PA Careers and Jobs can be divided into several different job titles, but it is often confusing as to what they actually mean. In reality, the different titles are sometimes used incorrectly by managers who do not understand the names. However, in many Human Resources managed organisations they are clearly defined.
What are the different PA Job titles?
There are Secretaries, PAs, Executive PAs, Executive Assistants and Management or Business Assistants. However, what makes them different from each other and what is needed to become a PA for example.
The easiest and most long standing ones are PAs; a PA is a personal assistant to either a manager or a team. Generally speaking the manager will not be at an Executive Level and the job will be to provide administrative support to the manager. PA roles should have less manual work however to a Secretary.
A Secretary will provide Administrative support like a PA, but there may be manual processing and more functional tasks. Common job titles are Team Secretary.
Executive PAs are a step above a PA as they will be working for more high profile image and high level managers and they will need to have developed their PA skills to a higher level to deal with the added pressure. This will mean a greater level of confidence, assertiveness and soft skills will needed to be added to make sure that you can function as an Executive PA. In general, Executive PAs will have a job with less functional tasks, more high level tasks and a higher grade.
A step from the Executive PA is the Executive Assistant, who goes a step further from providing Admin and support, by making some decisions and more acting like a partner. This is for the most experienced individuals and the job role is far different to the others. You will need a wider range of skills to be able to handle a job role at this level effectively.
The final and highest step is the Management or Business Assistant. This is totally a Business and Management role. You will find few jobs here, but it is growing.
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