Finding and placing quality personal assistants is one of Pavillion Agency’s staffing specialties. A personal assistant is someone who helps an employer manage various details of his or her business or personal life. How does one go about becoming a standout NYC Personal Assistant? Here are some of the most important qualities that employers and a personal assistant agency will look for in potential applicants:
Proactive approach: Employers don’t want to hold their assistant’s hand. They want to lay the foundation for someone else to figure it out and do it efficiently. This often takes time to learn, but taking a proactive approach to your work and your responsibilities is the first step. The ability to anticipate your boss’s needs, prioritize the tasks assigned to you, and follow through on everything is a personal assistant’s most important quality. You need to be able to show excellent judgment when decision-making; your role, in essence, is to take care of anything and everything that might distract your employer from the work he or she needs to focus on. Once you get to know your employer, it will be easier to act on his or her behalf.
Interpersonal relationship skills: A personal assistant will encounter a variety of people over the course of any given workday. To succeed in this field, you will need to have the perfect combination of an outgoing, agreeable personality and great communication skills, whether on the phone, in person, or via email. Because you are representing your employer, you should appear to the public as an extension of that person; this means you must be well-mannered, calm, and courteous at all times, even in unpleasant circumstances. A great personal assistant has mastered the skill of remaining polite while stressed; he or she is also able to seamlessly balance courtesy with assertiveness when the situation demands it.
Flexibility: A personal assistant’s job is naturally more hectic than most. Because your work will require you to support your employer’s personal needs as well as his or her professional needs, you’ll need to be able to juggle disparate tasks effectively. You will often be subjected to unexpected, last-minute changes; a good personal assistant will be able to adapt to these changes quickly and happily. If you are unable to control your stress level when plans go awry, this may not be the career for you.
Organizational skills: A personal assistant’s obligations often include tasks such as scheduling appointments, handling his or her employer’s calendar, answering the phone, and taking messages, among many other disparate responsibilities that often require precise attention. A great personal assistant has excellent time-management skills and is confident in his or her ability to organize and prioritize urgent assignments.
Tech-savvy: This skill becomes more essential every day; you can no longer perform a personal assistant’s most basic duties without being well-versed in computer systems and programs. Whether you are scheduling appointments, writing reports, performing Internet research, booking flights, or simply managing your employer’s email, you will need to understand how to appropriately and effectively use relevant programs, as well as proper email etiquette. You should also be proficient in any software commonly used in your employer’s industry.
Reliability: A PA’s ultimate goal is to become his or her employer’s “right arm.” To achieve this, you must be completely and totally reliable. Arrive at work on time (or early), complete projects on schedule (or early), and get to know your boss so well that you can predict what you will be asked to do—and take care of it before you’re asked. In the end, you want your boss to think of you as not just an asset, but as someone who is utterly indispensable.
Discretion and loyalty: It may seem like a lot, but what employers want most in a personal assistant is someone they can completely rely on, with no fears regarding their honesty or devotion to the tasks at hand.
As a personal assistant, you will often be privy to your employer’s confidential or personal information. To share this information with any other person would be highly unprofessional and a breach of trust. The best personal assistants are completely loyal and can be trusted to be discreet regarding all aspects of their employers’ lives.
In closing, you can source the highest quality NYC, Personal Assistant, as described, from Pavillion Agency, the best staffing agency in NYC! If you are an experienced Personal Assistant, contact Pavillion Agency, your personal assistant agency by calling (212) 889-6609 , to learn about positions currently available.
