Not everyone appreciates “starting at the bottom” when all their career goals are at the top of the management chain. But there is a lot to be learned in entry-level positions. There are so many skills gained in a personal assistant's position, for example. Experience which has the potential to benefit anyone who is looking for a job or promotion. The reason it’s beneficial is that it takes an all-rounder to thrive as a PA.
We’re going to take a look at the types of experience one can learn from being a PA. Don't be surprised if it inspires you to spend a few years in a PA position or, at the least, take an office administration course.
Effective communication
Personal assistants need to know how to communicate effectively, otherwise, they would never be able to do their job. They need to be able to communicate through a variety of channels and to a variety of people. Messaging, emails, phone calls and face-to-face communication are all included in the job description. These forms of communication may be with colleagues, managers, clients and suppliers, all of whom require professional, clear and confident communication.
So many people in business refuse to pick up the phone and talk to someone. Starting out as a PA, you quickly understand how to confidently communicate, which makes the rest of your business life easier. Communication is necessary for every single job and career in the world. You need to practice your communication skills until you’re confident enough to call up whoever, whenever, to do whatever needs to be done. Effective communication is second nature to PAs, as it should be for anyone who wants to climb up the corporate ladder.
Business and industry knowledge
As a personal assistant, it’s your job to know everything that’s currently happening in the industry and in the business. You, generally, have access to almost all of the company’s information in order to do your job sufficiently.
As an employee in any other position, there are so many benefits to staying up to date with the latest industry trends and knowing everything there is to know about the company you work for. First of all, it makes an impressive conversation starter in a job interview to discuss business trends and what your opinions of them are. Secondly, the more you know about the work your company does (not just what you or your department does), the better equipped you are to do your best and prove yourself as an asset to the company.
Time management
With all of the responsibilities a PA has, as well as the extra duties their manager gives them, they tend to have amazing time management skills. And time management is definitely a skill that every employee should possess.
Having time management skills isn’t only effective from a “get all your work done on time” point of view, it’s also a great skill to have to manage work-related stress. It makes it easier to hold yourself accountable for your tasks. And, if you ever have to manage a department, you’ll need this skill to organise all team members’ schedules, not just your own.
Organisational skills
Speaking of organisation, the personal assistant position practically invented office organisation. This is where their communication, time management and industry knowledge all come into play as they organise the world around them. Schedules, documents, meetings and reports are just a few things that need to be organised, completed and at-the-ready at all times.
PAs create organisational systems from which company departments work from in order to keep all necessary information grouped together. This also means they have sufficient computer knowledge for the organisation of online data and shared file documents. Having organisation skills in any position helps employers see that you are able to handle workloads, follow the company’s internal filing processes and keep track of important documents.
Self-sufficient in the workplace
And the last attribute of a personal assistant that can benefit anyone who is looking for a first job, career change or promotion, is being self-sufficient. You rarely hear of personal assistants having their own PA. That’s because they have all the necessary skills to be self-sufficient in the workplace.
They do their own jobs as well as the jobs of others, if needed. When you start climbing the ranks in a company, it’s easy to get lazy and delegate to the point where your job is, basically, just delegating. But it shouldn’t be that way for everything. You should be able to organise your own meetings, make your own client calls, manage a team, do the part of the job only you can do properly and oversee that the rest of the business is, equally, doing their part.
And being self-sufficient doesn’t mean you don’t rely on your team, it just means you push yourself at work. Something that shouldn’t stop once you reach the top.
