At Pepper’s Personal Assistants, we will listen to your specific needs and work hard to match you perfectly with the ideal personal assistant (PA). While we are confident in our recruiting process, you may have additional questions. Feel confident in your decision by asking the best interview questions for personal assistants.
Here’s how it works.
Our HR Director will do a deep dive into your preferences and seek out a dedicated personal assistant to provide you with recurring household support. Then, we will facilitate a meeting between you and a potential PA where we will discuss Pepper’s Personal Assistants’ policies and guidelines, and you can bring up any concerns you might have.
Before deciding to go forward with your matched assistant, you may want to consider asking the following questions so that you can feel confident everyone is on the same page.
Why Are You a Personal Assistant and What Do You Enjoy About Your Role?
Before venturing into more detailed questions, asking why this PA candidate has pursued this job path and what they enjoy about being a personal assistant can help you get to know their goals and what type of person they are. It’s also a great open-ended icebreaker question.
What Are Some of Your Hobbies and Interests Outside of Work?
Asking the candidate about their hobbies and interests outside of work can also help you get to know them. Someone who has similar interests and hobbies might be more of a great fit for you since they can relate to your daily life. Their special interests could also potentially benefit your working relationship.
For example, if the candidate loves the outdoors and you are just beginning to embark on camping trips, they might be able to provide specialized insight on camping packing and to-do lists, best places to hike, and local businesses they recommend supporting.
Find out if the candidate has any special skills or strengths that set them apart from other candidates. Who knows? Your potential PA could be extremely skilled at something that could benefit you through minimizing your mental load and decreasing your stress level.
If Your Client Needs to Go on a Last Minute Trip, How Would You Support Them?
The answer to this interview question can reveal a lot about a potential PA. Asking the candidate how they would support you during this kind of last-minute situation (i.e. booking flights, rental cars, finding a hotel room, and making sure everything runs smoothly at home) can give you insight into if they’d be a good match..
You should feel confident that your PA can handle stressful situations efficiently and in a way that complements your needs. Asking someone how they manage stress themselves is especially important when finding the best personal assistant fit.
What Are You Most Proud of in Regards to Your Past Experiences Supporting Others?
Allow the candidate to take time to shine. Find out what they’re most proud of accomplishing in their past roles. This can help you get an idea of what they might be able to accomplish for your household as well.
Find the Best-Fitting PA for Your Needs with Pepper’s Personal Assistants
Pepper’s Personal Assistants are ready to listen to your particular needs and find you an assistant that will make your daily life easier, and give you more time to focus on the things that matter.
Asking the best interview questions for personal assistants is just one part of the personal assistant journey. Do you want to learn more about the process of hiring a PA through Pepper’s Personal Assistants? Curious about The Pepper’s Way? Check out our services and get started today.
A CEO of a business sits at the top. They manage multiple agendas, levels, and positions while making sure everything continues to run smoothly. They’re also responsible for when things don’t. Although CEOs typically have a surplus of resources to assist them in their work, they lack free time. No one can add hours to the day.
Managing a household can be seen as a similarly demanding (and important) job. And if you’re doing both? It can feel impossible to balance.
Since we can’t lengthen the day or duplicate ourselves, where we allocate our time is key to not only our success, but to our happiness as well.
Even if you’re not a global company’s CEO, many individuals, mostly women, go from working in the office to working at home with barely a coffee-break in between. After paperwork and meetings turn into driving the kids to sports practices and cooking dinner, special projects, hobbies, and self-care time can slip by the wayside.
Will more free time bring you joy? Researchers say YES!
The problem is that successful professionals do not have enough free time to run a household and do what they love. For instance, the average CEO works 62.5 hrs+ (2018) and 79% of weekends. There is even a greater impact to women, who go home to “second shift” often taking a greater share of the burden of childcare and running a household.
It may seem obvious, but more time typically equals more happiness. Those that feel stressed and time-pressed often have more anxiety and less overall life satisfaction than those who don’t think of time as a constant obstacle.
It’s official, and studies such as “Buying Time Promotes Happiness” in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show the proof. Researchers found that those who outsourced their tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and household management had significantly increased satisfaction on a 10 point scale. Another study from 2019 showed that people with more free time are actually healthier and even more productive.
Time-saving investments such as food delivery, taking a Lyft or Uber instead of the bus, or hiring a house cleaner can put you back in the driver’s seat and help you regain time, and thus regain control over the various components of your life. The more in control you feel? The happier you’ll feel.
Give yourself some time back by outsourcing tasks. Even if you think you can handle everything on your (ever-growing) to-do list, you most likely won’t have enough time left to spend with your loved ones, or on yourself.
By hiring a personal assistant to take care of things like grocery shopping, meal planning and prepping, pet care, bill paying, and other tasks, you can rest easy and avoid burnout. This extra time can be key to your wellbeing.
Prioritize Quality Time
Once you do have some time back in the day, make it count. Don’t use it as an excuse to add even more work-related tasks to your plate. Spend time doing fun activities with your family, or simply enjoying each other’s company. Creating these memories will make every penny you spend on outsourcing tasks worth it.
Don’t forget about yourself along the way. Oftentimes we get so caught up with pleasing other people that we tend to leave ourselves behind. Taking time to recharge and practice self-care is essential, for your own health and happiness and so that you can be the best version of yourself to the people around you.
Use your extra time to meditate, practice yoga, or take a long walk. You can even pamper yourself by getting your nails done, going to a spa, or taking yourself out to lunch. It’s amazing how good it can feel to have someone take care of you for a change—and you deserve it!
Some tasks only need to be done once or twice a year. In this new world of work-life balance from home, we forget to do them because work became life.
Below are our top five things to mark off your list this March to get the work done to only experience life.
This is a 3-minute read; if you do not have the time, we understand; follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, and we will make sure you get the bullet points.
1: Pull Everything off the Shelf
We put things on the shelf at work because they are good ideas but not the right time to execute. In contrast, we place items up on the shelf at home to celebrate them as done, accomplished, complete, or simply forget about them. March is a great time to clear everything from your home shelves, dust, and sort through to decide what stays and what goes.
2: Un-Box it
Life is one Amazon box after the other. Combined, all of these boxes fill our recycle bin to capacity. What do you do? Do you pay for the extra bin, or do you stack the cardboard in your garage until the next dump run? No! Donate it.
Give Back Box provides vendor services to retailers and charities, giving each cardboard box a second life to help people in need. Receive a box, unpack it, then fill it with the unwanted household items down from the shelf: clothing, shoes, etc., and make a significant difference in the life of another person.
3: Flip your mattress
In the world of foam mattresses, the question is to flip or not to flip, and our advice is to consult the manufacturer when in doubt. Most foam mattresses on the market today: Casper, Purple, Lucid, are not made for flipping; however, you can rotate them, remove the zippered cover, wash it and return it for fresher night sleep.
4: Wash and sort all linens
While washing the mattress cover and pulling things down from the shelf, now is also an excellent time to wash all your linens, and we mean all, even the ones at the very back or bottom of the closet or shelf.
5: Get Help
March can be a lot of work…Why not let us take care of it?
Although it may feature less extended family and friends, Thanksgiving dinner might actually mean a little more this year. After all of the hardships of 2020, sitting down around the table with your loved ones and reflecting on what you’re all thankful for will undoubtedly carry a bit more weight.
Avoid worrying about finding the perfect turkey and focus on what really matters — spending time with your family. Check out these local Seattle resources to get your Thanksgiving meal shopping done quickly and efficiently while supporting your community.
Central Co-Op
This natural foods grocery store has locations in both the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle and in Tacoma, and is dedicated to sustainable practices and community accountability. Shop here for all of your Thanksgiving meal needs, or purchase their traditional or vegan Thanksgiving dinner meal kit. Their ordering forms for the holiday will be live on their website in early November.
Ken’s Market and Marketime Foods
Ken’s Market in Greenwood and Marketime Foods in Greenwood are independently-owned and family-operated staples in their communities. You are guaranteed to find the freshest, best ingredients for a delicious holiday meal in their aisles, and they also offer complete turkey dinners with sides for two or more people in their deli.
With seven Seattle locations and multiple awards under their belt, Metropolitan Market is a top contender for best local grocery store for Thanksgiving meal prep. Their deli offers premium meats, sides, and desserts, while their aisles are chock full of top-notch ingredients to create a great turkey day. You can even reserve your holiday meal order now with plenty of options for a fully prepared meal or a variety of heat and serve and uncooked choices, saving you the stress of last minute shopping and prep.
Bob’s Quality Meats
Bob’s Quality Meats is a small, local butcher shop in the Columbia City neighborhood of South Seattle. This classic shop has provided the neighborhood with the freshest meats from the most sustainable pastures for generations, and is well-versed in providing the perfect turkey (or chicken, or steak, etc.) for Thanksgiving dinner.
Let Pepper’s Personal Assistants Help!
Whether you’re pulling out the family recipes to create a made from scratch Thanksgiving dinner, or you’re opting to grab a delicious pre-made kit from a local grocer, you can outsource these tasks and more to Pepper’s Personal Assistants to help the holiday go smoothly.
Our Personal Assistant package includes a dedicated assistant to help you out 12-40 hours a week. Your personal assistant can help create a grocery list, go shopping, prep food before the big dinner, and even help tidy up around the house.
Just need a little assistance to get everything done? Our Task Assistant package comes with 5 hours of dedicated assistance to help you cross off your to-do list, including grabbing any last minute items from the store or doing light meal prep.
Contact us today to see how Pepper’s Personal Assistants can help make your Thanksgiving and holiday season one to remember!
Many great business leaders share a common belief: Employees are the main contributor to an organization’s success. These leaders know that when they hire great people and treat them well, these employees will provide clients with an excellent experience, and help the business thrive.
In 2012, I started Pepper’s Personal Assistants, with this same approach. I focused on building a culture of “togetherness.” While our assistants work directly in client homes, we hold in-person meetings and social events throughout the year to continue building on our solid culture. There’s certain energy we gain from these face-to-face gatherings, and it reminds us that we’re all part of one team that likes to share successes, solve problems, support one another, and have fun.
Covid-19 forced us to cancel these meetings and shift to Zoom and other online forums. We truly miss connecting with each other in person. Our business faced many challenges, as our assistants were unable to perform work within client homes for nearly three months. As we worked to create a path forward for our team and our clients, we continued to focus on our core approach. Our employees needed support and not just at work, but for the uncertainties, they were facing in their personal lives as well.
Show grace – This is an unprecedented time, and employees are facing a number of different fears and uncertainties – for their own emotional and physical health and that of their families; stress from their children’s online learning; and isolation for those living alone or facing loss. Focus on supporting each employee as a whole person, not just a worker. Be patient and kind, as you may be the only source of stability and understanding in their lives right now.
Continue offering pay and benefits – During the time when we could not visit client homes, we were fortunate to be able to continue paying our employees and offering benefits, thanks to many of our clients generously continuing with reduced packages. This helped alleviate worries about financial stability during the shutdown. Team members were grateful and wanted to be productive during this time. We scheduled a number of online training sessions so they could build their skill sets in different areas. Our team also helped clients with tasks remotely, like doing online research and preparing children for remote learning.
Get in front of issues – Before the governor issued shutdown orders, we were already creating a plan and talking with employees and clients. We did the same when we were allowed back into client homes with safety protocols. Being transparent with my team is a central part of how I manage the business. Sharing challenges and approaches also means I’m open to the team’s input, ideas and support, all of which are integral to success as we move forward.
Provide a sense of purpose – Give team members projects that will stretch their skills and enable them to contribute in a meaningful way. One of our household managers, for example, is an excellent cook and gave our team a Zoom training on cooking techniques during the shutdown. Everyone loved it and learned from it. This employee gained new skills in planning and presenting a training to the team. She’s also now the “go-to” expert for questions on recipes and meal prep.
Hold meetings that aren’t focused on work – We’ve held Zoom meetings focused on self-care, with each employee offering a tip to their colleagues. I call employees regularly without an agenda, just to check in and ask how they’re doing and how I can support them. I want my team to know that I genuinely care and want to help them through this time, even if it’s just to listen or provide some encouragement.
This continues to be a challenging environment, but I’m proud of how our team continues to work through uncertainty and support one another. Communicating frequently, being transparent and treating your employees as people first will help keep your culture strong. Investing in your team will bring huge benefits: Once the pandemic is behind us, you’re likely to have a stronger and more cohesive team than ever before.
We’re weeks into autumn and “back-to-school” looks a little different this year with remote learning due to the pandemic. This means if you or your partner stay home during the day, the time you might typically use to tidy up around the house, get through errands, and prep meals has been replaced with assisting your child with their virtual learning.
Many parents may even be working from home as well, turning the household into a multi-purpose building — a school, an office, a restaurant, and a place to (hopefully) get some sleep all in one.
During this stressful time, managing the household tasks can fall to the bottom of your list. It’s impossible to do it all right now. This is why making the decision to outsource your to-do list can bring much needed relief and a feeling of calm to your household.
Here’s what hiring a personal assistant can do for you, so that you can focus on your career, assist with remote learning, and spend quality time with your family.
Grocery Shopping
After a long day troubleshooting Zoom calls and helping with homework, the last thing you want to face is an empty refrigerator. Hiring a personal assistant to help order groceries or go out and pick up healthy ingredients for dinner can help reduce your stress at the end of a long day.
Meal Planning and Prep
In addition to grocery shopping, a personal assistant can go one step further by taking over meal planning and prep throughout the week. Making sure your family is eating healthy can be difficult when you and your partner are home all day alternating between working and supporting your child through the remote learning process. When your typical schedule is upended, having someone to plan out nutritional dinners and even prep easy-to-grab lunches can take a load off of your shoulders.
Even though we aren’t going out socially as much, and your child doesn’t have to wear a school uniform while remote learning, it doesn’t mean we should be recycling the same pair of sweatpants and t-shirts every couple of days. Finding time to wash, dry, fold, and iron clothes can seem impossible. We can get it done from start to finish so you can feel put-together no matter what the day brings.
Bill Paying
If you or your partner are already staring at a screen all day between working from home and helping your kids with virtual school, staying on the internet longer to organize and pay bills is going to be the last thing you want to do. A personal assistant can help you set up payment automation, and organize your finances so you have one less thing on your list.
Even before the pandemic scrambled everyone’s schedules, finding time to hit the stores, return products, or exchange purchases proved difficult — especially if you’re a working parent. Hiring a personal assistant to run these errands for you can free up precious free time, help you avoid having to leave the house, and shorten your to-do list.
How Pepper’s Personal Assistants Can Help
If you or your partner are currently at home with your kids and need more support when it comes to assisting with your child’s remote learning, working from home, and managing your household, Pepper’s Personal Assistants is ready to help.
Our Personal Assistant package will pair you with a dedicated personal assistant to help out 12-40 hours per week, tackling the aforementioned tasks and more, including pet care, home maintenance management, and scheduling.
Just need a little boost to help you keep organized? Pepper’sTask Management packagematches you with a personal assistant that will come cross off things on your to-do list for 5 hours per week.
Call us at 206-228-5768, or send us a message today for a free consultation to see if Pepper’s Personal Assistants is the right fit and can help support your needs.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
