Personal Assistant Resume Sample & Writing Guide

When you are seeking a job as a Personal Assistant, it is essential to first check out a top-notch Personal Assistant resume sample. You want to make sure your resume stands out from the rest by being both informative and compelling to read, without bombarding the recruiter or hiring manager with irrelevant information.

Personal assistants are also sometimes called secretaries or administrative assistants, with the main purpose of assisting individuals in authoritative positions to manage their personal affairs and professional commitments. Personal Assistants can work in a variety of industries and small, medium or large companies.

With our guidelines here we tell you all the highlights and details to create an interview-winning document Personal Assistant Resume:

Personal Assistant Resume Sample

(Free sample downloads are at the bottom of this page)

Personal Assistant Resume Guide:

Resume Sections

1. Contact Information: Name, Address, Phone Number, Email. Be sure to include alternative contact channels, as well as your LinkedIn profile or Facebook URL details.

2. Profile Summary: This introduction to your resume must make an impact on the reader. Include a broad overview of your background, years of industry experience and the industry sectors of interest. You should be specific and state which job you are applying to (1-3 sentences max).

3. Qualifications Summary: Provide accurate details about the certifications and qualifications you have completed with the institution, qualification name, and dates. Don’t forget to include qualifications you are currently completing too. For Personal Assistant roles, a high school diploma is often the only requirement, but some job openings may need post-school certifications too. You may also want to list the short courses, workshops, and in-house training you have received to provide more credibility to your resume.

4. Relevant Office Experience: Clearly state your employment history by giving details regarding the last ten years of experience, up until your current position. Use punchy sentences with bullet points to list your most important office administration activities.

5. Other Employment Experience: This will consist of permanent work history outside of office duties, but still in an administrative environment or temporary and vocational jobs where you were involved in office duties. Only elaborate on these with job descriptions if you have less than five years of administration experience. Otherwise, just list job title company and duration as to make sure there are no gaps in your employment history.

6. Skills Summary/Key Skills: Incorporates keywords from the job posting and your specific skill set. This adds much-needed credibility to your resume.

7. Education/Licenses/Certifications/Relevant Coursework/Training: Start with post-school diplomas or accreditations if applicable. List any professional development courses, workshops or programs you completed that better prepared you to work as a Personal Assistant such as database management, calendar management, concierge duties, virtual filing systems, conflict resolution, crises management techniques, office etiquette, and time management.

What to Highlight in a Personal Assistant Resume

Regardless of your experience as a Personal Assistant, there are a few vital things that recruiters and managers need to know about you to ensure that you are the right fit for their team.

Firstly, Personal Assistants simplify the lives of the people they are assigned to by taking care of cumbersome administrative and logistical details. They differ from office assistants because the scope of work includes both work-related and personal tasks and is focused on providing service to one person.

The second aspect of addressing is the type of assistant that you are. Personal assistants may be categorized as follows:

Celebrity Personal Assistants: These employees are assigned to VIP’s in the sports or media and film industries and ensure their schedules to run like clockwork. Tasks can vary from organizing schedule appearances or even taking the VIP’s dog for a walk. Discretion and diplomacy are critical attributes of someone in this type of role.

Personal Assistant to the CEO: In this job, an assistant screens, prioritizes, directs and delegates a wide variety of complex and confidential requests that are presented to their executive boss. The key focus areas are effectiveness and efficiency. The personal assistant of the CEO literally run, schedule and organize all aspects of their lives, from scheduling meetings to haircuts and even anniversary dinners. This role is often a 24/7 on-call job.

Personal Assistant to Manager/Supervisor: Similar to those duties to the CEO but more leaning towards work-related functions such as maintaining files and updating records, making travel arrangements, providing customer service, conducting research, assisting with project management and handling correspondence on behalf of the supervisor.

Virtual Assistant: Also referred to as VA’s provides managers and CEOs with professional, administrative, social and technical assistance from a remote location. VA’s can work for themselves and be contracted out to more than one client, or they work for companies directly but from a virtual/online setting which may be on a different continent.

Next, you need to highlight is the scope or level of your role. Some personal assistants need detailed knowledge of the company’s operations and business objectives to compile proposals and create presentations for executive meetings. Other PA’s fulfill a more private function by booking travel arrangements, plan family holidays, pick up dry cleaning and do grocery shopping. A personal assistant could also be strictly administrative by managing incoming and outgoing emails on behalf of the executive, type up professional letters and deal with correspondence from other departments, taking minutes in meetings and booking conference rooms.

*Cool Tip for a stellar resume

You can really create an excellent first impression by creating feature and benefit statements of your ‘’value add’’ in a personal assistant capacity.

Skills FeatureSkills Benefit
ProactiveAnticipate your boss’s needs, prioritize tasks and follow through on outstanding issues
JudgmentUnderstand the difference between urgent and important and making decisions on how situations should be handled based on merit
Interpersonal relationshipAbility to communicate and liaise at all corporate levels, instilling respect and report as the representative of the executive manager or CEO. Remain diplomatic, courteous and reasonable in awkward situations and diffuse any type of conflict scenario.
Flexible and AdaptableHandle changing circumstances with ease and efficiency thinking on feet when dealing with crises. Adapt to last minute changes and handle unexpected occurrences.
Organized and Reliable Juggle a variety of complex tasks simultaneously and without errors.
Tech Savvy Well-versed in newest technology applications and tools relating to project management, scheduling software and email client platforms.
DiscretionHandle confidential information with utmost discretion and securing correspondence and documentation to prevent any breaches.

Make sure to include the following details

  • The locations or regions you are willing to work in
  • Many Personal Assistant positions require employees to work during weekends, holidays and for extended hours in the early evening if the company operates on 24hour schedules. You need to state your willingness to the outside of regular office hours or workweeks.
  • A Personal Assistant needs to be on par with the latest office management technologies and applications for example: scheduling software (Calendy), word processing software (MS Office Suite), accounting software (Sage), enterprise resource tools (SAP), project management tools (Asana), collaboration applications (Skype), time management (Yast) and human resources (Workforce). Other apps include Wunderlist, Yack.net, TeamGantt, and ScheduleIt.

Personal Assistant Career Summary Examples

Hiring managers have large numbers of resumes to screen and limited time to read them all in detail. Keep your career summary concise and to the point. Add the most relevant information first to capture their attention while they’re quickly scanning your resume. They immediately want to see that you can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and provide excellent support services to managers, employees, and customers.

Start your career summary with your years of experience in the industry and the primary duties you performed. Use the job description as your guide when deciding on which tasks to add. The more your resume relates to the job description of keywords, the better fit you will seem.
Next, add a line that showcases any outstanding qualities that will add value to the company. A hiring manager would be interested to know if you have “strong people skills, excellent multi-tasking abilities and that you are pro at handling difficult situations.” It’s important to note that these qualities should be proven with examples in the professional experience section to re-enforce your message.

Examples:

'Qualified Personal Assistant with 5+ years of experience and IAAP certification. Highly adept at providing excellent administrative services to Senior Manager in an organized, efficient, and timely manner.'
'Energetic and dynamic Personal Assistant with six years of experience working for a high-level executive in the pharmaceutical industry. Strong computer and research skills and bilingual in French, German and Italian. Interpersonal communication and organization. Currently completing an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration'
'Professional, an efficient personal assistant with 6+ years’ experience to the CEO of a Mining Multinational Corporation. Excellent project management, organization and communication skills and holds a PMP (Project Management Professional) Certification.'
'Experience Virtual Assistant with eight years of experience in providing multi-faceted professional services remotely to executives, entrepreneurs, and senior business managers. Competent with virtual call answering software and the newest calendar management applications as well as web-based meeting platforms'

Personal Assistant Job Descriptions and Responsibilities

An employer would expect to see the following proven foundational duties and skillsets within an applicant’s resume. Herewith a few examples of primary Personal Assistant duties in various industrial environments.

Examples

A Personal Assistant to middle and senior management may:
  • Devising and maintaining office systems, including data management and filing.
  • Arrange personal and professional travel schedules, visas and accommodation on behalf of the manager
  • Occasionally, accompany the manager on international assignments to take notes or dictation at meetings and provide general assistance during presentations
  • Screening calls, inquiries and requests and deal with them appropriately
  • Meeting and greeting visitors to the manager’s office
  • Organize and maintain business and personal diary and making appointments or reschedule meetings if needed
  • Dealing with all incoming and outgoing on behalf of the manager
  • Administrative support includes: carrying out background research and presenting findings, producing documents, briefing papers, reports and presentations
A Virtual Personal Assistant may:
  • Conduct calendar management duties for clients, coordinate travel and meeting arrangements,
  • Oversee accounts receivable and payable and respond to all client and customer queries via email, telephonic or instant message chat platforms
  • Conduct research and compile draft reports
  • Coordinate marketing efforts by creating and updating websites or blogs, overseeing social media accounts like Facebook or Twitter, and drafting and publishing press releases
  • Schedule online meetings via Zoom and Webex
A Personal Assistant to the CEO may:
  • Maintain a multidimensional, complex calendar system for the CEO’s personal and private business
  • Create an effective digitized filing system that can sync across multiple devices
  • Prioritize emails, sort incoming emails and handle outgoing mail correspondence
  • Organize board and foundation meetings as well as web meetings in different time zones
  • Conduct research and preliminary draft proposals
  • Handle courier and pick up services
  • Organize and facilitate private functions for the CEO and family members
  • Devise shopping lists and organize grocery deliveries
  • Keep up with CEO mobile, tech and media subscriptions to renew or cancel
  • Handle travel arrangements including flights, car hire, accommodation restaurant reservations and outings
A Celebrity Personal Assistant may:
  • Write media statements and organize special appearances
  • Liaise with charity organizations to book concerts and shows
  • Manage calendar and organize all travel arrangements
  • Schedule bookings with hairstylists, make-up artists and fashion designers in prep of big events
  • Made traveling, food, and accommodation arrangements for business
  • Organize private parties on behalf of celebrities, responsible for venue layout, decor, catering, and special entertainment events.

Highlight Your Accomplishments

You may be tempted to copy and paste the list of duties you performed under your accomplishment section. The drawback to doing this though is that you won’t stand out from the other applicants with similar experience.

Your goal is to think about what sets you apart, what you are most proud of, or what you achieved in your previous roles. Now communicate these through action-packed statements that grab the reader’s attention.

Examples:

Flat, Simple Duty:

  • Manage the CEO’s diary

Accomplishment Statement:

  • Introduced a multi-calendar diary system that automatically alerts the CEO of upcoming professional and personal appointments each executive of impending work schedules and appointments

Quantifying Your Resume

When writing your resume, you should be answering questions like “How much?” or “How many?” It would be best if you include numbers which provide a ‘’proof of work’’ element to your resume. For instance:

  • How many meeting memos do you compile in a week?
  • How often do you proofread documents?
  • How many manager diaries are you responsible for?

Example 1
– Improved communication between the CEO and international managers by setting up a call recording system with transcribing functionality to track and record all telephonic conversations and automatically email transcription notes to all relevant parties within 24 hours.
Example 2
– Increased office correspondence response rate efficiency by 60% by using AI to filter most common requests for information and providing automated response letters to senders

Personal Assistant Education Section & Examples

The education section forms an integral part of your resume even if you do not have a degree. Personal Assistants these days also have access to career development training. In short, indicate What, Where and When regarding your qualifications, certifications or courses or workshops completed. The name of your qualification, institution, and date of completion is more than sufficient.

Completed Secondary and Tertiary Education must be listed as follows:

Start with the commencement date and completion date for diplomas, associate degrees, and bachelor degrees. For courses, you can just list the date of completion. Next comes the full name of the qualification, then the full name of the institution and then the City or abbreviated State name. List your high school diploma details similarly, but only include this when you have less than five years of working experience.

Examples of a PA's Resume in terms of education:

2016-2018 Associate’s Degree in Business Administration, University of Charleston, NC

2014 – Certified Office Assistant, International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), MI

2013 – Professional Written Communications Course, Lincoln Technical College, IN

2010 – Certified Administrative Professional (CAP), International Association for Administrative Professionals (IAAP), MO

2009 – Office Procedures Course, Technical College for Secretaries, MI

2008 – Certified Virtual Assistant (CVA), The International Virtual Assistants Association, Online

Personal Assistant Resume Skills

Although the reception field requires specific technical skills, employers also consider soft skills. These are the personality traits or skills that indicate to your fit as a Personal Assistant who will add value by meeting set out KPI’s, has adequate knowledge, and sufficient experience to represent the CEO or Manager as the appropriate contact person for information requests, Incorporate these into your summary, or profile, and your accomplishment statements.

Technical Skills Examples

  • Educational Attainment: A university degree is not generally required to become a Personal Assistant, but you may list diplomas, short courses or workshops you have completed.
  • Technical Aptitude: Strong written and oral communication, time management, critical thinking, decision-making, and office skills, people-oriented personality, proficiency with databases, spreadsheets, and word processing software. Adept with travel and accommodation booking sites. Personal Assistants usually work with Customer Information Management (CRM software) often unique to the industry that they are in. Examples are SAP, Zoho, Medicare, Automate. You also need to be familiar with email platforms like Gmail or Outlook (most companies have their in-house email software which should be easy to learn). Other applications included Accounting Management Software, Document Management Tools and Enterprise Resource Planning Software. Coordinating conference calls MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook), iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote), QuickBooks, Dropbox, TeamViewer, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube

Qualifications/Certifications associated with Personal Assistants

Diploma in Office AdministrationOffice Information Technology CourseDiploma Business Records Management
CAP – Certified Administrative ProfessionalExecutive Personal Assistant CourseAdvanced Office Management Course
English Composition for Personal Assistants CourseShort Course in Conflict ResolutionCertified Virtual Assistant (CVA)

Action Verbs for your Personal Assistant Resume

WelcomingIntroducingAssisting
ListeningHelpingPreparing
AnsweringSchedulingOrdering
CreatingBookingRepresenting
ValidatingInvolvingOrganizing
ResolvingEngagingCommunicating

Professional Information for Personal Assistants

Sectors: Various
Career Type: Administration, Support, Back Office, Front Office, Client Relations,
Person type: Communicator, Engager, Supporter, Organizer, Representative
Education levels: High School Diploma to Post School Diplomas
Salary indication: Personal Assistant to CEO between $68k – $94k. Celebrity Personal Assistant from $45k to $100k. Virtual Personal Assistant between $40k to $50k
Labor market: Estimated 3 – 5 % growth between 2016 – 2026
Organizations: Unlimited

Download Personal Assistant Resume Samples (pdf)


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