EA PROFILE
“ Find the boss who trusts you implicitly and it will be the most rewarding role you ’ ll ever have ”
Cathryn Smith , PA at WSP , is a highly experienced assistant , having been in the role since she left university – but a mid-pandemic acquisition pushed her firmly out of her comfort zone . We found out more …
How did you become an assistant ? Whilst at school , I decided to take a secretarial course so I could take on temporary roles to help pay for university . I completed my journalism degree but for various reasons decided that it wasn ’ t something I wanted to progress . I had been temping for various companies and one made me an offer to continue working for them as an assistant – but also doing their marketing to use my degree . So , my first PA role was my first full-time job outside of university .
What are your main responsibilities now ? My role is a bit of a hybrid – as I have a professional qualification in my industry , a certain percentage of my time is spent as a project manager . In terms of the assistant role , it has never been very traditional and has always been more on the strategic side , assisting with the running of the business rather than dictation and meeting bookings .
How has your role at WSP evolved ? In 2019 the company I had worked for for the previous 15 years was acquired by a multi-national firm . There were huge challenges during the acquisition which really pushed me out of my comfort zone , assisting the finance and HR directors with shareholdings , novation of clients , internal communications and much more . The acquisition was completed just two months before the pandemic hit and so it was a bit of a perfect storm .
There were new systems and procedures to learn but we were having to do it remotely and on our own . I was the first port of call for a lot of people to talk through their problems and issues , and my role over the past couple of years has been around helping the team integrate into the new business . I need to ensure they understand the new systems whilst being able to do their day-to-day jobs .
What are the most important parts of your role ? I think it ’ s the softer side of the job that ’ s the most important . Knowing that you ’ re a safe pair of hands who can be left to get on with a task , being a sounding board for decisions and tough days . These are all the things that they probably don ’ t even realise they need , but if they didn ’ t have them , life would be much tougher .
What skill or technology do you rely on most ? If you ’ d have asked me this a couple of years ago , I would probably have had a very different answer . Now , I can honestly say I don ’ t know how we would have coped during the pandemic without Teams . I can ’ t say I enjoy sitting on video calls all day ( and am very glad more face-to-face meetings are coming back ) but I think life would have been much harder without it .
How do you find the work / life balance ? The pandemic really affected my work / life balance as it ’ s difficult to know when to log on and , more importantly , when to log off when you ’ re on your own at home every day . Putting in boundaries has helped . When I ’ m working at home , I make sure I take some time at lunch to go out for a walk and have a defined logging off time . I ’ m one of those people who is much more productive in the office , so I ’ m back in four or five days a week . I think it ’ s very easy when you ’ re an assistant to believe you ’ re at someone ’ s beck and call 24 hours a day , and it takes experience and discipline to not answer emails out of hours . It ’ s something I ’ m getting better at but I ’ m not quite there yet .
What training and professional development have you undertaken in your career ? I ’ ve spent the last few years learning more about strategic management and leadership as being an EA and PA is now more about being part of the running of businesses , rather than the traditional secretarial tasks . With my journalism background , I ’ ve also run writing skills training courses for the past 15 years . It ’ s always great to get feedback from people and see them take on board some of the skills and techniques .
What advice do you wish an established assistant could have given you at the outset of your career ? Have confidence ! However flustered or stressed you might be , don ’ t let other people see it . Find that one colleague you can trust so you can bounce ideas off them , go to them for advice and , most importantly , let them talk you down from the ceiling when you need it ! Also , find the boss who trusts you implicitly and it will be the most rewarding role you ’ ll ever have . S
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50 Executive PA | Winter Issue 2022