Finding a PA Job is not an easy task as you need a wide range of skills and experience to be an effective PA. Therefore, we are giving you a brief guide on what you should be aiming to gain to become a PA.
PA Job Skills
PA Jobs can be divided into Technical skills and Interpersonal Skills, both are of equal importance. Remember that this is a people-facing career, so you need to focus on interpersonal skills.
Here are typical requirements for Interpersonal skills:
- Communication (written, verbal)
- Leadership
- Influencing others
- Adaptability
- Persuasiveness
- Problem-solving
- Decision-making
- Teamwork
- Flexibility
- Client care skills
As you can see there is quite a range of interpersonal skills that are needed to be a good PA. Therefore, when you are choosing a PA Course to become a PA it is important that the PA Course is delivered by a live tutor in a classroom environment. This method of training is essential to ensure that you gain practical discussions over the types of interpersonal skills that are needed to be a PA. Any form of online training is not going to be ideal for this part of the job but does work for the technical skills that are listed below.
Here are the typical requirements for Technical Skills:
- Diarising
- Prioritising
- Organising
- Microsoft Office Skills
- Business Letter Writing
- Emails
- Telephone skills
- Minute Taking
- Travel Bookings
- Coordination of Diaries and Travel on an international basis
- Processing Invoices
- Petty Cash Management
These are the most typical PA technical skills, but some jobs may require more specialised knowledge and skills. This array of skills can be developed on a PA Training Course and our Courses are ideally designed to meet the requirements of a PA job description. Finally, you should ensure that the Certificate or Diploma gained on a PA Course has a recognised accreditation. The IEAA Accreditation offered by Souters offers this advantage. You actually gain the recognition of attending an internationally respected PA Training College, in Souters, as well as gaining IEAA Accreditation.
How Can I Become a PA?
All of the skills listed above can be gained on PA Training Courses, but you can continue to build them with work experience. You should never feel that once you have completed training and got a PA Job you do not need to continue to develop. All PAs must continually develop their skills to keep ahead of the competition and be able to move up to better jobs in the future. London is a competitive PA Job market, but it offers great opportunities for those who do well.