Career options for Personal Assistants are varied, depending on the degree of career change that is acceptable. PA's have a wide range of skills and attributes, such as good verbal and written communication skills, good IT skills, and the ability to be flexible and think on their feet. See below for some of the natural career options available to Personal Assistants.
Executive Assistant
The Personal Assistant role overlaps considerably with the Executive Assistant role so this is a natural career option for those wanting to get more involved with the business side of things. Personal Assistants who have reached the top of their profession often go on to become Executive Assistants. More>>
Celebrity Personal Assistant
The Celebrity Personal Assistant position brings glamour to the PA role. One of the biggest challenges however, is finding the relevant vacancies. Tenacity is a must. More >>
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistants are independent contractors who perform Personal Assistant and secretarial services for clients. As a career change option, the Virtual Assistant role is a good fit for Personal Assistants, as it will draw on current skills with little further training.
Most VA's work from home and communicate with clients by email, instant messaging, telephone, etc. A VA can operate in a number of niche sectors in the industry. Typical sectors include
transcription services, event planning, virtual receptionist, and virtual secretary. More >>
Event Planner
Event Planning is one of the required skills of a Personal Assistant, so this is a great career option for a PA. A good knowledge of advertising, marketing and media relations is essential, as is good numeracy skills and attention to detail. Event Planners are typically degree educated; some to masters degree level. More >>
Life Coach
The Life Coach profession has seen significant growth in recent years. As the industry is unregulated, this is a good option for a career change. A Life Coach can specialise in a number of areas, such as retirement, parenting, relationships, or sports.
Motivational techniques, action plans and other methods are used to achieve the desired results - clients typically want assistance to organise their private life or career. With 30 minute coaching sessions commanding £50-£75, and corporate sessions commanding over £250, a career as a Life
Coach can be fulfilling and financially rewarding. More >>
For me "goal setting" is an act of will that requires discipline. I admire people who are methodical; for them goal setting is like breathing...it's the natural thing to do; they plan their work and personal lives with military precision. For those of us who tend to ignore instruction manuals; who like to jump in and push all the buttons, goal setting is a challenge.
The truth is, goal setting is one of the requirements for high achieving. It's particularly essential for career development, as it forces you to:
- visualise your progress up the career ladder,
- come up with short term and long term goals,
- plot the path you intend to take to reach your goals, and
- adopt an attitude of continuous development.
Goal setting also allows you to measure your progress. Without it, everything may seem pointless. Assessing progress is essential; it's a reward in itself. When you have reached a milestone you can tick a box, pat yourself on the back, and feel quietly satisfied that you are well on the way to reaching your goals. Your confidence and sense of self worth will also improve, as you work towards being the very best you can be in your career and personal life.
For career development education is the key. Secretaries and Personal Assistants who are progressing towards becoming an Executive Personal Assistant will need the right type of training and development.
Why not consider becoming a member of The Association of Personal Assistants (APA). This will help you to plan your professional development and keep up to date with best practices in the PA profession. APA offers professional PA courses and champions a professional code of conduct and ethics.
Want to Break the Glass-ceiling? Play Golf!
According to Barrons, an estimated 90% of Fortune 500 CEO's regularly play golf (March 30, 1998 cover story:"Investing in Golf"); therefore, it's no co-incidence that golf is the preferred sport of many senior managers. They understand the correlation between professional advancement and golf. In the world of big business, they can't afford not to play.
Golf is considered to be an important tool in the modern business world. As a relationship-building resource, it facilitates deal making and networking at the level of big business - you can achieve a lot in 4 uninterrupted hours. Golf is a skill-set that aspiring female executives can't afford to overlook; it's an effective strategy to help them break the glass-ceiling, as women who play golf well will earn more respect and prove themselves in a non-threatening and friendly environment.
Many aspiring female executives miss the point when it comes to setting aside their work to play a game of golf. They are not comfortable with the idea of putting leisure before work, even if it allows them to spend time having fun with clients and colleagues. The truth is, golf provides access and proximity, so spending time with the right people in the right setting amounts to working smarter.
Golf can be a difficult game to play, because of the need for good eye-hand co-ordination, but this need not be an insurmountable problem. Find a good training programme, and enjoy!