RESUME DATABASE

The importance of working as a team can never be ignored. This message was conveyed/reminded again to the IwantaPA Ltd executives, when a client had written to us to prepare a resume database wherein he has sent over a 100 of resumes. When I say reminded/conveyed, I did not mean to say that IWAP executives have stopped or forgotten to work as a team. We learnt the importance of teamwork better and doing more than one’s responsibility.

The client has requested the database resume to be prepared in a spreadsheet and at the earliest possible time. He has mentioned that the title, first name, surname, address, town/city, county, postcode, telephone #, email, and feedback to be added on the spreadsheet resume database. Since, the client had requested the task to be presented at the earliest possible time; we divided the list of the resumes and began to work earnestly. When we thought that task has been correctly and satisfactorily completed, before sending across to the client we’d sent the task to our CRM (Customer Relationship manager) but was found unsatisfactory with the feedback column.

Our CRM has particularly asked me to work again on the feedback column however, with my speed of doing the task and understanding not meeting the expectation of the CRM and with the clock never waiting for me/us, in turn our CRM became as low as a PA and has shouldered the responsibility of reworking the task by himself/herself to make sure that the client is not unsatisfactory like the CRM himself/herself.

I regretted my inefficiency on the approach of the rework task, which has made my colleagues and me to see for the first time a CRM doing a PA/Executive job. Who would not want his/her work to be found satisfactory by another person? “Nothing is too late if our realization is not too late.” However, today I/we have been too late to realize that the task we have done will be found unsatisfactory to another’s eye. Quickly our CRM realized that the client would be unhappy about the task we have done and the time taken. Unduly, I/we have let the CRM taken the onus for my/our inefficiency. Would not you call this teamwork? I do…and I am sure we cannot be wrong that the client will be happy with the task. (With special intervention from CRM)

A lesson taught and learnt from deed.
Left_Brained_Guy may need to think by the right huh!

Opening a Bank Account in UK

A foreign national client who seems to be planning for settling in UK has written to IwantaPA Ltd to help him find out how to open a bank account in UK. He has stated in his mail that he does not have enough time to look out for this information. Moreover, when he has sneaked out a few moment of his busy schedule yet he could not find/gather information to satisfy what he wants to know.

I was made to wonder if opening a bank account in UK is not friendly for foreign nationals, if not why has he not got the desire information? Perhaps looking/seeking out this information may require a different approach like calling the banks, clicking it right or getting the right keyword for searches if the Internet is concern. I came to learnt that systematic way on opening a bank account in the UK for foreign nationals may not be easily available in the Internet for publication due to reasons of different banks may have different eligibility or criteria.

For instance, some financial institutions like Abbey National being one will not consider applicants who have not lived in the UK for less than a year. Alliance & Leicester expect five years' residence in the UK. The reason being simple and yet may be hard to accept for many. However, these instances are not the only options to bank with in the UK. Before a bank can let you have any kind of account, they need to be confident that you are who you say you are and you live where you say you live. Therefore, the most important thing one must do is provide the bank with at least one current proof of your identity and one current proof of your UK address. Depending on the bank, you go to or the type of account you are trying to open (especially Internet or telephone accounts, where bank staff cannot see you), the bank may need to ask for more than two pieces of ID. Banks know that because you are new to this country you may not have access to documents that people who live in the UK usually have (UK bills, UK driving license, etc), but there are other documents banks may accept for the purpose of confirming identity and address.

If one is opening an account in person, banks will usually accept as proof of your identity:

• Passport or if you are from a country in the European Union or European Economic Area: National identity card, Residence permit issued by the Home Office to EU nationals
• National driving license *** Proving your address in the UK may be more difficult but the following documents may be acceptable:
• Tenancy agreement
• A letter from your employer in the UK confirming your UK address (and if you already have pay slips from that employer it may help to show those too)
• The bank may also want to see proof of your previous or permanent address in the country that you come from. Your national identity card or driving license may be acceptable for this purpose. The bank may ask for your written permission to get a reference about you from a bank or financial institution if you have an account in the country that you come from. Because banks’ requirements vary, it is not possible to be definite about what documents they will accept. The documents that can be accepted may therefore differ from bank to bank.
  

The best approach is to take with you as much information as you have available.

*** The 4 major banks in the UK are Barclays, HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds TSB. If you think in the near future after settling down in the UK, you will be wanting to take out a mortgage (home loan), having your account with one of the big 4 high street banks will help a lot. They are more able to assess your credit worthiness accurately and have mortgage companies of their own.

Registering a Company

Quite a number of clients increasing with every passing week, the IWAP executives/personal assistants are no longer new with different tasks from the clients. A client had written a task request to find out the step-by-step procedure of registering a company in UK. Compared to my colleagues I have a wider knowledge about this task request as I have previously worked on a task related to company.

This task did not take long to complete, as I know where to go to get this information. The companies house has all the require information to help me complete this task. The only one thing that bothered me little bit was preparing the steps of registering a company as requested by the client. I have gathered all the information that is require for registering a company and gave myself a systematic planning as to how creatively I can present the task to the client.

After a few minutes of planning for the presentation to be sent to the client in a step-by-step procedure for registering a company in UK, I begin with…

• Step 1 what he will need in registering a company.
• Step 2 choosing a company name.
• Step 3 deciding on division of shares.
• Step 4 the memorandum of association.
• Step 5 the articles of associations.
• Step 6 completing forms 10 and 12.
• Step 7 sending of the documentation.

With these 7 steps of registering a company, details of which have been provided to the client I ended the task with an option of electronic filling (online registering) to the companies house. I have also mentioned about the company formation/registering agents along with their contact details. To make sure I cover everything in the task, I have also given the addresses and contact details to where the application/documentation should be sent.

Database Research

I wonder if I do not have that lady luck as far as the task requests from the clients are concern to the IWAP executives / personal assistants. I have been a victim of realizing the toughness of the task request from the clients lately. This time again has not been a different scenario when a client had wrote in for a database research on FPGA computing production companies. I had thought that with the online marketing and advertisement in the west being so advance would not have any difficulty in finding out all the information that the client has asked for.

The client has asked for a database research on High Performance Reconfigurable Computers with FPGA centric. He would like it to be presented in an excel sheet which should essentially include the name of the company and contact details, management team, who, how and when the company was founded, products, market, partners, annual revenue / financial position, latest news or any upcoming events.

The task went on desired pace until came the annual revenue/financial position of the company. Very few companies have divulged their financial position. This was one level in the task which has made me to think had this task being worked by some of my colleagues; I would have not shoulder this difficulty. This was when it ran into my head because I cannot tell the client that this information could not be found and please find out by yourself. But I guess I like challenges because I get bore with the same kind task working over again.

I had said to myself if I could not get this information neither would any researcher be because I have thoroughly checked and looked into all possible links and ways to have this information. Simultaneously, I have also called few possible organizations that could have this information.

Happy with my own effort, I have sent the task request to the client with self-conviction that the client would also be happy about the task done.

Teaching Eligibility In UK

A university graduate interested in learning French language had called and wrote to IwantaPA Ltd with a task request to find out French language institutes in London for home tuition. He would be only available for home tuition between 6 PM to 8 PM 3 – 5 days a week and requested to find out on the flexibility of the French language teacher. He’d mentioned that fee would not be a constraint.

He also wrote that he needs IwantPA executives to find out the teaching eligibility in the United Kingdom for a university graduate degree holder. I am happy that I have provided all the information available for teaching eligibility in the UK for a university degree holder. Any graduate degree individual intending for a career in teaching in UK will need to undergo another course. For instance, PGCE, TFP, SCITT, and QTS.

This was just another task not among the equal of the tough ones, which could have been done by any individual who has an interest in the mentioned/given tasks request. However, this task request has taught me another lesson to learn what IwantaPA is all about. IwantaPA is all about servicing you freeing up your time to help you concentrate and work harder on other important works.

Travel to New York

A client called and wrote in that he need help planning a trip to USA. He plans to spend about 2 weeks in Los Angeles, California. He will be doing a research project for his thesis but would also like to take a trip and visit few other places in Los Angeles area. He needs to find out best deal for non-stop flights, an itinerary, reservations for places to stay (hotels, personal homes, small quaint accommodations,) and any other help to make the trip a successful one apart from his thesis work.

The client sounds to be a soft-spoken person and a highly educated person. He sounded very professional which left me thinking if I could ever have a quality of his professionalism to attract or be admired by another person in a quick moment. One of his colleagues has introduced him to IWAP personal assistant services. He called and spoke briefly to me wanting to know what all that we could do for the clients regarding the task request. I have confidently told the tasks that I have done:

• Travel & Restaurant booking
• Calendar Management
• Property research and analysis for London area
• Proof-reading & presentations
• MS Office support on word / power point & excel documents
• Data entry
• Tele marketing
• Web-based marketing & blog marketing
• Transcription of Office dictation.
  

Convincingly he said that he will write to us with his task request and ended the call. A short while later, he wrote in with his task request details, which made the task lot easier as we do not have to call or send him any mail to confirm or clarify anything.

Traveling places on a Holiday

Past few days have been engaged with tasks request from the clients of Russian, Indian and Australian nationals who would like to go on a holiday to different parts of the world. They’d requested to find out the procedure of applying for tourist visa for six different countries and then was again requested for some sightseeing/tourist attractions in the United States and Canada. It has been a lot learning particularly the tourist attractions in the United States and Canada, where I was also requested to please check out the prices of hiring a PC Van (portable home) in Canada.

On completion of these tasks came a number of tasks from the same clients. They had requested to find out the tourist attractions in Paris, Dubai, Prague, and Salvador. At the meantime, they had also requested that I check out prices on cheap flight tickets and hotel booking for all these cities and countries including the United States and Canada.

These tasks request were made huger as the clients have two traveling dates, which they would have to decide on one at little later. Yet, their requests were such that I check out the cheap flight tickets and hotel booking and availability for two separate dates.

These tasks requests was not the toughest of all the tasks that I have done as an IWAP PA but these tasks requests certainly is the biggest of all the tasks. (Size wise, king of all tasks!)