Do you want to be the prime bay of calls for people who try to reach your boss?
As a personal assistant, be prepared to do what has to be done for your employer. This is how to become a personal assistant.
You will not only be in charge of calls, but it is your role to open and send out emails, schedule appointments, take notes, and manage your employer's calendar.
You must be capable of managing your own time because it's your business to govern your boss' day to day activities.
To be a personal assistant, you have to prioritize your manager's priorities and not your own.
Your business is always to make your employer's job more comfortable and more straightforward, and that might require you to be a great problem solver.
What Does a Personal Assistant Do?
A personal assistant provides support to ease the employer from the pressure-related to manage their personal or business lives.
There is no exact job description for a personal assistant. Personal assistant services include:
Run errands
Your boss should not be overwhelmed by simple tasks. It is your duty as a personal assistant to step in and run errands like shop for gifts and groceries, dry clean, conduct meetings with service providers, and meal and snack preparation.
You can walk or drive to accomplish these errands.
Correspondence Management
Once you decide to be a personal assistant, it is crucial to understand that communication with your employer's contacts moves beyond merely answering calls.
It will be your role to correspond with the employer's contacts via email or letters.
Some of these emails, calls, or letters are professional and should be accurate, while others are confidential, which means that you should be discreet.
Once you receive emails or messages, try to respond as quickly as possible to essential matters.
Schedule Appointments
Personal assistants pay attention to detail, and to be a good one, you must manage a calendar effectively.
You have to know when your boss is available or not available to schedule meetings accurately.
As much as tracking meetings is vital to your employer, be a timekeeper and make sure the sessions stay within the devoted time slot.
Plan travel
Peter Drucker quoted, "Action without planning is the cause of every failure." As a reliable personal assistant, you are expected to plan and arrange travel for your employer or even their family members.
Whether the trips are work-related or secret, it's a personal assistant's business to purchase airline tickets, reserve hotel rooms, and arrange activities.
Household management
Your employer might not have a household manager; it means that you might handle various household management tasks.
Household management duties include hiring and fire staff, keeping the household master calendar, regular schedule staff, observing and evaluating the performance of household staff, and overseeing the household budget.
Household management tasks should not seem like a great deal of work. They should take a few hours per week if you are a good time manager.
What Are the Personal Assistants Requirements?
Luckily there are minimal formal education requirements expected of a personal assistant. However, a personal assistant should at least have a high school education certificate.
An assistant should be computer literate, have rudimentary language, and well-developed reasoning skills.
In some cases, personal assistants must have an associate's degree in business, administration, or communications. With a higher level of education, you can advance to an executive assistant.
What Are the Skills Needed to Become a Personal Assistant?
Your skills should match those posted as required for the job. Let's take a look at the most sought-after skills for personal assistants.
Time Management and Organization Skills
As a personal assistant, you should keep your employer's life in order. That's why you were hired in the first place.
It would be best if you had a strong sense of organization to keep track of meetings, events, files, and manage deadlines. Fortunately, apps have been developed to help you improve your organizational skills.
Communication Skills
In this job, you will have to communicate with several people, including your boss. You are expected to understand and observe commands.
Before you pass on information, make sure it's transparent and honest. To respond to calls and emails, you should have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Attention to Detail
You do not want to make costly mistakes at your workplace. Develop a plan that will work for you and use it consistently.
Your entire work should fit into your organization plan; this way, nothing will be missed or deserted.
Take a few minutes to proofread correspondences and re-check information in detail before progressing with appointments.
Customer service skills
A personal assistant should know how to communicate effectively with clients or customers. It is your responsibility to address the client's needs and ensure they have an excellent encounter.
To accomplish positive reviews, you must use different skills, such as empathy, patience, technical knowledge, and good communication.
Software
You are likely to handle necessary office software, such as PowerPoint, Microsoft Office, spreadsheets, databases, and financial software like QuickBooks.
You may also need to use different apps and gadgets to accomplish your employer's goals.
Loyalty and Discretion
As a personal assistant, you will come across private trades, sensitive and personal information you will need to keep confidential.
It means that you have to keep your manager's information safe and secure.
Personal skills like flexibility, proactive attitude, team player, and problem-solving should also be developed to increase work productivity.
A Summary of How to Become a Personal Assistant
To be a great personal assistant, you should at least have a high school diploma.
It is crucial to learn skills like time management, organization, accuracy, and attention to detail.
After you have completed all primary requirements, don't forget to craft a perfect personal assistant resume.
Salary
You can work as a part time personal assistant. It is possible because, in most cases, personal assistants receive hourly wages of $13.18 per hour, while some salaries range from $7.25 to $33.80 per hour.
Working Environment
Typically, Personal assistants work from the office between 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, but other P.A.s work in residential homes.
The work environment varies depending on your role or your company. Personal assistants are required to be flexible because they can work overtime or travel with the job.
Career Path
It all started with how to become a personal assistant, but as you move along, you will gain more experience and take on more responsibilities.
You can determine your career progression and move from a personal assistant to an executive assistant, to a leader, and finally, to be your boss.
It is also important to consider further qualifications. In the process, you will have a chance to gain new skills like law and social media management.
You don't have to go to college to learn how to become a personal assistant or have a background in event planning.
It would help if you had the above to start and later earn the Certified Personal Assistant credential from Starkey International Institute.
The course is online and only requires you to complete personal assistant coursework and pass the exam.
