Tell us about the company: size, sector, location:

We have about 70 members of staff, it-sector, Bavaria (Germany)

What is your role and who do you work for?

I work as a sales assistant for one of the directors.  Here I have to do cold calls as well as countercheck and partly calculate the offers for IT-services.  I also have to prepare presentations and do a little secretarial work.  Once in a while there are interesting trade fairs for my boss to be visited.  Here I have to do the whole pre-arrangements (e.g. prepare a presentation, find interesting contacts, and so on).  I'm also responsible for part of the recruiting (job-ads, invitations and denials).

How has it changed over the last year?

I had the chance to get into the recruiting business, as a colleague got her baby.  The calculation of the offers became a bigger part.

What are the three most important skills you use at work?

Flexibility, patience, organizing ability

What does a typical day look like for you?

I get up at 5 a.m. and leave the house by 6:15.  Work starts at 8. The morning begins with checking e-mails and transmits offers, accepted offers and important calls into our customer relationship management system.  Around 10 a.m. I start my calls until 12 or 12:30, then (when I'm lucky) it is time for lunch.  An hour later the calls continue until 3 p.m. Sometimes I can get away with not calling all day, and then I have to do offers or prepare presentations.  When my boss is planning to be away for a few days my day will be longer. He is in the habit of cleaning up his desk before he leaves. So I get big heaps of unfinished paperwork to check and to finish.  Two hours after I leave my desk I'm home. There two twelve year old children will (or more often will not) tell me about school, show their homework and complain about lunch at day-care.  So they will get something to eat, and when my husband arrives the table will be empty for him. (He has warm lunch at work.)  By 10 p.m. I go to bed.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced and how did you tackle it?

To keep my mouth shut when my boss is wrong.  I'm not always successful with it.

What are your career plans for the future?

Just keep my job and get more successful. If possible I'd like to do more in the recruiting field.

What are you doing to make sure they happen? What new skills will need to learn?

I don't really know, because whenever I want to learn something new my boss tells me that I will not need it and I should spend more time doing cold calls.

What one key piece of advice would you have for PAs who want to get into this sector?

Get as much education as possible. Learn as much as you can.  Do not focus upon only one field; be open-minded for other things or opportunities, too.