Essential tech tools for top PAs

Due to the very nature of the role, PAs face new challenges all the time and no two days are the ever the same. From taking calls to managing your boss?s diary, there is a huge range of tasks that you?re charged with handling. Become more efficient effortlessly by familiarising yourself with these technological tools to stand out as a top assistant.

Smartphones and tablets With phones and computers now an integral part of any executive?s daily life, the modern PA needs to be savvy with portable devices. Not every boss will know how to use them, so it?s up to you to set it up with their preferences and email account and download the apps that will be most useful to them.

Internet and social media When you?re asked to do research online, it?s handy to know which terms will bring back the most relevant results. Likewise, in addition to knowing how to navigate and use sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn, you should brush up on the best way to reach the widest audience with your social media activity.

Email and diary management It goes without saying that a personal assistant needs to know how to send an email, but an outstanding PA should also be able to utilise all of the tools available in Outlook, such as signatures, the calendar and the mail-merge function. Structuring a professional message is essential too, as your words reflect on your executive.

Office technology You will often be the first person your boss turns to when he or she needs help setting up a projector for a presentation, or clearing a pesky paper jam in the printer. A good PA needs to know how to take care of these problems and more. It?s also worthwhile to keep up to date with new technology so you can make informed suggestions the next time your office needs a new piece of kit.

Design programmes When your exec comes to you on Friday afternoon and asks you to put together a presentation for Monday morning, it helps to be able to use programmes such as Powerpoint and Photoshop. It will be impressive when you produce something that both looks professional and incorporates the relevant information in a short period of time.

Note-taking tools Sitting in on meetings to take notes can be difficult if you don?t have the right programmes, so have a look at these. Fleksy allows the competent touch typer to maintain eye contact thanks to its advanced auto-correct function. Meanwhile, Basecamp gives you the ability to store your notes where everyone who needs them has access. Finally, Pivotal Tracker includes the option to assign notes as tasks and send them to the relevant person right then and there.

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