Where to Find a Personal Assistant: A Practical Hiring Guide for Busy Professionals
Hiring a personal assistant (PA) is often less about “finding a unicorn” and more about matching the right sourcing channel and expectations to the kind of help you actually need. This guide walks through common places to look, how to screen candidates, and what to set up so the relationship works over time.
What “Personal Assistant” Can Mean in Practice
The title “personal assistant” covers a wide range: calendar triage, travel logistics, household vendor coordination, inbox sorting, bill pay support, gift tracking, appointment scheduling, and sometimes light project management. Before you recruit, decide which “lane” you need.
| Role Type | Typical Focus | Best Fit When You Need… |
|---|---|---|
| In-person PA | Errands, home coordination, in-person scheduling, vendor oversight | Physical tasks and local presence |
| Virtual assistant (VA) | Email/calendar support, travel planning, research, coordination | Remote coverage and flexible hours |
| Executive assistant (EA) | High-context planning, stakeholder coordination, gatekeeping, meeting prep | Complex scheduling and strong business judgment |
| Household manager | Staff/vendor management, maintenance schedules, household operations | Ongoing home systems and multiple vendors |
A helpful framing: you are not “buying time” in general. You are buying reliable execution inside a defined scope. The clearer the scope, the easier it is to hire and retain the right person.
Where to Look: The Most Common Sourcing Channels
Most successful hires come from a small set of channels. Each has tradeoffs in speed, quality, and risk. Consider starting with two channels at once: one “high-trust” and one “high-volume.”
| Sourcing Channel | Why It Works | Watchouts |
|---|---|---|
| Referrals (friends, colleagues, trusted service providers) | Higher trust, better signal on reliability and discretion | Smaller pool; avoid skipping formal screening |
| Recruiting or staffing firms (admin/EA specialties) | Pre-screened candidates, faster shortlists, role matching | Fees; quality varies by firm; clarify expectations upfront |
| Local universities (business/administration programs) | Motivated candidates for part-time or early-career roles | May require training; availability can follow school calendars |
| Online marketplaces (remote admin/VA listings) | Large pool, niche skills, quick outreach | Signal-to-noise; must test and verify carefully |
| Specialized assistant agencies (managed matching) | Process-driven matching, backups, standardized onboarding | Less direct control; ongoing fees; confirm data handling |
| Household staffing networks (household manager, estate roles) | Strong fit for home operations and vendor management | Often higher compensation expectations; local market constraints |
If you are unsure whether you need in-person or remote support, begin with a VA for 4–8 weeks. You can always transition the role into in-person later once the task list is proven.
How to Screen Without Overcomplicating It
Screening is about confirming three things: judgment, communication, and follow-through. A simple process is usually enough:
- Written intake: availability, location/time zone, top 3 strengths, comfort with sensitive information.
- Short call: confirm clarity, tone, and how they handle ambiguity.
- Reference checks: ask about reliability, discretion, and error recovery.
- Trial task: small, realistic work sample (paid, time-boxed).
For background checks, rules vary by location and what you’re checking. In the U.S., the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a key framework when using background reporting companies and requires notice/authorization steps. If you operate in the U.S., it can be helpful to review the FTC’s overview: Employer background checks and your rights. For equal employment considerations, the EEOC provides general guidance: Background checks: what employers need to know.
Trial Tasks and a Simple Working Interview
A trial task should look like the real job and reveal how the person thinks. Keep it small and practical. Examples that often work well:
- Find 3 travel itinerary options under constraints (time windows, seating preferences, loyalty programs).
- Draft a weekly plan for recurring life/admin tasks (renewals, appointments, vendor follow-ups).
- Create a short list of service providers (plumber/electrician/house cleaner) with call scripts and availability.
- Summarize competing options and recommend next steps, including what’s unknown.
What to evaluate is less “did they guess your taste perfectly” and more: Did they ask the right clarifying questions, document assumptions, and deliver on time?
Compensation, Scope, and “What You’re Really Paying For”
Compensation varies widely by geography, seniority, and whether the role is personal-only, business-only, or mixed. The biggest driver of cost is usually not the task list itself, but the level of context and responsibility.
| Scope Level | What Changes | Typical Signal |
|---|---|---|
| Task execution | Clear instructions, checklists, predictable tasks | Hourly/part-time often works |
| Coordination | Multiple stakeholders, rescheduling, vendor chasing | Retainer or consistent weekly hours helps |
| Judgment + gatekeeping | Priority decisions, handling ambiguity, protecting your attention | Senior EA-style compensation expectations |
A common failure pattern is hiring too junior for an ambiguous role. If you want someone to “figure it out,” you are implicitly hiring for judgment—price accordingly.
Basic Compliance and Classification Considerations
If you hire directly, you may need to consider whether the person is an employee or an independent contractor. In the U.S., the IRS summarizes factors used to determine worker classification and related tax responsibilities: Independent contractor or employee?
If the role is treated as employment, wage/hour rules can apply. For general U.S. baseline context, the U.S. Department of Labor provides an overview: Minimum wage (U.S. DOL). Local laws may be more specific than federal baselines, so it is often reasonable to consult a local professional for setup.
This section is informational and not legal advice. Requirements can change by jurisdiction and by the details of the working relationship.
Privacy, Security, and Access Control
Assistants often need access to calendars, email, travel accounts, and sometimes financial or identity information. A practical approach is to design access like a “least privilege” system: grant only what’s needed, and expand slowly.
- Separate accounts: create role-based logins (where possible) instead of sharing your primary credentials.
- Password manager: share access via a password manager’s sharing controls rather than plaintext.
- Two-factor authentication: enable 2FA and use recovery methods you control.
- Spending controls: use virtual cards or low-limit cards for purchases that require payment.
- Documentation: keep a simple access register (what they can access and why).
If you want a structured privacy lens, the NIST Privacy Framework can be a useful reference for thinking in terms of governance, risk, and controls (even for small setups): NIST Privacy Framework.
Onboarding That Prevents Chaos
Most assistant relationships fail in onboarding, not in talent. A lightweight system can prevent repeated explanations. Aim to hand over a “starter kit” in the first week:
- Task inventory: a running list of tasks you want delegated (even messy is fine at first).
- Preferences doc: travel, scheduling rules, vendors you like, communication style, “do not do” items.
- Decision rules: what they can decide vs. what must be escalated.
- Weekly cadence: one short check-in plus an async update format (bullet summary + open questions).
- Quality bar: examples of a “good” deliverable (screenshots, samples, templates).
If you are new to delegating, start with low-risk tasks and expand scope as reliability is demonstrated. That gradual expansion is often how trust becomes operational rather than assumed.
Red Flags to Watch For
- Vagueness under pressure: avoids clarifying questions, then delivers off-target work.
- Overpromising: says “yes” to everything but misses deadlines or forgets details.
- Poor documentation: cannot explain what was done, what’s pending, and what risks remain.
- Boundary issues: requests broad access too early or pushes into sensitive areas without a need.
- Defensiveness: treats feedback as conflict rather than a calibration tool.
Quick FAQ
Is it better to hire part-time first?
Often yes. Part-time reduces risk while you learn what you actually need. If the role proves valuable, expanding hours is easier than redesigning the job from scratch.
Should I hire a “doer” or a “planner”?
If you mainly need errands and vendor chasing, optimize for execution and reliability. If you need someone to protect your attention and make judgment calls, prioritize seniority and communication.
How do I avoid turning this into more work for me?
Use two habits: (1) maintain a single running task list, and (2) require a consistent update format that includes open questions and next actions. The goal is to make status visible without meetings.
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