Participants at this year’s two-day EXECSec Summit have spoken to media partner PA Life about how useful they found the event. Mandy Brown from DHL International describes the set-up of pre-arranged appointments with suppliers as “much better [than the traditional trade show approach], as you’re not just milling around.   “It also avoids getting into an […]

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Indian food is a traditional curry with a side of pilau rice, writes Molly Dyson. Atul Kochar has forever changed the definition of one of my favourite cuisines with his signature dishes at Benares in Mayfair (pictured). Set in the quiet luxury of Berkeley […]

The PA Life Club has literally scores of fantastic promotions lined up with leading high street retailers, restaurateurs and other household name suppliers. Plus, you get 50% off the new PA Life training courses, invitations to select networking events and monthly competitions with great prizes. Now it’s your chance to win annual membership to the […]

There’s good news for administrative professionals, with research showing that secretarial and support vacancies increased by 25% between the first three months of 2013 and the start of this year. The rise in jobs was most noticeable in the Midlands and London, but numbers are up across the whole of the UK. The results were […]

PA Life has teamed up with events agency Top Banana on the #PAEventTips survey to discover the depth of involvement that PAs have when it comes to organising events. From choosing venues to helping with planning and working on the creative aspect of an event, management assistants are increasingly being called upon to fulfil the role […]

PA Life has been shortlisted as a finalist in the PPA Awards 2014, a highly prestigious annual awards event for the magazine publishing industry. PA Life saw off competition from literally hundreds of other entries to be shortlisted in the Publishing Innovator of the Year category. In its submission, the magazine highlighted the various innovations that […]

Taking on the role of a management assistant can be challenging and during your career you may find yourself faced with any number of difficult situations. Here are five office etiquette tips that will prove invaluable in a tight spot. Be punctual Timeliness is a sign of dependability, which is one of the most important […]

Promoting an event is one of the key factors involved in making sure it is a success for your company. While email invites and follow-ups work for some guests, others prefer to feel that they’re always connected and kept in the loop when they agree to attend. Halito! provides a complete solution for event communication […]

News reaches PA Life from across the Atlantic that in addition to the number of EAs in Canada rising at an impressive rate, assistants in the country are taking on greater responsibilities than ever before. Calgary, Alberta-based Pamela Roberts, who has been in support roles for 20 years, says the job is a lot different […]

Captiv8 Creative Events, a company with more than a decade’s experience, takes pride in its passion for creating unforgettable occasions. In fact, it is so confident in its services that it is offering to organise your first event on a complimentary basis.* Captiv8 takes a modern approach to event planning and goes to great lengths […]

We all know how multi-talented PAs are, doing everything from booking that last-minute business trip, to organising the annual charity fundraiser and putting together a killer PowerPoint presentation, but now it seems they are also being called upon to be style gurus. No less a person than Kate Middleton, AKA the Duchess of Cambridge, has […]

We are pleased to announce that Cheryl Wood at Xerox is the lucky winner of a gastronomic experience for eight people, worth more than £2,000, at Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons with the Raymond Blanc Cookery School. “What a lovely surprise,” says Cheryl. “Now I face the dilemma of choosing who to take with me. […]

Bosses should acknowledge everything that their PAs do for them through a series of meaningful gestures such as writing a handwritten note to thank them for their contribution, publicly recognising their input at staff meetings and investing in their professional development by providing an annual training budget. These are just some of the ideas that […]

Research shows that a staggering 87 per cent of British employees will be looking round for a new position during 2014. Apparently, when they were quizzed on why they wished to move to pastures new, more than half (52.6 per cent) said it was because they didn’t get on with their boss. The other major […]

Hard work, enthusiasm and the right attitude all go a long way towards getting on at work, but having good, solid and CPD-certified qualifications is a sure-fire way to help propel you up the career ladder. With this in mind, PA Life is launching a series of training courses, beginning on 1 May with four […]

Entrepreneurs are being encouraged to hire a PA to reduce the amount of stress they have in their work lives and help run their company more efficiently. US website entrepreneur.com advises those who have devised a successful business brand to consider hiring an assistant to enable them to take their commercial activity to the next […]

Many travel and accommodation bookers are still wary when they hear the term serviced apartments, but new websites and online tools have made the booking process that much easier, as David Nicholson explains. If you haven’t previously booked a serviced apartment or apart-hotel, the process might seem rather daunting at first.   However there are […]

Having lived in Dubai for six years, I am well acquainted with the Jumeirah name, as it’s where the brand originated, writes Colette Doyle. For me it evokes sunny beaches, tropical cocktails and balmy weather, so I was intrigued to see what this British outpost would be like. Jumeirah Carlton Tower’s (pictured) location in swish […]