Do you need someone to help manage your life? Losing track of appointments or important events? It looks like you need an assistant, but which type of assistant do you need? A personal assistant and an executive assistant are the most common and easily confused ones. Both differ drastically in their education, responsibilities, and salaries. You need to know the difference before hiring an assistant.

Personal Assistant

Responsibilities

As the name suggests, a personal assistant helps you with individual tasks. These can be anything from shopping for groceries, running errands, managing a family calendar, taking children or pets to appointments, sending and receiving personal emails, etc. The main goal of a personal assistant is to help clients manage their private lives and households. Another primary purpose of a personal assistant is to free up personal time so the client can spend more time doing the things they love. Since most personal assistants work with families in a household setting, they often form tight, long-lasting bonds with the families and people they support. For a more in-depth look at a personal assistant’s responsibilities, you’ll want to check out this post: Personal Assistants Duties.

Training

Most personal assistants will not have gone to school to be an assistant. However, depending on experience, they are almost always highly organised and have excellent time management.

Salary

Personal assistants are usually lower on the pay scale compared to executive assistants. The average personal assistant salary in the United Kingdom is £30,942 per year (Reed.co.uk, 2022).

Executive Assistant

Responsibilities

An executive assistant focuses on business-related tasks. These could include managing meetings and projects, prioritising your task list and work time, planning travel and event, coordinating multiple calendars, and much more. It is very common for companies to hire executive assistants to help with senior management. The goal of executive assistants is to free up time so their clients can focus on their highest priority work. However, even though most executive assistants work in an office setting, that doesn’t mean they can only work for companies. In the world we live in today, more and more people are deciding to work at home. With this new movement, more people will need an executive assistant to help them manage their business schedules. These more significant tasks are what set executive assistants apart from personal assistants.

Training

Most executive assistants have a degree from a university in business administration or business communication. This allows them to perform and manage high-level business projects and tasks. Many executive assistants will have training in IT software and other related programs to be proactive and productive for their clients.

Salary

Compared to personal assistants’ executive assistants are usually higher on the pay scale. The average salary of an executive assistant in the United Kingdom is £35,684 (Reed.co.uk, 2022).

How Do I Decide?

Personal Assistant

When hiring a personal or executive assistant, you must consider where you need help. Suppose you need help with more personal tasks like running errands, managing a family calendar, or helping to take children to appointments. In that case, you are looking for a personal assistant. A personal assistant will have excellent organisational skills and be ready to handle and manage all your tasks so you can spend more time doing the things you love. It is important to note that although personal assistants could handle some business-related tasks, they are not as well equipped and could be out of their depth.

Executive Assistant

Suppose you struggle to handle more business-sided tasks like managing projects or answering back business emails. In that case, you are probably looking for an executive assistant. Executive assistants are ready to handle your business tasks. They can free up time for you to focus on your most important projects or assignments. It is important to note that even though executive assistants can handle some of your tasks, they are more equipped and qualified to handle your business-related tasks.

Do I Need Both?

Suppose you struggle to handle and manage tasks in your personal and professional life. You may want to consider hiring a personal and executive assistant. Your personal assistant can help manage your personal affairs, while your executive assistant can help manage your business affairs. Having two different assistants will ensure that your life is well organised and efficient. However, you don’t always need to have both a personal and executive assistant. Some assistants will cross personal and executive boundaries and handle tasks in different areas.

What I Need To Do As A Client

You need to assess your needs as a client looking for a personal or executive assistant. Do you need help with personal tasks, or do you need more help with your business tasks? This is the biggest question to ask yourself before hiring a personal or executive assistant. You will also want to state what you want your assistant to accomplish clearly. This will allow the assistant to ensure they are qualified for the position you offer.