A Private Secretary is engaged by a very busy and important person to assist them in the discharge of their daily personal and confidential duties.

The private secretary must be a conscientious worker capable of understanding the full implica tion of any correspondence and sometimes he/she has to alter, rectify, improve or completely rewrite the dictation given by his employer.

A Private Secretary has exceptional secretarial skills as well as the ability to be charming and discreet rather like ‘Miss Moneypenny’ in the James Bond movies, who is PS to the director of MI5

Duties, Skills & Qualifications

  • Exceptional secretarial skills
  • The ability to alter, rectify, improve or completely rewrite the dictation given by his employer.
  • Educated to degree level
  • Have good knowledge of English— both written and spoken. Has to make corre spondence, write reports, minutes etc. in English.
  • Must have good communication skills. The secretary has to explain a lot to other persons.
  • Must have a dynamic personality and pleasing behaviour.
  • Have a sharp memory and must be hard-working.
  • Have knowledge of office organi sation, procedures and rules.
  • Have advanced knowledge of all Microsoft Office software.

Working Hours of a Personal Assistant

A Private Secretary usually works 5 days a week and an 8 hour day.

Salary of a Private Personal Assistant

The average salary of a Private Secretary is £50,000 to £70,000 often commanding a higher salary when they are on-call out of hours.