Personal assistant courses provide the training required to become a personal assistant. This type of role is often found in large companies, working for senior management or executive staff. The primary responsibility of a personal assistant is to manage the appointment calendar, coordinate communications, follow up on details, and generally assist the executive with his or her many tasks.
There are three types of personal assistant courses: computer software, productivity, and communications. All three courses highlight the skills required to be effective in this job. Many personal assistant courses are available part time, with classes scheduled for the evenings and weekends. The combination of these courses with work experience greatly increases the opportunities for employment.
Computer software personal assistant courses are essential to obtaining and maintaining a job in this role. Software is used to manage all aspects of this role, ranging from productivity to file storage and retrieval. Check the level of the course, prerequisites and the course description. This information is essential to determining the relevance of the course material and how it will meet a specific need in the workplace.
Productivity tools include personal appointment calendar management, cellular phones, and personal data assistant units. The primary purpose of these tools is to increase efficiency, decrease repetition, and reduce the possibility of missing an appointment or losing touch with important information and updates.
Interpersonal and communication personal assistant courses are very important, as they allow the assistant to fully support the executive. For example, the assistant can conduct initial interviews with staff, contractors, potential suppliers, and other business contacts. A professional meeting to gather information, provide background to outsiders, and determine the next step saves a huge amount of time, while continuing to support the business model.
Look for specialized options within your personal assistant courses. The additional training can be added to your resume, opening different employment opportunities to you. Common courses to consider include advanced computer skills, presentations, meeting minute taking and interpersonal skills. All of these courses expand the types of positions that you qualify for, as well as supporting a higher starting salary. Personal assistant is a very complex position, requiring the ability to change to meet new situations quickly.
As a result, it is very important to have instructors who have worked in this field. There is a theoretical aspect to this type of program, but it represents a very small portion of the actual learning materials. Talk with your admissions counselor about the working experience of the instructors.
