If there’s one question Eleanor Marshall gets asked a lot it’s whether she meets celebrities at work. She smiles at this and admits she usually has to act coy when it comes up in conversation. “By the nature of the job, we have bands and artists in the studio just about every day, but it’s not professional to ask them for autographs,” she replies, adding that it doesn’t stop her from getting star-struck on occasion.
Part of Eleanor’s role as a PA at Absolute Radio is making sure bands and artists have everything they need when they come to the studio for an interview, or to perform a session for broadcast. Although this is usually a straightforward job, she recalls a time when a band wanted to come in via the back door to avoid the masses of fans and paparazzi who had gathered at the main entrance. “Our security guy had gone to lunch and we couldn’t find the key to the back door,” she says. “We could have opened it, but it would have set off alarms and we had executives in meetings at the time. It took 25 minutes of running around looking for this key to get the band in.”
She says she enjoys working at the studio because the office is open plan and she gets to liaise with just about everybody in the company throughout her day. “Because we’re all so close, our roles overlap a lot,” she explains. Her title technically pins her as the content and marketing PA, but she inevitably finds herself assisting other directors and departments as required, which is what prompted her to take on the extra role of events assistant.
One of her major tasks each day is to look after the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the Absolute 80s station. Typically, she’ll check messages in the morning and respond accordingly, then do updates throughout the day and run competitions.
While Eleanor’s career has been successful, she claims she never made a conscious decision to become a PA. She took a gap year before going to university and fell ill during that time, forcing her to defer her first year. Rather than take a job as a waitress, she wanted a “proper” job and was hired as a junior assistant at a local office. “I loved the responsibility I had,” she explains. “I found I was good at it and it carried on from there.”
And the decision has certainly paid off. In 2012, she was named Secs in the City’s PA of the Year. She originally intended to apply for the firm’s social media award, but friends and colleagues encouraged her to try for the PA award instead. Eleanor was so surprised to win that when they announced her name at the ceremony she didn’t realise until she noticed everybody was looking at her.
“Winning the award has been a door-opener for me,” she declares, adding that it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her career. “[The directors] have always appreciated the work I do, but it has given me more recognition, both in the office and within the industry.”
Since winning the award, Eleanor has used public speaking skills she learned as a teenager to lecture PAs all over the world about time management, including a speech she gave in Malaysia earlier this year. She also talks about the power of technology in achieving a better work-life balance. “PAs are stuck in the 1980s and they aren’t using technology to make their jobs easier,” she points out.
Eleanor is keen to get the message out there that assistants need to be better at self-promotion and networking. “I connect with other PAs and learn from them,” she says. “A PA is the gatekeeper of the company. They can be key influencers in the industry.” She also thinks it’s “criminal” not to take advantage of training opportunities. “Define an area where you think you’re lacking and find a training course to improve those skills,” she suggests. “Only you can make opportunities for yourself.” This is sound advice from a successful PA who has obviously taken it to heart.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
8.30am I like to get in early to prepare for the day ahead. I use the quiet time to get my thoughts straight before the day ahead.
First, I re-familiarise myself with the diary for the day. I support two directors officially (but often more in reality), so it’s important I’m au fait with what’s coming up. Things often change last minute, meaning it’s vital that everything is updated and I need to be prepared to react quickly and pragmatically.
Once the diary is in place, I make sure my emails are up to date. I use Outlook tasks to record work requests and I group all of my jobs together. I find it much more effective working this way.
I’m always inundated with messages from the Absolute 80s Facebook and Twitter accounts, so next I answer these and interact with listener posts. I also plan the agenda for the day, creating posts, tweets and competitions.
1pm Lunch is a quick bite to eat. I aim to eat healthily but it’s quite difficult – we get sent a lot of free food at the station so it’s a constant battle to resist. Even when I’m busy I try to leave the office for 15 minutes to clear my head.
Another big part of my role centres on supporting our event manager for all internal and external gatherings. We often host bands for sessions in our canteen. I’ll be on hand to know what time the band and crew are loading in, oversee the set-up and help them get settled. I’ll then manage our live audience.
5.30pm Towards the end of the day, I ensure the next day’s diary is confirmed, making changes where needed. Some evenings I work at external gigs and sessions, but if not I’ll head home for a run before dinner with my husband.
