Executive Assistant vs. Personal Assistant: Which One Do You Need?
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably decided you need an assistant—but you’re not exactly sure which kind of assistant you need. Or maybe you’ve decided to become an assistant yourself and you’re wondering which type of position would be right for you.
Many different assistant positions have similar job titles, but differing responsibilities. This often causes confusion and even frustration for both business leaders and assistants alike, especially when roles end up not matching expectations!
At 33Vincent, we’ve spent nearly a decade focusing on nothing but Executive Assistants—and we run into these types of questions all the time. So we’ve decided to create an entire series dedicated to explaining the differences (and similarities!) between the many types of assistants.
| Personal Assistant | Executive Assistant |
|---|---|
| Shopping for groceries, household items, etc. | Managing meetings and projects |
| Running errands | Prioritizing your tasklist + work time |
| Managing your personal family calendar | Full travel and event planning |
| Basic household tidying | Coordinating several calendars |
| Taking children or pets to appointments | Systems and process management |
| Sending or receiving personal emails | Managing your entire business inbox |
| Setting up personal meetings | Updating and maintaining CRMs |
What Does a Personal Assistant Do?
As the name implies, a personal assistant’s main focus is on personal tasks. They help their clients manage their private lives and households, doing everything from shopping for groceries and cleaning to providing childcare and managing the family calendar. Because of this, they sometimes form tight, long-lasting bonds with the people and families they help support.
Personal assistants also usually work for private households, actors, celebrities, or athletes. They often have a set list of tasks that are delegated, taking care of items that their clients are simply too busy to do. Their main function is to free up personal time so the people they assist can do more of the things they love.
What Does an Executive Assistant Do?
An Executive Assistant’s main focus is on business-related tasks. An EA is normally employed by a business or corporation, and most often supports a member of senior management. They are usually responsible for the day-to-day details, freeing up their executive’s time so they can focus on their highest-priority work.
These responsibilities can be routine, like the daily management of their client’s email inbox or handling their schedule—to farther reaching items, such as overseeing entire projects or even acting as a direct stand-in for the executive in meetings.
Those larger, high-stakes tasks are what sets Executive Assistants apart. A great Executive Assistant often demonstrates extreme proactivity, optimizing operations and auditing systems for inefficiencies—finding opportunities for improvement without being asked. This ability to be proactive and strategic leads many Executive Assistants to become highly valued members of organizations, and sometimes they even get promoted to senior management themselves.
What’s the Difference Between a Personal Assistant and an Executive Assistant?
“I really don’t get paid enough for this job.” - Pepper Potts, probably.
The main difference is the type of support. A good example is that a personal assistant is an expert in household and family needs, while an Executive Assistant is an expert in things like project management.
There has been a lot of confusion in recent years because of films like The Devil Wears Prada and Iron Man. In those films the people labelled as “personal assistants” often have duties more similar to that of Executive Assistants, as they can be seen handling various aspects of the client’s business as well as their personal needs.
That might work on the silver screen, but in reality that just isn’t the case. Managing an office or business project is very different from managing a household—and often the two jobs require very different skill sets.
Some skills might seem similar—for example, both personal assistants and Executive Assistants will often answer emails on behalf of their clients—and Executive Assistants may, at their discretion, handle a few smaller personal tasks as well. However personal assistants do not usually have the experience necessary to handle business matters.
Personal assistants are often lower on the pay scale than Executive Assistants, and many Executive Assistants may start off as personal assistants to gain experience before moving up the ladder. Of course, this all depends on who you are assisting and where you live.
How Do I Determine Which Would Be the Best Fit for Me?
If you need someone to handle your personal life, then you probably need a personal assistant. If you need someone to mainly handle business tasks at a high level, you probably need an Executive Assistant. They’ll be able to represent you professionally, as well as be proactive— helping to make your organization more efficient.
Digging even deeper, if you only need someone to handle basic, everyday business tasks, an administrative assistant might actually be the right choice. Check out our article here for the difference between an Executive Assistant and an Administrative Assistant.
Finally, if you need someone to help with both business and personal tasks, you need to ask yourself which is most important, and choose accordingly—or get two assistants!
Executive Assistants are certainly able to handle personal items, but often anything other than small personal requests is frankly a waste of their talents, and may even strain your professional relationship. Similarly, personal assistants may be happy to assist with business matters, but may lack the experience required—or, perhaps even worse, aren’t being paid enough to handle such important items. If you truly do want an assistant to handle both, make sure you quantify those responsibilities inside of their job description before hiring—and compensate them accordingly!
What Sets 33Vincent’s Assistants Apart?
Simply put: unparalleled quality and flexibility. All of our Executive Assistants are experts. We require years of experience and each candidate undergoes a rigorous testing period, after which only around 1% go on to become 33Vincent EAs. Our community is filled with experience, and we often lean in to help one another on the rare occasion we’re faced with a new challenge.
This world-class EA service is also flexible. We offer part-time virtual Executive Assistant support, as well as full-time direct-hire Executive Assistant recruiting as well. Our latest service, Inbox Reset, is a standalone service that cleans, optimizes, organizes, and automates your inbox—the place where most business leaders lost the most time.
Interested in discovering if our Executive Assistant services are right for you? We would love to connect!
33Vincent has many other resources to help you maximize your time and communication with your executive assistant.
