Here's the ad which we ran on Gumtree. My PA wanted to go to an employment agent - fee about £4,500 for finding someone. The ad cost £19. We got 72 replies (so far) of very high quality - with replies like "Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" and "This is me!" plus lots of people saying how they loved the ad. What was the secret weapon? I told the truth. Not forgetting the odd literal - no wonder as it took about 20 minutes to write and about the same to place. Here is this oh-so-creative masterpiece: ********************************************************************* You’ll love this unusual PA/Secretary job – if you’re an unusual person ********************************************************************* We don’t care how old you are, your creed, colour or background if you think you’d enjoy handling this: Manage the diaries of two people who run around a lot Arrange a lot of travel (US, Italy, Ukraine, Romania, Slovenia, Czech Republic in the next 3 months) Deal with suppliers - IT, stationery, plus boring essentials like office supplies and biscuits in the meeting room Help with personal stuff which is almost as complex as a TV soap Find all sorts of things on the internet (please be good at that!) and in the office Organise speeches and put together PPT presentations Write, add, multiply, divide and subtract Be absurdly charming – to people ranging from publishers to Marketing Directors, on the phone and in person Inhabit a very fast-moving world with occasionally (i.e. frequently) excitable colleagues Work odd hours and do unusual things sometimes Comprehend what on earth our IT support people are talking about Ignore bad language – which comes with the business at no extra charge All this without getting paid a fortune – just a reasonable rate for the job plus a bonus. Disgusting, isn’t it? Our name is known internationally. We create marketing material for clients whose names you will immediately recognise. We do speeches and presentations, even write books. And all from a small office near Oxford Street with a multi-national staff of 7, plus a few out of town colleagues who pop in regularly. Nearly all of us are young. We have fun doing it all – the lady you’ll take over from has put up with it for 15 years without complaining more than 15 times a day. And we need someone like her who is in for the long haul, not looking for a stepping stone. Please write a fairly detailed e-mail to marta@draytonbird.com saying why you think you might be the right person - and when you are available. We really need to find somebody asap, to start in max 6 weeks (preferably much earlier) - and spend a few weeks with the lady you'll take over from. References absolutely essential. And if you have any question – just give as a shout! NO AGENCIES, PLEEEEEEASE! Anti spam: Do NOT contact me offering services or anything of a commercial nature. Of course it stood out among all the garbage employment agencies (like the one we would have had to pay) were running. And what is the most valuable thing in any business? People. The little X factor.