We’ve all probably seen the Oscar nominated film ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ at least once! Don’t you just cringe at the very thought of having to work for the icy Editor-in-Chief Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep. Of course, you just might put up with her eccentricities if you knew that at the end of ‘parole’ you could have your pick of jobs not to mention choice of Jimmy Choos!

In the same vein the position of PA to publishing mogul Daniel Meade might

be more to your taste as you take over from Betty Suarez. The title ‘Ugly Betty’doesn’t sit well with many of us but what Betty supposedly lacked in beauty she more than made up for with brain!

The commonality between these two productions is the importance of

the role of a Personal Assistant, which at best can be described as potentially

glamorous at worst downright tough! According to Wikipedia… ‘Personal

Assistants must apply excellent organisational skills, tact, diplomacy, effective communication skills, maintain confidentiality in sensitive matters, and display excellent judgement’.

Aligned with these skills, PAs also appear to possess ‘special’ skills which

allow them predict what their employers need and take care of them before they are asked to! If only they could forecast the lottery numbers! Here at WMB, we wanted to find out more about the true role of the Personal Assistant in Ireland Inc.Grainne O’Rourke heads up a dedicated PA Division at recruitment consultants, maryb.ie and we asked her about her experiences.

“maryb.ie is unique for many reasons.We are guided by our core principles of service, personal attention and commitment. Above all, we believe in treating our clients and candidates alike with the utmost integrity. We are most definitely about quality over quantity. To my knowledge we are one of the only agencies in Dublin operating a PA Division — marketed solely towards PA’s — where a consultant is specialising in the recruitment of PA’s for MD’s &

CEO’s. I think this really highlights how much importance we place on the role

of a PA.” Traditionally the function of the PA was portrayed as that of Private

Secretary to the MD of a firm. But has this stereotypical view altered over

the years?

“In the past, PAs were seen as glorified secretaries with a fancy title — they did the same work as that of a secretary but that has changed. PAs now effectively manage the MD’s life, not just for business but often in their personal life too. PAs are now viewed as a very important part of

the mix in running a business', according to Grainne.

 

For the full article you can pick up a copy of the Women Mean Business Magazine at all good newsagents or log onto www.womenmeanbusiness.com for further information.

 

Words by Rosemary Delaney, Women Mean Business.