How Spanish Translation Can Become a Door Opening Skill for PAs

Personal assistants exist in a unique position of authority, working closely with senior team members and directors, while taking control and responsibility of numerous tasks. Beyond administrative duties, the workload of a PA can require a host of organisational and practical skills. But even with this abundance of skills, a personal assistant can still become more skilled. Certain abilities and qualifications will open doors to more niche and better paid PA roles. One way of accessing new employment opportunities is to become proficient in a foreign language. According to translation service company London Translations, Spanish is currently the second most ...

read more

How to Organise the Perfect Office Christmas Party on a Budget

Budgets and Christmas parties don’t naturally go hand in hand, but for smaller companies finding the balance between staff appreciation and expenses is a fine one. A Christmas party is an important event for team bonding and boosting staff morale. This means that whatever you provide it needs to be memorable for the right reasons.   Here are a few tips to organising the perfect office party on a budget:    Music: hiring a band VS an iPod playlist For bigger companies, or ones who can afford to hire a band to make the night extra special, there are numerous ...

read more

15 Time-Saving Tips and Shortcuts in Word, Excel and Outlook

15 time-saving tips and shortcuts in Word, Excel and Outlook The only thing we all can agree on is that we do not have enough time to achieve everything. The best way to find that missing time is to save time. Improving your skills in common software tools such as Excel, Word and Outlook can be a great way to start saving a few minutes here and there. Because these software tools are most commonly used on a daily basis, we have decided to give you a list of 15 useful tips and shortcuts that will save you time.   ...

read more

10 Tips Every Mac User Should Know

Your bellowed Mac is capable of doing many wonderful things but using tips and tricks is what separates Mac users from Mac professionals. There are literally millions of tips and tricks that are available online but we are bringing you our top 10 tips that every Mac user should know. Here they are:    Use Spotlight to do unit conversion You know you can use Spotlight as a calculator but you can use it for unit conversion in Yosemite as well. You can do specific conversions by typing the desired unit such as currency but this tool is so intelligent ...

read more

10 Tips for being a Better Executive Assistant

Executive assistant is an established professional with operational and managerial skills. The executive assistant is a role for people with excellent communication skills, advanced computer literacy and the ability to learn new technologies very quickly. Usually, executive assistants work closely with CEOs and senior executives and because of their accountability and proximity to key employees, they are often considered as key elements of the organisation.   Answer as soon as possible. This means that you should answer your e-mails, calls, requests right away even if it means that you will only confirm receipt and decide later on.   If someone asks ...

read more

A PA’s Guide to Confidentiality

As a PA or EA, your ability to handle confidential subjects, issues, emails and documents is essential. And increasingly, PAs are asked in job interviews how they approach the issue of confidentiality. This guide offers insider knowledge that will help you to handle all things confidential with confidence.   Confidential emails and digital files The issue of confidentiality is especially pertinent when it comes to handling emails and electronic documents. You’ll probably have access to your manager’s emails, and in most cases, you’re probably the first port-of-call in reading them and responding on their behalf.     Here’s how you ...

read more

10 Habits of Punctual People

We all know a person or two who are simply always on time. How do they do it? How early do they get up? If you are always late and want to make some changes, do not worry. You are in the right place. And just in time as we are about to start.   No procrastinating Punctual people simply show on time and they do not consider troublesome if they have to wait a little. They know that they will be under stress if they are late so they never procrastinate to remove that stress completely.   They are ...

read more

18 Effective Qualities to Become an Effective Team Leader

Some say great leaders are born, not made. And while there are some born leaders, many more have honed their leadership skills through extensive practice. So, if you’re not a born leader, but want to learn how to be, this article will show you what you need to do to become the most effective leader you can be.   What Skills Make a Leader Stand Out From the Crowd?   Great leaders learn every day – from everyone A leader is an effective listener Leaders embrace the past when planning for the future Leaders help everyone feel like part of ...

read more

Minute taking tips

As any PA knows, taking minutes is a challenging and essential skill. This guide provides some handy tips on getting it right, every time.   Do your research Our PAs have suggested that the toughest aspect of taking minutes is understanding what is being discussed – summarising information you don’t understand is particularly tough when you’re having to summarise it rapidly. As is often the case, the key is doing your research. Find out as much as you can beforehand, and try to familiarise yourself with the terminology that will be used. And if you haven’t got time to prepare, ...

read more

The Ultimate 14 Email Etiquette Tips

Email is one of the most common forms of communication. How you compose an email can reveal a lot about you – your professionalism, your communication skills, your personal image, and your attention to detail. It’s time for a more mindful approach, one that fully embraces a “less is more” strategy. To help you get started, we’ve assembled a cheat sheet of our email best practices. And, trust us, it’s not just about being more polite, it’s about being more efficient and getting the responses you need.   There are three styles of email: Informal, e.g. emails between friends. Standard, ...

read more