A Range of So-called Soft Skills Are Part of the Repertoire a Top PA Needs

A Range of So-called Soft Skills Are Part of the Repertoire a Top PA Needs

There is no doubt that a job as a top PA in a large corporate environment in a city like London 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 have a chance of landing a top PA's role, however, requires a multitude 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 understanding what the boss considers a priority, what they don't want to be bothered with and expect their PA to take care of and often it means problem solving rather than asking for approval for every action the PA takes. All of this can be stressful for the PA until a level of competence and trust has had time to develop between the PA and their boss.

It helps, therefore, to have a 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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