Personal Assistant
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Most employers who hire Personal Assistants (PAs) are looking for Unicorns. They want to hire one person who can do it all. It has been my experience that person does not exist. I have had a couple of personal assistants who were fantastic and even they, with all of their talent, could not do all of the things I needed to get done in a day. One of the greatest traits you can cultivate in life is the ability to adapt. Great businesspeople are excellent adapters. They never try to squeeze a square peg into a round hole. Instead, they find a round peg and fill the hole.
As I stated on the Homepage, I have numerous assistants working for me at a time. I also stated that I hate wasting time. Therefore, if I need it done, I hire someone to do it, and if at all possible, do it from my compound so I never have to leave my office unless it is absolutely necessary. Almost everyone I hire becomes a PA. I refer to most of my employees as PAs whether they clean the house, cook the food, give massages, return emails, interpret conversations, drive my car, watch my special needs child, conduct research, and so on. I refer to them as PAs because even though they have one primary job, they are also all-around if needed. I don’t like Maarte people. No one is too good for any job in my opinion. So I want to make sure my PAs are not Maarte.
I am a firm believer that people should learn as many positions in a business as possible for many reasons. First, it makes the employee indispensable. If you know even a little about each position you can step in and save the day if necessary. Having this knowledge gives the employee job security for life. Also, I love teaching people and watching them grow and succeed. Very few people want to clean a house or babysit for a career. Here in my employment, they learn multiple skills and then we move them into a position they love best. Working within this system, the PAs are able to experience and try new things which gives them an opportunity to discover other interests.
For example, I currently employ:
- 1 Cook – I have very specific dietary needs
- 2 Housekeepers
- 1 Driver/Purchaser
- 1 Therapist
- 1 Administrative assistant
- 2 Secretaries
- 2 IT
- 1 Researcher
- 1 Masseuse – She gives me, my family, and our employees massages and spa treatments
- 1 Virtual administrative assistant
- 1 Virtual executive assistant
If I believed in Unicorns, I would wish for twins, triplets, or even quadruplets who all had the same attitude and ambition so the training process would be simplified, but that too, just isn’t a possibility since there is just so much to accomplish every day. In fact, I am always looking for more, especially if they have ambition and a positive attitude. Similar to construction, when you see a big beautiful building erected where once was just an empty dusty lot, I love watching my PAs grow and live the life of their dreams.
Here are some of the duties and skills that an employer may want in a personal assistant aside from the core 25 listed on the Homepage of this section. However, keep in mind, most employers are willing to train personal assistants if they have the right attitude and “want” to learn, not those who are just “willing” to learn.
- Proactive approach – Employers do not wish to grip their assistant’s hands. They want to provide the groundwork for someone else to figure out and accomplish it efficiently. This takes time to learn, but having a proactive approach to your work and obligations is the first step. The capacity to anticipate your boss’ demands, prioritize the duties entrusted to you, and follow through on everything is a personal assistant’s most critical attribute. You must be able to use sound judgment when making decisions; your task is essentially to handle anything and everything that can divert your employer’s attention away from the work that has to be done. It will be easier to act on behalf of your employer once you have gotten to know him or her.
- Reliability – The ultimate goal of a PA is to become his or her employer’s “right arm,” which requires complete and total dependability. Arrive on time (or early), complete tasks on time (or early), and get to know your boss well enough to forecast what you’ll be asked to do—and do it before you’re asked. Finally, you want your supervisor to regard you as more than just an asset, but as someone who is completely indispensable.
- Discretion and loyalty – It may appear to be a lot, but what employers really want in a personal assistant is someone they can entirely trust, with no doubts about their honesty or dedication to the job at hand. As a personal assistant, you will frequently have access to your employer’s private or secret information. Sharing this information with anyone else would be extremely unprofessional and a breach of trust. The best personal assistants are fully devoted and can be trusted to keep all elements of their employers’ lives private.
- Financial Management – Having some knowledge of basic financial operations such as accounting, budgeting, sourcing, and purchasing is preferred when working as a personal assistant. This only means that you have strong analytical thinking which helps you generate estimations, perform forecasting, and analyze risks. As a result, when it comes to basic financial handling, your employer will no longer find the need to look for a professional to do it because they can trust you to accomplish it.
- Attentiveness – This is another thing an employer will take into consideration when hiring a personal assistant. People frequently don’t pay attention, which makes it difficult for them to understand what you are trying to convey. Listen, be engaged in the conversation. If you’re unsure about what you heard, confirm it with the person you’re speaking to, and ask questions if necessary. Don’t just run off thinking you got the idea just to discover that you were utterly mistaken. Moreover, listening and paying attention to your employer when he/she speaks is a sign of respect which essentially helps you to build a deeper and strong relationship with her/him.
- Resilience – Being resilient entails foreseeing dangers and being at ease with change. Assistants often face changing and challenging situations so you must have the ability to recover quickly after a setback.
- Speaking with authority – Always keep in mind that you are your employer’s representative, and there may be occasions when you need to voice your opinion. Let’s say, you’re in a meeting and you want to add some ideas, but you don’t feel confident enough to do so. To overcome this, plan out what you’re going to say before you say it. Be quite succinct and clear. Planning what you say beforehand will improve the clarity of your message and it gives you the appearance that you know what you are talking about. Don’t speak too fast, too slow, or too low. A measured pace when speaking to a group of people will make you appear controlled and thoughtful. This will also make you look naturally authoritative. Additionally, being authoritative does not include lots of “err”, “um”, etc. It also doesn’t help you if you keep moving or fidgeting while you’re speaking since other people will become distracted and stop paying attention to you, which will make you feel even more self-conscious and may prevent you from finishing what you’re saying.
As I add new content to this site, I will provide examples of how working as a PA can catapult your career far ahead of your friends, ex-classmates, family, as well as all other applicants.
Relevant Story/ Fable
Now, I will share a conversation with you that I recently had with our executive chef. This employee applied a little over a year ago with no experience in the field of a personal assistant and spoke very little to no English. Nonetheless, I could tell she is a hard worker, ambitious, a quick learner, and determined to succeed in life. No, these were not words on her resume, these were traits she demonstrated immediately. I took a chance and hired her as a housekeeper. Her previous work had been farming, cleaning chickens, and other manual labor jobs and she had not yet finished high school.
Soon, it was obvious why she had so many jobs at such a young age (18). Although she was a hard worker, she had a casual relationship with the truth, was quick to get mad, and even quicker to get a bad attitude. As I always say, employers hire for skill and fire for attitude. Hence, she was asked to leave. A few weeks later, she came back asking for a second chance and promised she would work on her attitude. Surprisingly, in just the short time she had worked here, her English had improved as well as her confidence. FYI, I have a rule that all of my PAs must speak in English when they are on the property even when they are just speaking with their co-workers. This is not to benefit me but to strengthen their marketable skills. Because of her great progress in some areas in such a short period of time, I gave her another chance.
A few months later, we encountered her attitude once again and once again she was let go. As funny as it may sound, once again she showed up asking for another chance. Because I really admired her determination and willingness to admit her faults, I told her that I would not make the decision alone but I would bring it up in that night’s staff meeting and let the PAs vote on her return. To my surprise, everybody had great things to say about her work. They said she is a very hard worker but most of all she is a great cook. I wasn’t surprised about her work ethic but the cooking talent was new to me since she never discussed it in her interview.
She texted me the next day for the verdict and I told her that her co-workers voted unanimously to let her come back although everyone was really concerned with her attitude. Most of the time, she has a beautiful smile but when she gets moody, she is very unpleasant to be around. When she came back, I asked her if she loved to cook. Not just “liked” to cook but loved to cook. She replied, “Yes, I love to cook!” I informed her then that she would work part-time in the main house so she would have the opportunity to learn from my cook and expand her knowledge of various foods and cultures. She was extremely excited and went to work immediately.
It wasn’t long until she was in charge of all of the cooking on the property for me and my family, as well as the employees. She learned how to cook American, Korean, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian, and just about any other food that you could ask for. Today, I tell her the dish I want to try, and later that day, I am eating it. My wife really likes her cooking too because she makes all of the traditional Filipino dishes as well. In just over a year, she has become an executive chef feeding around twenty people every day, multiple times a day, she learned how to drive my SUV and is now one of my drivers, she speaks English well enough to translate on a basic level, and she got her driver’s license, passport, she has learned basic computer skills and is now enrolled in private school finishing her high school as a working student.
I wish I could say this story had a fairy tale ending but the fact is she has made tremendous inroads toward creating a great future for herself although she still needs to work a lot on her attitude because it still can be a problem. Her casual relationship with the truth is another challenge she must overcome as well. With this in mind, just in case she can’t get her attitude under control, I reviewed all of her accomplishments with her a few weeks ago to illuminate all of the marketable skillsets she now possesses so she understands she is no longer that girl straight off of the farm who came here with no marketable skills per se, like business skills, education or communication skills.
I was very clear with her, letting her know her challenges were affecting the staff, as well as me and if she doesn’t change fast, real fast, I would have to dismiss her yet again. However, this will be the last time she will work for me. I also told her, “You can easily get a job at one of the thousands of restaurants in Manila, Pampanga, or any tourist spot that caters to foreigners because you now are an excellent chef. You also can make more money than you do here and work less hours so you have time to work on your personal issues so they do not affect your next job. I went one step further and told her, now you know how to write a proper resume, and here are some of the things it should say:
- I speak conversational English well enough to interpret on a basic level.
- I have basic computer skills.
- I enjoy working and I don’t stop until my work is complete.
- I work well under pressure.
- I am an executive chef with experience in cooking foods from around the globe.
- I have experienced fine dining in numerous restaurants and know how and what to serve paying customers.
- I am familiar with managing inventory.
- I am good with a budget.
- I understand the necessity of planning since I have planned menus six weeks in advance.
- I am independent and have no other commitments than that of my future.
- I have experience managing others.
- If you question any of my skills, just ask me to prepare a dish for you and I will do so absolutely free, if you like it, hire me and pay me what I am worth, if not, I will be on my way.
I had to laugh after writing the story above because I just realized not only did she learn all of these skill sets in just one year, but she made such an impression her story even made it on this website. It is so sad that she has so many personal issues that she needs to address but at the same time, everyone has personal issues and it is up to each one of us to work through them, leave them in the past and move on with our lives. Why do you think the rearview mirror is so small in a car? Answer: Because what is behind you is far less important than what’s ahead of you. Buddha said, “You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.”
Every person who enters into my life I want to ensure they leave my life better off than when they came. For example, I always return everyone’s fare when they come to apply for a job with me and I give them a little extra for Jollibee. I do this because I know how hard it is for someone looking for a job to come up with fare and Merienda to go out and apply for a job. I respect those who get up off of their backends and put forth the effort and I want them to know that they haven’t lost anything by trying. The same applies to this chef. She may not be a perfect fit for here but I assured her she will be a perfect fit somewhere and I want her to leave with confidence that she now has everything she needs to land the job of her dreams.
As a PA, you must have a positive attitude all day every day, because it is such a close relationship with your employer but most businesses have shifts and most people can keep a positive attitude at least through half of the day. With the skills that she has learned here, she could easily get a great job in a 5-star hotel or restaurant and work a shift and go home. However, I hope she is able to change her attitude so she remains a part of our family for a long time.
For me as an employer, attitude is everything. I insist that everyone around me projects a positive attitude at all times. People can easily change their attitudes by changing what they are thinking about. It is not just about thinking positively, you must think grateful. Thank your higher power for all of your blessings and focus on all of the good in your life. Don’t slouch over, stand straight and erect, raise your arms above your head, and dance the victory pose as if you just won the gold medal in the Olympics. Repeat affirmations to yourself like, “I like myself, I like myself, I like myself.” These are just a few techniques you can use to get in a positive mindset. Smile and smile big! It is physically impossible to be in a bad mood when you smile. Listen to good humor comedy, not negative comedy, but good clear wholesome comedy that makes you laugh.
Years ago, I watched a news report on a young man who was chosen by President Aquino for an important position, and the reporter was taken aback by his youth and posed the question, “How did you get such an important position with the President at such a young age?” The young man replied, “I believe it was my smile.” The reporter looked a little confused and the man continued, “President Aquino only likes to work with people who are happy doing their job and of course, since I love my work, I am happy at work, I am always smiling.” This is not an exact quote from the interview but it was the gist of the question and answer. While I was listening to this young man, I was bouncing in my chair talking to the television saying, “He gets it,” “He gets it.” This is what I have been teaching/preaching for decades. You must love your work and if you don’t love your work, find work you do love!
When someone comes to work for me, especially my personal assistants, the first thing I do when they arrive on the property is refund the cost of their fare which they spent to come to my family’s compound. In addition to the fare they spent to get here, I also give them the same amount of money for their fare which may be needed for them to return to their home. I explain to them in very clear language that I do this because I never want anyone to feel as though they have no choice but to stay with the job if they are unhappy for any reason, just because they lack the funds to go back home.
I have heard so many stories here in the Philippines from applicants about them wanting to leave their current jobs but their employers will not give them their pay for several weeks knowing full well that the worker cannot leave until they have their money. I realize sometimes situations are exaggerated and are being told from one point of view, nonetheless, I let my PAs know that nothing like that will ever happen here. If at any time, someone wishes to leave our compound, day or night, we will provide them with assistance in packing, transportation, fare, salary, and a budget for snacks and wish them the very best.
At no time do I want anyone who is the least bit unhappy around me, my family, my employees, nor my business. If employees are unhappy, it will infect their surroundings like a virus and once that virus of negativity penetrates the other employees, the entire compound and work suffers.
I realize this is not standard protocol for the industry and most employers don’t operate this way but I have been employing PAs for over three decades and I understand that the job can be frustrating and challenging at times. I also realize people change their minds, and if someone changes their mind for any reason, I want them to correct their mistakes immediately.
Sometimes in life, things as simple as personality differences can make someone question their decision. This is a great life and business lesson. People will occasionally make the wrong decision, and I want them to learn a bad decision isn’t the end all. Anyone can change their mind and make an immediate correction with very little to no negative consequences to either side if they correct that mistake immediately.
As you read this article, I am sure you thought, “I can do that, I can do that, I know that, as I listed the skillsets.” If you did, guess what, you too can rework your resume and start applying for a better position today. Not only that, if you have all of the skills in the section, you may want to visit the section on entrepreneurship because you could be ready to start your own business or at a very minimum, manage one.
If you’re single and can devote yourself to building a career, garnering a world-class education, and want to earn while you learn, you may want to consider starting your career off as a personal assistant.
*If you are looking for a job/career, and would like to apply as one of my personal assistants, please click on the “Contact Us” Tab on the menu to the left and follow the instructions. Thank you.