At the PA Life Star Awards, Kirsi Swinton was awarded PA of the Year 2020. Kirsi is an Executive Assistant and Assistants Network Lead at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In 2020 Kirsi published her first article Who Decides the Value of an Assistant, followed shortly by a second article ‘The Problem with Politeness: Why straight-talking as […]

Natalie Reeves was awarded VA of the Year 2020 at the PA Life Christmas Party incorporating the Star Awards. Natalie is a Virtual Assistant who has managed to grow her business NJR Virtual PA during the pandemic. Natalie has done this whilst juggling a 4-year-old starting school and a 1-year-old who is with her full […]

Last week the PA Life Star Awards took place and Chris Holland was awarded PA Life Club Member of the Year 2020. Chris is currently an Executive Assistant at Nimrod Capital LLP, but has experience working for a variety of organisations such as the NHS and financial institutions. Having worked in a range of roles […]

How is the pandemic and lockdown affecting PAs, their professional situation and personal lives? PA Life spoke to Karen Crowley, PA at Baily Garner, Claudine Martin, PA at the Ministry of Defence and Lisa Neath, Executive PA at Sulzer… Are you still working from home? Karen Crowley: I have been working from home for the […]

Alicia Fairclough is EA to the CEO at Truphone and the Founder of the EA How To community initiative. She talks to PA Life about navigating the pandemic, working from home and pink gin… Tell us how you got to your current position at Truphone. I got my current role through a fantastic London recruiter, Morgan […]

As Executive Assistant to Lucy Brazier – the leading authority on Administrative Assistants – Matthew Want has a tough job managing his boss’s diary, as well as living up to the examples she sets to PAs around the world. He tells all to Lisa Carter… How did you begin your career as an Assistant? Before […]

Kerry Ferguson is EA to the Head of Finance & Administration at legal and professional services group Ince Gordon Dadds LLP. She tells Lisa Carter what she enjoys about her role, the challenges and how she’s coped with lockdown… How did you get your current job? I joined the firm 10 years ago as a […]

Training specialist Today’s PA was founded over 15 years ago by PAul Pennant. And that’s not a typo in his name – it demonstrates how committed he is to the PA and EA community and helping individuals achieve their potential. He speaks to Lisa Carter… Tell us about Today’s PA – the background to the […]

Suzy Sanders quit the 9-5 when she fell pregnant and wanted to spend more time at home. She became a Virtual Assistant, realised she could help others looking to do the same and then set up the Alchemy VA franchise. She tells all to PA Life…  Why did you choose to become a Virtual Assistant? […]

In our latest PA interview Cara Gaffney, a PA at Office Space in Town and a PA Life Star Awards 2019 winner, talks about how she started life as an Assistant, her daily challenges and why technology is so important to the role… What inspired you to start a career as a PA/EA? Growing up, […]

A year ago, Aimee Browne was laid up in bed suffering from depression that was so bad, she had suicidal thoughts. Today, the EA for The Works is a picture of vitality and is running three businesses alongside her ‘day’ job. She tells us her story… Aimee Browne epitomises joy and wellbeing. Bouncing through the […]

Our new series takes a look at how PA Life readers are coping with working during the lockdown. First up, we talk to Marie Heinsen, Executive Assistant to the co-founders and head of Sagittarius Agency Services… How long have you been working from home?My daughter finished school on Friday March 20th – that was my […]

By Karen Young, Director of Hays Accountancy & Finance Rapidly changing circumstances and investment in digital transformation in recent times means our workforce is working more remotely and more flexibly than it ever has before. This is adapting hiring and application processes and the emergence of video interviews is a significant part of this. There […]

Lucy Everett is a Virtual PA with Virtually Supported. Here she talks about how she started out, the challenges of her role and the importance of technology… What inspired you to start a career as a Virtual Assistant? It was something I had thought I may do when my son was a little older, but […]

With the World Health Organization characterising the Coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic, alternative event delivery methods are top of our minds to ensure that meetings and conferences that require real-time engagement continue without interruption.   In this interview, Church House’s Audio-Visual Manager, Bradley Hill, explains how the venue is utilising event technology to ensure that events can […]

Communication is key to being a great assistant, especially if you’re a PA to three Directors in the Group Communications department at the UK’s biggest retail chain. PA Life visited Tesco HQ in Welwyn Garden City to discover how Marie Bliss has honed her skills over 14 years…  How did you become an Assistant? I […]

Anna Fiske is a PA to two senior Directors at professional services giant Arup. She talks to PA Life about her career to date, the challenges of her role and the importance of technology… What inspired you to start a career as a PA/Assistant? After my degree, I took a secretarial diploma, so I would […]

Monica Lien is the PA for the broadcaster Pat Sharp. Under her married name of Monica Sharp, she’s also his wife. PA Life speaks to her about the peculiarities of working for a man within the media industry – who is also her spouse… How did you meet Pat? It was at a nightclub in […]