Case studies : Personal assistant (PA): Debbie

Debbie studied two years of a four-year business studies degree before deciding to take a more vocational course instead. She took a nine-month Executive PA Diploma and now works as a personal assistant (PA) in the banking sector.

I have been working as a personal assistant (PA) to the same manager for the last four years. I was assigned to him when he joined the company I worked for and I have stayed with him since then, working for the same four companies that he has worked for.

My degree course had some relevance to my current role as it involved accounting and I now run all the accounts for the company my boss set up. However, it was the Executive PA Diploma that gave me the proper grounding for being a PA. I was taught all the Microsoft packages to advanced level and also shorthand - all invaluable PA skills.

No two days as a PA are the same. A lot depends on whether my manager is in the office or travelling. Each evening I go through his diary for the next day and make sure all his meetings are confirmed and that his driver has his itinerary. In the morning I print any relevant documents he will need during the day and make sure he knows who he is meeting with. I check with him early in the day to see which calls from the day before he has returned, and then make a note of calls he owes people and flag on Microsoft Outlook to remind him.

Other duties include getting on with anything pending, e.g. travel itineraries coming up, dealing with mail, processing expenses, correspondence, diary management, answering the phone, private matters such as health, paying private staff, etc. I also manage his inbox and deal with everything I can so that he only reads emails that I can’t action.

My role has changed quite a bit because when I was originally assigned to my boss it was a fairly textbook PA role. However, when he set up his own company I took over all the accounting. We then joined another bank in the City and I went back to the normal PA role but continued to keep the accounts for his company. During this time I lost the perk of being a one-on-one PA and had to pitch in and look after a team. Having recently moved companies again I am now thankfully back to a one-on-one PA role.

PAs in banking are in it for the money because although you work quite long hours and it can be really intense, you are paid very well for it. Being a PA is a ‘safe’ job. You will always be employable, especially if you take a relevant course.

The job is pressured and fast paced and mistakes are not received very well. I often have to do very last minute travel arrangements which can be difficult, especially in the summer when the whole world is going on vacation.

I enjoy making myself indispensable to one person. However, the enjoyment that comes with being a PA is entirely dependent on the person you are PA to, and it can often take some time to find the right person. It’s a fairly intense relationship so you need to make sure that you like/respect the person you work for as they need to feel that they can entirely rely on and trust you.