If you’re a calm, cool head that keeps everything organised behind the scenes, then becoming a personal assistant might be the right choice for you. That means the right combination of transferable skills and work experience must be showcased to the best advantage in your personal assistant CV.
So how do you show you’re the right person for the job through your CV? Resume.io is here to help with a range of CV examples. In this personal assistant CV example and writing guide we’ll cover the following topics:
- What does a personal assistant do?
- How to write a personal assistant CV (tips and tricks)
- The best format for your personal assistant CV
- Advice on each section of your CV (summary, work history, education, skills)
- Professional CV layout and design hints.
What does a personal assistant do?
There was a time when the role of personal assistant was better known as “secretary”, but the job has changed a lot in the last few decades. What hasn’t changed is that many managers still need someone to help them to navigate a range of tasks. That’s where you come in!
Personal assistants are an indispensable asset to a busy manager. They do a lot of the tasks needed to keep their boss’ job running smoothly. Here are a few of the tasks you can expect to do as a personal assistant:
- Organising your manager’s calendar
- Coordinating travel arrangements
- Screening communications such as calls and emails
- Making sure visitors are comfortable
How to write a personal assistant CV
A personal assistant’s CV should be simple and clear. After all, it’s your first chance to show the organised communication skills you would bring to the role. These are the essential components that all CVs have in common:
- The CV header
- The CV summary (aka profile or personal statement)
- The employment history section
- The CV skills section
- The education section
Choosing the best CV format for a personal assistant
The best CV format might depend on the industry where you’re applying to become a personal assistant. Regardless of the industry, it’s still your organisation and attention to detail that will be important. So the standard reverse chronological format is recommended.
If you don’t have much professional history to include yet, then you might want to consider a functional CV format. This format allows you to focus more on your education and skills.
Personal assistant CV summary example
The CV summary — sometimes called the profile or personal statement — is your chance to capture the attention of hiring managers and keep them reading. Use these three to five sentences to highlight your skills and experience that are most relevant to this personal assistant position. Don’t forget to mention if you have specialist skills in a certain field such as medical or legal.
You can use this adaptable summary from our personal assistant CV example to help you create your own.
Dynamic and reliable personal assistant with 9+ years of administrative experience, mostly spent working for the director of a thriving boutique architectural firm. Superior organisation and communication skills. Adopted a proven time management system that helped boost office efficiency by 19%. Seeking to assist and support the LMNOP Ltd. CEO in guiding the company’s realignment with a new mission statement and business goals.
Get inspiration from CV summaries in occupations that may be relevant to yours by checking out some of these CV samples: customer service CV sample, manager CV sample, HR manager CV sample, legal CV sample, account manager CV sample, administrator CV sample, administrative assistant CV sample, customer service manager CV sample, assistant accountant CV sample, office manager CV sample, paralegal CV sample, social media manager CV example, accountant CV sample, and receptionist CV sample.
Employment history sample
Ideally, the employment history will be the longest section of your personal assistant CV. The hiring manager wants to see clear examples of relevant experience that would make you an indispensable right-hand person to your new manager.
Add a clear subheading for each role that includes your job title, employer name, dates worked and location. Remember to show off your top class attention to detail by making it neat!
Under each position’s subheading, write three to five bullet points detailing your important duties. Try to describe what you did and why you did it well, rather than just listing what you were responsible for. Add numbers or statistics wherever possible to quantify how you exceeded your goals. Check out our adaptable personal assistant CV sample below for inspiration on how to do this.
Personal Assistant at Anderson Group, London
January 2016 - Present
- Serve as personal assistant to the founding director of this small start-up architectural firm as it expands to accommodate a burgeoning clientele.
- Oversee all office functions to optimise efficiency and promote direct communication among staff at all levels.
- Implementing a customised office calendar has enabled the director and reception staff to accommodate a 17% in client bookings.
- Provide administrative support to regularly scheduled office staff meetings and assist with ad hoc/team projects as needed.
Receptionist at Sheffield Club, London
February 2014 — January 2016
- Was a friendly and helpful first point of contact in this busy social club with 450+ active professional members, including meeting room bookings, hosting visitor tours, and offering information and concierge services to guests.
- Worked proactively to ensure member and guest satisfaction and the smooth running of front-office staff.
- Applied service quality standards for answering all phone calls and emails promptly and follow-up actions were timely and efficient.
CV skills example
For a role that carries the expectation of you being a swiss army knife of skills, it’s important not to overlook this personal assistant section.. Aim to include a mix of hard skills and soft skills. The latter can be really important for a job like a personal assistant where the way you communicate is so important.
Hard skills are technical skills, while soft skills are more about your personality traits. Lean into your soft skills or other transferable skills if you don’t have much experience yet.
Below you’ll find our CV example for a personal assistant’s skills section.
- Ability to Multitask
- Fast Learner
- Ability to Work in a Team
- Computer Skills
- Effective Time Management
- Customer Service
- Knowledge of Office Technology
Personal assistant CV education example
There isn’t necessarily any mandatory formal training to become a personal assistant. While a business-related degree or diploma can help, it’s often not obligatory. Just list any relevant postsecondary education details in this CV section, in reverse chronological order from highest to lowest level. If you do have a bachelor’s degree or higher, your high school information can be omitted.See the education section from our CV example below.
This is also the section where you can show off any certificate or diploma courses you've completed, on-the-job training, and professional association memberships if they offer continued learning opportunities. Accolades such as awards can be included here also.
See the education section from our CV example below.
DipHE, University of London
September 2012 - May 2014
CV layout and design
Don’t underestimate the power of a professionally presented CV. A simple layout that illustrates your knack for efficiency is the best way to go. However, it’s worth taking a moment to research if the job you’re applying for is in a domain with industry-specific visual standards.
Using a ready-made CV template takes the guesswork out of layout, design and formatting details. Choose a design you like from one of Resume.io’s four style categories and use the builder tool to customise it as your own.
Key takeaways for a personal assistant CV
- A well prepared personal assistant CV is the first place to show off your attention to detail and organisation.
- Offer quantifiable examples of your experience in your employment history.
- Specific experience isn’t always necessary, so be ready to lean into your soft skills if needed.
- Check out our adaptable personal assistant CV sample to make sure yours looks the part.
