Personal Assistant CV—Examples and 25+ Writing Tips

Personal Assistant CV—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 CV sample.

Tom Gerencer
Tom Gerencer
Career Expert

Bad news.

Dozens of personal assistant CVs 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 CV sample better than most.
  • How to write a CV for personal assistant jobs that shows your finest hours.
  • How to make a *glowing* personal assistant job description for CVs.
  • Why you can’t just list personal assistant skills (and what to do instead).

Save hours of work and get a CV like this. Pick a template, fill it in. Quick and easy. Choose from 21 CV templates and download your CV now.

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What users say about Resumelab:

I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your CV.”
Patrick

I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!
Dylan 

My previous CV was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
George

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Are you a different kind of assistant? Looking for a different office job? See our guides:

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our CV Examples for Any Job.

Personal Assistant CV 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 visualisations 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, organisation, problem solving

Here’s how to write a personal assistant CV that works:

1. Select the Right Personal Assistant CV Format

You wouldn’t wear a tank top to a job interview.

So—

Don’t use shoddy CV formatting.

Start with the reverse-chronological CV format.

Then flesh it out with these tips:

Personal Assistant CV Format

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 CV correctly.

2. Create a Personal Assistant CV Objective or Summary

How can I say this?

They won’t read your personal assistant CV 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:

  1. An adjective (energetic, dependable)
  2. “personal assistant”
  3. Years of experience (2+, 5+)
  4. Who & how you’ll help (save time and stress for Randall Keems Inc.)
  5. Best personal assistant moments (saved 25+ hours per week...)
  6. The few skills they want most (accounting, research...)

But—write it last to save hours of head-scratching.

These personal assistant CV examples show how:

Personal Assistant CV Summary—Example

Good Example
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.
Bad Example
Experienced personal assistant, skilled in accounting, research, and typing 100 WPM. Known for interpersonal skills and a willingness and ability to take a load off my clients. Well-versed in problem-solving and organisational skills.

Take another look.

Both samples say the same things.

But the second blows it on the details.

Now—

Even a personal assistant CV with no experience needs some kind of proof.

Entry-Level Personal Assistant CV Objective

Good Example
Helpful personal assistant with skills in accounting and Google Docs. Seeking to cut stress and time spent for Shannon Knerl. As office clerk at Kirtley Products, saved 30+ manager hours per week through triaging emails, performing deep online research, and handling 15 regular, repetitive tasks.
Bad Example
Enthusiastic, hard-working personal assistant, seeking full-time work. Known as a quick study with a strong work ethic. Good at accounting and Google Docs. Skilled at triaging emails, doing research, and handling repetitive tasks.

Again.

The second of those entry-level personal assistant CV 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.

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your CV in our CV builder now.

CREATE YOUR CV NOW

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3. Strengthen Your Personal Assistant Job Description and Skills Section

This is the best part.

Most personal assistant CVs will mention skills.

Not you.

You’ll turn heads by proving them.

To write a personal assistant job description for CVs:

  1. Don’t just list any old batch of CV skills. Find yours right in the job ad.
  2. Use them as CV keywords to build your job descriptions.
  3. Remember times you used them. Then show how that helped clients.

Handle it like the first of these personal assistant CV samples:

Say the job ad wants these personal assistant skills: accounting, online research, client outreach, travel arrangements.

Personal Assistant Job Description for CV [Sample]

Good Example

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.
Bad Example
  • 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 CV examples has accounting, research, outreach, and travel.

Then it shows how well you used those things.

Now what if you need an entry-level CV?

Pretend the job ad wants these personal assistant skills: triaging emails, research, handling repetitive tasks.

Entry-Level Personal Assistant CV Job Description [Sample]

Good Example

Office Clerk

Kirtley Products, Inc.

2014–2015

  • Triaged emails, saving 5+ hours per week.
  • Performed deep online research. Created data visualisations and reports with findings, saving 10+ hours per week.
  • Took charge of 15 repetitive tasks, saving 30% of manager time.
Bad Example

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 CVs.

Use these personal assistant CV skills to get you up to speed:

Personal Assistant CV 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

Organisation

Scheduling

Dependability

Database Management

Detail Oriented

Data Visualisation

Compassion

Email Systems

Time Management

Here you can find a comprehensive list of computer skills

4. Use Your Education to Convince Them

Every CV needs an education section.

But remember—

Employers need something to care about.

Watch how this personal assistant CV sample gets it right:

Personal Assistant CV Example—Education

Good Example

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 CV

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:

These personal assistant CV examples show how to list them:

Personal Assistant CV—Extra Sections

Good Example

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
Bad Example

Additional Activities

  • Biannual volunteering.
  • Dedicated mom of 3.

The first of those personal assistant CV examples looks like the best employee.

Expert Hint: Write a cover letter. Cover letters prime the manager to spend more time with your CV for personal assistant jobs. Check out this executive assistant cover letter sample or this administrative assistant cover letter sample.

Double your impact with a matching CV and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

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Key Points

Here’s how to write a personal assistant CV:

  • Use the personal assistant CV template up top. It lets you prove the exact assisting skills they need.
  • Find CV keywords in the personal assistant job description online.
  • Write CV 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 CVs for personal assistant jobs? Not sure how to show personal assistant on a CV? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!

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Tom Gerencer
Written byTom Gerencer
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Tom Gerencer is a career expert covering a wide range of job-related topics. He’s shared his insight for jobseekers at all career levels in over 200 articles, reaching over a million readers every month. His written pieces are based on meticulous research and feature insider tips from key industry experts.

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