Hiring a Private Personal Assistant (Private PA) can be a great way to delegate tasks and free up valuable time in your busy schedule, making daily life much easier.
Whether working in conjunction with a business PA or solely for an individual or family, a Private Personal Assistant is there to help manage a private household or private-related duties.
You do not need to be wealthy or famous to benefit from the services of a Private PA. Private PAs can be employed full-time or part-time, according to your needs.
Once you’ve identified that you want to hire a Private PA, it is essential to do your research to hire the right one for you. In this blog, I’ll share the steps you should take when hiring a Private PA.
Write an accurate job description
Firstly, list the duties you need help with – the more exhaustive, the better. A valuable exercise to identify tasks can be to analyse what you have personally undertaken over the last six months to understand where you’re spending your time and what could be delegated to a Private PA. This can usually be done by looking back at your diary or notebook, depending on what organisational tools you use.
Set a realistic budget
Determine how much you are willing to pay for a Private PA. If you’re unsure how much you should be paying, speak to a recruitment agency that specialises in PA recruitment, as they should be able to provide you with salary guidelines. You’ll also want to consider whether your budget allows for a part-time or full-time employee.
Start your search
There are several ways to find a Private PA, but a good place to start is advertising the vacancy on a local job board and posting it to your LinkedIn and social media if appropriate. You can skip this process if you’re going to use a recruitment agency for your search, as they will do all of this for you.
Conduct interviews
Once you have a list of potential candidates, organise your interviews as soon as possible to keep the interest there. Be upfront with candidates and tell them how many stages the interview process will be. When it comes to the interview, ask questions to assess their experience, skills and how they would handle specific tasks. However, a Private PA role is as much about personality as it is experience.
Take the time to understand whether you could see yourself working with them, and remember that it’s as much as an interview for you to understand them as it is for them to understand you. Be honest about your pain points, what you would need help with, and your vision for the role.
Discuss expectations
As I’ve mentioned above, be honest and clear about your expectations for the Private PA role, including their hours, duties and responsibilities. Setting boundaries and expectations from the start are important to ensure a successful working relationship.
Hiring a Private PA can be a great way to streamline your schedule and maximise your efficiency. By following the steps above, I hope you can find a Private PA to make your life easier.
