moving to bangkok. hiring personal assistant.

boddicker said:
could you tell me a little bit about your experience getting an assistant? how many people did you interview? i know some people in bangkok and they say the hardest thing is getting somebody with a good grasp of english. though, i posted an ad and had one person from england one person from australia apply (ladies) at $600 a month. these people wouldn't know thai, so that would be a negative. there were a few 50% thai 50% americans that had lived in america, but their english was somewhat flawed.

i was told that any girl graduating from a good university would be very happy with a job that paid $600. since i'm not going to have them run any of my current business operations, it's not like they need to be a genius. i haven't actually interviewed anybody since i'm not even there. i could find out very fast that you're right. i did get a lot of applications at that price range though.
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$600 is a pretty high salary for a recent grad here, assuming they're from an average-good university and not Chula/somewhere else prestigious. You shouldn't have any trouble finding an English speaker at that rate, although they're not going to be able to write a great essay or anything like that.

I live in Bangkok and have 2 part time employees. If you want a simple arrangement that covers all your needs, hire a cheap Thai employee with reasonable English for $350/month and spend the rest outsourcing to the Philippines. Bangkok is very Westernized, but there are some major cultural differences that don't really become apparent until you try and manage staff. A part time Filipino designer shouldn't run more than $300 a month, and will save you a lot of frustration if you're not accustomed to managing Thai staff.
 
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Torgo's points are good. $600 for a new grad would be really high. But I'm talking about a really good personal assistant which would not be a new grad.

Being fluent in both Thai and English is critical. Most new grads are not even functional in English, although a lot can fake their way but you will get burned again and again because they aren't really fluent and there will be plenty of misunderstandings. It's almost essential that they lived some time in an English speaking country. If they don't speak Thai like a native it is a non-starter - she won't have lived in Bangkok and won't be able to communicate with the locals effectively so will be less than useless to you - don't consider it.

I think Torgo's approach would work. It's just that a really good personal assistant is gold. She can not only keep you organized but also make a lot of valuable connections for you. She will know a lot of the right people or at least know their names and can give you tips on who's who in your business, help arrange introductions and even get you invited to social functions.

But PAs like that are hard to get and cost a lot. I went through a list of about a dozen recommended ladies in my search. Most would not even consider leaving their existing well-paid position to work for a new boss with unknown staying power (most new expats in Thailand quickly fail).
 
Yeah im living in Manila these days and the standard of english is great with VA's. Get a degree qualified VA with experience for $350USD max.
 
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