How to Find the Right Personal Assistant in New York

You just flew into JFK from a two week international business trip and have been traveling for 14 hours. You arrive at your apartment on New York’s upper west side, totally jet lagged, and need to be back in the office for a meeting in less than two hours. You reach in the closet for a clean shirt only to recall that they are all still at the dry cleaners. You decide some coffee would help the situation, but alas, no Keurigs in the pantry and the milk in the fridge is sour. You decide to quickly check your email and find that the internet is not working and you remember you did not pay the bill before you left and the service has been suspended. Your iPhone dings with a Facebook reminder that today is your mother’s birthday, and of course – you forgot to send flowers. Your personal life has become unmanageable and you know you need help managing the many facets of your complicated life.

At this point, you are likely wondering where and how to find a personal assistant in New York. Finding the right personal assistant is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. A great personal assistant will help your life run smoothly and allow you to focus on your work and home life, and leave all the rest behind in trusted hands: paying the bills, dry cleaning, ordering and shopping for birthday gifts, booking travel, running your NY apartment and home in the Hamptons.

So, how do you go about searching for and finding your ideal personal assistant?

The Search

Referrals

When considering where to find a personal assistant in New York, don’t ignore the personal and professional networks you have at your disposal. Reach out to friends, colleagues and employees of yours — chances are, they have similarly-minded friends or former coworkers, and may be able to suggest the best person for you.

When it comes to personal assistants, personality is so essential that someone you know and trust is likely to know the sort of person to suggest, which is a huge step in the right direction. They might be willing to give a referral. On the other hand, your friends or associates also may not want to disappoint you with a bad recommendation should their referral not work out, so it’s best not to rely entirely on referrals.

Staffing Agencies

The demand for personal assistants in today’s market is strong, and the best personal assistants are often snatched up quickly, often after the first interview.  A staffing agency such as C-Suite Assistants that specializes in placing personal assistants has an established pool of qualified candidates. They can assess your needs and turn around quickly to recommend a choice of candidates resulting in a perfect pairing.

The Job Description

The key to finding the exact person you’re looking for is writing the most accurate and realistic job description possible. Whether you attempt to post the ad yourself and sort through hundreds of resumes (which you probably don’t have time for) or you provide it to the agency as a guide, the job description is the road map to find the right personal assistant.

Be Specific and Thorough

This is going to be your personal assistant handling your personal life for you. You know what you need, and the more honest and upfront you are about what exactly you require, the more likely you are to find suitable candidates, and the more likely that relationship is to flourish and last.

Across the board, some common tasks personal assistants handle include calendars, travel arrangements, and basic errands, so be sure to mention these things. But also, go into detail when it comes to what you uniquely need and what you view as your priorities.

Perhaps you need someone who is tech savvy and is an expert using Outlook for complex scheduling or an expert using the project management software you utilize?  Maybe your needs are more along the lines of nonstop coffee and dry cleaning runs? Are you someone who is constantly planning charity events and dinners, and need a person with some event planning skills? Include exactly what you foresee your personal assistant doing, so that there is no confusion about what will be required.

Be Honest about the Schedule

If you need someone to be at your beck and call 24/7, that’s something you need to be forthright about. On the other hand, if you know that the hours will be very steady, laying that out in the job description could attract candidates who might otherwise find a personal assistant schedule too demanding.

Consider how vacation time will work. If you will need your assistant to take vacations at the same time as you, mention that. You might feel like you’re driving away candidates with your honesty, but what you’re doing is narrowing down the pool and saving yourself time and potential headaches down the road.

Remember They’re Essentially Managing Your Life

Include strong adjectives and keywords in your description. You need a person who is willing to help you in whatever ways are necessary, yes, but you also need someone who is unafraid to act confidently in your stead.

Most likely you want a personal assistant who will be nicely assertive on your behalf, organizing your life and able to take initiative where required.  Consider the types of managerial tasks you will expect them to take on, from managing your schedule to potentially overseeing the duties of your household staff, to planning large events. Use words that draw in the right personality type to take on those tasks.

Figuring out how and where to find the right personal assistant in New York can be overwhelming. With years of experience pairing personal assistants with busy people, C-Suite Assistants can take this burden off of your shoulders and find the perfect person for you. Let us use our network of qualified assistants and our recruiting expertise to help you in your search. Contact us for a consultation today.