About Me

CV: I am a graduate with over 12 years professional experience working as a PA/Administrator at director level in the UK and USA in both multi-national blue chip and small to medium sized companies, across a variety of sectors. Career highlights:

Director's PA, international management consultancy - Duties included: extensive diary, travel, expenses management; work on confidential staff management projects; production of client proposals and presentations; and cover for colleagues out of the office.

Scheduler for consultancy - Managed overseas (psychometric) assessment centre projects for clients including: setting up schedules for assessments; contacting candidates; arranging assessment centre logistics with contacts on the ground overseas; document collation; and travel arrangements for company consultants.  These projects involved scheduling up to 40+ candidates, usually over a two-week period.

PA within executive recruitment - Managed administration for both search and selection assignments including: formatting proposals; producing text for ads; updating tables of searched candidates (in conjunction with the research department); production of candidate reports; and client and candidate liaison at all levels.

I am happy to supply a full curriculum vitae and references upon request.

Why I love being a VA: I get to choose the people I work with, and the projects I work on.  I work with coaches who work with very different clients, so I have great variety in my working day: one minute I could be doing research on venues and the next answering questions from someone enquiring about the coach training programme I administrate.  I enjoy developing client relationships, spending time in getting to know the people I work with and the nature of their businesses.   This enables me to pro-actively come up with ways in which I could assist that they have probably not yet thought of themselves!  I enjoy organising and taking responsibility for the ad-hoc projects in which I become involved.  I have flexibility in my working hours freeing me up to pursue other interests and create a great work/life balance.

Last Great book I read: Girl with a Pearl Earring (can you imagine someone describing a painting in progress to someone who couldn't see...? that's the quality of writing!)

Most humbling moment: Realising my opinion counts for nothing in the wider scheme of things...

If I could be anywhere at the moment: Living a couple of blocks from the sea is fine by me!

Favourite albums: Kosheen, Billie Holiday, Aimee Mann, Cesaria Evora, Dixie Chicks, soundtrack to Lost in Translation.

Five items I can't live without: Mac PowerBook, statue of Buddha, good independent films at my local arthouse cinema, Montezuma chocolate, my tattoos (lucky I guess, they don't wash off!)

What you'll find in my house: zen-like calm, framed black and white prints I took in Venice above my desk, loads of books, a strange cube with a light inside on my kitchen counter, fresh flowers in a drinking glass in my window.