| By :
Alison Withers
Copyright (c) 2010 Alison Withers It is true that a job as a top London PA in a large corporate environment pays more highly than the average secretarial or admin post but the person holding down this job really earns their salary. Anyone aiming for a position like this needs first of all to show a good career history that demonstrates that they have spent time on learning and developing the basic office skills such as typing, word processing, audio-typing, record keeping, answering the phone and managing databases, in fact all the basics of administration. To land a top London PA role, however, a candidate needs a list of additional qualities and skills, some of which cannot really be formally taught. It helps to look the part, which means wearing the smart, understated and fairly formal clothes with minimal jewellery that fit into the corporate environment, paying attention to grooming details like clean hair, hands and nails and polished shoes. It is not really a position where a person can show their individuality or indulge in the wilder extremes of fashion, at least not while at work. Next on the list for the PA working for a busy executive is possessing good communication skills. The PA acts as a gatekeeper for their boss and is often a first point of contact, which means being friendly but can also mean being firm while also being courteous to phone callers, whatever the provocation. Communication, though, is also about knowing what not to say. This means the PA needs to keep confidential information confidential and not only in conversation. Part of the role is to screen incoming letters and emails, draft letters from her boss and attend meetings involving senior staff where issues may be discussed about which they need to be discreet. It takes time and effort to get to know the way a busy, and often pressurised, executive likes things to be done, especially when they really don't have the time to go into detail, so a degree of commonsense and even clairvoyance might be needed. It means knowing what one's boss regards as a priority, what they don't want to be asked about and expect their PA to deal with, and it often means problem solving rather than asking for approval for every action the PA takes. This can all be stressful for the PA until there has been enough time for a level of competence and trust to develop between the PA and their boss. So it helps a great deal to possess good memory, to be highly organised and to be able to handle stress no matter what the provocation. Arranging flights, sometimes several for an itinerary, collection and transport to and from airports, hotels and ensuring the availability of the necessary facilities - such as a wi-fi internet connection in the hotel room - only to find that just as the last detail has been nailed down that everything has to be changed is pretty stressful, but for the PA can be part of the daily routine. So having alternative options available to cover various eventualities but also being
able to think fast and to act even faster are also essential skills! This is where communication and people skills can also play a part, a good relationship with airline and hotel booking staff when arrangements have to be changed at the last minute could make all the difference. Being a top executive's pay can be interesting, rewarding and stretching but it's not for the faint hearted.
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