As a personal assistant, one resume challenge you might face is effectively showcasing your diverse skill set to potential employers who may be looking for a very specific combination of administrative and interpersonal abilities. Our guide offers tailored strategies and phrasing suggestions that can help you highlight your multi-faceted experience in a way that aligns with the unique demands of personal assistant roles.
- Aligning the top one-third of your personal assistant resume with the role you're applying for.
- Curating your specific personal assistant experience to get the attention of recruiters.
- How to list your relevant education to impress hiring managers recruiting for the personal assistant role.
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Optimize your personal assistant resume format to pass the recruiters' assessment
You may be wondering just how much time you need to spend on designing your personal assistant resume.What recruiters are looking for is systematised content that is clear and coherent. Thus, your personal assistant resume needs to answer requirements and why you're the best candidate for the role from the get-go.
Often, a clear layout consists of:
- Sorting your experience in the reverse chronological order - starting with your most recent and relevant roles. This is an excellent choice for more experienced professionals;
- Writing your contact information (e.g. personal phone number and email address) and your portfolio or LinkedIn link in your personal assistant resume header. If you're wondering to include a photo or not, always make sure that it's appropriate for the country you're applying in;
- Use the basic, most important personal assistant resume sections - your experience, education, summary, etc. Use your resume's real estate wisely to tell a compelling, professional story and match job description's keywords;
- Don't go overboard with the length of your resume. One page is absolutely fine if you happen to have under a decade of relevant experience.
Are you still wondering if you should submit your personal assistant resume in PDF or Word format ? The PDF has a few more advantages, as it doesn't change the format and the text can't be altered upon application.
Format matters most when your personal assistant resume is assessed by the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS).
The ATS parses resumes, looking for specific keywords, skills or experience that match the job description.
P.S. We recently did a study on how the ATS works and were able to demystify three of the biggest misconceptions about how it assesses candidate resumes.
To pass the ATS evaluation, select any of the serif or sans-serif fonts. Popular choices that would help your personal assistant resume stand out include Raleway, Exo 2, Montserrat, etc.
Most traditionalists go for Arial or Times New Roman, but it's often the case that many candidates choose these fonts, and you'd thus lose points on the uniqueness front.
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Essential sections that should make up your personal assistant resume include:
- The header - with your contact details (e.g. email and telephone number), link to your portfolio, and headline
- The summary (or objective) - to spotlight the peaks of your professional career, so far
- The experience section - with up to six bullets per role to detail specific outcomes
- The skills list - to provide a healthy mix between your personal and professional talents
- The education and certification - showing your most relevant degrees and certificates to the personal assistant role
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Exceptional organizational and time-management skills
- Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Proficiency in office management software (e.g., Microsoft Office Suite) and experience with online calendars and cloud systems
- Experience in managing multiple priorities, administrative coordination, and logistics
Experts' advice on writing your personal assistant resume experience
While the excitement and motivation for writing your personal assistant resume was present in the first hour (or so), you now find yourself staring at the blank page.
The resume experience section is the one that allows you to make a memorable impression by matching job requirement with your past jobs and accomplishments.
To help you write this resume section, here are four mistakes you need to avoid:
- Listing every job you have had so far, including the irrelevant ones. Before that, consider each of your past roles based on relevancy to the role. It may be the case that the job you had 15 years ago may have taught you invaluable skills that are appropriate for the role;
- Including irrelevant work experience items. Those are past jobs that aren't linked with the role you're applying for (or so they seem). Consider how your past jobs will serve your professional presentation: will they be filling in a gap in your work history, or just taking up space?
- Focusing on responsibilities instead of accomplishments. Your personal assistant resume shouldn't just be telling recruiters what you did in the past - as it's most often the case that candidates have had similar responsibilities. But, rather, the experience section should showcase the success you've attained in each past role, thanks to your unique skill set;
- Consider listing just your professional experience. Any role you've had in the past - e.g. volunteering, internships, etc. - can make it into your personal assistant resume experience section. Make sure to include it alongside numbers and results.
Two more things you need to remember about your resume experience section.
The first are keywords. Or those specific job requirements that are crucial for the role . Ensure you've integrated them across your experience section to get sorted closer to the ideal candidate profile by the Applicant Tracker System (ATS).
The second are action verbs. Each of your experience bullets should start with a strong action verb, followed by your specific skill and your on the job achievements. Follow this formula to hint to recruiters what your unique value as a professional is.
Still with us? In the next section, we will show you how industry-leading professionals have avoided the four most common mistakes, while integrating keywords and action verbs in their experience section.
- Efficiently managed and organized the calendar of the CEO of Evernote, coordinating over 150+ meetings and events annually, thereby enhancing the productivity of the C-suite.
- Streamlined the internal communication process by implementing a new digital scheduling system which reduced scheduling conflicts by 40% for company executives.
- Handled confidential information with the utmost discretion, resulting in increased trust and integrity rating from senior management.
- Acted as the primary point of contact for the CEO at Google, fielding and directing a high volume of phone calls, emails, and inquiries.
- Compiled and presented detailed monthly expense reports which led to a 10% reduction in personal expenses for the executives through meticulous tracking and budget suggestions.
- Coordinated international travel itineraries including flights, accommodation, and transfers for senior management, while ensuring a 98% on-time departure and arrival record.
- Leveraged advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office suite to create and maintain presentations, reports, and documents for Amazon's leadership team, enhancing communication effectiveness.
- Facilitated the daily workflow of Amazon's CEO by anticipating needs and proactively addressing potential time management issues, increasing the executive's availability for strategic tasks by 25%.
- Mapped out and implemented a comprehensive digital filing system, which improved document retrieval times by 35% for the executive team.
- Served as a liaison between the personal and professional realms of the Tesla CEO, balancing a variety of tasks that supported both personal endeavors and corporate responsibilities.
- Orchestrated successful event planning for corporate events, retreats, and personal gatherings with up to 200 attendees, overseeing logistics and coordination from inception to completion.
- Initiated a proactive maintenance schedule for personal and corporate assets, reducing equipment downtime and repair costs by 15%.
- Developed comprehensive travel arrangements for Microsoft executives that aligned with stringent timeframes and schedules, ensuring seamless business trips.
- Managed confidential correspondence with discretion, maintaining a 100% confidentiality record over the tenure and ensuring no leaks of sensitive information.
- Took charge of office supplies inventory management, consistently keeping costs under budget with a year-on-year saving of 5% through strategic vendor negotiations.
- Utilize specialized knowledge in CRM software to maintain client databases for Facebook's executive leadership, ensuring an accurate flow of information to stakeholders.
- Manage high-stakes projects and deliverables for the CEO of Facebook, effectively coordinating cross-functional teams to meet critical deadlines.
- Oversee the planning and execution of quarterly board meetings and shareholder gatherings, contributing to the consistent communication of company achievements and outlooks.
- Administered comprehensive support for the C-level executives at Adobe, fostering efficient decision-making processes through judicious management of meeting agendas.
- Designed an innovative task prioritization system that optimized workflow efficiencies and reduced task completion times by an average of 20%.
- Conducted research and prepared statistical reports that contributed to strategic planning and development for Adobe's marketing and sales efforts.
- Played a pivotal role in managing internal and external communication on behalf of the executives at Apple, ensuring information was distributed to the right parties swiftly and accurately.
- Enhanced operational procedures by conducting comprehensive analysis, which identified and eliminated redundant tasks, increasing overall team efficiency by 30%.
- Negotiated with suppliers and vendors for the procurement of goods and services, thus achieving a consistent year-over-year cost reduction of 7%.
- Created a dynamic scheduling system for Cisco's upper management, which effectively handled frequent last-minute changes with minimal disruptions.
- Implemented and managed a meticulous record-keeping system that improved the accessibility to critical documents by senior executives by 40%.
- Played a key role in planning and execution of corporate social responsibility initiatives, which enhanced Cisco's community engagement and public image.
- Crafted and maintained an encrypted communication network for the CEO at IBM, fortifying the security of sensitive business communications.
- Directed the organization of high-level conferences and tech summits, each with over 500 attendees, ensuring the IBM brand was represented with utmost professionalism.
- Implemented cost-control measures for executive personal and travel expenses, saving IBM an average of $50,000 annually.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Track the number of meetings and events managed to demonstrate organizational skills and efficiency.
- Document the amount of money saved through cost-cutting measures to highlight financial acumen.
- Record the percentage increase in office productivity due to process improvements you've implemented.
- Quantify the amount of time saved for executives by streamlining administrative tasks.
- Measure the number of support tickets or requests resolved to showcase problem-solving skills.
- Report the volume of correspondence handled per day to reflect communication skills and work capacity.
- Mention the number of projects overseen simultaneously to prove multitasking abilities.
- Capture the scale of events planned, including budgets and attendee numbers, to display organizational prowess.
Action verbs for your personal assistant resume
What can candidates do about their resume, if they have no experience
Job requirements can sometimes be answered by other elements you could make more prominent in your personal assistant resume.
Thus, you'd be substituting your lack of experience with your relevant:
- Education with details of skills you've obtained that align with the job
- Internships and short-term jobs that are once more dedicated to putting your expertise in the spotlight
- Skills section answering basic and - potentially - more specific job qualifications
- Strengths or accomplishments to show the unique value you present, even as a candidate with less or no professional experience in the industry.
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If the certificate you've obtained is especially vital for the industry or company, include it as part of your name within the resume headline.
Personal Assistant resume skills: the essential hard skills and soft skills checklist
Ultimately, your Personal Assistant resume should hint to recruiters that you possess an array of talents that are indispensable to the role.
For example, listing the technologies and software you're apt at using (or your hard skills) and how you apply them in your day-to-day responsibilities would ensure you meet the technical requirements of the role.
But is this enough to ensure that you make a good impression on recruiters?
Go a step further by detailing the soft skills or personality traits you've attained thanks to your work and life experience.
The best way to balance hard skills and soft skills on your Personal Assistant resume is by:
- Highlighting up to three of your most noteworthy career accomplishments in a separate section.
- Listing at least one hard skill and one soft skill you've used to solve a particular challenge or problem.
- Feature niche skills and technologies that would help you stand out amongst candidates.
- Think back on the social impact your efforts have had towards improving the work environment - were you able to always maintain a professional ethic, while enhancing the team culture? Write about your contribution to the role, department, or organization itself as a metric of success.
The skills section of your resume provides you with plenty of opportunities to detail your technical and personal traits.
All you have to do is select the talents that best fit your application and expertise. Make note of some of the most prominent hard and soft skills across the industry from our list:
Top skills for your personal assistant resume:
Calendar management
Travel coordination
Email handling
File management
Note-taking and transcription
Basic accounting
Research proficiency
Event planning
Office software proficiency
Data entry
Communication
Time management
Problem-solving
Discretion and confidentiality
Attention to detail
Adaptability
Multitasking
Organization
Customer service orientation
Professionalism
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Highlight any significant extracurricular activities that demonstrate valuable skills or leadership.
Listing your education and certifications on your personal assistant resume
Don't underestimate the importance of your resume education section . As it may hint at various skills (and experience) that are relevant to the job. When writing your education section:
- Include only higher education degrees with information about the institution and start/end dates
- If you're in the process of obtaining your degree, include your expected graduation date
- Consider leaving off degrees that aren't relevant to the job or industry
- Write a description of your education if it presents you with an opportunity to further showcase your achievements in a more research-focused environment
When describing your certifications on your resume, always consider their relevancy to the role. Use the same format to describe them as you would for your education. If you're wondering what the best certificates out there are for personal assistant roles, check out the list below.
The top 5 certifications for your personal assistant resume:
- Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) - International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)
- Organizational Management (OM) - International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)
- Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence (PACE) - The American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP)
- Certified Executive Assistant (CEA) - Executary Services
- Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) - Microsoft
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The more trusted the organization you've attained your certificate (or degree) from, the more credible your skill set would be.
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Professional summary or objective for your personal assistant resume
personal assistant candidates sometimes get confused between the difference of a resume summary and a resume objective.
Which one should you be using?
Remember that the:
- Resume objective has more to do with your dreams and goals for your career. Within it, you have the opportunity to showcase to recruiters why your application is an important one and, at the same time, help them imagine what your impact on the role, team, and company would be.
- Resume summary should recount key achievements, tailored for the role, through your career. Allowing recruiters to quickly scan and understand the breadth of your personal assistant expertise.
The resume objectives are always an excellent choice for candidates starting off their career, while the resume summary is more fitting for experienced candidates.
No matter if you chose a summary or objective, get some extra inspiration from real-world professional personal assistant resumes:
Resume summaries for a personal assistant job
- With over 8 years of experience as an executive assistant for high-level management in the financial industry, I possess advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and CRM software. Instrumental in organizing a major international conference, improving attendee attendance by 40%, and excelling in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- A former IT project manager transitioning to a personal assistant role, leveraging 10 years of project coordination, exceptional command of tech tools including Trello and Slack, and a proven track record of managing cross-functional teams that delivered complex projects under budget and ahead of schedule.
- Qualified marketing coordinator with 5 years of experience, seeking to transfer organizational, research, and communication skills into a personal assistant capacity. Built successful promotional campaigns that increased user engagement by 30% and pioneered the adoption of a digital asset management system that harmonized team workflow.
- Eager to bring forth a dedicated mindset and strong organizational abilities garnered from 6 years as an administrative coordinator in the higher education sector. Skilled in event planning, maintaining complex schedules, and a keen eye for detail, culminating in the flawless execution of an annual symposium for 500+ attendees.
- As a newcomer to the administrative field, I am highly motivated to apply a fresh and enthusiastic approach, learning directly from seasoned professionals. A quick learner with proficiency in MS Office and an eagerness to take on challenges that support organizational success and client satisfaction.
- Driven individual with no prior assistant experience but a keen interest in developing administrative expertise, particularly in utilizing innovative tech solutions such as Asana for task management. Committed to delivering high-quality support and contributing to a team dynamic with positivity and efficiency.
Other relevant sections for your personal assistant resume
Apart from the standard personal assistant resume sections listed in this guide, you have the opportunity to get creative with building your profile. Select additional resume sections that you deem align with the role, department, or company culture. Good choices for your personal assistant resume include:
- Language skills - always ensure that you have qualified each language you speak according to relevant frameworks;
- Hobbies - you could share more about your favorite books, how you spend your time, etc. ;
- Volunteering - to highlight the causes you care about;
- Awards - for your most prominent personal assistant professional accolades and achievements.
Make sure that these sections don't take too much away from your experience, but instead build up your personal assistant professional profile.
Key takeaways
- Invest in a concise personal assistant professional presentation with key resume sections (e.g. header, experience, summary) and a simple layout;
- Ensure that the details you decide to include in your resume are always relevant to the job, as you have limited space;
- Back up your achievements with the hard and soft skills they've helped you build;
- Your experience could help you either pinpoint your professional growth or focus on your niche expertise in the industry;
- Curate the most sought-after certifications across the industry for credibility and to prove your involvement in the field.
