Job Dreams: Building A Career As A Personal Assistant

This interview is part of the Job Dreams series, where we speak to professionals from a wide range of careers. Last time we delved into what it’s like to work as an interior designer. Today, Courtney (she/her), is sharing the highs and lows of her career as a personal assistant. We might all fancy hiring a personal assistant to do our chores, but what is it like to really do it for a job?

You work as a personal assistant (also known as a PA), can you tell us a little bit about the role?
Lots of people are self-employed personal assistants, but I’m employed by NCS as a team PA in the CEO office. I provide assistant support to the head of board, the organisational compliance officer, and the chief governance and transformation officer. I also support the executive team with their projects.

What does the day-to-day of providing personal assistant services look like?
While no two days are truly the same, there are tasks that I do daily. I check emails in three different inboxes and triage emails where I label them into relevant categories. I also organise diaries, schedule meetings, and plan for the day and week ahead. I am also the secretariat to four meetings, which means I help pull together the agenda, chase any actions from previous meetings, and take minutes.

What do you love most about your career?
I love that there are lots of different parts to being a PA. There are times when I’m planning an event so I have to juggle multiple tasks and projects all at once. It’s essentially like being a project manager. I get to learn lots of new things and be involved with different projects, teams, and people across the organisation.

What’s the most challenging part of working as a PA?
There’s often lots of different work going on at the same time, so it can become a fast-paced juggling act. Although this can be challenging I have a background in events which prepared me for this element of the job. Being organised is key when numerous projects are on the go, and I use lots of tools to help me such as Trello, Google Keep, and the Matrix. 

What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve been given?
Never stop learning.

What advice would you give to someone interested in joining your industry?
The Devil Wears Prada may come to mind when you think of being a personal assistant — the image of fetching coffee, running  personal errands for your boss, and working all hours — but my job couldn’t be further from it. My role is varied and interesting, and it can lead to many different career paths. So my advice is just try and take the opportunities that come your way!

What did you see yourself doing when you were a kid?
I wanted to be a lawyer or journalist.

What challenges did you face in reaching where you are today?
I’ve worked in quite a few different roles before this one. I’ve been a hospitality assistant, receptionist, and events assistant. They weren’t always the best jobs as they were usually temporary jobs with zero-hour contracts and night shifts from 11 pm to 7 am, but I’ve worked really hard to get where I am today and I’m happy that my path has led me here.

What do you know now, that you wish you’d known when you first left school? 
It’s probably very cliché but I wish I’d known that there is absolutely no rush to grow up fast. When I was younger I couldn’t wait to leave school and be an adult, but the reality is that I probably missed out on a few rites of passage. Everyone is on their own timeline, so just try to enjoy all stages of life.

Where do you see yourself going next?
The next step for me would be to become an executive assistant (an EA). I’d then have more responsibilities, support more executives, and work more strategically. I’ve gained many transferable skills such as minute taking, diary and inbox management, governance admin, and event planning and those skills can open up a lot of  career paths for me in the future.

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