From Corporate Cog to Trusted Executive Assistant with Specialized Training

Rachelle (00:00) I really do want to make my client happy because I'm happy and I really do feel like she should be happy and it becomes more focused about my client's experience now, not just the nature of the my name is Rachel and I'm based in the Philippines and currently my client is a CEO for a non-profit organization in the USA that focuses on after-school programs. So before Atlas, I was working as a operations manager for a local company. ⁓ We cater to the United States, so our market is mostly in the US, even if we're based in the Philippines. So yeah, I was mostly handling very different tasks, ⁓ much different tasks from ⁓ my current role in Atlas. So yeah, I was... So, ⁓ I consider myself as somebody who has a lot of skills and they all kind of vary. So, I didn't really know what exactly, what role or what kind of career would perfectly fit me. But I was open, so I was exploring. I wanted to explore the executive assistant role to basically see if I if it's something that would fit me well. And also, I really do enjoy helping someone who basically knows more than me, is in a much higher position than I am on the corporate ladder because I want to learn from them and also be of assistance to them. So that's primarily it. So how Atlas helped me begin my journey and basically helped me ease into the skills of being an assistant. ⁓ On my first, I'd say my first week of being officially employed by Atlas, they had this really, really great course that I took up and it was basically everything that a good EA should have. like in hand. So I would say I came with soft skills already but the hard skills came from Atlas and I learned a lot that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else. So when I was evaluating opportunities and ⁓ the thing about Atlas that specifically made me think that this is what I want for my career, is that correct? Okay, well, ⁓ so in the Philippines, would say like, a lot of people are already like virtual assistants, but I think that sort of rule only focuses on like maybe one or two things. Here in Atlas, it was a different one. Like when I first met my client, I was expecting, given how Atlas prepared me, I was expecting that they would be trusting a lot of things to me, not just like one or two tasks and definitely not something that's repetitive. ⁓ Over time, working for my client, I've basically gone through a lot of different kinds of tasks and encountered different kinds of problems. So I really do like how, I think how versatile the nature of the work was that really stood out to me. And the challenging, like the challenging aspect of it really made me like want to continue with this. So is there a project that the training Atlas... basically put me through this, is there something that really helped with that? ⁓ I'd say yes, a lot of things really. I'd say almost every single thing. And I would say there also have been, there also have been like projects and situations where I haven't been able to use yet, like what Atlas has taught me because I haven't, it's just something I haven't encountered. And that kind of speaks a lot about how much, how far, or how many skills that the training has basically covered. So yeah. So is there a moment that I realized I wasn't an executive assistant to my client? So my client is someone. I would say she's like a motherly figure, if I can say that. ⁓ We don't really treat each other in a way that's like, ⁓ you're my boss and I'm your assistant. So she does trust me with a lot of things and in turn, I do trust her also as like a leader. given the fact that she's the CEO of her company, ⁓ there are a lot of things that can go wrong if she doesn't basically do her role correctly, right? But ⁓ yeah, like we have a friendship, I think, like that's important to the relationship we have. Like there's definitely a strong friendship. I do tell her things that are personal and I wouldn't really share with, you know, like a professional person or like... colleague or like a boss in general. But yeah, we... Yeah, I think working with her specifically has really touched on the topic of trust and honesty, really. So how being an EA and Atlas changed my ⁓ approach to my career. I would say that it definitely took the feeling where I felt like a cog in the wheel out of my approach or my perspective of my career. So I was used to working in a more corporate environment before Atlas. Everyone is basically sort of like an NPC. But working with my client right now, it's definitely... It's much more than that. It's definitely deeper than that. And I do feel like we're friends in a way. And I also do feel like she's sort of a mentor to me. So yeah. So I would definitely, ⁓ I would tell another assistant or executive assistant that about Atlas would be. Joining Atlas as someone who wants to be an executive assistant, I think is a really, really great step, first of all. It definitely does provide moments where it feels a bit more life-changing compared to another assistant job. So ⁓ to further articulate that, I've had a position before where I worked for someone as an assistant. Mostly they made me do things that were repetitive or basically they would, they called me an assistant but I felt like I was just doing a very specific role that they aren't really, they don't have a name for. So for example, yeah, so basically I was made to do things like just creating some graphics for their social media posts. I didn't really like that. because there was no autonomy, was no... there was no variation in what I was doing. There was no life to it. And there definitely wasn't any room for something like trust or like... ⁓ I'd say even creativity, given how repetitive it was. There was no room to really excel. But for Atlas, I do feel like I'm really happy. To be here and work.