Personal Assistant CV Example

A personal assistant CV is your audition for the role: immaculate formatting, zero typos, and a structure that mirrors the order and precision you bring to a principal's calendar. Keep it to two pages, reverse-chronological, and lead every section with the skills that matter most to PA work.

Format and length

Two pages maximum. Use a clean, professional layout with consistent fonts (11-12pt), clear section headings, and plenty of white space. Any formatting inconsistency or typo signals you might let the principal's diary slip, so proofread obsessively and ask a friend to check again.

Section order

1. Personal statement (3-4 lines), lead with diary management, years of experience, and the seniority of principal you support.
2. Key skills (8-12 bullet points), diary/calendar tools, gatekeeping, travel, expenses, confidentiality.
3. Experience (reverse-chronological), most recent PA role first, 3-4 achievement bullets per role.
4. Education, degree and A-levels, plus any PA or Microsoft Office certifications.
5. Additional information, languages, driving licence if relevant for a private PA role.

Personal statement

Lead with diary and schedule management (the single most critical PA skill), then name the seniority of principal you support (e.g. "C-suite executive", "high-net-worth entrepreneur") and the sector. Tailor this to the target role: PA work for a creative founder differs sharply from supporting a corporate director, so mirror the industry in your statement. Close with confidentiality and trust.

Experience bullets

Every bullet should show volume, impact, or proactivity. Quantify diary complexity (meetings per week), inbox load (emails and calls per day), travel savings, or scheduling improvements. Use the research-backed pattern: action verb, specific task, measurable result.

Skills

Name the specific tools you run a principal's life on: Outlook or Google Calendar for diary, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google Workspace, expense platforms (Concur, Expensify), and any CRM or travel-booking systems. A Microsoft Office Specialist certification is worth listing prominently in your achievements section.

Education and certifications

List your degree and A-levels, then any PA-specific qualifications (e.g. IAM Diploma in Executive PA Practice) or Microsoft Office certifications. These prove formal competence in the tools and standards of the role.

PA experience bullets must prove you can handle volume, bring order, and think one step ahead for your principal. Use the pattern: action verb, specific task (diary/inbox/travel/expenses), measurable result. Every bullet should answer "how much?" or "how well?" to show you can manage the load.

The result-plus-metric pattern

Weak bullets list duties ("responsible for diary management"). Strong bullets show outcomes with numbers: meetings per week, emails per day, travel savings, or scheduling improvements.

Show gatekeeping explicitly

A PA is the single point of contact between one busy manager and the outside world. Name email and call volumes, describe how you filter and prioritise, and show you correspond on the principal's behalf. This proves you protect their time.

Before: Provided administrative support to senior manager.

After: Acted as primary gatekeeper for managing director, screening 150+ daily emails and 40 calls, drafting responses to clients and internal teams, and escalating only critical matters requiring personal attention.

Demonstrate proactivity

The best PA bullets show you anticipate needs before being asked: pre-empting diary clashes, prepping briefing notes ahead of meetings, reordering the day when plans change. This "thinking one step ahead for one person" is what separates a top PA from generic admin.

Before: Prepared materials for meetings.

After: Prepared comprehensive briefing packs ahead of board meetings and client pitches, anticipating information needs and ensuring principal was fully prepared without prompting.

Action verbs for PA work

Use verbs that convey organisation, discretion and proactivity: managed, coordinated, screened, prioritised, filtered, reconciled, negotiated, prepared, anticipated, liaised, maintained, organised, optimised, resolved, supported.

Most PA roles require at least A-levels; many prefer a degree, though the subject matters less than your organisational track record. What sets candidates apart are PA-specific certifications and Microsoft Office qualifications, which prove formal competence in the tools you use daily.

Qualifications to include

• Degree, list your degree and field of study, even if unrelated to PA work. A degree signals professionalism and written communication skills.
• A-levels, include subjects and grades if recent or strong (AAB+). Omit if you have a degree and several years of PA experience.
• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), the single most valuable PA certification. MOS Expert (covering Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) proves advanced competence in the tools that run a principal's life. List this prominently in your achievements section.
• IAM Diploma in Executive PA Practice, issued by the Institute of Administrative Management, this is the UK's leading PA qualification. It covers diary management, business writing, meeting coordination and professional standards.
• Shorthand (Teeline or Pitman), less common now, but still valued in legal or parliamentary PA roles where verbatim note-taking matters.

How to present certifications

List certifications in a dedicated "Achievements" or "Professional qualifications" section after your education. Include the full name of the certification, the issuing body, and the year obtained (if recent). For example:

• Microsoft Office Specialist Expert certification (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Microsoft, 2025
• IAM Diploma in Executive PA Practice, Institute of Administrative Management, 2024

If you lack formal PA qualifications

Lead with your degree and any relevant admin or business modules (e.g. business communication, project management). Then lean heavily on your experience section to prove competence through results: diary complexity managed, travel savings achieved, inbox volume handled. Employers care more about proven capability than certificates, but an MOS cert is a quick, affordable way to stand out.