As I reach the official middle-age mark of life this month, in no particular order for the most part, these are just 50 things I have learnt from being an Assistant for half my life:

1. Genuine logic is not a learnt skill, it is a personal quality that you are born with.

   
   

2. Being assertive whilst also being subservient gets you into trouble most of the time.

   
   

3. Going with your gut and getting someone to accompany you when carrying a six figure sum in cash around a capital city is smart.

   
   

4. Saying ‘Yes’ to everything whilst progressing in your career isn’t likely to do you any favours.

   
   

5. Upward management is a real skill that can only really be developed through experience.

   
   

6. Looks aren’t going to get you through the task of accurately benchmarking funds when you haven’t got a clue in what you are doing.

   
   

7. Remaining polite to people that think that you are ‘just a’ secretary is more challenging than the role itself.

   
   

8. Dealing with the politics, bitching and backstabbing of social climbers is not something that you should ever have to comply with.

   
   

9. There will always be peers that you thought were genuine friends and cheerleaders but let you down more than anyone else in your life.

   
   

10. It is never the job that makes you decide to leave – it is always the people.

    
    

11. Accepting poor behaviour, including sexual harassment, to avoid ’rocking the boat’ is not only sad, it’s irresponsible.

    
    

12. Working with like-minded professionals brings a mutually beneficial and genuine partnership.

    
    

13. There isn’t any job that should be off the table – if you can do it, do it.

    
    

14. Keeping counsel is expected and so if you aren’t good at keeping things ‘under your hat’ you are probably better suited to an alternative career.

    
    

15. Knowing the person you are supporting really well, including what values and beliefs they hold, allows you to act quickly and efficiently in pretty much any given situation.

    
    

16. Cutting corners is never going to end well and making sure every eventuality is covered will lead to a successful result most of the time.

    
    

17. Being able to ‘shut off’ is almost impossible when you care about what you do and who you look after.

    
    

18. ‘Out of office’ is often and ironically a myth to the person who bangs on about the importance of ‘work-life balance’.

    
    

19. When a ‘good sense of humour’ is stated as a preference on a job spec it really means that you should be prepared for taking crap from almost anyone.

    
    

20. A sense of humour is essential in the role you do because laughing, even if it is kept to yourself, is sometimes the only way.

    
    

21. Setting up processes and systems that work for you are the key to keeping organised and ahead of the game.

    
    

22. Hypothesising about hypothesising is what makes a person great when supporting someone else.

    
    

23. Gauging whether you would be able to financially cover a mistake personally is a good parameter in making decisions that could be costly.

    
    

24. Respecting those leading a business is motivation in itself to do the best job you can because you want to.

    
    

25. There are always different means of achieving the same result and respecting others’ ways of doing things is educational.

    
    

26. Mentoring and line managing people is counterintuitive but not impossible – it just takes empathy.

    
    

27. It’s funny that being the eyes and ears of an office is highly valued but being the voice is often seen as divisive or bolshy!

    
    

28. When the time spent in your notice period exceeds the time before you tendered your resignation in that company proves what type of person you are.

    
    

29. Making a major mistake is the last time it will happen and that beating yourself up for it excessively is of no benefit to anyone.

    
    

30. Getting caught up in the monopoly money that comes with supporting high net worth people can be easy but remaining grounded is what will keep you true to yourself.

    
    

31. Integrity is underrated – it really can and should make the difference to anyone that you work with.

    
    

32. Being the only Assistant who doesn’t complain the air-conditioning is making the office too cold is not going to win you friends.

    
    

33. Enjoying the opportunities and experiences afforded to you provides a great variety of self-growth and development.

    
    

34. Genuinely getting on with the relatives of the person you support makes daily life for everyone much easier.

    
    

35. Treating everyone that you deal with, from contractors and suppliers to stakeholders and Board members, in the same way earns a high level of respect.

    
    

36. Admitting to a mistake made as soon as its discovered invites mutual trust to be built.

    
    

37. Sourcing and procuring antique tractor parts from Texas to be delivered to one of the most remote parts of the UK with little mobile signal is no easy feat.

    
    

38. Taking a step back when someone else offers to organise something proves to be almost impossible in your personal life.

    
    

39. Doing it ‘for the money’ is not worth the mental health challenges that many Assistants experience!

    
    

40. Resenting what the business pays out for things that you might not value is difficult to accept but it’s not personal.

    
    

41. Knowing your real worth is worth more than hearing that ‘no one is indispensable!’

    
    

42. Being spread too thinly and doing more than is realistically possible is a sure way of securing low quality results and burnout quickly.

    
    

43. Going into work every day and not enjoying what you do is never going to improve – stop wasting any more of your time or others and leave!

    
    

44. Making friends in the office is not compulsory, it is unlikely you will keep in touch with many of them when you all move on.

    
    

45. But there will be the one or two people you work with that will remain friends for life (you know who you are!)

    
    

46. Being yourself throughout your career will be valued, if not by others, by yourself when it’s all done and finished.

    
    

47. “It will only take a minute” is a sure sign that the person doesn’t value your time or has any concept of what you actually do.

    
    

48. “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals!” (Stolen from Simon Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time at the time of writing with 41 combined Olympic and World Championship medals (7 Olympic and 23 World Championship Gold).

    
    

49. You can say ‘no’ to dusting a collection of taxidermy and buying fresh lilies every week even though you know you shouldn’t.

    
    

50. You can’t get a king-sized bed through a door that’s too narrow even if you do put more bubble wrap around it!

There it is.  

Just 50 things I have learnt during varied and interesting scenarios I have found myself in as an Assistant.

Bring on the next 50... maybe!

If you are ready to work with someone who has gained their skills as an Assistant through the experience of working for half their life as one, get in touch.

Anna

anna@akavirtualassistant.com