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!)

Canada Sight Seeing on a VC Portable Home?

After a great weekend, came Monday when I was greeted by clients through an email that the task request I have done for them were very helpful and indeed the clients are happy about my work. These clients of Russian, Indian and Australian nationals have requested for tourist visa application process for 6 countries and USA sight seeing.

Clients’ satisfaction is shown with another task request to find out and suggest places/attractions to visit in Canada. They have also requested to find out the prices for hiring a VC portable home for a week’s time while in Canada and would like to know if that would be affordable, convenient for 3 people and secured. One of the clients of 3 seems to be suggesting about the portable home while the 2 others seems to have come up few questions, which they could not answered among themselves because of their busy schedules.

Finding out and suggesting places/attractions to visit in Canada was just another task request. However, the request to find out the prices of hiring a portable home was anew to me. I approached one of my colleagues Yana about this request and was very eased to know that she has worked on the same task. Yana has all the information e.g. website address, email address, physical address and contact details etc for VC portable homes. I did not do lot of researches for the same. This request has been made a lot easier by Yana. I checked in for the preferred dates, called few people to get the best deal, compared prices, and quoted different prices and features/amenities for VC portable home.

I could surprise the CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) in London, UK with the help of Yana on the approach of this task request and time taken to complete the task.

Sight Seeing in the US.

Few days after the task on tourist visa for Russian, Indian, and Australian nationals was done, a task request from the same client came again with a request to find out and suggest attractions to visit in the USA.

This was a huge task, as the clients have not mentioned any particular city as they could be visiting any city of the US, which could be most tourists attractive. I was lost for some moment in this huge task, wandered imaginatively in the streets of the US and drown on seas that surrounds. A country like the US where it has over 50 states and over hundreds of cities, there will be thousand of places to visit, how do I go about this task request, I complaint. However, I realized that it won’t be any wiser of me to keep complaining about this task request.

I did a lot of research on tourist attractions for the United States as to which city or place tourist most preferred visiting. Indeed, there are thousands of places to visit yet I have narrowed down to only few cities going by the surveys “a must see or visit cities in the US for tourists” as the clients have mentioned that their stay in the US will not be more than 10 days as they intend and have programmed to visit several other countries.

Tourist Visa

A Russian passport holder resident in the UK called in with a task request to find out the procedure of getting a tourist visa. She along with two of her friends of different nationals would be traveling to different parts of the world as a tourist. They are all UK residents and hold passport of their respective country.

She requested to find out the procedure of getting a tourist visa for a Russian, an Indian, and an Australian national respectively. She’d mentioned that they intend to visit

• France
• Czech republic
• UAE (Dubai)
• USA
• Canada
• Brazil

I was surprised and asked myself if all the time that god has made will be just traveled away holidaying. But quick to come to back to my sense that who cares if they have worked enough in their own given time. The task was not the toughest of all the tasks; however, this task has taken more time than desired by the CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) in UK. CRM complaint about the efficiency of time taken on the task, yet I have my own good reason as I compiled all the information that will find helpful to the clients as visa applicants and as tourist.

As long as it takes to get a visa, likewise this task has also taken away some quick moments of my time. Getting a visa is worth waiting, so as finishing the task as desired by clients was worth time taken.

Overview of UK Property Market.

Lisa has come back after a couple of days off from work due to some personal reason. Not long after she has occupied her work place, a client called in for a task request who have heard about IwantaPA service through his friend. He is a property investor in UK.

The client requested IwantaPA Lisa to find out:

• the overview of UK property market
• property hot spot areas
• property poor performing regions/areas
• highest priced areas
• areas of highest volume of property sales
• statistic of annual increase in property value
• monthly price change
• quarterly price change and
• last year price change on properties.

Lisa has never wondered that gathering all this information would be tough. Once she practically began with the task request, she then realized that the client’s money would be worthier paying for the task request.

Sitting next to Lisa while she was working on this task request has made me understand that she’s given her all for this task for some given time, overpowering many frustrations when she couldn’t find desired information. Seeing all her hard work, put in for this task will make one appreciate her ways……….

Holiday in Dubai!

Yesterday been a tough day as two of my colleagues were not around and the workloads been numerous.

Mr. Carl a client from London, have heard lot about Dubai and have planned for a week long holiday in Dubai. Mr. Carl called in at IwantaPA Ltd contact centre for a task request to find out the cheapest flight to Dubai from London for 2 people. He also requested to find out some hotels for 2 adults with a sea view room and a tour itinerary for 7 days.

I do love to holiday and go places provided I have enough funds. This task request is of no difference to my personal interest and I have done my best to provide enough information to this task request. Preparing the tour itinerary was interesting, when I pictured myself that I am there. This is how I make my work interesting! Might work for you too.

Have not heard from Mr. Carl about the task request that I have done however, I believe that he’d be happy with the task. The CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) in UK did also find it good and informative.

Chambers of commerce

A client called in with a task request to find out contact details for chambers of commerce in southeast England. He was interested in the contact details of chambers of commerce in some major cities in southeast England.

Although, it took me some time to compile all the contact details of the chambers of commerce in southeast England, as I could not find a directory of chambers of commerce in England, however the task request was nicely presented to be appreciated. I have never thought that there could be so many chambers of commerce in southeast England alone. I have provided all the contact details i.e. name and address of the chambers of commerce, telephone nos. fax no. email address and the website of the chambers of commerce. In many cases, I have even provided the names of the administrative authorities of the chambers of commerce.

This task request result was highly appreciated by the client and Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) in UK. You have provided exactly the information I was looking for….. The client wrote back.

IWAP welcomes computer professional

Come August, IWAP has a new member to the family. Bhim, a computer professional have joined the IWAP team. As a person, Bhim is a soft spoken, work centric and a very humble human being. IWAP welcomes and is glad to have him in the family. He will be in charged of all works related to DTP. All my colleagues and I are happy by the vision that all presentation works will now be taken care by a professional, thus making the task request from the clients less burdensome.

There have been time when I and my colleagues thought that the clients' task request were nicely done, however, before the task request is being sent off to the clients our CRM (customer relationship managers) in UK thoroughly looks into the task result and sometimes found unsatisfactory about our presentation and needs to be reworked. This has made my colleagues and me crazy quite a time.

Who would not wish to know everything under the sun? Regrettably no one born to this world (will be born…) knows everything that is under the sun. I am not different, I complaint for a computer professional for presentation.

Building Insurance

Indeed, a PA or any interested individuals work would have been much easier had there been just a few set of questions to be filled in an insurance websites to get a quote for a building insurance.

Ms. Lisa got a task request from a client to find out the best building insurance quote for his home in Walthamstow, E17 area. I remembered that I have done a similar task and I was not hesitating to say to Lisa to call or email the client before the task request could proceed any further. I downloaded a bundle of questions that needs to be answered or responded by the client. Lisa was apprehensive if the client could be little unhappy answering or responding to the set of questions to get a correct quote for his building insurance. Despite of her apprehensiveness, right information needs to be provided and quality cannot be compromised.

Although, this task seems challenging to Lisa, she knows what to do from here on. She did her best to make sure that the task was done better then as expected by the client.

However, Lisa seems to be complaining that this task request has taken lot of her time.

BMW 7 Series Saloon Servicing.

A client wrote.

I need my BMW 7 series saloon fully serviced, therefore I require you to provide me with a quote of the price, a description of the service, and the postcode to where I can obtain the cheapest service.

Ms. Yana worked on this task request. She was quick to realize that she can just drive a car, and know nothing about car maintenance and servicing. She was very smart to quiz her colleagues who she thought could be knowledgeable for the task. Without taking much time, she began calling different service centres in and around the postcode provided by the client. She obtained the quote from different service centres for oil servicing, inspection 1 and inspection 2 and provided the cheapest deal along with the road directions to the service centre.

I was not surprised to know that Ms. Yana received a very happy note from the client for the task that she has done. Had not been her smartness in handling the task and her colleagues around, I’d love to see her scratching her head.

Company dissolution

A client (company director) called in to find out the process of voluntarily dissolving a company. I was tempted to ask and eager to know why was the company dissolving? However, I could not gather enough courage to call the client and ask him, why did he want to know the process of company dissolution? To find out the process of voluntarily dissolving a company was more then enough to answer for a PA to do the task requested accordingly.

I’d say to myself, just stop functioning the company, inform the employees of the company that the company will no longer be functional and pay the employees whatever the amount the company owes to the employees.

I have never thought that there existed a procedure of dissolving a company. My thoughts proved me wrong as there is a very organized way of dissolving a company in UK from the companies house.

I did thoroughly look into all the procedures of voluntarily dissolving a company and responded my client for the same. There are different types of dissolution of a company in different parts of UK.

Ummh! This was another challenging task and another challenging day.

Taking PA's Places Virtually.

Never have thought that the work of an IWAP PA (personal assistant) could be so demanding, making sure that the clients’ task requests are first replied compromising any personal thing.

Today, a client called in to book a flight to Islamabad, Pakistan and find car rental services. Also, requested to find some renting accommodation for a month’s time.

Work of an IWAP PA is taking IWAP’s entire PA across the globe. Ms Y and Ms L were so involved with a task request from a client to arrange a 14 days tour itinerary to Canada.

Never know which part of the world the task requests from the clients will take the IWAP PA’s to….

International Driving License and hiring a Private Jet

Working as a PA Team Lead with IwantaPA Ltd is quite an interesting profile. I received different interesting task request from clients. Today, I got a task request from a client in UK for an international driving permit, this is something I also wanted to know as I am also planning go abroad for some training and would like to have an IDP. Which was not like a task, it was something like I am finding out for myself.

One of my colleagues Ms. Y got a high profile task on hiring a private jet to Portugal from London. Although, it was an interesting and a lot learning for her, this unusual task request gave Ms. Y some crazy moment today. She got all the information that the client wanted to know. Client Mr. J C (identity protected) so impressed, gave Ms. Y a thumbs up saying IwantaPA ROCKS!!!

A new challenge

I have joined IwantaPA Ltd after an experience of more than two and a half year in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) as a Team Lead. Its a new challenge with different responsibility, working as a personal assistant for professional individuals and corporate business professionals. I am happy with IwantaPA thus far as my clients are satisfied and happy with my assistances.