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Home > People > Latest Profiles
Johana Eidam-Vautherot,
30: Personal assistant
by Jérôme Galichet
Neuchâtel - 06 December 2008 | 07:00
Everybody dreams of having someone to do the things
we don't have time for or don't feel like doing.
Johana-Eidam Vautherot's company offers just that
kind of service, off-loading the burdens of busy people
– largely expat company managers - by providing the
services of a do-it-all PA.
The PA at work: a mistress of multi-tasking
© Jérôme Galichet
When Swisster first met Johana Eidam-Vautherot, the appointment was scheduled at 2 pm at the Hôtel Beau Rivage in
Neuchâtel. She came at 2 pm, not a minute before, not a minute after. In fact, what could be just a niggling detail was
perfectly in keeping with Eidam-Vautherot's job: organizing other people’s work time in the best way possible.
Born in Saint Sulpice, a small community in the canton of Neuchatel, Eidam-Vautherot is a roving personal assistant by
profession. Her clients delegate to her daily tasks they can’t take on themselves. So, she helps people concentrate on
what really matters to them. You have to find a baby-sitter? You want somebody to do the groceries? Your car needs to
be washed and your lawn mowed? She does her best to respond to all sorts of daily tasks that can help managers
spend more time on their careers, family and friends.
"My Personal Assistant," Eidam-Vautherot’s company, also offers tailor-made solutions for businesses that do not have
the time or human resources to dedicate to certain tasks such as event organization, maintaining archives or doing
research.
Just looking at her, you get the sense she is well-organized. Wearing small black glasses, with her hair in perfect bob,
Eidam-Vautherot defines herself not immodestly as a "superwoman." She is multi-talented and is used to doing more
than one thing at a time. Now, she is working for three companies, catering to a dozen individuals. "Most of the time, I
do everything on my own," she told Swisster. But she collaborates with another company for household work.
She was inspired to follow her PA career after watching a TV documentary programme in October 2006, which followed
the lives of several personal assistants in the US. It made her think she could do the same sort of thing. EidamVautherot has international experience after working for two big multinationals established in the region. She speaks
three languages and has the appetite to take on a lot of assignments. Despite warnings from friends, she really throws
herself into her work. A year after watching that TV programme and after doing a market study to check out the business
potential, My Personal Assistant came into being.
The major difficulty of her job: the Swiss and particularly the Neuchatelois state of mind. "The Swiss, contrary to AngloSaxons, are ashamed of delegating daily tasks," Eidam-Vautherot explains. As a result, she has a lot of expats among
her clients. "This is not a VIP service, it's about organizing time. But Swiss people don't understand it."
Concerning her personal time, Eidam-Vautherot just got married last month. She is seven months pregnant. She will
miss her clients while she takes a few months off, but she is excited about having a baby. During the interview, the baby
kicked her several times. Last week, she went to a rock concert close to her hometown. "I love concerts," she says
smiling, as if it was somehow sinful. How does she manage working, going to concerts and having a baby and at the
same time? Don't worry: it is her job.
1 sur 2
9/12/08 13:02
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