Personal assistant

Personal assistants use their exceptional organisational skills to provide administrative support to a manager or company director

As a personal assistant (PA), you'll work closely with senior managerial or directorial staff to provide administrative support, usually on a one-to-one basis. You'll help a manager to make the best use of their time by dealing with secretarial and administrative tasks.

You'll need to develop extensive knowledge of the organisation in which you work, including knowing who key personnel are (both external and internal) and what the organisation's aims and objectives are.

Managers often rely heavily on their PA, trusting that work will be handled efficiently in their absence. Discretion and confidentiality are therefore essential attributes.

Personal assistants are sometimes known as personal, private or executive secretaries.

Responsibilities

In the busy role of a PA, you'll need to:

• be the first point of contact with people from both inside and outside the organisation
• devise and maintain office systems, including data management and filing
• arrange travel, visas and accommodation, sometimes travelling with the manager to meetings to take notes or dictation at or to provide general assistance during presentations
• screen phone calls, enquiries and requests, and handle them when appropriate
• meet and greet visitors at all levels of seniority
• organise and maintain diaries and make appointments
• deal with incoming emails, faxes and post, often corresponding on behalf of the manager
• carry out background research and present findings
• produce documents, briefing papers, reports and presentations
• organise and attend meetings and ensure the manager is well prepared for meetings
• liaise with clients, suppliers and other staff.

You may also be required to:

• carry out specific projects and research
• take responsibility for accounts and budgets
• work more closely with management if taking on some of the manager's responsibilities
• deputise for the manager, make decisions and delegate work to others in the manager's absence
• be involved in decision-making processes.

Some PAs do all the secretarial work themselves, while others take responsibility for recruiting and training junior staff and delegate some of the less demanding and confidential work to them.

Salary

• Typical starting salaries are between £18,000 and £25,000, and potentially up to £30,000 in London.
• Personal assistants with several years' experience generally earn around £25,000 to £35,000, and up to £50,000 in London.

Salaries depend on the size and nature of the employing organisation, as well as on geographical location.

Some personal assistants register with agencies and move between organisations on short-term contracts. Hourly rates vary but average at around £18 to £28 per hour, depending on the location and sector. This provides less job security but more flexibility and the scope to gain a variety of experience.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll generally work from 9am to 5pm, depending on the type of organisation. It may be necessary to work overtime during peak times and when deadlines are close.

Part-time work, flexible hours and career breaks are all possible.

What to expect

• There is frequent contact with people, either by phone, email or in person, and the job may be stressful at times, as it can involve dealing with difficult or demanding people, often at very senior levels.
• The work is always focused on the needs of the manager and working very closely with one person means their problems may impact you.
• Men are currently underrepresented in this occupation.
• The support nature of the role also means that the PA's contribution to projects may not always be recognised across the organisation. Some PAs find this aspect of their work frustrating.
• While it's generally uncommon to travel much in this role, the requirement for travel (within a working day, overnight and overseas) varies significantly according to the nature of a manager's business.

Qualifications

Although this area of work is open to all graduates and those with a HND, a degree in business or management may increase your chances. Some subjects are more relevant for certain industries, such as English literature for publishing and law for legal work.

For HND holders, the following subjects may increase your chances:

• administration
• business
• management
• secretarial studies.

Entry without a degree, HND or foundation degree is possible as personal qualities, experience and general office skills are typically considered more important.

GCSE English and mathematics (or equivalent) are standard entry requirements for many positions. A qualification in IT may also be required.

It's unusual to enter directly into a PA position as a recent graduate due to the level of experience expected. However, it's not impossible, and one way of increasing your chances would be to study for a relevant business and administration qualification such as the ones offered by:

• Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) - offers a range of professional qualifications.
• Pitman Training - the Professional Executive PA Diploma is tailored training for a PA.

Skills

In addition to relevant experience and secretarial and administrative knowledge, you'll need to show evidence of:

• exceptional written and oral communication skills
• excellent word processing and IT skills, including knowledge of a range of software packages
• the ability to work under pressure, and often to tight deadlines
• good organisational and time management skills
• the ability to research, digest, analyse and present material clearly and concisely
• excellent interpersonal skills
• the ability to work on your own initiative
• honesty and reliability
• attention to detail
• flexibility and adaptability to juggle a range of different tasks and to work extra hours to meet deadlines
• discretion and an understanding of confidentiality issues.

There are also a number of specific skills, which may give you a competitive advantage. For example, shorthand and audio typing are still widely used. Teeline and Pitman courses teach industry-standard shorthand systems and typing speeds - for shorthand lessons see Teeline Online.

Relevant vocational qualifications in business and administration are provided by the OCR Examinations Board. Knowledge of a foreign language may be useful in some positions.

Work experience

Most positions will require a minimum of two years' relevant experience, which will generally have been gained in a junior secretarial or administrative role.

Working as a temp, either during or after your studies, can provide the opportunity to acquire office experience and develop higher-level secretarial skills. Many PAs will have worked their way up from office junior and general secretarial roles.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

PAs work in a range of large, medium-sized and small organisations across all sectors. Positions can be found in:

• large commercial organisations
• local and central government organisations
• charities
• schools and educational organisation
• health organisations
• private individuals.

Look for job vacancies at:

• Executive PA
• Guardian Jobs

Specialist recruitment agencies and online job sites commonly handle vacancies, for example:

• Gordon Yates
• Secs in the City

Larger and more general agencies also handle PA vacancies and are a good way of finding temping opportunities.

Look out for special events aimed at personal assistants, such as The PA Show - an annual exhibition and conference aimed at PAs, executive assistants and office managers.

Despite the personal nature of the role, self-employment is possible for those with considerable experience. Virtual assistants work from home giving their time in blocks to a range of clients.

Professional development

Training is mainly carried out on the job. Experienced secretaries may supervise new entrants until they are competent in the work. Larger companies may provide an induction course, lasting a few days, to introduce you to the various areas of the business. They may also provide short courses in areas such as:

• word processing and database or spreadsheet software packages
• industry procedures and business protocol
• health and safety
• first aid
• shorthand and effective minute taking.

In smaller companies, you will usually have to do training in your own time and under your own initiative, although employers may be willing to pay for relevant courses.

It's possible to undertake part-time study while you're working. The following organisations offer relevant qualifications, which can normally be studied over one or two years:

• Institute of Executive Assistants and Administrators (IEAA) - Level 3 PA Certificate Course and PA Diploma
• OCR Examinations Board - business administration courses
• Pitman Training – PA/Secretarial Diploma, the Executive PA Diploma and the Professional Executive PA Diploma.

Alternatively, you could take a business administration degree course.

Membership of a professional body, such as the Institute of Administrative Management (IAM), is useful. The IAM is now the leading professional body for business leaders, administration managers and professional administrators. It reflects the career aims of its administrator members who increasingly want to move into management and now have more responsibility for managing people.

See the IAM website for information on membership, events, online training courses and details of endorsed qualifications, such as the Level 4 Diploma in Business and Administrative Management, available from relevant awarding bodies.

Career prospects

After gaining qualifications, skills and experience, PAs can join a relevant professional body, such as the IAM, which can be useful for career development and can provide access to advice and continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities.

You can apply for membership of the chartered or professional body of the sector within which you are working. For example:

• in marketing this would be The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
• and in human resources, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

With experience, progression can be rapid. PAs can work their way up to more senior posts with responsibility for junior staff. Promotion can be to PA for a more senior manager or in a larger or more prestigious company. Moves are also possible within the industry by developing the role, contacts and knowledge to move on from administration to other departments.

The skills gained in PA work are useful for entering a management role or for working in an area such as human resources, marketing and public relations.

It's possible to specialise in a specific sector, for example as a legal or medical PA. These jobs can attract higher salaries but may require additional qualifications.

Working as a self-employed virtual assistant is an option for experienced PAs and the flexibility of this can be appealing. For more information, see The UK Association of Virtual Assistants.