Community and career colleges offer personal assistant training in two packages: dedicated personal assistant training or administrative assistant program with additional personal assistant courses. The program focuses on computer skills, conflict resolution, interpersonal and communication skills, and assumes that the personal assistant acts on behalf of the executive. The personal assistant is critical to an executive’s support team and requires professionalism, skill, and dedication.
Personal assistant training is available at a wide variety of community and career colleges. This program is available in two different packages: dedicated personal assistant training or administrative assistant program with additional courses in personal assistant training. A personal assistant typically works for an executive or senior manager in a large corporation. In this role, he or she is responsible for managing the executive’s schedule and correspondence.
Dedicated personal assistant training programs are typically 12 to 18 months long. These programs focus on a combination of computer skills, conflict resolution, interpersonal and communication skills. Almost all personal assistants are expected to hold valid driver’s licenses, but such training is generally not included in a college training program. Computer skills provided include use of all standard office productivity software as well as scheduling management programs and related devices.
Conflict resolution and communication skills are a very important aspect of this job. It is important to remember that the personal assistant acts on behalf of the executive. He or she needs to be able to solve problems, share information, and manage relationships in a way that reflects positively on the executive while fulfilling the primary objective. For example, many executives convey a problem or issue to the personal executive with instructions to “fix” it.
The personal assistant courses that are part of an administrative assistant program are usually three or four courses focused on communication, interpersonal skills and discretion. This type of personal assistant training assumes that these tasks are a minor aspect of the administrative assistant position. See the depth of material presented in these courses by reviewing the course description. It’s impossible to know in advance what kind of work will be available to you, so it’s important to learn as many related skills as possible.
People who report the most satisfaction with personal assistant training programs have a clear career path in mind and understand that the primary purpose of this role is to support the executive. That said, this career is often portrayed in the media as being a little lower than an administrative assistant. In fact, due to the increasing number of professional women rising through the executive ranks, the personal assistant is playing an increasingly important role.
An executive’s support team is critical to that person’s ability to meet the requirements of the job. Professionalism, skill and dedication are all required in this important role. Managing the schedule, ensuring all correspondence is responded to properly, and ensuring the executive has the correct materials for each meeting are critical in high-pressure positions.
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