[mangos]

Hello, my name is chris I work for a company called IGoMogul.com/ExodusWeb. My problem is I have never been a PA of any sort, and my boss has never had a PA of any sort. We are cousins and he needed someone in this role he could trust because of bad prior business dealings. However, my second week on the job I feel like more of a handyman than an assistant, I do what I am asked to do to try and free up some time for him. I just need to know what a PA normally does throughout the day, to give me some idea of how to adapt that to my new job and keep busy.

For an idea of what I have been doing, today I got here bright and early, hung up a couple of pictures around the office and have been doing nothing for about... 3 hours. All in all, not very productive. I usually run errands, pick up dry cleaning, buy computer parts and get lunch. I just can't stand having nothing to do. Last week I saved him a ton of money by being ultra handy and him not having to hire someone to fix blinds and hang art in a giant office. This week that is done and I am the one with the free time, which is not how this should work.

Thank you for your help. I will be checking back on this.

[whitbit]

Hey Chris,
I'm in the same boat! First time PA - my boss has never had one. However, she is very busy- the CEO of the company, and the President of a local organization. When I find myself having free time, I try to organize office supplies, find more efficient ways to grow business, make sure her office is organized, or find business prospects. Ask your cousin to maybe sit down with you for 10 minutes and go over some things that you can do to help not only him, but the company...any long term projects that you can help out with? He's probably just not used to delegating - it takes a while. Help him to delegate by asking what more you can do. That always seems to work for me.

Hope this helps!

[mangos]

Thank you for your advice. It is a problem of him not used to delegating responsibilities, and part of it is this is a website development company so everything is very very efficient already. He is the epicenter of his company, when I do answer his e-mails he needs to read about 95% of them anyways. I just have almost all free time for this first 2 weeks, doing handyman stuff to keep busy and help them not have to hire a carpenter. Any advice on how to approach forcing delegation.

[Renee-EA]

Originally Posted by mangos

Hello, my name is chris I work for a company called IGoMogul.com/ExodusWeb. My problem is I have never been a PA of any sort, and my boss has never had a PA of any sort. We are cousins and he needed someone in this role he could trust because of bad prior business dealings. However, my second week on the job I feel like more of a handyman than an assistant, I do what I am asked to do to try and free up some time for him. I just need to know what a PA normally does throughout the day, to give me some idea of how to adapt that to my new job and keep busy.

For an idea of what I have been doing, today I got here bright and early, hung up a couple of pictures around the office and have been doing nothing for about... 3 hours. All in all, not very productive. I usually run errands, pick up dry cleaning, buy computer parts and get lunch. I just can't stand having nothing to do. Last week I saved him a ton of money by being ultra handy and him not having to hire someone to fix blinds and hang art in a giant office. This week that is done and I am the one with the free time, which is not how this should work.

Thank you for your help. I will be checking back on this.

I presume you already know your way around the computer? Ae you familiar with WORD/EXCEL, etc? Do you know how to process expense reports? How is scheduling for meetings done. These are the beginner basics. Next I'd have a conversation with the boss about what he does. This will help both of you determine where he can use help. You'd be surprised how many things he handles himself that you can take off of his hands. Good luck.

[mangos]

I know my way around the basics yes, and scheduling meetings. On my first day he said something like 'research, I want you to research researching things.' So I planned a mock trip to Disneyworld, he was satisfied and hasn't asked me to research research anymore . My days have been getting busier, which is nice. I believe it is a problem of him being uncomfortable or not prepared for delegating certain responsibilities, and with time, I imagine he will, any suggestions on rushing time?

[tcgstudio]

Honestly you can't rush him or force him to give over more responsibilities. That would not be good for your working relationship or your personal relationship. You have already said you have never been a PA before, what experience have you had? If this field is new to you, research the field. Review the filing system. Maybe you can make it even easier to use. Research products that might help your boss with his time and his use of a computer. Make yourself productive and helpful and then he will see that you are able to take on more responsibilities.

[mangos]

My field of expertise is inventing, I have several patents, I'm a member of Mensa and I have a masters in Psychology (trauma) so what I'm saying is no experience in this field. I enjoy this sort of work, have been researching it extensively, read a 'how-to' book and have been reaching out to many PAs and BAs all over the web, personally and on sites like these. I have a much better understanding of what I should be doing now as opposed to last week or the week prior. I feel he is competent in my ability to make things happen and with time he will relax and delegate a hurricane of tasks for me. I just need to be busy all the time, so I am trying to rush what I should let naturally develop. You gals are great.

[mangos]

Every week gets busier, which is lovely. That first week though, neither of us had a clue. I was literally repairing blinds, hanging pictures and feng shui-ing the office. This last week I have been finding more errands to take care of, planning events, appointments, helping others out, timing everything he does, I would recommend all PAs do this my boss has found it most beneficial. Well, I am still open to any and all advice anyone has for me. My next project is to learn more about programming, website design/technology and search engine optimization (SEO) as these are large parts of what this company does.

[GeeBee]

Hi Mangos - Most Assistants have a very public position and represent the Executive and the company, so learning more about what the company does is definately beneficial. Effective Assistants learn to manage up or have the ability to anticipate their executives needs. It is important that you partner with your boss and get to spend some time getting to know them, in your case not on a personal level as he is a relative, but on a professional level. Understand his goals and aspirations and definately understand the strategic direction he has set for the company. Chrissy has an excellent article on Managing Up on the site that you might enjoy which sheds some light and insight to this part of an Assistant's duties. The best way to describe Managing Up is - to deliver what your boss wants, even before he knows he wants it. Any way you look at it, the job of an Assistant is demanding and the art of goal setting can help you build your list of duties. There are also several great articles on OfficeArrow that deal with goal setting and understanding SMART (challenge - try searching the site to find out about SMART.) Daily duties will build and the more your boss learns he can rely on you the more he will eventually give over. Learn how to set up a daily routine and in this first year you can develop weekly, monthly and yearly routines - remember to keep them catalogued, you will find them helpful as a reference tool.

Don't worry that your boss currently has to look at 95% of his email, as you continue to work with him and become familiar with the projects, etc. this number will decrease drastically. At present ensure that his email and mail are sorted according to a system that makes sense for your office and one that he is comfortable with. I do suggest ensuring that critial or priority items are always identified. Good Luck!

[dewoun]

Hi Mangos,

I have read the posts in this forum and you have received some sound advice. It definitely takes time for the boss to become more trusting because he has been by himself for so long, just know that this is slow, gradual process and when he does you will be so busy you won't have to sit! Even though I have never been a personal assistant, I have talked to folks and read articles about personal assistant duties and the key word in that title is "personal." You may be doing everything from making coffee to buying his wife or significant other an anniversary gift. I think it is a fascinating job and what you are doing now by networking with others in this type of office environment is a great start. Hopefully, when you have been with the company a little while longer, he will gladly pay for your professional development endeavors so that you may become the STAR assistant that you are the road to become. Good luck!