How to Build a Resume (Resume Writing Guide 101)
Quick resume guide with resume templates, resume examples, and expert tips on how to write a resume fast.
Personal Assistant Resume—Examples and 25+ Writing Tips
You can bend time and get it all done for clients in short order. But new clients won’t know that unless you prove your PA skills fast. Use this personal assistant resume sample.
Bad news.
Dozens of personal assistant resumes stand between you and that dream job.
You almost need your own PA to get hired.
It’s rough! But this is not your first rodeo.
Show the right parts of your past, and they’ll see your value.
In this guide:
- A personal assistant resume sample better than most.
- How to write a resume for personal assistant jobs that shows your finest hours.
- How to make a *glowing* personal assistant job description for resumes.
- Why you can’t just list personal assistant skills (and what to do instead).
Create a job-winning resume with little effort. Hack your way through ATS software with our 18 beautiful templates—give our builder a try!
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Personal Assistant Resume Sample You Can Copy and Use
Ellie Curbelo
Personal Assistant
Personal Info
Phone: 215-600-8428
E-mail: elliezcurbelo@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/elliezcurbelo
twitter.com/elliezcurbelo
Summary
Energetic personal assistant with 5+ years of experience. Seeking to save time and stress for Randall Keems Inc. For Shannon Knerl, saved 25+ hours per week on accounting, research, scheduling, and communication tasks. Through marketing and client outreach, drew in 5+ new business leads per week. Saved 20% on travel costs.
Experience
Personal Assistant
Shannon Knerl Inc.
2015–2019
- Handled all accounting, including billing, collections, bills, record-keeping, and tax filings. Saved client 10+ hours per week.
- Conducted 3+ hours of online research per day. Built robust spreadsheets with relevant data that saved 4 hours per day.
- Scheduled meetings and appointments.
- Performed client outreach, pulling in 5 new business leads per week.
- Made travel arrangements, saving 20% on costs.
Office Clerk
Kirtley Products, Inc.
2014–2015
- Triaged emails, saving 5+ hours per week.
- Performed deep online research. Created data visualizations and reports with findings, saving 10+ hours per week.
- Took charge of 15 repetitive tasks, saving 30% of manager time.
Education
University of Pennsylvania
2010–2014
- Excelled in accounting and communications classes.
- Secretary, Student Government
- President, Bhakti Yoga Club, increased membership 25%.
Membership
International Association of Professional Personal Assistants
Courses
- Project Management 101 — Lynda
- Business Strategy Foundations — Lynda
- PA Basics — Practically Perfect
Languages
- Spanish — Fluent
- French — Proficient
Hard Skills: Accounting, file-sharing systems, typing 100 WPM, online research
Soft Skills: Time management, interpersonal skills, organization, problem solving
Are you a different kind of assistant? Looking for a different office job? See our guides:
- Administrative Assistant
- Executive Assistant
- Front Desk
- Legal Assistant
- Office Assistant
- Office Clerk
- Office Manager
- Personal Assistant
- Receptionist
Here’s how to write a personal assistant resume that works:
1. Select the Right Personal Assistant Resume Format
You wouldn’t wear a tank top to a job interview.
So—
Don’t use shoddy resume formatting.
Start with the reverse-chronological resume format.
Then flesh it out with these tips:
Personal Assistant Resume Format
- Write a single-page resume with 1-inch margins.
- Use white space for esthetics.
- Choose a resume font like 10–12pt Helvetica or Arial.
- Add accepted resume sections like Heading, Summary, Job Experience, Education, and Skills.
- Save your resume in PDF format. PDFs don’t frizz out on different machines.
Expert Hint: The average personal assistant makes $15 per hour. The lucky ones make almost twice that. Make your own luck. Format your personal assistant resume correctly.
2. Create a Personal Assistant Resume Objective or Summary
How can I say this?
They won’t read your personal assistant resume carefully.
They’ll glance through it, looking for something to care about.
So give them something.
Up top, write a career objective or career summary.
That’s a quick brief of why your career should matter to them.
Include:
- An adjective (energetic, dependable)
- “personal assistant”
- Years of experience (2+, 5+)
- Who & how you’ll help (save time and stress for Randall Keems Inc.)
- Best personal assistant moments (saved 25+ hours per week...)
- The few skills they want most (accounting, research...)
But—write it last to save hours of head-scratching.
These personal assistant resume examples show how:
Personal Assistant Resume Summary—Example
Take another look.
Both samples say the same things.
But the second blows it on the details.
Now—
Even a personal assistant resume with no experience needs some kind of proof.
Entry-Level Personal Assistant Resume Objective
Again.
The second of those entry-level personal assistant resume examples sounds like the first. Except—
Without numbers and specifics, no one will believe it.
Expert Hint: Networking is job search gold, but how to do it? Join an association like IAPO. Other PAs you meet will refer new clients to you when they’re busy.
3. Strengthen Your Personal Assistant Job Description and Skills Section
This is the best part.
Most personal assistant resumes will mention skills.
Not you.
You’ll turn heads by proving them.
To write a personal assistant job description for resumes:
- Don’t just list any old batch of resume skills. Find yours right in the job ad.
- Use them as resume keywords to build your job descriptions.
- Remember times you used them. Then show how that helped clients.
Handle it like the first of these personal assistant resume samples:
Say the job ad wants these personal assistant skills: accounting, online research, client outreach, travel arrangements.
Personal Assistant Job Description for Resume [Sample]
Experience
Personal Assistant
Shannon Knerl Inc.
2015–2019
- Handled all accounting, including billing, collections, bills, record-keeping, and tax filings. Saved client 10+ hours per week.
- Conducted 3+ hours of online research per day. Built robust spreadsheets with relevant data that saved 4 hours per day.
- Performed client outreach, pulling in 5 new business leads per week.
- Made 4 itineraries with full travel arrangements per year, saving 20% on costs, through superior research.
- Handled billing, collections, record-keeping, and tax filings.
- Responsible for managing commitments and deadlines.
- Scheduled meetings and appointments.
- Revised written contracts, performed proofreading and filing tasks.
See?
The first of those personal assistant resume examples has accounting, research, outreach, and travel.
Then it shows how well you used those things.
Now what if you need an entry-level resume?
Pretend the job ad wants these personal assistant skills: triaging emails, research, handling repetitive tasks.
Entry-Level Personal Assistant Resume Job Description [Sample]
Office Clerk
Kirtley Products, Inc.
2014–2015
- Triaged emails, saving 5+ hours per week.
- Performed deep online research. Created data visualizations and reports with findings, saving 10+ hours per week.
- Took charge of 15 repetitive tasks, saving 30% of manager time.
Office Clerk
Kirtley Products, Inc.
2014–2015
- Maintained reports of all transactions.
- Complied multiple financial records and managed filing systems.
- Answers client questions and complaints.
- Communicated company procedure information to employees.
Wow.
One job can make two very different resumes.
Use these personal assistant resume skills to get you up to speed:
Personal Assistant Resume Skills
Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
File-Sharing Platforms | Interpersonal Skills |
Creating Reports | Communication |
Accounting | Collaboration |
Research | Active Listening |
Typing 100 WPM | Problem Solving |
Travel Arrangements | Organization |
Scheduling | Dependability |
Database Management | Detail Oriented |
Data Visualization | Compassion |
Email Systems | Time Management |
4. Use Your Education to Convince Them
Every resume needs an education section.
But remember—
Employers need something to care about.
Watch how this personal assistant resume sample gets it right:
Personal Assistant Resume Example—Education
Education
University of Pennsylvania
2010–2014
- Excelled in accounting and communications classes.
- Secretary, Student Government
- President, Bhakti Yoga Club, increased membership 25%.
Ah!
If the client cares about accounting, communication, and leadership, you win.
5. Add Bonus Material to Your Personal Assistant Resume
To employers, you’re just another piece of spam.
Until you show them you’re a human being.
Do that with one or two “bonus” sections, like:
- Association memberships (IAPO, ASAP)
- Typing speed test results (TypingTest.com)
- Certifications (G Suite, QuickBooks, Microsoft Office)
- Groups
- Freelance work
- Volunteering work
- Publications
- Conferences
- Languages
- Classes
- Additional activities
- Fitness
These personal assistant resume examples show how to list them:
Personal Assistant Resume—Extra Sections
Membership
International Association of Professional Personal Assistants
Courses
- Project Management 101 — Lynda
- Business Strategy Foundations — Lynda
- PA Basics — Practically Perfect
Languages
- Spanish — Fluent
- French — Proficient
Additional Activities
- Biannual volunteering.
- Dedicated mom of 3.
The first of those personal assistant resume examples looks like the best employee.
Expert Hint: Write a cover letter. Cover letters prime the manager to spend more time with your resume for personal assistant jobs.
Key Points
Here’s how to write a personal assistant resume:
- Use the personal assistant resume template up top. It lets you prove the exact assisting skills they need.
- Find resume keywords in the personal assistant job description online.
- Write resume sections like experience and education. Pack them with examples you’ve used personal assistant skills.
- Add “bonus” material to show you care about personal assistant work.
Got questions on how to write great resumes for personal assistant jobs? Not sure how to show personal assistant on a resume? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!
