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Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

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Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#21

Post by ryan-c »

I hired one early this year through a "virtual assistant" company in the UK (Virtalent), as I don't need enough help for a full time person to be sensible, and they did a nice job of matchmaking. I had an initial call with one of their folks who spent some time going through with me what I'd want done, and then they set me up with someone pre-screened who I had an intro call with and liked. I'd previously tried FancyHands, and that required way too much micromanaging on my part.

paulcole's comment "Are you really ready to stop doing the things you're hiring this person to do?" is a bit on the nose. Learning to let go and delegate is key.

The biggest value I'd say I get is outsourcing decisions that aren't really important but are likely to cause my to spiral into "analysis paralysis". For example, hiring movers - if I tried to do it myself I'd end up spending hours fussing over reviews.

Another major thing is figuring out things I hate doing (phoning people, filling out expense reports, etc) and let my PA handle them.

It's also nice for me that she's British (I'm an American expat living in the UK) and is fairly experienced as an PA/EA and generally knows lots of things that I don't know I don't know. For example, when my partner and I wanted to have a special celebratory meal, she arranged a completely custom menu with a high-end restaurant, which didn't occur to me as something that I could ask for.

Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#23

Post by froggertoaster »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #7

If you need a personal assistant for your day to day life due to how much you're working, consider the idea that perhaps you're working too much. CEO or not, no one needs to let their work consume their life. It's your job to set an example for the rest of the team. Others might see how much you're working and assume that they need to, too. I've seen it happen a few times. EDIT: Sorry, I failed to mention, my comment…

Asinine, ignorant comment. Let people decide what's best for them and stop armchair quarterbacking.

Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#24

Post by jw1224 »

version_five wrote: post #12
sillysaurusx wrote: post #7

If you need a personal assistant for your day to day life due to how much you're working, consider the idea that perhaps you're working too much. CEO or not, no one needs to let their work consume their life. It's your job to set an example for the rest of the team. Others might see how much you're working and assume that they need to, too. I've seen it happen a few times. EDIT: Sorry, I failed to mention, my comment…

My interpretation was that the person likes doing their work and wants to outsource distractions. For a fixed amount of work / day, it's better to spend as much as possible where you're most effective, imo. I have a cleaner and order takeout not because I'm theoretically too busy to clean and cook, but because I'd rather outsource so I can do other stuff. Put another way, trade is better for everyone.

> My interpretation was that the person likes doing their work and wants to outsource distractions

This is true. For additional context, I’m also a single man in his late 20s, with the blessing/curse of ADHD.

Whilst I can throw myself into my work (and enjoy it very much), I have little interest/motivation to follow up all the other odds-and-ends in my life.

That might mean something trivial, like keeping the kitchen stocked with healthy food. Or more meaningful tasks — like expenses and invoicing — which are essential, but bore me to death…

As I’m lucky enough to be in a position to do so, if I can get some extra help to sort out everything that’s not my forte, I can focus my energy where it matters: on things I’m good at, and enjoy.

Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#26

Post by dymk »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #18
version_five wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My interpretation was that the person likes doing their work and wants to outsource distractions. For a fixed amount of work / day, it's better to spend as much as possible where you're most effective, imo. I have a cleaner and order takeout not because I'm theoretically too busy to clean and cook, but because I'd rather outsource so I can do other stuff. Put another way, trade is better for everyone.

But it doesn't matter if you like doing your work. If you're working all the time, to the point where you can't arrange a doctor's appointment, you're working way too much. When you're in a leadership position, it's a matter of time until it impacts the rest of the team. The one personal task that takes a lot of time that I'd consider outsourcing would be to go to the store to pick up my prescriptions. But even that…

Why is it that doctors appointments are something that you need to set aside time to make, personally? Why can't somebody else do that for OP?

I don't personally need an assistant, even though I work at the same company as my CEO (who has a personal assistant as well). Him having one doesn't mean everybody needs one.

Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#27

Post by [deleted] »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #18
version_five wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My interpretation was that the person likes doing their work and wants to outsource distractions. For a fixed amount of work / day, it's better to spend as much as possible where you're most effective, imo. I have a cleaner and order takeout not because I'm theoretically too busy to clean and cook, but because I'd rather outsource so I can do other stuff. Put another way, trade is better for everyone.

But it doesn't matter if you like doing your work. If you're working all the time, to the point where you can't arrange a doctor's appointment, you're working way too much. When you're in a leadership position, it's a matter of time until it impacts the rest of the team. The one personal task that takes a lot of time that I'd consider outsourcing would be to go to the store to pick up my prescriptions. But even that…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#28

Post by walrus01 »

helsinki wrote: post #4

I found my personal assistant on Craigslist. Very happy I found her. I put up a simple posting, ‘computer programmer seeking personal assistant’. Turns out she was tired of being an au pair and decided this would be a better fit. It’s really life changing. I highly recommend it. She pays my bills, responds to emails, cleans up the apartment, walks my dog, manages grocery shopping and occasionally cooks, etc. It’s not…

> It’s not that different from what I imagine having a stay-at-home wife was like in the 1950s, except she leaves every evening.

good for you, but yikes, man, that made me cringe.

you might want to re-think if you'd be comfortable giving the same tasks to a male personal assistant, or if you've somehow unconsciously engineered a large financial/power imbalance, in the disparity between your gross yearly income and what you pay your assistant to do the duties of a "stay-at-home wife". and exactly what you think her role really is.

Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#29

Post by version_five »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #18
version_five wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My interpretation was that the person likes doing their work and wants to outsource distractions. For a fixed amount of work / day, it's better to spend as much as possible where you're most effective, imo. I have a cleaner and order takeout not because I'm theoretically too busy to clean and cook, but because I'd rather outsource so I can do other stuff. Put another way, trade is better for everyone.

But it doesn't matter if you like doing your work. If you're working all the time, to the point where you can't arrange a doctor's appointment, you're working way too much. When you're in a leadership position, it's a matter of time until it impacts the rest of the team. The one personal task that takes a lot of time that I'd consider outsourcing would be to go to the store to pick up my prescriptions. But even that…

> If it's a work necessity, they should consider making a personal assistant a company benefit

I have seen workplaces with concierge service for employees to handle personal tasks - I'm actually surprised this isn't more popular. Tech companies definitely are known for meals and snacks and coffee being provided, I think that is in the same direction.

To your question, scheduling meetings and travel can be a huge time suck, especially for a CEO that would have lots of both and rapidly changing plans. Logistics for meetings - "party planning" can be a big job and depending on the size of the company there may not be someone separate to do that.

Personal stuff like changing addresses, filling forms for whatever, waiting to have a mattress delivered (I had a former boss send an EA for this), anything where you have to be on hold on the phone. All this admin stuff only increases as you get busy, and it would be great to have someone to deal with it.

Plus there are always special projects - pulling info together for a presentation or something, looking for a vendor for something. I think I'm talking myself into hiring one...

Re: Ask HN: I’d like to hire a personal/executive assistant – any tips or advice?

#30

Post by londons_explore »

randycupertino wrote: post #11

Oversight is extremely important for a PA. We had one at one of my old firms charging 10k of personal charges to her boss' cards and then just approving it herself because she did the invoicing and his approvals. If I recall, she billed a $470 custom tiered birthday cake for her boyfriend to the card and also had her Equinox membership on it. EAs are safer ground and less risk but with PAs they can become too entrenc…

And yet expensing $470 for a custom cake for an important client who's birthday party you have to miss because you're heading up the shareholder meeting may be money very well spent.

As long as most of the $470's are well spent, and total value for money is better than someone else could achieve, I don't actually mind who's boyfriend gets a fancy cake. But I do need to have confidence that I'm seeing enough of the picture to know that money is being well spent overall, even if that doesn't apply to every individual dollar.

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