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How
to Choose a Personal Assistant
What is a Personal Assistant?
There is no outline
of specifics as to what this job entails. It is up to you and your employer
to define what your role will be. Some Personal Assistants handle business
related matters only, some work out of the home, some assist in planning
activities (professional and personal), and there are assistants whose
jobs encompass all areas of their employer's life. Following are some
examples that may be helpful in defining your personal job description:
Employer's
Career(s)
- Liaison to all
business associates, determined by your employer's
industry (managers, accountants, agents, publicists, etc.)
- Understanding
of the employer's industry
- Internet-savvy
- Familiarity of
current technology
- Overseeing special
projects and event coordinating
- Research projects
- General office
skills (filing, heavy phones, correspondence, scheduling
daily meetings, agendas, updating and maintaining phonebook(s),
processing documents, etc.)
Employer's
Home(s)
- All upkeep and
general maintenance of the home(s) and grounds
- The ability to
manage household staff (housekeepers, nannies,
gardeners, etc.)
- Home security
details
- Contractors and
construction projects (interior decorators,
repairmen, etc.)
- Coordinating moving
details (Realtors, insurance, packing,
inventories, etc.)
- Purchasing and
maintenance of automobiles
- Personal shopping,
holiday shopping and planning of events
- Household accounts
and/or finances
- Valuables (art,
jewelry, antiques, family heirlooms, etc.)
- Political and/or
charitable activities
Employer's
Personal Needs
- Taking care of
the employer and his/her family's needs
- Liaison to friends
and associates
- Updating employer
on world events
- Facilitating of
whims
- Gift facilitating
for family and friends, business and personal
- Crisis control
Travel Arrangements
- Airline reservations
- Hotels, temporary
residences, cars, private planes, boats
- Special services,
meet and greets
- Security, customs
and immigration, documentation, cargo shipments
- Traveling with
pets
- Packing
Duties on the
Road
- Complete ability
to function as a mobile office
- Work flexible/long
hours
- Willing to be
on-call at all times
- Ability to travel
on short notice
- Current passport
- Expendable amounts
of energy
- Able to adapt
to any environment, culture and customs
- This can be a
very fast-paced, often chaotic lifestyle!
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