Choosing a personal assistant requires careful consideration. Employers should develop a job description with specific duties and identify the company’s work ethic. They should also assess the candidate’s technical skills and communication abilities. Trusting instincts and selecting the candidate with the best relationship is key.
Adding any employee to a team can be anxiety-inducing, but when it comes to choosing a personal assistant, even more care is required. A personal assistant represents an employer. Typically, an assistant takes calls, schedules appointments, and often acts as a liaison between the employer and the client. As a first point of contact, an assistant must project a friendly, professional demeanor and have a good sense of the values and mission the company wishes to project.
To choose a personal assistant, one must first develop a job description with specific duties. List everything the personal assistant will be responsible for, and make note of the software and programs needed to accomplish the tasks. Rank tasks in order of importance. If your assistant will be spending 60% of the day updating web content, you should select an assistant with a high level of Internet familiarity. All employees can be trained, but it is best if a personal assistant’s strengths align directly with most businesses. One-time tasks can be learned on the job without much time to be taken away from training.
The next list should identify the company’s work ethic. What’s the most important thing? To be on time? Contribute creative ideas to the team? Finishing work in a timely manner? Choose a personal assistant who already displays the qualities and attitudes the company values. Prepare probing questions in advance to explore the candidate’s working methods and preferences.
Many employers are tempted to choose a personal assistant with similar backgrounds and skills, because they feel comfortable with the familiarity. This is a mistake. The idea of a personal assistant is to have someone who will pick up the slack and contribute to the team. Instead of hiring someone with the same skill set, ask about other areas of expertise. List your current pain points at the bottom of the interview questions and try to dig deeper into those areas as well.
To choose a personal assistant who can handle the required technical tasks, you need to take advantage of free online assessments. One person’s “expert” level in a software program might be another “newbie’s” idea. Don’t forget the communication areas. Will the personal assistant communicate with clients via email or other written correspondence methods? Get a writing sample. Software, office machines, and standard office procedures can be trained, but it can be difficult to improve writing skills for those who are not comfortable with written communication. Spelling mistakes, typos, and poor grammar are a big turn-off for a client.
Next, assess your needs and spend some time creating your job description. Determine the must-have criteria, then narrow down the candidates and request the test. Trust your instincts. If the list of candidates has been properly narrowed down, the best choices will likely have all the most important qualities. At this stage, the choice should be made by selecting the candidate with whom you have the best relationship.
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