How To Hire A Personal Assistant

Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Personal Assistant hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT RECRUITMENT GUIDE

What does a Personal Assistant do?

A Personal Assistant generally provides administrative support to an executive or group of executive in a corporate environment. These include calendar management, coordinating and scheduling meetings, preparing documents, organizing business meetings, email management, and ad hoc tasks.

Day to day tasks of a Personal Assistant

Check emails and answer phone calls.
Schedule meetings, appointments, or events, and ensure these are updated in the calendar.
Regularly meet or coordinate with the manager to manage expectations for the day’s outline.
Organize travel schedules and itineraries.
Prepare correspondences on behalf of the manager.
Join meetings and take down notes for minutes.
Prepare research on any subjects as requested by the manager.

Recruitment guide role overview illustration

PERSONAL ASSISTANT DEFINITION

A Personal Assistant’s primary responsibility is to provide administrative support to a senior manager or C-Suite executive. Because of this, they require excellent communication and coordination skills as they will be working closely with their manager with all their duties.

HIRING PROCESS

Personal Assistant Hiring Process

1
STEP 1
2
STEP 2
3
STEP 3
4
STEP 4
5
STEP 5

STEP 1

Build the Ideal Candidate Profile

To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.

STEP 2

Write A Job Description Based On Skills

Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.

STEP 3

Selecting The Ideal Candidate

See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.

STEP 4

Interview Top Performers

Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.

STEP 5

Making An Offer

Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.

BUILD THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Skills needed for a Personal Assistant

A Personal Assistant must have excellent multitasking and coordination skills. Their job is to manage all appointments and errands of the manager to ensure that the day to day is seamless and avoid disruptions as much as possible. It is also important to have good communication skills as they will be working closely with the manager throughout the day.

Organization
Communication
Multitasking

WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS

How to write a Personal Assistant job description

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Personal Assistant job description:

Job Title: What position are you hiring for?
Summary: What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
Responsibilities: An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
Requirements: Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
Benefits: Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer

Use our sample Personal Assistant job description

SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Sample skill tests for a Personal Assistant

Create a free account today to access the full assessment and more from our library

Try Vervoe Now

Question 1

Organization

Question Type: Text

You are making travel arrangements for the Senior Account Manager who is a guest speaker at an interstate conference next month. It’s the first time they have visited this particular city and you’re booking everything: flights, accommodation, car hire, etc. Briefly outline how you would present the travel details to them as they are located in another state.

Question 2

Communication

Question Type: Video

Your boss has asked you to screen all calls until 3:15pm.You receive the following call from a client:"Hi, this is urgent that I speak with (your boss). Can you please pass the phone to him he'll want to speak with me.".Please record your response.

Question 3

Multitasking

Question Type: Text

You've been asked to assist your colleague with a number of tasks with an urgent deadline. You also have to book your directors last minute business trip (travel, accommodation and client dinner) for this evening. How would you manage your day so that you ensure you complete all your tasks before the end of the day?

INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS

How to interview a Personal Assistant

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.

Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.

MAKING AN OFFER

How much does it cost to hire a Personal Assistant?

The US average for a Personal Assistant is $32,177 according to Talent.com. Meanwhile, Glassdoor.com reports it at $36,131. The salary range can start as low as $25,000 and can reach up to $113,000. This depends on the location, the years of experience, and additional skills of the applicant.

United States

Personal Assistants’ average salaries in the United State range from $32,177 - $36,131 (USD). The lowest reported salary is at $25,000, and the highest reported is $113,000. Depending on the employer, some offer bonuses as additional pay.

Source: Source: Glassdoor.com, Talent.com

United Kingdom

Personal Assistants’ average salaries in the United Kingdom range from £27,160 - £29,617 (GBP). The lowest reported salary is at £20,000, while the highest reported is at £43,000. Salaries depend on the location, educational background, years of experience, and additional skills.

Source: Source: Payscale.com, Glassdoor.com

Australia

Personal Assistants’ average salaries in Australia range from $60,576 - $72,500 (AUD). The lowest reported salary is at $45,000 (AUD), while the highest reported is at $85,000 (AUD). Salaries depend on the location, educational background, years of experience, and additional skills.

Source: Source: Payscale.com, Talent.com