal assistant role may be combined with that of an administrator or it may be a more senior position to which administrators can progress.

This job can also have a fine line between personal and professional side, as the title suggests, Personal Assistant may be asked to take private appointments or other tasks outside of the company that will help their managers (medical, paperwork, etc.).

What qualifications do I need to get?

No formal academic qualifications are required as standard, although some employers may require candidates to have a . If degrees are required, a degree in a communications, technology or business subject may be advantageous.

Employers sometimes require previous experience of administration or personal assistant work: often two years. This experience can often be gained via temping, which can, in turn, lead to permanent work.