Becoming a personal assistant: top skills needed for success | The Sun

WANT to know the one role which unlocks opportunities across every industry? It’s the PA.

As the right hand woman – or man – to top bosses everywhere, Personal Assistants are employed in every sector and are often privy to insider secrets on how leading organisations operate.

Taking a PA role can be a springboard into almost any other department or provide a fulfilling and long-lived career in its own right.

The salary range is huge, depending on your level of experience and the type of work you do.

A junior PA may take home £25k while an experienced executive PA will earn £50k upwards.

And top tier Private PAs, who work for celebs and multi-millionaire High Net Worth individuals, are often paid a six-figure salary and perks.

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But make no mistake, PA work isn’t for everyone as there are a string of skills you need. Want to know more?

Here’s the Sun Jobs guide to making it as a PA.

Do you have the right personality?

The PA’s role is to act as a first point of contact for their manager both inside and outside the business, organise them and handle administrative tasks.

You’ll need to have exceptional organisational and people skills to consider a PA role.

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You’ll also need to have tact, diplomacy and be trustworthy as you may know things about the business which your colleagues do not.

And the right skillset? 

On a practical level, you’ll need to be familiar with office basics such as PowerPoint, MS Word, Google Docs and Excel.

The ability to keep on top of diaries and book travel, filing and organising events and meetings are other must-have traits.

You’ll need to manage up

The best PAs work seamlessly with their boss, often anticipating their needs before they do.

Having a can-do attitude helps, and you’ll have to ‘manage up’ to run the relationship well.

Can you say no too? 

As the ‘gatekeeper’ to your boss, you’ll need to be astute in managing their time, and knowing when to say no to a request.

Are you able to take direction – and direct others?

Of course you’ll need to take your boss’ instructions, but that brief is only one part of the process.

You’re the one which makes the bosses command happen, so you’ll have to know how to tactfully organise and manage others too.

Book an appointment to view these perfect PA jobs today!

BOX off this glamorous TV role at Sky
Personal Assistant, Sky, Osterley

The Job: Media and entertainment organisation Sky is seeking a Personal Assistant, reporting to senior leadership.

What You’ll Do: In this role you’ll be expected to provide professional and effective administrative support from facilitating hospitality orders and preparing agendas and meeting materials to providing new starter onboarding support. You’ll also be responsible for diary management, and general organisational tasks.

What You’ll Need: The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, proficiency using Microsoft Office, exceptional attention to detail, the ability to multitask, organisational skills and willingness to learn.

Apply Now: See the full job description here.

Personal Assistant, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Chelmsford

Do your bit for the NHS and for others in this caring hospital PA position.

The Job: The burns, plastics and dermatology division at Mid & South Essex Hospitals Foundation is seeking a proactive, confident, and experienced Personal Assistant to support the divisional leadership team.

What You’ll Do: Your will to provide a comprehensive effective and efficient personal assistant service to the leadership team, ensuring effective organisation of their time.

You will also undertake a wide range of tasks including full inbox and diary management, minute taking and maintenance of action trackers and co-ordination of reports, presentations, and other correspondence.

What You’ll Need: Applicants will need to have a flexible approach to succeed in this role, as cross cover between divisional personal assistants is required during times of leave.

Apply Now: View more details about this role here.

Personal Assistant (PA), Fintelligent, Stevenage

Want a job at the top? This senior role will see you working for the CEO and senior leadership team.

The Job: Fintelligent is helping a collaborative company recruit a Personal Assistant to join the team.

What You’ll Do: As a skilled and attentive PA, you will report to the CEO and the senior management team (SMT). You will provide integral organisational support for the CEO, including email and diary management, compliance support, minute taking, document generation and event organising.

What You’ll Need: To apply for this PA job, you must be educated to O Level or GCSE standard (ideally A to C, including maths and English) and have experience working as a PA at senior level, proven experience in the IFA sector and good working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

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Apply Now: Find out how you can apply for this job here.

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