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Office & Administration vocabulary · Office Roles & Everyday Admin

Personal assistant

Meaning in office & administration, with examples

nounCore term

In office & administration, personal assistant means: An assistant who works for one senior person, managing their calendar, emails, travel and meetings and often handling private or confidential matters.

In Turkish: yönetici asistanı, özel asistan, kişisel asistan

How it is used

Usually shortened to PA: "She's the CEO's PA." An executive assistant (EA) does similar work at a more senior level and often runs projects too. A PA acts as a gatekeeper, deciding who gets time with their manager.

Example sentences

  1. If you want time with the director, speak to her personal assistant first.

  2. As a personal assistant, I manage two calendars and book all of his travel.

Common collocations

  • work as a personal assistant
  • PA to the CEO
  • executive assistant
  • personal assistant role
  • administrative assistantA person who does the daily office tasks of a team or company, such as answering calls, managing calendars, filing documents and ordering supplies.
  • calendarA record of a person's or team's meetings, appointments and events, usually kept in software that colleagues can see and add meetings to.
  • itineraryA detailed plan of a journey, listing flights, trains, hotels, meetings and times in order, usually prepared before a business trip.
  • confidentialPrivate and meant to be seen only by certain people, such as salary details, contracts or personal information about staff and clients.
  • office managerThe person responsible for the smooth running of an office, including facilities, supplies, admin staff, office budgets and contact with suppliers.

More terms: Office Roles & Everyday Admin

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