Preparing for a job interview as a PA

A young woman in a T shirt is being interviewed by an older woman

If you’re invited to an interview to be a Personal Assistant, here are some tips to help you feel prepared.

Who will be involved in the interview?

There may be a few people involved in your interview for a PA role.

The person you will be assisting as a PA may also be your legal Employer, and they may choose to do the interview on their own.

Some Employers employ Personal Assistants on behalf of a loved one, who is the person needing support. In this case it’s likely you will meet both the legal Employer and the person you’re going to be supporting at the interview.

Some Employers ask for help from a local support organisation with interviews. So there may be someone from a local organisation, who is advising and supporting the Employer, involved in the interview too.

It’s very important that you speak directly to the Employer, or the person being supported, during the interview. This is the case even if someone else is helping the employer to ask the interview questions. The employer is the person who will ultimately decide who is employed, and they will want to see how you communicate with them and/or the person you will be supporting.

Interviews are two-way

The interview is your potential employer’s chance to find out about you, but it’s also your chance to find out about them.

As a PA, having a good relationship with the person you’re supporting and your employer (if this is someone different) is really important. The interview is your chance to get a feel for whether you would get on with the person you’re going to be working for.

It’s also your chance to find out more about the nature of the job – how many hours you’ll be working, if there is a set shift pattern, if you’ll be working alongside other PAs or on your own.

Hopefully the job advertisement will have given you a good idea of what the person you will be supporting is like, their interests and how they want to be supported. The interview is your chance to find out more. It’s a good idea to make a note of anything you want to ask questions about before the interview.

Interview etiquette

When you apply for a job as a PA, remember you will be working for one individual and not a large company. If you are invited for an interview, the employer will have taken time out of their own life to arrange this, and it’s important you respect that.

If for whatever reason you can’t make the interview, or you decide you are no longer interested in the job, let the person who has invited you for interview know as soon as possible.

Timekeeping is likely to be very important to many PA Employers, so turning up on time for your interview is a sure fire way to make a good first impression!