The Four Main Duties of a Personal Assistant



The job of a personal assistant or PA has been used in many movies and TV shows alike. And what image do you see in these portrayals? Usually, the assistants look calm and at the top of their game while juggling so many tasks all at once. While they are typing on the computer, the boss will come out to ask for another task to be completed. And while trying their best to accomplish such, a visitor will ask if they can talk to the boss and the assistant will make excuses as to where the boss is.

Looks complicated? Well, that is really how the work environment for a PA looks like. The tasks will vary depending on the kind of industry they are in. If you ever fancy about this profession, you must be apt and alert all the time. You are your boss’ second hand. You don’t want the big guy to find himself missing an arm.

The Duties
You may think that what you’ve seen on TV shows or movies are exaggerated interpretation of what it’s really like, you will be amazed that they are greatly similar to the real thing. Here are the basic duties of a PA.

1. Administrative support. As a PA, you will provide assistance to the management with regards to their daily tasks. The accomplishments of such tasks will depend on how you and your boss coordinate. The latter cannot miss a meeting and cannot leave the office with an important document unsigned. It is your responsibility to see over their schedule and plans so that you can aid them in sorting those out to do what needs to be done according to their priorities.

2. Secretarial tasks. It is also part of your job description to take calls or screen the calls coming in for your boss. You will take care of the correspondence like writing letters and emails. You will have to look after the visitors. You are also tasked to arrange meetings for your boss and do the necessary cancellations whenever needed. At meetings, your boss may ask you to take the minutes and diction and sum it up for them.

3. Other tasks. These include going on events when your boss is not available. You may also be asked to research on certain topics depending on the need of your immediate superior. You may also have to look upon the overall budget of certain promos and events. If your employer needs certain supplies, you can also be asked to purchase the needed products. So you must take note of the important contact number such as the suppliers of office equipments or what your boss often require. This way, you can easily give the materials whenever your boss needs them.

4. Personal assistance. You must also be ready to accept duties like ordering flowers for your boss’ wife or date. You may also be asked to buy personal gifts that your superior needs for other personal purposes. Your boss may ask you to reserve tickets for concerts and other events or reservations at restaurants. This may be already beyond your job description, but doing the tasks without qualms will put your working relationship with your boss at a good light.

Your success as a personal assistant will greatly vary on the type of boss who will ask you to carry out your tasks and the industry where you choose to be of service. So make sure that you know a lot about the people you’ll be working with and the type of business they are in before you even submit your CV.







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