Personal Assistants - advice please!

[velvetfern]

Hi,

I'm about to start a new job as Personal Assistant to the head of a fairly large organisation. Having never worked in a role like this before, I'd be really grateful for any tips/advice from the wise ladies of MN! At the moment, the things I'm most nervous about are planning and organising business lunches, keeping my boss organised, and making sure I'm able to do all the many things I'm needed to do on time.

So, what are your top tips for a new PA? How do you keep yourself (and someone else) super organised? What kinds of things should you know to never, ever do?

Thanks in advance for your help - I want to make a good impression and am so nervous about messing this up

Don't let people push tasks onto you - ie, Bob comes along and needs your bosses approval for a purchase. It's well within your remit to prompt your boss for the approval or to write an email on their behalf - but once Bob has the approval, he's up to him to make the purchase, it oesn't become your job,

that's not a very good example but hopefully you will understand what I mean. A lot of what PAs do is 'facilitate' between the team and their boss, but it doesn't mean they have to do everything. It's very easy to accidentally become the person who does everything, and that it not your role + will distract away from your most important task of supporting the boss.

Of course, in a small company, you may be the person who does everything; depends on the size of the organisation - but that will become clear when you start work.

Don't let people push tasks onto you - ie, Bob comes along and needs your bosses approval for a purchase. It's well within your remit to prompt your boss for the approval or to write an email on their behalf - but once Bob has the approval, he's up to him to make the purchase, it oesn't become your job,

that's not a very good example but hopefully you will understand what I mean. A lot of what PAs do is 'facilitate' between the team and their boss, but it doesn't mean they have to do everything. It's very easy to accidentally become the person who does everything, and that it not your role + will distract away from your most important task of supporting the boss.

this

People will try to push tasks on you so you need to be very careful. Be helpful but not too helpful otherwise you will become the 'go to girl' for everything and will end up drowning. Every PA who has done the job for a long time will understand this!

For team tasks that fall within my remit, I make it very clear I will do things but I need sufficient time to complete them. I do not drop everything and run around after anyone other than the directors (and I already have three of them to look after).