Are you considering becoming a personal assistant? This can be an incredibly fulfilling and varied career that many people truly enjoy. Whether you work directly for one person, or a team of people, providing them with support for daily tasks as well as larger projects can be a fantastic job.
If this is something you think sounds appealing, the following guide will talk you through what you need to consider.
Qualifications
There are a variety of entry methods to becoming a PA.
You could attend university or college in order to attain a business-related degree, such as Management and Administration.
Or, you could opt for a role that requires more learning on the job. Certain organisations will offer entry-level roles where you can learn essential PA skills over time. If you are unsure whether a career as a PA is the right path for you, it could be useful to obtain a work experience placement beforehand to gain better insight into whether it is well suited for you.
The option that you choose will depend entirely on how you learn best and whether or not you are interested in pursuing a formal education or you would rather get stuck straight into a job.
Skills
Being a PA means that every day will be completely different. One day you might be researching private jet rental costs and the next day you could be taking notes in a meeting. As the role is so varied, you need to be able to adapt when necessary.
Administrative skills and therefore organisational skills are also essential for this role. Being able to manage your own time and work to deadlines is vital for success. This is something that you can improve on throughout your career, but you need a base level of skill, to begin with.
Working as a PA, there is a chance you may be working closely with people in very senior positions. As a result, the job can often be pretty stressful and will require you to think on your feet. Being able to keep your cool and come up with innovative solutions to problems will help you succeed as a PA.
Whether you are working for an individual or a whole team, you need to be able to communicate very clearly. Working across different projects simultaneously means that discussing this with various people will be required. As well as this, your discretion may often be needed, in instances where you are working on client projects or dealing with sensitive data.
Being able to communicate well will also help you to network. Doing so will help open up opportunities both for business development and potential future roles.