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Doctor Who: What makes a good assistant?
No one said being an assistant is easy; whether in the media, nursing, teaching, sales, banking, business and even celebrity. But just what makes a good one?
Well, there's teamwork, for starters. Take the final episode of the latest series of Doctor Who, Journey's End. The Doctor's personal assistant (past, present and those trapped in other dimensions) joined forces to save planet Earth and all of creation from the evil Daleks, their inventor Davros and a nasty looking reality bomb.
It was Donna (played by Catherine Tate) who saved the day in the end, using her typing skills learned when she was working as a temp personal assistant, to dispatch the Daleks and get everyone out of danger. Bringing transferrable skills you've earned elsewhere to dig your boss out of a sticky situation is one way to impress, but there's plenty more you can do too.
Thinking on your feet
From runaway bride to galactic traveller, Donna showed that when you're organising other people (like a 903-year old Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey) you need to be super slick with details, have a good memory and be pretty unflappable.
Things happen very fast and change all the time, especially in fairly tense situations like saving an entire solar system. So, good communication skills are definitely a good thing to have. But just as important for an assistant is knowing when to keep quiet and when to join in. Helping to solve problems behind the scenes is good; telling your boss how to run things might not be.
Another important trait of a good assistant is common sense. Just look at Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper), the Doctor's ninth assistant. She may not have had a 'formal education', but Rose could definitely think very quickly on her feet. This kind of common sense meant Rose could keep up with the Doctor, but also function perfectly well on her own.
Leading us nicely on to independence. Being able to think alone and make confident decisions is another key skill; otherwise what starts out as help can often turn into a hindrance for any boss.
Knowing your stuff
Worldly-wise and with plans to be a Doctor herself, Martha (played by Freema Agyeman) showed that being a sidekick isn't about blending in with the wallpaper. Martha learnt so much on the job that she left the Tardis and went on to fight her own baddie battles without the Time Lord.
It's the same for many assistants, PAs, teaching assistants and many others, who prove they're a major asset to their company or place of work and can take on more responsibility. Often working for a high ranking boss means you get a good understanding of the whole organisation. This could lead to skilling up and moving into another field, sometimes even becoming a manager yourself, like Martha.
Of course, the season finale of Doctor Who shows off the one all-important trait of a good assistant...
Without the Doctor's assistants, the show really wouldn't go on. After all, everyone needs a supporting cast and, above all, a person they can always rely on.
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