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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?

#151

Post by anyfactor »

I sideproject an afforable VA business so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Build a framework or guideline set. Be as descriptive as possible. Have room for errors but don't expect them to come up with creative solutions. Subsitute expectation with pleasant surprise and instrucions with needs.

You want someone to be an extent of yourself but that doesn't mean they are going extend you, unless you are super forgiving of mistakes and you are extra ordinary in your communication.

Always try to document communication if possible. Helps you to control their mistakes and helps them to remind you when you are being forgetful. Balance postive phrasing, directness and empathy.

This advice set seems a bit too exaggerated but in our remote work setting that is fundamental. But for irl there is some leeway.

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

#152

Post by ZephyrBlu »

listenallyall wrote: post #108
jw1224 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

I'm certainly no doctor or authorized to give any diagnosis, but not being interested in running errands like grocery shopping, or tasks like invoicing, is not related to, or a sign of, ADHD. I think most people, including myself, find those tasks boring and tedious and would rather do other things.

OP doesn't imply he has ADHD because of not being interested in errands. Quite the opposite.

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

#153

Post by vzaliva »

I am also a CEO and while my work EA duties are covered I ocassionaly need some help with personal stuff. I decided it is not enough to hire a proper EA, and for several years now using Magic ( https://app.getmagic.com/s/MkD2hLR ) for occassional tasks like rebooking airplaine tickets, finding last minute appointement slot, etc. I am very happy with the experience.

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

#154

Post by bryanrasmussen »

wly_cdgr wrote: post #89

Hire someone from roughly your own socioeconomic class and cultural background who won't be tempted to defraud you and just wants a low stress part time job while they work on some personal creative project that requires a high level of intelligence and expertise but pays little (e.g. literary translation, experimental opera, etc), respect their time boundaries, and you'll have a loyal and capable ally for as long as…

>Hire someone from roughly your own socioeconomic class and cultural background who won't be tempted to defraud you and just wants a low stress part time job while they work on some personal creative project

The original argument was that you don't want someone who will be tempted to leave soon, because that then is a waste of the time spent training them.

How about pay someone from a lower socioeconomic class enough that they won't be tempted to defraud you, and don't be a jerk to them.

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

#155

Post by Johnny555 »

jacquesm wrote: post #134
sulam wrote: post #8

I’ve had an EA for three years dedicated to me (before that in my career it was always shared). They are definitely a super power, but only if you trust them. They really have to have a lot of context to do things you’d normally be doing. Without that trust you aren’t going to be getting the full potential out of the role. I’ll give one example. My EA is aware that I have a desire to take some time off through the re…

EAs on a mission for their boss are a major pain in the behind, they tend to act as though their boss is the most important person in the universe, which inside the company they work for may well be the case, but they tend to project that well outside the company as well. They also tend to consume a disproportionate amount of time in others to save their precious boss a few minutes. The main function of EAs for peopl…

I'll have my EA contact your EA to set up a date for a five minute phone call

I’m not even an executive but this is a big time suck with someone outside your organization so you can’t see their calendar. I wish I could outsource this to an EA

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

#156

Post by andi999 »

FpUser wrote: post #101
mgraczyk wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My take is that the difference here that makes this socially acceptable is that there is a large reduction in total cost when the employee uses the office printer. If an employee uses a printer, the cost is the ink and paper. If the employee did it themselves, they would either need to take a special trip to a print shop or invest in a printer themselves. The total cost of the latter is much higher, maybe $5-$10 of t…

BS. Either is stealing and your attempt at rationalization does not make it something else. We just tolerate some things and level of tolerance varies greatly. There are bosses who would nail you to the wall should you take a pen with you and I also know bosses who would tolerate that $500 cake taken by PA.

Don't forget electricity theft by charging personal mobile phone. And time theft by posting to a forum during work.

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

#157

Post by endymi0n »

I'm at the same stage currently, and while I have lots of experience hiring developers, I'm a bit stuck at what to ask a PA/EA and how to evaluate it. Do you go with any test tasks, stuff like that? Happy to hear from your experience.

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

#158

Post by lvs »

wly_cdgr wrote: post #89

Hire someone from roughly your own socioeconomic class and cultural background who won't be tempted to defraud you and just wants a low stress part time job while they work on some personal creative project that requires a high level of intelligence and expertise but pays little (e.g. literary translation, experimental opera, etc), respect their time boundaries, and you'll have a loyal and capable ally for as long as…

This suggestion reads as incredibly bigoted. Like, off the charts bigoted.

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

#159

Post by dkdk8283 »

abstract_put wrote: post #142
Godel_unicode wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of people in this thread who seem outraged because someone is expected to have skills they don't have. I personally know both people who are, and people who have, this type of help. There are people in this world who are very good at empathizing and very good at organizing, and those people can make a ton of money as what used to be known as being a majordomo. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majordomo

This is definitely a weird thread in that regard. Maybe people aren't appreciating how many people will do all sorts of things for money? The more outrageous requirements require a more trusting relationship between employer and employee, certainly, and a skilled EA (or majordomo, it seems) is hugely valuable. My EA-style friend is in a major US city right now supervising the construction of a house - that absolutely…

I think the background outrage levels are abnormal, doesn’t take much for someone to be on tilt.

Could also be some folks thinking if you earn enough to afford an assistant than you earn too much.

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

#160

Post by Closi »

rewgs wrote: post #138

Throughout my 20s (in my 30s now) I worked as a film composer in Hollywood, land of personal assistants. One thing I took to heart was that the best personal assistants weren't looking to use the opportunity get elsewhere. What you want is someone who wants to stay in that role, because as a lot of other comments here point out, it takes a lot of time for the person to learn enough about you to become truly useful ra…

> I.e. you want someone who just wants "a job" and doesn't necessarily want to move on from it.

> Meaning: you must pay them quite well, and not work them too terribly hard. Remember that this is someone who works to live. Give them firm boundaries and time off.

This is counterintuitive but such good advice.

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