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Revealed! The Top Five PA Skills
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Summer Care
This issue sees our last Sound Off, but I hope you've enjoyed reading your colleagues' rants and raves about various topics. Although we're finishing Sound Off, feel free to keep sending your views!
Catriona from Hull sent us this short piece expressing her anger over the way she feels she is being treated at the moment. Recruited as the PA to the Managing Director, Catriona now finds herself in a sticky situation...
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Just after I joined to work for the MD, Simon, he left and a new chap joined from outside the firm. He's fine, and we get on well, but there's just one problem. One BIG problem. He brought his own PA with him! Where does that leave me, you may well ask. The answer is, I don't actually know!
Since she joined she's laid down the law about what she will do (event booking, business travel - all the interesting projects, basically) and what she won't (filing, tea making). My office has been split in two with a partition, and now my work area is so small I have bruises on my legs from squeezing past my desk. Even though I am older than her, have more experience in the role, and was here first, she has taken the senior position. No-one has asked me how I feel or where I fit in. I understand that they've worked as a team previously, so it would be odd for me to now come in as his direct PA, and change that relationship. But I've turned into an office junior overnight! They have meetings without me, so I don't know what's going on, and she gives me my tasks, not him. I've been putting up with it for 2 months, now, but I think I'm going to have to give up! I have spoken to the new boss about it, but he seems to think she and I should be able to work it out among ourselves. He doesn't quite say, "Now run along", but almost! Now, where did I put those job ads... |
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What do you think about Catriona's situation? Pretty frustrating, huh! Vote now to let us know what you think she should do about it:
We look forward to hearing your views!
If you remember, Susan was concerned about her boss's rather lax approach to expenses (that's putting it generously!). She was worried he was actually fiddling considerable sums from the firm. Here's what you thought:
Your Vote A: |
The best way to handle it is to confidentially let another senior director know and to let them to investigate. That takes her out of the loop, but salves her conscience. |
53% |
Your Vote B: |
I think she should ask him about it in private, but if he says it's OK, she should take his word for it. |
22% |
Your Vote C: |
She'd be mad to confront him! It's not her responsibility to police his expenses. There's nothing she can do. |
26% |
As we said, this is the last Sound Off for the time being, but we will let you know what the results of your votes were. And keep your views coming - we love to read them.
