On this page
- Resume guide for a personal assistant resume
- How to write a personal assistant resume
- Choosing the best resume format for a personal assistant resume
- Include your contact information
- Make use of a summary
- Right vs wrong: the same personal assistant summary, twice
- Outline your personal assistant experience
- The private side of the job, and how to evidence discretion without breaking it
- Build a snapshot of your key personal assistant skills
- List your education and certifications
- Choose the right layout and design
- Personal assistant job market and outlook
- What salary you can expect as a personal assistant
- Key takeaways for a personal assistant resume
- Related administrative resume examples
- FAQ
A personal assistant resume is a one to two page document for a job defined by proximity. You do not support a department. You support a person, and often that person's household, family and private affairs alongside their work.
That changes what the document has to do. An executive assistant resume argues about organizational scale: the principal's seniority, the size of the business, the systems. A private personal assistant resume argues about trust, because the work involves a home address, a family calendar, a bank card and a set of keys. The hard part is that the evidence for your competence is largely made of information you are not allowed to share.
There is a second complication, and it is worth settling in the first minute. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe, personal assistant is the ordinary corporate title for what Americans call an executive assistant. In the United States and in the international private service market, personal assistant usually means somebody working for an individual or a family rather than a company. Decide which market you are writing for before you write a line, because the two versions want different documents.
Resume guide for a personal assistant resume
This guide and the corresponding personal assistant resume example will cover:
- How to write a personal assistant resume, section by section
- The British and American meanings of the title, and which one your reader holds
- Three adaptable summaries: first private role, established PA, and private PA to a principal
- How to evidence discretion without breaching it
- What the job market looks like in both countries and what you can expect to earn
How to write a personal assistant resume
Six sections: contact header, summary, experience, scope and discretion, education and certifications, and skills. One page early on, two once you are covering a household, multiple residences or private staff.
The section most people get wrong is the fourth one. Everything else on this page is ordinary administrative writing.
Decide whether you are writing for the British or the American meaning
The same two words describe two different jobs depending on where the advertisement was written, and sending the wrong document is the most common self-inflicted wound in this category.
| The posting is | It usually means | Write it as | |---|---|---| | A UK or Irish company advertising a PA to a director | Corporate executive support: diary, inbox, travel, board papers | A CV in the corporate style, with the principal's seniority and the organization's scale | | A US company advertising a personal assistant | Support to one individual, frequently blending business and private life | A resume leading with the range of the role, business and private | | A private household, family office or agency | Private service: household, family logistics, private travel, private staff | A discreet resume built on scope, longevity and confidentiality | | An international or Gulf posting for a PA to a principal | Almost always private service, often residential | A resume with languages, driving license, visa status and travel availability |
If you want both markets, keep two files. The corporate version leads with the principal's title and the business scale. The private version leads with the household size, the residences and the length of your tenure.
Run the finished file through the free ATS resume checker before you send it to a corporate employer. Private households and specialist agencies rarely use a parser, but corporate PA postings almost always do.
Choosing the best resume format for a personal assistant resume
Reverse chronological. Length matters more here than format: one page for a first private role, two once you are covering residences, travel and private staff.
Longevity is the single strongest signal in private work, and a chronological layout is the only one that shows it. Four years with one principal says something no adjective can, because private employment ends quickly when it does not fit. If you have had a short tenure, give it a one-line reason such as a relocation or the end of a fixed engagement, rather than leaving a hole for the reader to fill in.
If you are applying through an agency, expect them to reformat your document into their own template. Write it so the facts survive: no graphics, no columns, every important number in an ordinary sentence.
Include your contact information
Imogen Hartwell-Shaw
Personal Assistant, private household and business affairsEnhanced DBS on the Update Service, full clean UK driving license, valid passport+44 20 7946 0115, imogen.hartwell-shaw@email.com, LondonImogen Hartwell-Shaw
Highly discreet and trustworthy professionalDBS checked and insured+44 20 7946 0115, imogenpa_london@email.comThree clearance facts belong in the header of a private personal assistant resume, because an agency asks them before reading anything else: your background check status, your driving license, and whether you can travel at short notice. Add visa or right to work status if you are applying internationally. Use a personal email you will keep, since private roles often end without notice and a work address goes with them.
Make use of a summary
Four lines: who you support and in what setting, the scope, the length of your tenure, and one thing you run outright.
First private role adaptable resume summary example
Established personal assistant adaptable resume summary example
Private PA to a principal adaptable resume summary example
Right vs wrong: the same personal assistant summary, twice
The wrong column is trying to prove discretion by describing it. The right column proves it structurally: it gives a reader real scope, real numbers and real tenure while naming nobody and disclosing nothing. That is what discretion looks like on paper.
Outline your personal assistant experience
Setting, the type of principal, household size, residences and dates. Then four to six bullets, each naming a function and a number, and none of them naming a person, a property or a company you were not employed by.
- Instead of
Managed the principal's busy diary
UseRan one diary of roughly 35 meetings a week across business and private commitments, with a same-day rescheduling rule
- Instead of
Arranged travel
UsePlanned four to six international trips a year end to end: flights, visas, ground transport, accommodation and itineraries for up to five travelers
- Instead of
Handled personal and household matters
UseHeld household budgets, bill payment, insurance and utility renewals and vehicle administration across two properties
- Instead of
Liaised with household staff
UseCoordinated rotas, holiday cover and payroll input for nine private staff across three residences
- Instead of
Helped with the children's schedules
UseRan school and activity logistics across term and holiday calendars, including transport and medical appointments
Adaptable resume employment history example
Personal Assistant to a Principal and Family, private household, London and Hampshire, March 2020 to Present. One principal, two residences, two support staff coordinated.
Run a single diary of roughly 35 meetings a week across business and private commitments, with an agreed rule that anything moved on the day is confirmed within the hour.
Plan four to six international trips a year end to end, including visas, ground transport, accommodation and itineraries for up to five travelers, plus recurring travel between the two residences.
Hold household administration for both properties: budgets, bill payment, insurance and utility renewals, vehicle tax and servicing, and the contractor list for maintenance and grounds.
Consolidated household administration onto one system with a single renewal calendar, ending repeat late payments and reducing annual insurance and utility spend by a documented 14 percent.
Manage school and activity logistics across term and holiday calendars, including transport arrangements and routine medical appointments.
Act as the single point of contact for third-party enquiries under a standing confidentiality agreement, with nothing released without the principal's written instruction.
The private side of the job, and how to evidence discretion without breaking it
This is the section that separates a private personal assistant resume from every other administrative document, and it is the one applicants find hardest, because the instinct is to prove trustworthiness by hinting at what you know.
Never do that. A resume that gestures at a famous employer, a sector, a location or a value of assets has already failed the test it is describing. Agencies notice this immediately; it is one of the most common reasons a file is quietly dropped.
Discretion is evidenced in four ways, and none of them involves disclosure.
- Tenure. How long you stayed with one employer. This is the strongest signal available to you and it costs nothing to state.
- Structure. That a confidentiality agreement existed, that you were the single point of contact for enquiries, that nothing was released without written instruction.
- Handling. What you did with money, keys, documents and access, described by category and control rather than by content.
- Reference discipline. That references are available by arrangement, rather than printed with names and numbers on the page.
Adaptable resume scope and discretion example
Setting: one principal and family, two residences in the United Kingdom, six years continuous service.
Trust and access held: household debit card with an agreed monthly limit and a weekly reconciliation; keys and alarm codes for both properties; access to personal and household correspondence; authority to instruct contractors up to an agreed threshold; named on utility, insurance and vehicle accounts as authorized contact.
Confidentiality: standing non-disclosure agreement signed on appointment and renewed on change of role. Single point of contact for all third-party and media enquiries. No information released without written instruction. Personal devices excluded from household systems; household data kept on employer-owned equipment only.
Checks and clearances: enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate, held on the Update Service. Full clean UK driving license. Valid passport with no travel restrictions. Paediatric and workplace first aid current.
References: former principals available by arrangement, with contact details released only once a search reaches final stage.
Two details in that block do a great deal of work. "Weekly reconciliation" turns a card into a control, which is the difference between being trusted with money and being accountable for it. And "personal devices excluded from household systems" shows you think about data the way a family office does, which very few applicants demonstrate.
The DBS check is yours to obtain, not the family's
This surprises people applying for private roles in the United Kingdom. A private individual employing a nanny, carer or personal assistant cannot apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service check on that person's behalf. Government guidance states that it is down to the self-employed person or personal employee to apply for their own enhanced DBS check through a DBS umbrella body (GOV.UK, DBS checks for self-employed people and personal employees, accessed September 2026).
The practical consequence is that a candidate who already holds an enhanced certificate, and keeps it current on the DBS Update Service, removes a real obstacle from the hiring process. Households and agencies know exactly how much friction this saves.
Put it in the header rather than in a certifications list at the bottom, and say it is on the Update Service, because that is the phrase that signals you understand how the system works.
Do
- Name the setting, the number of residences and the length of your service.
- Describe access in terms of the control that went with it.
- Say a confidentiality agreement existed.
- Put your background check, driving license and travel availability in the header.
- Say references are available by arrangement.
- Decide which market you are writing for and keep two files if you need to.
Don’t
- Do not name or characterise an employer, a family, a child, a property or a sector.
- Do not hint at wealth, fame or asset values.
- Do not print referees' names and mobile numbers on a document that will be circulated.
- Do not claim skills from a corporate PA role in a private application without translating them.
- Do not use a photograph, even where a local market expects one.
Build a snapshot of your key personal assistant skills
Twelve to sixteen entries in four groups. Lead with whichever group the posting emphasizes, since the private and corporate versions of this job weight them very differently.
Adaptable resume skills example
Principal support: Single diary ownership, Inbox management and correspondence drafting, Gatekeeping and prioritization, Briefing notes and daily schedules, Expenses and reimbursements
Private and household: Household budgeting and bill payment, Insurance and utility renewals, Contractor sourcing and supervision, Vehicle administration, Inventory and valuables logs, Event and hospitality planning at home
Travel and logistics: International itinerary planning, Visa and documentation handling, Private and commercial aviation coordination, Ground transport and security liaison, Family and school calendars
Systems and compliance: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Xero or QuickBooks for household accounts, Shared calendar administration, Data protection and confidentiality practice, Password and access management
List your education and certifications
There is no license for this work, and formal qualifications matter less than checks, driving and languages. List them in the order a household would ask for them.
Adaptable resume education and certifications example
Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate, obtained through a DBS umbrella body, issued 2024, maintained on the DBS Update Service.
Full clean UK driving license, held since 2012. Valid passport with no travel restrictions.
Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work, 2025. Paediatric First Aid, 2025.
Certified Administrative Professional, International Association of Administrative Professionals, #CAP-176204, 2022.
BA (Hons) English Literature, University of Leeds, 2013.
The Certified Administrative Professional is the credential most widely recognized across this occupation internationally. Eligibility is four years or 7,072 hours of relevant experience with no degree, three years with an associate degree and two with a bachelor's, and the examination runs to roughly 200 to 225 multiple choice questions across six domains (IAAP, accessed September 2026). It carries more weight in corporate applications than in private ones, where checks and tenure dominate.
Choose the right layout and design
Single column, 11 or 12 point body type, plain headings, no photograph, no graphics. Two pages at most.
Give the file a neutral name: your own name and the year, never a former employer's. For the same reason, strip the document metadata before you send it, since author and company fields often carry the name of the household you last worked for.
Personal assistant job market and outlook
The honest answer is that the private end of this job is not counted anywhere, and the corporate end is counted under other names. Both markets are worth reading before you decide what to ask for.
In the United States, the relevant published occupation is secretaries and administrative assistants, which held 3,515,600 jobs in 2025 and is projected to decline 2 percent, or 75,300 jobs, by 2035, with about 314,400 openings a year, mostly from replacement (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025-35 projections, published 27 August 2026).
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, jobs 2025 | 3,515,600 |
| Projected change, 2025-35 | -2% (-75,300) |
| Projected annual openings | ~314,400 |
| Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, median wage, May 2025 | $76,590 |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, median wage, May 2025 | $48,310 |
| Typical entry-level education | High school diploma or equivalent |
The gap between the two titles is worth about 59 percent
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants had a median annual wage of $76,590 in May 2025, against $48,310 for secretaries and administrative assistants as a whole and $47,540 for the general category excluding legal, medical and executive roles (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025). The difference between the top band and the general one is roughly 59 percent for work that shares most of its daily tasks.
What separates them is who you support and what you are trusted with, not how many things you do. That is the argument a personal assistant resume has to make in its first four lines: the seniority or privacy of the principal, the breadth of what falls to you, and how long you have held it.
In the private market the same logic applies without the published numbers behind it. Tenure, residences and the scope of what you hold are the variables that move an offer, because there is no salary band to appeal to.
What salary you can expect as a personal assistant
In the United Kingdom, the National Careers Service gives a range for personal assistants and executive assistants of £28,000 for a starter to £60,000 for an experienced postholder, on typical hours of 37 to 42 a week with occasional evenings (National Careers Service, accessed September 2026). Private household roles sit outside that framework and are negotiated individually, frequently with accommodation, a vehicle or travel included, which makes headline comparisons unreliable.
In the United States, executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants had a median annual wage of $76,590 in May 2025, and the broader occupation $48,310, with the lowest 10 percent under $35,360 and the highest 10 percent over $77,720 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025).
Three things move a private offer and all three belong on the resume. Availability is the first: whether you travel, whether you work weekends, whether you can relocate between residences. Breadth is the second: household finance, staff coordination and family logistics are worth more than diary management alone. Tenure is the third, and it compounds, because a household paying for continuity is buying the thing your last six years already proved.
Key takeaways for a personal assistant resume
- Decide whether you are writing for the British corporate meaning or the private service meaning, and keep two files if you need both.
- Put background check, driving license and travel availability in the header.
- Evidence discretion through tenure, structure, handling and reference discipline, never through hints.
- Name nobody: no employer, family, property, sector or asset value.
- Describe access alongside the control that went with it, such as a card limit with a weekly reconciliation.
- Give the setting in numbers: residences, staff coordinated, trips a year, years of service.
- Strip the document metadata and give the file a neutral name.
Related administrative resume examples
- Executive assistant resume
- Administrative assistant resume
- Office manager resume
- Office administrator resume
- Administrative coordinator resume
- Virtual assistant resume
- Office assistant resume
- Office secretary resume
- Receptionist resume
- Office clerk resume
- Business manager resume
- Administrative resume
Personal assistant resume questions, answered
Is a personal assistant the same as an executive assistant?
It depends on the country. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe, personal assistant is the standard corporate title for the role Americans call an executive assistant. In the United States and in international private service, personal assistant usually means supporting an individual or a family rather than a company. Read the advertisement for which meaning it holds, and write the document that matches it.
How do I write a personal assistant resume without naming my employer?
Describe the setting rather than the person. "One principal and family, two UK residences, six years" tells a reader everything they need and identifies nobody. Give scope in numbers, describe access alongside its controls, and state that a confidentiality agreement was in place. An agency reads that as competence, not evasion.
Do I need a DBS check to work as a private personal assistant in the UK?
Households and agencies expect one, and you obtain it yourself. Government guidance is that a private individual cannot apply on your behalf: the personal employee applies for their own enhanced check through a DBS umbrella body (GOV.UK, accessed September 2026). Keeping it on the DBS Update Service lets a new employer check it instantly.
Should I put a photograph on a personal assistant CV?
No, even in markets where photographs are conventional. Private employers and family offices are managing exposure, and a document with a face on it is a document they would rather not circulate. Leave it off and let the clearance lines in the header do the reassurance instead.
What do I write if my experience is corporate and the role is private?
Translate rather than transplant. Diary ownership, inbox gatekeeping, complex travel and expense reconciliation all map directly onto private work. What you need to add is evidence of handling: money with a control, keys and access, household suppliers, family calendars.
How should I handle references for private work?
Say "available by arrangement" and nothing more. Names and mobile numbers on a circulated document are exactly the breach the employer is worried about. Ask each former principal in advance whether they will act as a reference and at what stage, then release the details once a search reaches final stage.