Hiring a personal assistant can be a huge step in taking your company to the next level, allowing you to focus your time and energy on more pressing matters. Below we have came up with a list of things you should keep in mind when hiring your personal assistant in Los Angeles, and what qualities you should consider before making your final decision.
1. Personality
Your personal assistant will spend a lot of their times talking with your employees and clients, while simultaneously representing you, so you want to make sure they are likable. An outgoing and friendly personality can be a huge benefit, especially when dealing with clients. You also want to make sure that they are courteous and polite, because the last thing you want is for your assistant to leave a bad impression on a potential prospect. Even though it is not you being impolite, your assistant is an extension of you and can make people think you are not a good judge of character, ultimately not wanting to work with you.
2. Problem Solving Skills
One of the most important things about an assistants job is to handle as much of your “business” as he/she without bothering you every five minutes with a bunch of questions, allowing you to focus on more important matters. This is why having problem solving skills is so important for an assistant. They have to be able to think on the go and must have good independent problem-solving skills so they can handle tricky situations by themselves, especially in a busy city like Los Angeles.
3. Organization Skills
One of the reasons you might be hiring a personal assistant is because you have found yourselves not having enough time to handle all the mundane (but important) tasks, like scheduling your week, meetings with clients, spreading information throughout the office, or even handling personal matters. All of this can be done by your assistant, but they must be organized to do a good job. The last thing you want is to be scrambling to figure out when or where you next meeting is, how informed your workforce is, etc… Having an assistant with good organization is key and will save you hours of time.
4. Communication
One of the most important aspects of an assistants job is communication. They will be your “middle-man” in communicating information to both clients and employees. It is vital to the success of the business that your assistant knows how to communicate information effectively and accurately. Without this, they may cause confusion that will slow down progress and take more time out of your day correcting their miscommunication.
5. Flexibility in Stressful Situations
In the real world, and especially business, plans rarely go exactly how you want them too. People aren’t perfect and make mistakes, and oftentimes there are situations completely out of our control (Covid-19). Whether it be a client running late, a plane being delayed, or a global pandemic, we must become good at adapting to any and all situations that are presented before us. That is why it is so important to have an assistant who doesn’t panic when plans fall through, and instead, do their best to overcome the latest obstacle and push through it. Life isn’t linear and things happen. When you are hiring an assistant, make sure they are quick on their feet and have a healthy way of dealing with stressful situations. Stress can be contagious. The last thing you need in your already stressful life is a person who just amplifies that whenever things don’t go according to plan.
