Most business professionals employ personal assistants. Some are better than others. There is no training course for this occupation, and the best PAs usually don't remain in the vocation very long. Ironically the worst examples are often the oldest and most experienced candidates.
The Basics
A good personal assistant is energetic, organized and efficient. These people are usually young professionals with high initiative and strong interpersonal skills. The best candidates adapt quickly to technical challenges and changing business environments.
The best applicants have above average computer skills and can make simple but effective spreadsheets, invoices and address books. The best assistants are creative problem solvers, both trustworthy and discreet. As there is always an emphasis on punctuality, my best assistants utilize instant messenger systems to communicate with each other - even on their cell phones. These people use their skills to solve problems online. They shop on eBay, buy high quality groceries on Organics.ca, and do research on niche discussion forums to harness hard-to-find experts. And they use local search software called Poynt on Microsoft® Live Messenger™ to find local solutions to everyday random problems.
Having "Poynt@Live.com" on your contact list on Microsoft® Windows Live Messenger™ or AIM® is the key to success as a personal assistant. With this free service PA's can find things fast and look like heroes when they save the day. There's nothing to download here, and it's the very best way to access Yellow Pages data in Canada, and SuperPages data in the United States. When I'm in production, my assistants live on instant messenger, and my best PAs use the mileage counter on Poynt to keep track of the driving and make sure everyone has an equal share of the pick-ups and returns.
Personal Shopper - The number one job function of every PA is shopping and quite often that includes personal shopping. The best in the business world will record their client's measurements, and be ready to purchase clothing items on short notice, for any occasion - this includes shoes and accessories. The brightest aspirants observe and record brand preferences and intuitively adopt the correct color choices.
I depend on my PAs to conduct general office services including accounts payable and receivable, manage all generic business correspondence including faxing, filing, mailings, photocopying, typing, phone calls, online research, and information gathering, and they must answer the phone when I call, no matter what.
LOST or Logical Organization Skills and Techniques - The perfect personal assistant will organize their client's home and office, and will accompany their employer on trips. They will manage any and all road show production meetings and arrange for stationary and office supplies, catering, transportation and security, while at the same time being responsible for finding a house sitter, groundskeepers and someone to look after his or her employer's pets.
Be Good with Pets - This is one of the easiest and best wisdoms to forget. The client's house pets are very important. Earn the animal's trust and become part of the family. Be aware of walk schedules, grooming and veterinary appointments and the exact location of the closest animal hospital. Pets, children and expensive toys are emergencies waiting to happen.
Commitment - The best PA is the first to volunteer to rake the lawn before the tournament, and or the guy who comes in on Saturday to apply smelly driveway sealer to the asphalt parking lot. Use tough assignments to measure your staff, and generously reward all accomplishments.
More Advanced
Personal assistants earn their employer's trust and respect. The best and brightest PAs on the way to becoming invaluable, manage household affairs, balance checkbook and track spending; my best PA prepares all checks for my signature (and scrutiny) and mails payments to subordinate personnel.
Event Planning: More advanced PAs are trusted to manage familial birthday parties and wedding anniversary vacations, and even elaborate business events and office parties. This is in addition to their regular duties, which they have now streamlined into daily, weekly and monthly routines.
Travel Arrangements: Another key to becoming invaluable is an assistant's ability to make domestic or international travel arrangements, to everyone's satisfaction. The best professionals make timetables that include handy phone numbers and addresses including hotel and car rental information plotted on printed paper maps. Once again Poynt is the secret to success here - all such information can be plotted on Microsoft Virtual Earth which can then be copied by using the print screen function on every computer keyboard and pasted into a Word document beside additional contact information. This is how my best assistant prepares my itinerary. Every destination is plotted and printed on paper sheets that I keep in my pocket. And she picks me up and drops me off the airport too!
Over the years I've seen good people start as personal assistants because they are bilingual. They speak both English and French here in Canada, or English and Spanish in the United States. This is certainly another secret to success in this business category.
But What Makes them Invaluable?
The rare and precious personal assistants have a head full of proprietary secrets and at least two years experience managing their client's most complex personal business. They have established a network of useful contacts and are familiar with legal procedures like court filings, patent and design documents etc. When the very idea of training another candidate becomes unthinkable, then the present employee becomes invaluable. The perfect personal assistant is a symbiotic extension of the host.
