4 tips to choose a personal assistant

Hiring a personal assistant is a great way for a busy person to reduce stress and get more done. Here are some important tips for picking the right personal assistant to ensure that you are a good match.

Before you post an ad for your personal assistant, make an honest list about what your personal assistant will be helping you with. Will he or she simply be handling professional responsibilities, or be running errands for your family? Include the list of tasks in the ad for your assistant, and you can expect applicants who feel okay doing the things you ask of him or her. A mistake can be made by hiring an assistant who expected to do more or less menial, personal work and will resent the tasks he or she is given.

You should interview candidates for your personal assistant position in person, but you should also e-mail them and communicate with them via e-mail and over the phone, since your personal assistant will most likely be communicating via these platforms. You want to ensure that you like all of his or her communication styles, not just how friendly he or she is in person or how well he or she writes in e-mails, since communication is key when it comes to effective working relationships.

To make sure your personal assistant will perform as you expect, give him or her a test task to accomplish. For example, ask him to compile preliminary research for a report you're preparing, or ask her to compose an e-mail or two for you (which you should read first, not send). Seeing how the assistant actually executes a task will ensure that you're happy with their level of competence.

It's important to ensure that you and your personal assistant's personalities click, and it's also important to ensure that you like his or her demeanour no matter where he or she is in the world. Set up several interviews in different spots — for example, in your office, at a restaurant or bar, and at a professional event or conference. You should ensure that your personal assistant conducts himself the same way each time professionally, consistently and dependably.