Executives in the administrative area rely on personal assistants to assist them with various personal and professional chores. Obtaining a private assistant job necessitates a resume tailored to the job title and sector.
Executive assistants, office assistants, and personal assistants all do everyday administrative work so that others don’t have to. Screening or answering phone calls, letters, and emails is an example of a task. Keeping track of calendars, recording notes during meetings, and handling appointments are other examples of duties.
On the other hand, personal assistants only assist one person and may aid with unique activities such as shopping or organizing social engagements.
Some people assign project work to their helpers or have their assistants stand in for them absent.
Personal Assistant Job Requirements
While there is no established minimum educational qualification for personal assistants, a business or administrative work background is advantageous. A second or third language might also be helpful in some situations. In general, your abilities are more significant than your schooling. A review of some of these required talents may assist you in determining whether this sort of career is right for you.
Personal assistant skills for resumes, cover letters, job applications, and interviews are listed below. Required abilities will vary depending on the position you’re applying for, so check out our list of talents organized by job and skill type. Examine these lists to discover whether you have utilized these talents in prior employment or if you have learned them through training.
Make a record of when and how you utilized or gained these abilities. Then include them into your résumé and cover letter, or keep them on hand for filling out job applications. People who review applications are frequently seeking crucial abilities. Compare your talents to those listed as necessary for the position. Then make sure that they are mentioned in your cover letter and your CV.
You could also prepare interview questions on how you utilized your abilities in past jobs. Have an example of how you used one or more of these abilities to address an issue at work. Demonstrate how your talents contributed to the success of a project.
Examples of Required Skills for Personal Assistants
This is not a complete list, but it does cover some of the most significant and sought-after abilities for personal assistants.
Time Management and Organization
A big part of your job as a personal assistant will be to keep someone else organized and on track. As a result, you must be well-organized yourself. Organizational skills, fortunately, can be learned. There are particular ways you may use to improve your time management and maintain your life and your manager’s life in order.
Communication, both written and spoken
You must comprehend and follow directions and communicate information clearly and honestly. Depending on the specifics of your role, you may also be required to greet clients, answer letters, or make reports and presentations. These activities need excellent communication abilities, including speaking, writing, listening, and reading.
Precision and attention to detail
Detail-oriented thinking is essential for keeping organized and speaking effectively.
Inefficiency is created by vagueness or inaccuracy at best, and it can lead to significant blunders or alienate your manager’s coworkers.
Understanding of Relevant Software
Word processing, spreadsheets, databases, calendars, desktop publishing, and PowerPoint, or something similar, are likely to be among the applications you’ll have to deal with. It is advantageous to be able to give at least basic technical help. You may need to assess several programs and applications to determine which ones provide the finest tools for achieving your manager’s goals. Always strive to make your manager’s work more accessible and more straightforward, which may include a lot of behind-the-scenes problem-solving.
Discretion and tact
As a personal assistant, you will be exposed to sensitive material regularly, ranging from trade secrets to highly confidential information that you must keep discreet.
A related talent is tactful, or the capacity to react softly or not at all to facts that other people may find unpleasant or embarrassing. In other words, you must be a safe person for your manager to be vulnerable around. After all, only you will know how much help they require.
List of Qualifications
Administrative abilities
These abilities are frequently part of a personal assistant’s work description or are valuable assets. Your boss could be looking for someone to help her with these chores.
- Administrative
- Appointments
- Correspondence
- Tasks
- Activities
- Event Organizing
- File
- Procedures for Implementation
- Keeping Timetables
- Meetings
- Administration of the Office
- Management of Projects
- Researching
- Scheduling
- Obtaining Dictation
- Message Taking
- Making Observations
- Arrangements for Travel
- Travel Preparation
Communication Abilities
All parts of communication are essential for the employment of a personal assistant. Prepare to demonstrate your experience or training.
- Answer calls
- Communication
- Emails
- Greeting Guests
- Answering Inquiries
- Socializing
- Communication Through Nonverbal Means
- Calls for Screening
- Communication Through Words
- Communication in Writing
- Financial Knowledge
Do you have any prior experience or training for these responsibilities?
- Bookkeeping
- Budget
- Ordering
- Importing
- Shopping
Knowledge of Technology
Are you able to use a variety of platforms and devices, as well as do basic troubleshooting?
- computers (PC, Mac, tablet)
- Database Administration
- Office by Microsoft
- Preparing a Presentation
- Reporting
- Processing of Words
Personal mastery abilities
These abilities are frequently a part of your personality. Demonstrate how you’ve utilized and developed them.
- Security
- Institutional
- Confidentiality
- Agility
- Interpersonal
- Multitasking
- Organization
- A Positive attitude
- Solving Issues
- Professional Attitude
- Self-Motivated
- Player on a Team
- Time Administration
- Work on your own
If you haven’t utilized these talents in prior employment, consider how you gained them through voluntary or unpaid work or how you apply them in your personal life. Do you use these talents as a member of a religious community or for a school project? Have you honed your abilities as a sports team member or as an individual athlete? That experience may also be beneficial and make you a more qualified applicant for the post.
Notice how numerous of the talents mentioned above, notably the “essential qualifications,” are interwoven into the content of the following sample resume for a Personal Assistant.
Personal Assistant Resume Example
This is a sample of a resume for a position as a personal assistant.
Example 01
name identifier
Main Street, 999 | New York, NY 10003 | (631) 555-1234 | applicant@email.com
OBJECTIVES FOR A CAREER
Specifics and organized personal Assistant seeking a position as a personal assistant with a top firm. We are specialized in providing seamless support to C-level executives and independently performing administrative, appointment and travel schedule, shopping, and event planning responsibilities with ease.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS
- Capable of handling sensitive material and all communication and dictation, with complete integrity and secrecy.
- I can readily establish relationships with clients, vendors, and project stakeholders in person and writing.
- Capable of using accounting education to balance books and conduct budgeting and buying responsibilities correctly.
- Maintains a positive and consummately professional approach at all times, with the capacity to inspire trust and participation in others.
EXPERIENCE AS A PROFESSIONAL
Columbia, Missouri-based GLENGARRY INCORPORATED
September 2016 till the Present, Personal Assistant to the President
- With a scope of duty that includes dictation, correspondence, office administration, vendor relations, appointment scheduling, travel coordination, and event-planning activities, provide comprehensive administrative and personal assistance to the founder of a boutique financial advising business.
- Planning all specifics for successful client relations activities such as golf and tennis resort weekends, financial planning seminars, and shareholder dinners.
- Identified and secured cost-effective travel and entertainment providers, resulting in a 15% reduction in trip expenses.
- To generate aesthetically appealing new advertising flyers and a monthly newsletter. Used Adobe Creative Suite to generate aesthetically appealing new advertising flyers and a monthly newsletter.
EDUCATION
GPA 3.9; Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Minor: Accounting) 2016
Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri
Dean’s List; Summa Cum Laude Graduated
Other Skills: Microsoft Office Suite, QuickBooks, and Adobe Creative Suite are examples of technical skills. Spanish is my first language.
Example 02
Name Initials
Name@email.com | St. Cloud, FL | (123) 456-7891
Summary
Personal Assistant with over 15 years of expertise handling daily administrative needs travel logistics, and complex schedules to assist busy professionals in making the most of their time.
Education
WESTERN HAWAII
August 2000 through December 2002
Bachelor of Arts in Communication
Experience
TRADE LOT is a personal assistant.
Current, as of July ’19
- Create a method to remind more than 5 top managers of essential assignments and forthcoming commitments.
- Plan and organize travel arrangements for the President, Chief Technology Officer, and other senior executives; handle any last-minute or unexpected modifications to the trip plan.
- Review, sort, and arrange incoming mail (including email), evaluate priority level, and answer/draft answers or distribute to the appropriate people.
Personal Assistant, CRANE & JENKINS
August 15, 2015 – July 19, 2019
- Scheduled business and personal appointments for the CEO of the firm
- Managed incoming emails, voicemails, and letters, evaluating what required a quick, time-sensitive response.
- CEOs dropped off/picked up.
EXAMPLE 03
Name Initials
• 555-555-1234 • samhill@email.com • linkedin.com/in/sam-hill
Personal Assistant to the CEO
I’m an ambitious and dynamic young professional who wants to wake up thrilled about what I do every day. I am responsible, dependable, and can rapidly become proficient in any assignment assigned to me. As a high achiever, I strive to excel in all I do. I may not have all of the solutions, but I will always find a way to help customers manage their daily schedules, personal brands, money, work, and home problems.
Skills
Account and Budget Management | Email and Social Media Management | Quality Assurance | Communications Management | Agile Methodology | Continuous Improvement | Organization and Scheduling |Logistics | Team Building | Relationship Management | Complex Communication
Experience
Executive Personal Assistant, Office Spade, New York, NY
(08/2016) – Currently
- Accounts and budgets were managed.
- Appointments, incoming emails, faxes, and postal mail were all organized and kept, and I frequently corresponded on behalf of management.
- Phone calls, inquiries, and requests were screened and addressed as needed.
- Negotiated with customers regularly, typically including critical decision-making techniques, attended meetings, and guaranteed management’s preparedness and preparation.
- Coordination of travel, visas, and accommodations; occasionally traveled with managers; took notes or transcription at meetings; and general help during presentations.
Office Assistant, Stephens, Inc., Rochester, MI
(From 06/2011 until 06/2014)
- As the regional administrative support contact for Leasing Agents and Assistants, I remotely handled issues across two areas.
- Enhanced efficiency by serving as a link between 20+ agents and regional directors to simplify requests and fulfillment. Created and implemented a new timeline framework to maintain uniformity in report submission and set specified dates for documents.
- Worked with the accounting team to become the departments’ subject matter expert on the expense report software solutions and then administered expenditure and travel regulations.
- Managed the workflow of temporary helpers and ensured that business regulations were followed. Assisted with staff orientation and training and facilitated new hire needs.
Education
B.A., College of Florida, Orlando, FL Event Administration – 2011
EXAMPLE 04
Name Name
Sometown, New York 55555 | (555) 555-5555 | bw@somedomain.com
Assistant to the President
- Personal Assistant to busy homemakers, corporate professionals, and entrepreneurs who are well organized, hardworking, and self-motivated.
- Take-charge professional, “bedlam-banisher,” and multitasker thrives in high-pressure, deadline-driven circumstances.
- Committed, loyal, and reliable; aim to surpass expectations by providing second-to-none service.
Professional Background
SELF-EMPLOYED (Sometown, New York) | Personal Assistant, 2012 to Present
- As a personal assistant, you will provide various services to CEOs, entrepreneurs, career professionals, and parents. Prioritize and manage a wide range of duties, such as screening calls and handling emails, paying bills, running errands, organizing calendars, planning events, and scheduling trips.
- I was hired for part-time, full-time, and live-in tasks, with all customers praising me for providing high-quality service.
- Managed a wide range of obligations, giving customers more time for family activities, networking meetings, worry-free travel, and recreational activities.
- Developed storage solutions for computer data, corporate, financial, and domestic records, and physical places such as home offices, closets, and playrooms.
- Planned events ranging from modest dinner parties to informal get-togethers to enormous formal festivities. Coordinated with caterers, florists, decorators, performers, servers, and other suppliers to ensure event alignment and smooth execution.
- Annually saved customers hundreds of dollars by monitoring spending, discovering overcharges, and negotiating lower prices with vendors.
- As the on-site project manager during the client’s lengthy international journey, I ensured the completion of a multimillion-dollar vacation house refurbishment on schedule and budget.
- Entrusted with handling confidential and sensitive concerns such as scheduling rehab stays and providing recovery-house accommodations after surgical operations.
- Early Career: Received advancements during my stay with a New York legal firm (ABC, DEF & GHI, LLC). I’ve worked as an office manager, administrative Assistant, and receptionist (2006 to 2010).
Education
ABC HIGH SCHOOL (Sometown, NY) | Graduation (Class Salutatorian)
Computers
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook),
iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote),
QuickBooks, Dropbox, TeamViewer, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, and YouTube are all available.
EXAMPLE 05
Name Name
Assistant to the President
Personal Information
Phone number: 222-222-2222
E-mail address: abcbc@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/abcbc
twitter.com/abcbc
Summary
Personal Assistant with over five years of experience. Randall Keems Inc. is looking to save time and stress. Shannon Knerl saved more than 25 hours each week on accounting, research, scheduling, and communication activities. 5+ new business prospects each week were generated through marketing and client interaction. I saved 20% on travel expenses.
Experience
Assistant to the President – Michael Knerl & Companies, Inc. – 2017-2020
- Billing, collections, bills, record-keeping, and tax filings were all handled by myself. The client saved almost ten hours every week.
- Per day, I conducted 3+ hours of web research. Created comprehensive spreadsheets with pertinent data, saving four hours every day.
- Meetings and appointments have been scheduled.
- Client outreach was performed, resulting in 5 new business prospects every week.
- Travel arrangements were made, resulting in a 20% cost savings.
Clerk in the Office – Chutnie Industries, Corp. – 2013-2017
- Emails were triaged, resulting in a weekly time savings of more than 5 hours.
- I did a lot of research on the internet. By developing data visualizations and reports based on my results, I saved 10+ hours every week.
- I took over 15 time-consuming tasks, saving the manager 30% of his time.
Education
Pennsylvania State University – 2009-2012
Accounting and communication subjects.
Student Government Secretary
Bhakti Yoga Club’s president raised enrollment by 25%.
Membership
The International Association of Professional Personal Assistants (IAPPA) is a non-profit organization.
Courses
- Udemy Project Planning 101
- Foundations of Business Strategy — Udemy
- PA Fundamentals – Practically Perfect
Languages
- Fluent in Spanish
- Proficient in French
Soft Skills
- Bookkeeping,
- file-sharing systems,
- typing at 100 WPM,
- Internet Researching
- Time management
- communications skills
- organization
- and problem-solving skills
Personal Assistant Resume Writing Tips
1. Make your CV unique.
Demonstrate to hiring managers that you have done your homework on the role. Take necessary talents from the job description and structure your CV around them. To illustrate your qualifications for the position, highlight experience that addresses these competencies.
The responsibilities of a personal assistant might vary depending on your boss’s status. If you know the job title of the person who will be your boss if you acquire the job, focus on related talents. As a CEO’s Assistant, your responsibilities will differ from those of a home personal assistant.
2. Create a relevant goal.
Your goal should show your worth to the firm and how you can satisfy their demands. Most hiring managers will examine this section of your resume first and determine whether or not to continue reading. Create objectives that address how you want to make your new boss’s life simpler. Include your most robust qualifications and explain how you want to advance inside the firm.
Keep your objective statement brief yet intriguing while composing it. This is your opportunity to sell your expertise to the recruiter and hiring manager. Rather than sending out a generic CV with each job application, tailor your objective to the unique organization.
3. Emphasize your successes.
If you have prior experience as a personal assistant, utilize your previous work descriptions to demonstrate how you assisted your previous employer. Rather than concentrating on your day-to-day obligations, lead with methods that produce results:
“Reduced paper waste by 25% by implementing a digital filing system.”
This example illustrates that you have file and technology abilities and how you can utilize them to make office operations more efficient.
If you have minimal work experience, include internships, volunteer opportunities, and other activities that have helped you obtain relevant experience for the job.
4. Increase the education portion of your resume’s experience.
You could want to work as a personal assistant to get your foot in the door at a particular organization. If you don’t have a lot of job titles to present, use bullets in the education part of your resume showcasing other relevant experiences and talents. Mention any voluntary work you’ve done at school or positions you’ve held on student boards.
It is not necessary to concentrate on your GPA. Instead, highlight experiences that have helped you develop relevant abilities for Personal Assistant. Include this if you routinely organized events or coordinated schedules on separate project teams.
5. Make the most of your extra abilities.
In general, your resume should be as brief as possible. It is best to keep it to one page. However, including a section highlighting your other certificates and expertise is a terrific approach to distinguish yourself. Including software certifications or extended learning courses on your CV demonstrates your drive and aptitude to learn new abilities.
This includes professional affiliations, groups, freelance work, volunteer work, publications, and other specific abilities. If you speak any additional languages, please list them here as well.
Important points When Writing a Personal Assistant Resume
We’ve covered a lot in this post, so here’s a summary of our four top ideas for streamlining your assistant resume!
- Stick to the structure outlined in this post – we propose it for a reason: it includes all the necessary headers!
- Make sure that your entire CV is tailored to the exact position. Nothing shouts “red flag” like a generic and mass-produced resume.
- Remember to think about ATS systems since they can make a big difference in whether or not your resume gets reviewed. Skip any irrelevant content and improve your CV to incorporate keywords from job descriptions.
- Don’t be hasty! The job you’re looking for might be long-term, so it’d be a waste of time to speed through it and jeopardize your prospects!
Finally, pass the ATS exam.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are computer systems that save hiring managers time by performing a preliminary evaluation of resumes to determine if they include any of the credentials required for the position.
When resumes arrive, they are put into the ATS system, and if they do not contain any of the terms indicated above, the ATS will direct them to the reject pile, and a hiring manager will most likely never bother to study them.
It’s a little more involved than that because the ATS may use numerous more crucial keywords to filter resumes for relevancy further. The best method to make an informed estimate about what the ATS may be searching for is to examine the job description itself for specific terms and phrases. Use the same language in the job description as much as feasible.
Certifications may be required.
- Personal Assistant Specialist Certification (CPAS)
- Administrative Professional Certification
- CPR/AED
- Driver’s Permit
- First Aid Instructions
- Handler of Food
- Microsoft Office Professional
- Passport
- ServSafe