FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions about The Middle

  • Personal assistants work with busy individuals to help them manage and streamline their lives (personal and/or business-related) versus a regular office assistant who reports to a office on a daily schedule to support exclusively company matters. Additionally, our personal assistants work on a part-time basis are are not salaried, full-time, or on-call positions. Just because you don't need help 24/7 does not mean you don't need a little assistance!

  • If you're here and considering it, you are. You can hire a personal assistant for as little as a few hours per week. We have no minimums or set plans.

  • Aren't you a celebrity in your own right? But, no. Personal assistants are not just for celebrities and CEOs! If you're busy, and find yourself wasting time on the little things instead of focusing on your business, your family, or YOURSELF (gasp!), then you could use a personal assistant!

  • We work with all sorts of clients in a variety of industries, including consultants, entrepreneurs, screenwriters, media executives, marketing experts, artists, lawyers, project managers, and small business owners. We are here for anyone who is busy and wants to relieve some of the pressure of their never ending to-do list.

  • This means our personal assistants aren’t freelancers who do one errand for you and are never seen again. They also aren't on-call, 24/7 career assistants that sit at a desk all day. Our personal assistants are part-time, but we hope to establish long-term working relationships between our clients and our assistants. Some weeks you may have several hours of work to unload, some weeks you may have only a few, and that’s OK! Because our personal assistants are independent contractors, they are comfortable with a flexible schedule.

general

  • A personal assistant handles all of the "little things" in your life. They tackle all of the small tasks that can get in the way of true productivity, including (but not limited to) running errands, scheduling meetings, booking travel, or purchasing gifts.

  • A virtual assistant handles all of the administrative details of your life that are taken care of online. They tackle the digital tasks that can get in the way of true productivity, including (but not limited to) organizing your inbox, scheduling meetings, booking travel, or purchasing gifts online.

    All of The Middle’s assistants can work both in-person or remotely, depending on your needs. They will always be located in your city (Los Angeles & NYC), even if the work is 100% remote.

  • A personal shopper can either do all of your shopping for you, or accompany you on your shopping trips to give advice (and, of course, carry the bags!). Personal assistants can act as personal shoppers by doing your grocery shopping, picking up items and dropping off returns, and purchasing gifts.

  • At this time, we do not place full-time positions. The positions we place are generally between 5 and 25 hours per week.

  • No, The Middle does not have a minimum hours requirement, or set plans. We do not dictate the terms with which you work with your personal assistant. Because our personal assistants are part-time, they are comfortable with working only a few hours, and are flexible as your needs fluctuate each week. When you fill out our Client Questionnaire, please provide an estimated number of hours per week you expect to work with your PA so we can match you with candidates who have the right availability.

Personal assistant services

  • Personal assistants charge $25-$35/hr. We don’t recommend offering less than $20/hr, and more experienced or specialized personal assistants may ask for $35+/hr.

  • You only pay The Middle a one-time payment placement fee for the matching and interview coordinating services provided. You do NOT pay The Middle for your personal assistant's hours. Your personal assistant should bill those directly. Learn more about our services pricing.

  • Your personal assistant will bill you directly. It's common to submit an invoice biweekly, but it is ultimately between you and your personal assistant how often they will submit their invoice, and how you will pay. Please follow applicable employment rules.

  • Reimbursable expenses should be tracked on your personal assistant's invoice and submitted with their hours. You should not expect your personal assistant to pay for expensive personal items up front.

  • All personal assistants with The Middle are based in your city (Los Angeles or NYC), and can be available for in-person or remote support. Our assistants are happy to work entirely remote, if that is what works best for you! The hourly rate is generally $25-30/hr.

    Virtual assistants on other platforms will charge you a monthly flat fee with a minimum and maximum number of hours. “Virtual” (remote) personal assistants with The Middle have no minimum hourly requirement.

  • Our personal assistants can grocery shop, or run other errands for you. Most personal assistants are looking for a minimum of $25/hr for these tasks, and mileage for driving on the job should be reimbursed at the current standard mileage rate.

personal assistant payments

  • You will receive candidates and be able to interview candidates free of charge, as many times as you’d like. We want you to feel confident in your choice!

    Once you have interviewed your candidates and are ready to hire your favorite, we charge a one-time placement fee of $550. You are not obligated to hire a candidate that we refer to you, and if at any time prior to hire, you decide not to hire a candidate through The Middle, no placement fee is due.

    If you decide to hire a candidate, and the candidate accepts your offer and a formal introduction is made by The Middle, you must start working with your assistant within 1 week of the hiring date. If you do not start within 1 week, we cannot guarantee that the candidate will remain available to start, and the full placement fee will be due.

    For our full replacement policy, please see our Client Terms of Service.

  • It is our mission to make sure you get the help you need. Once you have hired an assistant, we have a 2-week replacement period after the hiring date. If it turns out to not be the fit you expected within the 2 weeks, we will send you a replacement candidate for free, or refund you $225. You must inform The Middle within the 2-week replacement period if employment ends. No replacement or refund will be given if The Middle is informed after the 2-week replacement period.

    For our full replacement policy, please see our Client Terms of Service.

pricing

  • We provide you with candidates within 2 weeks of your consultation (though often within 3-5 days), and interviews are set at your convenience after that. Unlike a traditional agency, we do not recruit specifically for your position, and accordingly do not charge a retainer fee. We have a database of pre-screened, qualified assistants who we match you with. If we do not have any satisfactory candidates for you, the process may take longer. We are constantly onboarding new PAs and will match you as soon as we meet and screen a fit.

  • Yes! Part-time doesn't mean short-term. We believe in establishing a long-term working relationship so that when you need that extra help, you’ve got someone you can trust. Isn’t that so much easier than having to hire a new freelancer every time or (worse) doing it yourself?

  • There will always be a learning curve when introducing someone to your preferences, but our personal assistants are fast learners and have a baseline skill set that makes them a great PA. We’ll only share matches with you who we are confident can meet your needs.

  • It is our top priority that you are happy with your personal assistant, which is why we take so much care in providing you with the best matches. In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with your personal assistant, or the employment ends prior to 2 weeks from the candidate's start date, The Middle will happily provide you with at least one replacement candidate, at no charge to you, or refund you $225.

  • Your personal assistant should track their own hours, down to 15-minute increments. You can request details as you desire.

  • Reimbursable expenses should be tracked on your personal assistant's invoice and submitted with their hours. You should not expect your personal assistant to pay for expensive personal items up front.

process

  • We are currently assisting the Los Angeles and New York City markets, but please let us know if you’re located somewhere else and are looking for a personal assistant! We’d love to know where we should expand to next!

    In Los Angeles, we operate from Playa del Rey, Santa Monica, and Venice to Hollywood, Los Feliz, and DTLA. In New York, we serve Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.

  • We recruit our personal assistants from various job platforms as well as applications from referrals from current candidates, or Gracie’s deep network.

  • We do not conduct background checks as California's "Ban the Box" Assembly Bill 1008 prevents background checks from being conducted before an offer of employment is on the table. Since the candidates are not The Middle’s employees, we are not legally allowed to perform the background check. However, we do conduct reference checks.

    All candidates are pre-interviewed by Gracie personally. Post-interview, they must complete an "eligibility assignment" that assesses how they research, organize and communicate information/online tasks.

  • We do not offer training at this time, but we only accept personal assistants who we are confident can easily adapt, are proactive, and are excellent problem-solvers and multitaskers.

  • We place personal assistants for private individuals and busy professionals rather than for specific industries. Our candidates have varied experiences, so we are able to match you with candidates who have the appropriate experience for your position. Clients of The Middle are in a variety of industries, including (but not limited to) consultants, artists, executives, engineers, interior designers, entrepreneurs, and influencers.

talent

  • We're called The Middle because we're not Craigslist (creepy!) and we're not an agency (what a hassle!). We're somewhere in the middle: an accessible online platform with the personal touch of being matched to your personal assistant. (Also, our founder, Gracie, is a middle child...)

  • Gracie is an experiencd personal and executive assistant and founder of The Middle. Learn more about The Middle.

  • We are different from a traditional agency. Traditional agencies place salaried, full-time assistants and charge thousands of dollars in commission. We place part-time, ongoing personal assistants with no reoccurring commissions. The agency search process can take months, whereas The Middle can take as little as a week. Unlike an agency, our process is seamless, quick, and transparent.

company
for personal assistants

  • If you're a proactive multitasker and can anticipate client needs while being personable and flexible, apply to be one of our personal assistant candidates!

  • The number of hours needed varies by client, but you can expect to dedicate anywhere between 5 and 20 hours per week. Most clients are looking for availability during the work week, though some hours offered may be asynchronous (get the work done on your own time).

  • Yes, you should have a car to be a personal assistant unless the client exclusively needs a remote assistant, in which case you would not be running errands or visiting the client's home. Being dependent on public transportation is not suitable for running out for an errand or needing to quickly pick something up.

  • A lot of personal assistant work ends up being remote! If you are looking strictly for remote work, we'll work with you to match you with clients that only need remote assistance. Being able to meet in person, even if it is only once or twice a month, could make you a more appealing candidate to the client who is looking for someone to run errands or organize their home.

  • It could take a day, a week, a month, a few months…it’s all about when you’re the right fit for a client.

for fun

  • We highly suggest taking a deep breath. Whew! Someone else is handling all of those little annoyances! You could also go to that workout class you've been too busy to get to, spend time with your family (vacay, anyone?!), focus on new business leads, or lie on your bed and stare at the ceiling. All are great options.

  • It feels real '90s to have a posse, and we're all for it, if that's what works for both of you! No one says you can't have a great relationship with your personal assistant, but remember: they still work for you and maintaining a professional relationship is absolutely necessary.

  • We don't task and tell!

  • To return your Amazon packages.