Eyes wide, ears peeled, lips sealed; personal assistants (PA) need to be on their toes 24/7. We all know the devil sits pretty wearing Prada – here’s what it’s like walking in the shoes of a PA.
Eyes wide, ears peeled, lips sealed; personal assistants (PA) need to be on their toes 24/7. We all know the devil sits pretty wearing Prada – here’s what it’s like walking in the shoes of a PA.
Emily*, 27, works as the personal assistant to the managing director of a property company.
“Being an assistant is so much more than answering phone calls, making appointments and photocopying. It requires having an ability to deal with office politics, read my boss’ mind and be incredibly organised. I have to know what my boss wants before he even asks, and take the blame when things go wrong, even when it’s not my fault.
Being a PA also lets me see a side of the company that the majority of my colleagues would never be aware of. As I have access to my boss’ emails, I read a lot of messages I probably shouldn’t see; I would know who doesn’t like whom and who’s in the firing line.
I get an insight into the inner workings and office politics of the company that reveals how cut-throat the property industry can be.
It’s placed me in some awkward positions before. For example, I knew that my colleague (and close friend) wanted to quit, but I promised to keep it quiet. In the meantime, my boss was really unhappy with her, so he asked me to push her to look for another job. I should have told my boss she wanted to leave, but I didn’t want to betray her confidence, so I just kept both people’s unhappiness to myself until she eventually left.
Having access to all my boss’ emails means that I would also see personal messages, about weekend plans, dinner arrangements, and such. But I’ve also come across email subject lines like ‘Who did you sleep with at last night’s event?’, which sometimes makes it hard to look my boss in the eye. I don’t think he really does fool around as he is married, but maybe I’m just being naive.
“Naturally, I sometimes have to lie to cover things up for my boss...”
I am also privy to confidential information pertaining to the company. For example, when new figures come in showing that the company’s doing badly, I worry about losing my job, whereas other employees would have no idea that there could be redundancies happening in the future. The nature of my job means I have to keep information like this to myself to avoid alarming others, which can be a burden. My job could be jeopardised if I let anything slip!
Naturally, I sometimes have to lie to cover up for my boss. Like claiming he’s abroad when there’s a meeting he doesn’t want to attend, or fobbing people off when there’s someone on the phone he doesn’t want to speak to.
There’s also a lot of other unofficial administrative work; my boss has eight cars, so with all the permits, services and taxes I need to organise, these kinds of detailed work takes up a huge amount of my time.
I need to be available all the time, and to do everything I can to make his life as smooth as possible. I get called often, even on weekends; I’ve spent many hungover Sunday mornings making last-minute bookings for flights and hotel rooms for him.
He has even called me to ask technological questions, such as when his laptop freezes or if he’s having trouble with Google Maps, even though I am not the IT specialist!
As with any job, there are some unglamorous moments. On some days, I have to clear the fridge and wash dirty utensils. On other days, I get sent to buy his lunch or pick up his dry-cleaning. However, there are glamorous aspects that make the job worth it: going on work trips with my boss to far-flung places, organising events for tonnes of people, and meeting important people in the industry.
These are the perks I have enjoyed as a PA. Despite the trials and tribulations, I love the variety of experiences the job brings. Part of it involves preparing my boss for important client meetings, and knowing that I’ve contributed significantly to the success of these meetings is immensely satisfying.
I do enjoy getting to know my boss personally. It’s important to get along with your boss, but sometimes having differing personalities can help get the job done. He’s a worrier and I’m fairly laidback, which means we balance each other out.
There are several skills required in order to be an efficient PA: being personable, being able to analyse and preempt your boss, possessing IT knowledge, and having good diary management skills and problem-solving abilities.
It’s definitely a demanding role, but it can be very rewarding too. And that’s the pain and pleasure of working as a PA.”
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