|
Q:
How did you get into Personal Assistant work?
A:
"By accident. You
could say I was "discovered". Many years ago I was led into an interview
situation, thinking it was for an employment agency only to have it turn
out that I was actually being interviewed by a Personal Assistant to replace
her for her job. After 3 hours of tea & conversation she revealed the
truth & asked me to meet the celebrity the next day. We clicked and I
was flying off to Aspen immediately. I went straight from there into a
full concert tour & a very busy lifestyle/career that hasn't stopped
since."
"After that first celebrity employer, the others that I have worked with
came about because of my contacts and my reputation. I have been very
lucky to be in such demand."
Q:
How different is it to work as a Personal Assistant compared to any other
profession?
A:
"A job is a job. You could ask this same question about any career. Every
job is very different from every other job, yet there are some things
the same in some fields. How do you compare any one job to EVERY other?"
"I think the answers you are looking for are these: What is it like to
work for a celebrity? The same as working for anyone else...you might
like them, might not. If you don't, you don't last. If you are starstruck,
you don't last. You DO NOT think of them as a celebrity...you think of
them as your boss. You become so immersed in their life that it all becomes
routine, even though it may NOT be routine at all. You have different
types of things that you deal with every day, but it is still like any
other job in the sense that you are an employee & they are your boss and
it is a job."
"The biggest difference in this job is that you work so closely with this
person. You might be the closest person in their life, sometimes even
closer than spouses. You might be dealing with this person 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. You know EVERYTHING in their life so well that you
could almost (okay, I did say almost!) take their place! This can feel
very rewarding, but it can also lead to a false sense of security for
some IF you lose sight of the fine line..."
"The biggest piece of advice that I can give to anyone in (or thinking
about getting into) this field is this: DO NOT EVER FORGET THAT YOU ARE
A BUSINESS DECISION. DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THAT FINE LINE BETWEEN THE BUSINESS
& PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP. You are never irreplaceable. You may be extremely
close with your boss & they with you, but I've seen way too many hearts
(both assistants and employers) get broken in this career path because
people lose sight of the line."
"This is so very hard to explain to anyone who has not experienced
this job....but, you become very close; you are considered part of the
family quite often. You couldn't be any good at this job if you didn't
care so much about them, BUT you just can't EVER forget. (Did I emphasize
enough?)"
"There
are so many other differences that you could go into....constantly dealing
with security issues, privacy, fans, publicity, celebrities, families,
traveling, productions, 24 hour schedules, the list goes on forever. Every
day is a new adventure. We handle it all. No one can fully understand
or appreciate us until they've done it."
Q:
What is the toughest part of your job?
A:
"You might get a different response from every Personal Assistant
that you ask because each job is completely different, just as each individual
is very different. I would have to give a couple of answers to this one.
- Not being able
to have control over your life. I don't mean that in a negative way.
If you choose this career, you choose to be of service to someone else's
life...their life doesn't stop...neither does your job. The more of
yourself, of your time, of your life that you are willing to give to
them then the more value you have to them. Some assistants do give less,
and have a life of their own, but they might not be offering the full
services of which Personal Assistants are supposed to be capable.
- Explaining my
job to others. It is very difficult for people to understand what I
do for many reasons. First, I don't talk about it much (for confidentiality
reasons). Second, a lot of people like to belittle the job by calling
us "p.a.'s or go-fers," of which we are neither. Some of us do the go-fer
stuff (like picking up the drycleaning or the dog poo in the backyard),
but if they were to take a look at us 20 minutes later, they might see
us doing something like executing a contract with a producer or agent,
or walking up on stage at the Academy Awards. My personal pet peeve
is being called a p.a. (I know it is the initials for Personal Assistant),
but the industry standard for p.a. is "production assistant" which are
the low men on the totem pole of a filming crew. They are (sometimes
unpaid) go-fers that wear walkies & take orders from everyone else on
set. Nothing wrong with that, I love ‘em all, but it's NOT me."
Q:
What are some of the perks of being a Personal Assistant?
A:
"Perks vary from employer to employer. I personally value the relationships
I have formed with my employers and their families. I also am very fortunate
to have developed a lot of business contacts worldwide because of my association
with my employers. This career has opened every door that I could ever
want to go into for me. Most times I am given the same star treatment
that my boss is given (luxury travel, accommodations, special services
& gifts, etc.). I have traveled all over the world on someone else's dime
AND been paid for it. My favorite part is that I work from their home,
or hotel, or a car, or a plane....I am totally mobile. I don't have to
sit behind a desk to be functional. I can be of benefit to them any where,
any time. I like the spontaneity & unpredictability of the job. It makes
for a challenging & exciting work environment."
Q:
What are some of the drawbacks of being a Personal Assistant?
A:
"Personal relationships
are very difficult. A lot of people want to know you because of who you
know or what you can do for them, or they are starstruck. You can become
very popular because of your connection to a celebrity. You have to be
very careful & scrutinize the intentions of all potential friends and
romantic relationships. The relationships that you do choose to maintain
can become difficult at times because you can't always talk about what
happened at work that day, the way that most people do. Confidentiality
can make you a very boring person if you have a job that is 24/7. Sacrificing
your (personal) life for theirs is the biggest drawback I can think of.
Every Personal Assistant has to find his/her own way to justify it and
bring some sense of balance into their own life. It doesn't do anybody
any good to sacrifice too completely...those who do eventually become
resentful and don't last."
Q:
What qualifies you for this job compared to other jobs?
A:
"My temperament (nothing gets to me). My background (I've done a little
of everything). My personality (look up "ISFJ" type in the Meyers-Briggs
Personality Profiles...and it will all be crystal clear)! I could never
work in a corporate world, I hate rules and having to conform. I like
the feeling of freedom that comes from intertwining my life with my boss'."
Q:
What do you think are the most important qualifications for being a Personal
Assistant?
A:
"Chemistry. Between the assistant and employer there has to be really
great chemistry. Almost anybody can learn the skills & procedures, but
only a unique few can assist an individual to their full potential. I
believe that an assistant should be able to inspire and motivate. If you
are part chameleon you can work for different people, adapting to their
different needs. Just because you've worked for one, doesn't necessarily
qualify you to work for another. Starting with a new employer is just
like starting from scratch. You would easily offend an employer if you
tried to carry over someone else's ideas or systems for doing things."
"Lack of commitments or responsibilities. I know that these aren't legal
interview questions, but trust me, they will be watching for the cues
into this aspect of you."
"Like I said earlier, the more of yourself, your life that you can
and are willing to give ...the more valuable you are to them. This will
sound really bad, but here are some of the cues they watch for: Do you
have a family, spouse, kids, etc.? Do you go to school or belong to any
groups where you have to meet on a regular basis? Do you have any pets?
Do you have houseplants? Do you have a boy/girl friend? These things might
be okay for some, but to earn the bigger bucks they like to hear things
like: All of my stuff is in storage, I'm living with friends, I have no
pets, no vacations coming up, no weddings that I have to be at, I already
have my passport and I can meet you at the airport in an hour. If you
are walking into the interview you should already be packed!"
Q:
Are you held to any legal standards of privacy and confidentiality?
A:
"Absolutely. I always sign a confidentiality agreement. I don't say ANYTHING
about ANYONE ... EVER. In this job, you are only as good as your reputation.
It is very easy for one little subpoena to ruin your entire career."
Q:
What is the most unusual thing you have been asked to do?
A:
"I don't know. What do you consider unusual? Folding the boss's underwear?...or
picking out their clothes & toiletries & packing for them? I call that
routine. Every day, every hour you could probably find something unusual
to someone. Try some of these on: upon landing in a private jet I had
to get rid of a news crew & a crowd of screaming fans at an airport before
my boss would get off the plane, made Chinese elixirs from scratch in
Indonesia, put my boss on an Ayurvedic diet in the outback of Australia,
coordinated somebody else's divorce, hypnotized my boss, protected the
boss from shady characters, ditched the paparazzi, had to explain to the
FBI why the President's life was endangered, chased photographers, turned
a Motel 6 room into the accustomed style of The Ritz Carlton, paid someone
$100 to give up a parking space (OOPS that was for me, on my night off...time
was precious!), did an actual "firewalk" on a job interview, arranged
for kangaroos to come visit, chartered a private plane to pick up a puppy,
spoke to another celebrity because the boss idolized them & was too nervous,
drove with my eyes closed because they wanted to see if I REALLY could
do ANYthing...(oh, the stories we can never tell)!"
Q:
What is a typical day like?
A:
"There is no such
thing. Every employer is different and with each person every day is different.
It just depends on what is happening in their life at that time. You might
be traveling; you might be waking up in a foreign country; you might have
worked all night; you might have worked several days without sleep; you
might be at home packing, or unpacking, or both at the same time. You
are always on the phone (maybe several), usually cellular. Your pager
is constantly going off. Faxes are constantly coming & going, everybody
is trying to reach you/your boss for something. You are continually and,
automatically juggling, organizing, prioritizing & handling every crisis,
need & whim that your boss has. You are also taking in & responding to
all of the personal & professional requests that everybody associated
with your boss has."
"Your are the babysitter, the nurse, the counselor, the delegator,
the expert —you name it....you're it! You are the one and only resource
that your boss needs because you have the resources and abilities to handle
it all. "OR...you and your boss might just spend the day sitting on the
beach. You really have to be ready for anything, especially if they slam
on the brakes and just want to relax. Sometimes you have to make sensitive
choices for them ....like making them work when they really want to play....
or making them play when they really should work. This job is not about
taking orders, but more about understanding the true priorities of the
person for whom you work. Do you remember "Radar" from the TV series "M.A.S.H."?
He was always one step ahead. Well, you need to always be about 10 steps
ahead...while looking like you are right behind ‘em!"
Q:
Is this a career you have chosen by design or is it an opportunity to
segue into other aspects of the entertainment (or other) industries?
A:
"I didn't ever set
out to be a Personal Assistant —I'd never even heard of one until I became
one myself. But I eventually realized that this was my true calling. Everything
in my very diverse background led up to this career. I have no intention
of going into other areas of the entertainment industry. I plan to stick
with this career and broaden it by helping others with the same path."
Back
to top
|
