Justine Smith, PA to Simon Morton at Eyeful Presentations takes us through the issues with being a boss’s or company first ever PA:
’In my experience (and I have done this twice now), by the time the MD of a growing business decides that a PA would be a good idea they are usually already at least six months late. This means that after (hopefully) being shown where the kettle and toilet are ‘The List’ will arrive. Be prepared – ‘The List’ will include all the tasks that everyone else has been too busy to do, the great ideas that no-one has been able to put into action, organisation of all the outings, meetings and events for the next six months and fixing all the office glitches that they’ve been coping with. Suddenly all these things have an ‘owner’ and the whole team will relax in the certain knowledge that they no longer need to worry.
So here you are with ‘The List’ – this is your chance to shine:
Play to your strengths and aim for a quick turnaround on the things that you know you can do well – demonstrating that you can ‘hit the ground running’ will help you feel like part of the team.
Arrange for any troublesome office equipment to be fixed / repaired / updated – small things can make a big difference to your new colleagues.
Make a start on the impossible – highlight the things on the list that will be the most challenging for you and start researching!
Now you need to recognise that ‘The List’ was the easy part.
The role of the PA/EA often sits in a bizarre ‘non-departmental’ space between management and delivery teams and as the first incumbent of a newly created PA role it’s always a challenge to define your position within the team as a whole. It sounds blindingly simple but communication is the key to successfully creating and filling your niche.
Be honest about what you can and can’t do – being in a new post means that the expectations of you could be way off the reality and it’s a mistake to oversell yourself to impress.
Spend time with your new boss and work out how they communicate, for example does ‘when you have a minute’ mean now or does it mean anytime in the next fortnight?
Spend time with your new colleagues – being part of the team makes everything easier and more fun.
Being a PA is all about organisation and accomplishment and as you settle in and you’ll be able to spot the jobs that are going to land on your desk next week and start on them today – a skill that makes everybody’s life easier.’
So here you are with ‘The List’ – this is your chance to shine:
Play to your strengths and aim for a quick turnaround on the things that you know you can do well – demonstrating that you can ‘hit the ground running’ will help you feel like part of the team.
Arrange for any troublesome office equipment to be fixed / repaired / updated – small things can make a big difference to your new colleagues.
Make a start on the impossible – highlight the things on the list that will be the most challenging for you and start researching!
Now you need to recognise that ‘The List’ was the easy part.
The role of the PA/EA often sits in a bizarre ‘non-departmental’ space between management and delivery teams and as the first incumbent of a newly created PA role it’s always a challenge to define your position within the team as a whole. It sounds blindingly simple but communication is the key to successfully creating and filling your niche.
Be honest about what you can and can’t do – being in a new post means that the expectations of you could be way off the reality and it’s a mistake to oversell yourself to impress.
Spend time with your new boss and work out how they communicate, for example does ‘when you have a minute’ mean now or does it mean anytime in the next fortnight?
Spend time with your new colleagues – being part of the team makes everything easier and more fun.
Being a PA is all about organisation and accomplishment and as you settle in and you’ll be able to spot the jobs that are going to land on your desk next week and start on them today – a skill that makes everybody’s life easier.’
