personal assistant.

Some of the duties and responsibilities of personal assistants include:

managing and organising diaries:

• As a personal assistant, you must organise diaries and schedule appointments, meetings and events for managers and other executives. Since you plan the work schedule, you remind them of the next appointment and arrange the logistics required.

acting as the first contact person:

• As a personal assistant, you are the first point of contact between the manager and internal or external clients. You greet clients and visitors and direct them to their appointments. You are also the first person people call or email when looking for a company executive.

taking meeting minutes and dictation:

• During company meetings or events, you take minutes and ensure the executive has all the documents required for the meeting. Hence, it would help if you were good at transcribing dictations to ensure you send valid emails and letters to clients. You also take hand dictations from managers and help them write documents or reports for various projects.

organising events and conferences:

• As a personal assistant, you assist executives or managers in planning company events or conferences. You source vendors for various services and present them to the management for approval. You also prepare the attendance list and send out invitations. During the event, you ensure guests are well taken care of and organise accommodation and other facilities for speakers.

organising office documents:

• As a personal assistant, you prepare reports, briefs and presentations. It would help if you were good at Microsoft Office to prepare PowerPoint presentations. You also maintain databases and ensure the filing system facilitates easy retrieval of company documents.

bookkeeping:

• As a personal assistant, you collate and file managers' or executives' business expenses. You ensure the travel expenses are accounted for and keep receipts and other financial documents in order. You also provide the office equipment, and costs are handled on time to avoid disrupting office activities.

Most personal assistants work in an office environment, but there are exceptions. Construction contractors sometimes employ PAs to help with paperwork and interface with clients. This requires travelling to work sites, working with labourers and meeting with clients. Personal assistants who work with wealthy families, politicians or celebrities often work in homes rather than offices.

Depending on your employer and the industry you work in, your colleagues might include executive assistants, accountants and receptionists. You might also be working close to office administrators and managers, as well as other specialists that could consist of but are not limited to janitors, secretaries and security guards.

Most PAs work regular business hours. However, it would be best if you were flexible when deadlines loom or during peak seasons for your manager. Many employers offer flexible time and work-from-home options. There are also some part-time opportunities in this field. Sometimes, you must accompany the executive to overseas meetings and conferences, which require an overnight stay. However, employers usually indicate the amount of travelling involved during the hiring process.

Many companies are replacing PAs with roles of administrative assistants who support a team of managers. Despite this trend, your job future and potential will be promising if you are hired as a personal assistant. Experience and dedication often lead to advancement for good PAs. In some positions, you manage the staff and organise the manager's business. Many personal assistants ultimately advance to other higher-paying positions within a company.

Finding your assistant job through Randstad provides essential advantages such as:

• a wide variety of training and development opportunities
• an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
• a range of options in your area
• get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
• temporary and permanent contracts

Want a permanent contract?

A temporary job as a personal assistant is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent career. Thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers every year thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too.

A personal assistant provides individual support to another person, such as an executive, celebrity or politician. In this position, your role is to keep your manager on schedule and handle time-consuming administrative duties for them.

There are no standard degrees required to become a personal assistant. However, most companies will look favourably at candidates with four-year degrees. If you want to become a personal assistant, it's good to have administrative skills and experience.

Being a PA is a rewarding and often exciting career. In this position, you will have a direct positive effect on your manager. If you love working with people, enjoy multitasking and don't mind the stress of deadlines, you will love this position.

Skills like knowledge of a foreign language, shorthand and audio typing will help you get an edge on the competition. Inside a specific industry or field, experience in it can also be very useful.

A personal assistant performs administrative and clerical duties for a specific manager. However, an executive assistant has more responsibilities, including hiring workers and managing other teams on behalf of the executive they work for.

Applying for a personal assistant job is easy:

1. create a Randstad profile and search our personal assistant job offers.
2. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter.

Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here.