Writing good minutes is an under-valued talent. Taking notes is a basic skill and anyone can scribble down a rough outline of a meeting, but to take good notes and create minutes that provide a comprehensive and accurate reflection of a meeting requires the use of thorough procedures and a few clever techniques. Whatever the […]

A little bit of soul-searching can work wonders for your career, according to celebrity PA Donna Coulling. Donna is one of the trainers at the next PA Life Training Day and she will be looking at how management assistants can bring their external ideas and interests to the workplace in order to enhance productivity. She […]

There’s plenty to explore in the latest issue of PA Life, whether you’re looking for some ideas for your next event, or simply want to find out what’s happening in the world of admin professionals. The March/April issue features a bumper 26-page supplement packed with a huge variety of venues that are ideal for all […]

Administrative professionals have a difficult job that includes a huge range of responsibilities. As somebody who supports a manager, it’s important for a PA to possess high self-esteem and there are three aspects of their professional abilities in which confidence is a must. SkillsPAs are given the unique opportunity to develop a broad range of […]

If you feel your emails are running amok, its time to tame them. Here are some quick tips and techniques for getting your inbox under control When your inbox is peppered with emails you haven’t read or replied to and you can’t find what you want even though you know it’s there, it’s easy to […]

Taking notes and minutes at meetings is a core competency that admin professionals need to develop and Angela Garry’s session at the next PA Life training day will ensure that your skills are up to speed. As well as having 17 years’ experience of PA roles, Angela now runs a successful training company called Pica […]

London restaurants are going up in the world – quite literally, writes Colette Doyle. Long-time stalwarts such as the Paramount at Centre Point have been joined by newcomers including Sushisamba at Heron Tower and Aqua at the Shard. And now there’s City Social, (pictured) located on the 24th floor of Tower 42, close to the […]

Ensuring the safe journey of your executives is at the forefront of most PAs’ minds. Choosing the right travel management company (TMC) can be integral to that and offering complete visibility of travel arrangements is a key attribute for a supplier. Here, Good Travel Management explains how it can help those PAs booking travel from […]

Personal assistants spend a lot of time at work so being in a role you enjoy helps make the day seem more bearable. Here are some helpful hints for finding your ideal job, as well as a few top tips for ensuring you get hired. It’s important to ask yourself some questions in order to […]

The role of the PA has always been one that requires a certain amount of self-confidence. With such a wide variety of tasks to handle on a daily basis and the need to concentrate on them in order to be successful, it’s important for management assistants to know how to be assertive when they feel […]

The art of delegation can be difficult to master, but it is a vital workplace skill. Effective delegation can save you time, energy and stress while building a strong, successful team who feel valued. People often avoid delegating tasks, because they struggle to relinquish control or don’t have faith in the abilities of their colleagues, […]

What do a pyjama-wearing employee, a sleepy member of staff and a client with bad personal hygiene have in common? They all feature in the embarrassing stories collated by AirConUK.co.uk, which has been canvassing input from office workers up and down the country. One client of the air conditioning and fitting company recalls a female […]

Sometimes business leaders find themselves so pressed for time that having an assistant can feel like adding another task to the to-do list, especially if he or she is new. However, agreeing on a concrete system for delegating work can relieve some of the stress. The most important point is to have a single, shared […]

To achieve the positive outcomes we require from our business interactions, we need to communicate accurately and effectively. So how can you improve your interpersonal communication skills? If you are asked to name the most important tool you use in your day-to-day life you might not think immediately of your communication skills, but our ability […]

Managing the Matrix – Dawn Metcalfe (Wiley, £18.99) This book is about how to thrive and survive if you’re employed at a “matrix” organisation. Put simply, if you work for a large firm with multiple bosses and different workflows you are operating in the matrix. It can pull you in many directions with lots of contradictory […]

Instant Motivation – Chantal Burns (Pearson, £12.99) The surprising truth about this book is that the title doesn’t match the subject matter. This is not to say it isn’t good; it is and I found it interesting, informative and thought provoking. It’s more for those interested in how your mind works. Burns draws on her 15 […]

The Anti-Ageing of Harmony Richards – Fiona Jane Collins (Self-published, £1.99 Kindle edition) I can only manage to read a book from the “chick lit” genre when the mercury is nudging 40 and there is white sand between my toes. So it was with a heavy heart that I set out to read this book over […]

Wool – Hugh Howey (Arrow, £10.99) The size of this title is daunting, but it’s actually three books in one. Originally self-published as an e-book, it was understandably picked up for a hard copy edition and became a best-seller. It takes place in an underground bunker called a silo, where humanity continues to survive after the […]