Home Personal Assistant Resume template
Personal Assistant resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what personal assistants actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most personal assistants should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
I am a personal assistant with [number] years supporting a single executive or business owner, keeping their diary, correspondence and travel running smoothly so they can focus on their priorities. I work comfortably across Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel, and I am used to handling confidential material with discretion. I am looking for a personal assistant role where I can take ownership of the daily admin that keeps a busy leader on track.
Key skills
- Diary and calendar management across multiple time zones
- Written correspondence and document preparation
- Travel and accommodation coordination
- Expense claims and budget tracking
- Stakeholder liaison and follow up
- Minute taking and action tracking
- Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets)
- Project management software (for example Trello, Asana or Monday.com)
- Confidentiality and records management
- Time and deadline management
- Attention to detail
Experience: example bullet points
- Managed complex diaries for [role], coordinating meetings across internal teams and external stakeholders, which reduced scheduling conflicts and kept the week running to plan.
- Drafted and proofread correspondence, reports and presentations for senior staff, ensuring documents were accurate and ready ahead of deadlines.
- Arranged domestic and international travel, including flights, accommodation and ground transport, and prepared detailed itineraries that accounted for time zones and meeting schedules.
- Processed expense claims and tracked administrative budgets, reconciling receipts and flagging discrepancies before monthly reporting.
- Coordinated projects and tracked deadlines across teams, following up on actions and keeping a central record so nothing fell through.
- Handled incoming calls and email enquiries for a busy executive, triaging requests and escalating only what needed their direct attention.
Education
Year 12, often with a Certificate III or IV in Business Administration; some personal assistants hold a Diploma of Business or a degree in a related field. On the job training and short courses in Microsoft Office are common.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- diary management
- calendar management
- executive support
- travel coordination
- expense reconciliation
- Concur
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft 365
- stakeholder liaison
- minute taking
- confidentiality
- records management
- National Police Check
- inbox management
- deadline tracking
- written communication
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.