Personal assistants could potentially work for big or small companies, individuals or groups, and full-time or part-time. And you might need to focus simply on administrative, desk tasks like managing communications, or on physical labor such as carrying supplies and taking care of children. If your goal is to get a job as a personal assistant, you’ve landed in the right place. You will get appropriate instruction about creating the best resume possible to secure an interview on this page.
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Job Duties of Personal Assistants
Personal assistants send important emails to clients, figure out the correct timing of appointments, answer phone calls, and write daily work logs.
And personal assistants can have many job sub-specialties. They can be nursing assistants, office assistants, home health aides and legal assistants.
Their most common duties include:
Setting up meetings according to their bosses’ calendar.
Organizing reservations and shopping for many types of tasks, including food deliveries, work tool rentals, and meeting room events.
Answering phone calls and emails.
Helping financial supervisors with bank deposits and other tasks.
Arranging additional personal assistance or transportation duties for staff or family.
Arranging travel itineraries.
Collecting and managing contact information, including high-earning company executives.
Managing business accounts operations, including software and hardware subscriptions or renewals.
Median Salary for Personal Assistants
The average salary for a personal assistant in the U.S. is $43,518 according to PayScale. The average salary does vary from state to state, so be mindful of that when applying for a job. Pay tends to increase based on the person’s experience and skills.
Top Skills for Personal Assistants
There are a big set of skills that suit the job of a personal assistant. The top six skills for this job, according to our Resume Now certified resume writers, are as follows:
- Good written and spoken communication: Communication skills are the most critical part of a personal assistant’s everyday work. They should have good-to-excellent control over English and sometimes other spoken languages (most often Spanish). And they’re very good at writing clear, easy-to-understand notes.
- Adaptability: Priorities change quickly, and there are rigid deadlines. To solve their boss’ problems, every personal assistant should adapt to different preferences and develop a new strategy to solve the problem.
- Time management: Every personal assistant has to take care of the time that they have to manage.
- Proactive mindset: You have to take responsibility and identify the right opportunities to be proactive in your job. Remember, all that matters is you are creating results that matter, rather than responding to situations.
- Trustworthiness: You are required to show professional integrity. Every employer looks for a personal assistant who keeps their information confidential and private.
- Handle multiple tasks: You are expected to multitask as a personal assistant. There will be lots of challenges and problems which demand immediate attention, and a personal assistant should solve multiple issues and organize different tasks with priority.
Educational Requirements for Personal Assistants
A degree
Most personal assistants have bachelor’s degrees. There are some cases in which a high school degree is OK, such as in nonprofits and small-to-medium companies. People looking for a job as a personal assistant in business commonly do have a degree in business management. Individuals interested in medical assisting services such as in nursing and psychology should have related degrees to understand the language and wording used. Employers also look for basic reasoning skills, sometimes including math competence. And people with a master’s degree get higher-paying jobs in offices that demand more responsibility and accountability.Certifications
If you want to sharpen your skills to get a higher-paying personal assistant position, look to take a class from the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP). Their certifications will likely provide an added advantage in any competitive job application process. Certification program eligibility usually comes down to education and work experience, but many people without experience can gain such certificationAnother certification available for this job is the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) certification. Designed for administrative professionals who want to move up the ladder, the program covers the following topics: communication, writing, production of documents, information distribution, records management, and project management.
Resume-Writing Tips for Personal Assistants
There are multiple ways to write a personal assistant resume. It all depends on your experience and the skills you’ve acquired throughout your career. Here are a few tips to make your resume look great in the employer’s mind.
- Show your relevant experience: Show how your work experiences helped you develop skills and how they match the job position requirements. All employers want to know precisely how you will contribute toward achieving the company’s objective.
- Highlight your skills: Before writing your skills, take some time to read through and consider the company’s job description properly. Pinpoint the skills they will respond to that are aligned to your experience.
- Show your unique professional qualities: Employers will be looking for a unique personality that fits their office culture. So it is always a good idea to show your character to get noticed. Employers will be pleased to see that you have an easy disposition, for example.
- Focus on your education, if it’s impressive: Highlighting essential parts of your education, including your degree, college names, and good scores in important exams, are necessary. This focus is especially true if there is evidence the company only hires people with a high-achieving mindset. Think of Tesla and its high-flying CEO Elon Musk: Do you think a future-facing company like that accepts anything other than the best effort and credentials? Nope. So how do you show this precisely in a personal assistant resume?
- If you have recently graduated, don’t forget to include the education section above the experience section.
- Position your master’s degree, if you have it, to the top of the education section, and make sure to keep all your other degrees on the page as well.
FAQ
What does a personal assistant do day-to-day?
A personal assistant takes up administrative actions for the employer by answering phone calls, scheduling appointments, and sending emails to clients. You have to manage your employer’s time and everyday responsibilities. Personal assistants have to prepare reports and invoices and also take care of any other types of documentation that have to be delivered.
What is required to be a personal assistant?
To become a personal assistant, you need to understand the skills required to do well in this job. Second, you need to understand the education and certifications needed. Third, you need to have a high school diploma, at least, and preferably a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
What is the future scope of a personal assistant job?
Personal assistants, especially in the tech industry, have a huge future. U.S. government analysis projects a 79.7%increase in personal assistant jobs over the next decade.