PERSONAL-ASSISTANT-TIPS.COM

Welcome to Personal-Assistant-Tips.com! Your Personal Assistant resources centre for career development workshops, tips, advice, PA duties, useful links and downloadable planning checklists.

This site provides information on issues that affect Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants, Virtual Assistants, Administrators, Office Managers, and anyone considering a career in these fields. The advice given here provides tools and strategies to help PAs raise their game. In addition to this we offer advanced-level Executive PA training, as well as PA mentoring services. If you're looking for a freelance PA to assist you remotely with aspects of your workload, we offer Virtual PA services at a very competitive rate.

SEARCH THIS SITE
Search this Site with PicoSearch


THE TRUE VALUE OF AN EXECUTIVE PA

According to the results of a survey of 454,000 CEOs conducted by Reed.co.uk and TotalJobs, PAs contribute as much as 40% to their boss's productivity. This suggests that a good PA could be worth around ten times what they are actually being paid. Paradoxically, when it comes to training, PAs have a battle on their hands to convince the boss that they are worth the investment in training. Keeping up-to-date with best practice and industry standards is every PAs responsibility; therefore, identifying a suitable training course should be part of your preparation for the annual performance appraisal.

___________________________________________________________________________________


SEVEN WAYS TO BECOME A
BETTER EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Moving effortlessly from the role of a not-so-senior Personal Assistant to a senior-level Executive Assistant (EA) role will require a certain degree of proactivity as well as a thorough understanding of the EAs goals, objectives and duties. The following 7 tips represent the type of attributes you probably won't find in an Executive Assistant's job description.

1) Understanding your boss's objectives should be the most important goal for every Personal Assistant because the EA's core objective is to help their boss achieve his/her strategic objectives. To achieve this, EAs need to understand their boss's standards and boundaries, as well as being familiar with their boss's targets and goals. The best way EAs can familiarise themselves with these issues is by asking the boss to explain his/her decisions and reasons for doing things in a particular way.

2) Prevent unnecessary meetings - when taking messages, use your questions effectively to drill down to the heart of the matter; asking questions that the boss can act on without needing clarification. Use "who", "what", "why", "where" and "when" questions as the basis for your questions. Seek comprehensive answers the first time round. Asking the right questions will prevent time-wasting and unnecessary meetings.

3) It's essential that you understand the wider issues within your organisation, such as the company's goals and that of it's main customers and competitors. Understanding these issues will help you to make decisions within the right framework.

4) Ask your boss to mentor you. This will encourage better teamwork and help the boss to understand the pressures and challenges that you are faced with. The boss is also more likely to explain why he/she has made a particular decision, which will give you an insight into his/her thinking and priorities.

5) Always provide a possible solution when approaching the boss with a problem. Make sure you have thought it through and can explain the pros and cons of the solution.

6) Be the boss's memory; a mind of useful information. Get clued up on personal things like the names of the wives of the boss's main customers (and their birthdays if you can manage it). Understand the issues and peculiarities of less senior members of your boss's team so that you can advise the boss and fill in gaps in his/her knowledge.

7) Always have a plan for continuous development. Don't allow yourself to be overlooked for training and development or promotion. Set goals for your development and identify training courses you would like to attend. Be an active part of succession planning for your own role - if you don't prepare the boss to accept that you will move onwards and upwards by making the necessary preparation, he/she will imagine that all manner of horrors will occur if you move on. This could cause your boss to block your progress.

________________________________________________________________________________


ADVANCED EXECUTIVE PA MASTERCLASS
Thursday 27th & Friday 28th June 2013
Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel, South Kensington, London, England

This course explores best practice for the modern PA role. It's a challenging, informative and enjoyable career development course for Executive PAs, EAs and Senior Administrators.

COMMENTS
“For the first time, a course with real practical tips, (a whole range as advertised).
A different approach from the usual PA trainings."
Executive Assistant, Munich, Germany

“I picked up lots of tips that I can bring back to my job to add value going forward. Great
couple of days - well done!!"
Annette Dempsey, EA, Symantec, Ireland

CLICK HERE TO VIEW COURSE OUTLINE

_________________________________________________________________________________


PREPARING FOR A BEHAVIOURAL STYLE PA,
EA OR SECRETARIAL INTERVIEW

Communicate Your Experience

Embarking on a job search for your next PA or EA role can be a stressful affair but as with everything, preparation is the key.

When thinking about the type of questions you may be asked by the Hiring Manager and when preparing your response, remember that many of the interviews you attend these days will be "behavioural" in style. A behaviour style interview will seek to identify the interviewee's range of skills through solid evidence. This type of interview also seeks to establish how you behave in particular situations.

The Hiring Manager will be looking for examples of recent experiences you have had that are similar in nature to the requirements of the job description. Include in your examples elements such as details of the task performed; time constraints you encountered; mitigating circumstances and the outcome. Were you successful? Click here for more on behavioural style interviews

See also Writing a compelling PA/EA Resume

_____________________________________________________________________________

WEBSITE TESTIMONIAL
"Dear Marguerita, I have just found your website and have spent hours going through the content - wow.
This is fabulous and a real tool which I will make a lot of use of."
Tracy, Personal Assistant, Guildford, England"

CLICK ON RED BUTTON BELOW
TO JOIN PA TIPS
Eventbrite - JOIN-US @ PERSONAL-ASSISTANT-TIPS.COM

(Click here for CURRENCY CALCULATOR)
_______________________________________________________________________________

WEBSITE TESTIMONIAL
"Dear Ms King, CONGRATULATIONS for your FANTASTIC website! I am absolutely impressed of the quantity and the quality of sound, useful advice you give here. Your website is referenced in a topic discussion in the LinkedIn website.....It is really a VERY, VERY GOOD JOB the one you have done here. CONGRATULATIONS and keep up the good job!"
Damian, PA, France

WEBSITE TESTIMONIAL
I love the easy style, packed with information set out in bite-size chunks, with good headings and excellent links. Check out the serviced apartment option - always a winner for the jaded business traveller staying awhile overseas. Travel pack list provides an excellent last-minute checklist to ensure the boss has all the essentials.
CLP Consulting, Bromley, Kent, England

______________________________________________________________________________

JOIN OUR PA MENTOR'S CLUB

We've devised the perfect mentoring package for those who just need someone on the other end of an email to guide them periodically with advice and support. For just £97 per 3-month package, you can take advantage of the PA Mentoring Club if you have recently been promoted to a more senior PA role, or have recently started your career as a PA. These quarterly and 6-month mentoring packages are good value for money because they provide the opportunity to ask 3 or 6 questions at any time during the mentoring period at a significantly discounted price. Full access to the Personal-Assistant-Tips.com website is included in the price. In addition to this we have a variety of mentoring packages to suit all needs. Click here for more details.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Sign up to receive our newsletter by entering your email address in the box provided at the bottom of this page.

I hope you will find this site a useful resource and investment.



Marguerita King BSc DipPA
Managing Director

Personal Assistant Tips
Suite 16413
145-157 St John Street
London EC1V 4PW
England
Tel: +44 (0)845 862 2687
Fax: +44 (0)207 183 9899
Mobile: +44 (0)7771 648521
About Us
Contact Us






Top of page

Disclaimer | Privacy Statement | Contact Us Directly | Advertise With Us


Members Login
Members Login and Site Map for personal-assistant-tips.com
List of Articles For Executive Personal Assistants
List of articles for Executive Personal Assistants, secretaries, Administrators, and office managers
PERSONAL ASSISTANT DUTIES AND ATTRIBUTES
The Personal Assistant duties and job description includes many skills, goals, objectives, and attributes to deal with the varied duties of the PA role.
Executive Personal Assistant Training & Secretarial and Administrator Courses
Executive Personal Assistant training courses for PAs, secretaries, Administrators & EAs.
Personal Assistant Mentor / Coach
Personal Assistant mentoring and coaching is an invaluable resource for PAs who are new to the profession, or secretaries that would like to move up the career ladder into a senior PA role.
VIRTUAL PA SERVICES
Are you drowning in a sea of paper and constantly battling to meet deadlines? The answer could be a virtual assistant - your very own remote assistant to tackle ad hoc tasks and take over projects.
PA TOOLS, USEFUL LINKS & RESOURCES
PA tools, links and useful resources for busy Personal Assistants. Everything you need for planning international travel, such as links to embassies, inoculations, visas, world holidays, WiFi locator
BUSINESS APOLOGY LETTER - GOOD DRAFT TO RETAIN CUSTOMER
Writing a good business apology letter is essential for damage limitation and customer satisfaction. Knowing how to write a good draft or sample business apology letter will help retain the customers.
PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR CORPORATE EVENTS, MEETINGS, CORPORATE EXECUTIVE TRAVEL
A great Planning Checklist - corporate international travel checklist, corporate event planning template checklist, meeting planning checklist, business startup checklist, product research checklist
DIARY MANAGEMENT TIPS
10 effective diary management tips for secertaries, personal assistants and administrators
Organise Your Boss - 18 Practical Tips
18 tips to organise your boss - when you organise your boss you will automatically organise yourself. Visit Personal-Assistant-Tips.com for the best tips and advice.
WRITING YOUR RESUME & JOB SEARCH ENGINES
Looking for advice for writing your resume for an Executive Personal Assistant job? Looking for advice on In-Tray exercises for PAs? Looking for tips on how to get the best from job search engines?
WRITING MINUTES OF MEETINGS - TIPS AND ADVICE
Writing minutes need not be a chore if you are properly prepared. Understand the basic requirements of writing minutes.
PLANNING CORPORATE MEETINGS
Planning corporate meetings and managing them requires skills for minuting meetings, writing minutes of meetings and compiling an agenda.
CORPORATE TRAVEL ADVICE
Travel planning advice and travel planning checklist for Personal Assistants who plan international travel with an eye on the travel budget.
ORGANISING A CORPORATE EVENT? USE THIS PLANNING CHECKLIST
Do you organise corporate events? Need advice on booking speakers and booking bands.
MANAGING YOUR TIME
Your time management and prioritization skills could mean the difference between success and failure.
"HOW TO" ADVICE & TIPS FOR PERSONAL ASSISTANTS
How to advice for Personal Assistants on how to write minutes, how to organise travel, how to plan events, how to write a press release, how to write a business apology, etc.
Assertiveness - Learning to Stand up for Yourself
Executive Personal Assistants need to be assertive. See how standing up for yourself is often all it takes to clear the air.
VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS NEED LOOK NO FURTHER FOR HOLISTIC ADVICE
Know-how for Virtual Assistants. Tips, checklists and advice on issues affecting VA's to keep you at the top of your game.
About US
About US details
Contact US Directly
Contact US directly
Site Disclaimer
Site disclaimer for personal-assistant-tips.com


RECRUITERS


PA Tips Site
TESTIMONIALS

"Dear Ms King I have stumbled upon your website, during research w.r.t. PA related matters, and find it to be awesome. I feel that I do not need to look any further for information. Your website contains all that a PA/Secretary needs to know and MORE! In fact, I have just printed some material to read over the week-end.... Greetings."
Chantelle, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

"Hello Marguerita: I've just spent a substantial amount of time reviewing your website and can only say one thing...AMAZING! Your insight into the needs of administrative professionals is absolutely mind boggling. Because I am currently updating my Virtual Executive Assistant website, the information you provide is right on time. Thanks for your willingness to be a valuable resource.
P.J. Davenport, Davenport Executive Services"


Sign Up Below For Our Ezine

View Our Newsletter

Enter your E-mail Address
Enter your First Name (optional)
Then

Don't worry — your e-mail address is totally secure.
I promise to use it only to send you PA MATTERS TO U.

"I love the easy style, packed with information set out in bite-size chunks, with good headings and excellent links. Check out the serviced apartment option - always a winner for the jaded business traveller staying awhile overseas. Travel pack list provides an excellent last-minute checklist to ensure the boss has all the essentials.
CLP Consulting, Bromley, Kent, England"

"Dear Ms. King, Thank you for the website. It definitely helped me in my desire to become an ideal EA. Your site enhanced my capabilities and more than that inspire and makes me proud of my profession...."
Louise, Manila, The Phillipines

"Just came across your site - what a wealth of knowledge you have amassed! I have signed up for your newsletter and hope you don't mind me using some of your advice in the future. Kind regards."
Angela, PA, www.ampmpa.co.uk, Bath, England"


OUR VIRTUAL PA SERVICES

Click on picture