Recruiter for the High Net Worth Interviewed by BBC News
Assistant for sports star
Do you have what it takes to be an Executive Personal Assistant and Lifestyle Manager to a sports star? Brian Daniel weighs in on the discipline and the dedication needed to deal with a professional athlete.
NOTE: The job description mentioned in the interview can be read below.
NOTE: The job description mentioned in the interview can be read below.
Job Description
The following job description falls under "Fair Use" and is publicly available on the Internet Archive here: https://web.archive.org/web/20150824125621/http://www.secsinthecity.co.uk/job/3571129/executive-personal-assistant/
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
Well, I did see the advert (job ad). I read through it quickly and my first impression was that he's not paying enough money for the personal assistant job.
So, it says 50,000 to 60,000 British pounds, which is a reasonable amount for an average PA, but the fact is he looking for someone who's basically going to be a hybrid position, which means he wants an executive assistant at a PA, and he wants them 24 hours a day. So, it's a very demanding role to say the least.
Is this usual, then, for PA to do tasks like creating a global brand for sport star, as well as watering the plants?
Yes and no. Here's the problem. These roles, typically, for celebrities do become very demanding, and I'm seeing more of these kinds of situations where they're looking for an all-in-one person.
But the problem is that it is going to be very difficult to find someone who has the experience to do the kind of role that the executive assistant side demands and then have them be willing to roll their sleeves up and be picking up the dry cleaning and do the dishes.
So, it says 50,000 to 60,000 British pounds, which is a reasonable amount for an average PA, but the fact is he looking for someone who's basically going to be a hybrid position, which means he wants an executive assistant at a PA, and he wants them 24 hours a day. So, it's a very demanding role to say the least.
Is this usual, then, for PA to do tasks like creating a global brand for sport star, as well as watering the plants?
Yes and no. Here's the problem. These roles, typically, for celebrities do become very demanding, and I'm seeing more of these kinds of situations where they're looking for an all-in-one person.
But the problem is that it is going to be very difficult to find someone who has the experience to do the kind of role that the executive assistant side demands and then have them be willing to roll their sleeves up and be picking up the dry cleaning and do the dishes.
How much do assistants to sports stars earn?
So, and these kinds of situations in my business we call that "combat pay." Typically, in a situation like this, you're definitely going to be looking at about $150,000 salary for this kind of expertise [$250K adjusting for inflation].
Give us an insight, Brian, into what it's like to be a PA to a big sports star. Do you ever get any time off? It seems as though in this role you have to do absolutely everything.
It's a 24/7 job, and it's an A-to-Z job. Now you have to have what we call very "thick skin." So, it is going to be demanding in the sense that you're going to be dealing with all the business contacts for the sports star. So, you're going to be dealing with publicity representatives, the management for the team, the lawyers, the doctors, and everything else... and then, you're going to be having to manage the domestic staff at the different estates.
Then you have to handle all the personal side, which is going to be booking travel plans, and it's what we call "lifestyle management." So, in a situation like this, if you're not cooking at home, they are going to say, "On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, start booking us reservations at the top restaurants that we like to go to."
Of course, the restaurants where all of the celebrities go. And it's very common for the other family members and even the extended family members to get involved in these sorts of situations.
So, for example, the mother might say, "Well, I don't like that restaurant," and then you will have to book what we call three or four deep. So, you have to book at several different restaurants because you don't know which ones they are going to pick. And the problem is, you're going to have to get a table at the hottest restaurant in town, and they're going to want an eight top, and it's a very difficult thing to do.
Give us an insight, Brian, into what it's like to be a PA to a big sports star. Do you ever get any time off? It seems as though in this role you have to do absolutely everything.
It's a 24/7 job, and it's an A-to-Z job. Now you have to have what we call very "thick skin." So, it is going to be demanding in the sense that you're going to be dealing with all the business contacts for the sports star. So, you're going to be dealing with publicity representatives, the management for the team, the lawyers, the doctors, and everything else... and then, you're going to be having to manage the domestic staff at the different estates.
Then you have to handle all the personal side, which is going to be booking travel plans, and it's what we call "lifestyle management." So, in a situation like this, if you're not cooking at home, they are going to say, "On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, start booking us reservations at the top restaurants that we like to go to."
Of course, the restaurants where all of the celebrities go. And it's very common for the other family members and even the extended family members to get involved in these sorts of situations.
So, for example, the mother might say, "Well, I don't like that restaurant," and then you will have to book what we call three or four deep. So, you have to book at several different restaurants because you don't know which ones they are going to pick. And the problem is, you're going to have to get a table at the hottest restaurant in town, and they're going to want an eight top, and it's a very difficult thing to do.
What duties do celebrity assistants have?
When I was working for the Royal Saudi family, for example, I would have to do that sort of situation, and you have to stop by the restaurant, and you're going to have to pay off the manager because they know the person's probably not going to show up. Then the table sits empty for an hour or two.
What's the strangest request you've ever had then, Brian, from one of your clients?
The strangest request I ever had was at 8:00 on Friday night, they wanted me to get a movie theater for them. They wanted to watch a brand-new movie.
It was a hit movie, and the in the show was sold out. And, of course, they're the only ones that are allowed to be in the theater because of their celebrity status. They don't want people gawking and taking pictures for the glamour magazines.
So, I had to tell the manager that I needed that theater. What I needed him to do was to refund all of the patrons and tell them that the projector broke down. And he started laughing, and the theater manager said under no circumstances could he do that.
Then, I said I was willing to pay him $5,000 for him to do it, and he did. The management emptied the theater, and they put a sign on the door that said the projector has malfunctioned. We stuck the VIPs in the side door. It was "Hollywood star treatment."
The patrons never even knew that there was a major a A-list star right behind that door with his family watching a movie.
Wow, that is series power, isn't it?
Absolutely.
When you are in this job, Brian, some of the tasks seem quite demeaning on paper. Do you have to leave your ego out of this job?
Absolutely. This is not the job for anyone faint of heart. Now, one of the biggest problems when filling these celebrity assistant roles...
What's the strangest request you've ever had then, Brian, from one of your clients?
The strangest request I ever had was at 8:00 on Friday night, they wanted me to get a movie theater for them. They wanted to watch a brand-new movie.
It was a hit movie, and the in the show was sold out. And, of course, they're the only ones that are allowed to be in the theater because of their celebrity status. They don't want people gawking and taking pictures for the glamour magazines.
So, I had to tell the manager that I needed that theater. What I needed him to do was to refund all of the patrons and tell them that the projector broke down. And he started laughing, and the theater manager said under no circumstances could he do that.
Then, I said I was willing to pay him $5,000 for him to do it, and he did. The management emptied the theater, and they put a sign on the door that said the projector has malfunctioned. We stuck the VIPs in the side door. It was "Hollywood star treatment."
The patrons never even knew that there was a major a A-list star right behind that door with his family watching a movie.
Wow, that is series power, isn't it?
Absolutely.
When you are in this job, Brian, some of the tasks seem quite demeaning on paper. Do you have to leave your ego out of this job?
Absolutely. This is not the job for anyone faint of heart. Now, one of the biggest problems when filling these celebrity assistant roles...
It takes thick skin to be a celebrity personal assistant
It's finding someone, one, that has the ability; but two, it's the sacrifice. You have to find someone that has the skill set and the thick skin, and they have to be willing, as you said, to leave their ego at the door. Because it's not about the money. There are plenty of people say that I will work for a hundred fifty thousand a year.
But as soon as they start getting calls from the celebrity at 2:00 in the morning, 3:00 in the morning... "Come make me a milkshake," and you get these really unbelievable, ridiculous requests. That's where a lot of people fall apart.
And when you start your working day, and you've only had three or four hours of sleep, and you got a 15 or 16-hour day ahead of you. Most assistants just can't hack it.
So, the turnover must be extremely high. You must be tempted at some point to say, "I don't want to deal with this guy anymore. I don't want the ego. I'm leaving this job."
Yeah. Because I've been in those kinds of roles myself, I understand the kind of personality and thick skin it takes.
Because I'm dealing exclusively with billionaires and celebrities and so forth. I do a very rigorous interview process, and unless someone has even been doing the job for 5 to 10 years, I don't even consider interviewing them.
A lot of people think they would love to work for a VIP, but they're starstruck. And what assistants have to realize is, this is a business. It is absolutely a business, and you can't be star-struck. And it's all about putting on your business hat and not being a fan.
But as soon as they start getting calls from the celebrity at 2:00 in the morning, 3:00 in the morning... "Come make me a milkshake," and you get these really unbelievable, ridiculous requests. That's where a lot of people fall apart.
And when you start your working day, and you've only had three or four hours of sleep, and you got a 15 or 16-hour day ahead of you. Most assistants just can't hack it.
So, the turnover must be extremely high. You must be tempted at some point to say, "I don't want to deal with this guy anymore. I don't want the ego. I'm leaving this job."
Yeah. Because I've been in those kinds of roles myself, I understand the kind of personality and thick skin it takes.
Because I'm dealing exclusively with billionaires and celebrities and so forth. I do a very rigorous interview process, and unless someone has even been doing the job for 5 to 10 years, I don't even consider interviewing them.
A lot of people think they would love to work for a VIP, but they're starstruck. And what assistants have to realize is, this is a business. It is absolutely a business, and you can't be star-struck. And it's all about putting on your business hat and not being a fan.
Are celebrity assistants able to make it a career?
After you've worked for people for several years, you'll realize their public persona is usually quite different than the actual reality. So, a lot of people with experience understand that, and they don't mind working for a hundred fifty thousand salary or two hundred thousand U.S. a year because, basically, what they're doing is putting all their nuts in the bank so they can retire early.
What would you say to someone who is tempted to apply for this role is the PA to this sports star?
I would say you have to do a lot of homework and read through the job description quite carefully. A lot of people think they have the skills. They're looking for someone who's going to be a brand manager. They need someone who can manage domestic staff. You have to be an absolute wizard with Microsoft Office Suite because you're going to be doing heavy calendar management, and you're going to have to program Excel spreadsheets. Unless you can hit it out of the park, you're not going to be able to survive.
So, if you just want to be friends with a sports star, if you just want to hang out with celebrities, if that's why you want to apply, you'd say forget it.
It's going to be it's going to be in the resume. Unless you're you have a very deep resume with some strong recommendations from some prior celebrities or VIPs, you're not even going to get a call.
In this case, in this job description, it was identified that the Personal Assistant that they were looking for was for a football star. Is it unusual for celebrities to be identified when they are looking for these roles?
Yes, that part of it did catch my attention because typically the employers that come through me, for example, need a third-party recruiter because they want to insulate themselves from the onslaught of CVs and resumes that they're going to get.
What would you say to someone who is tempted to apply for this role is the PA to this sports star?
I would say you have to do a lot of homework and read through the job description quite carefully. A lot of people think they have the skills. They're looking for someone who's going to be a brand manager. They need someone who can manage domestic staff. You have to be an absolute wizard with Microsoft Office Suite because you're going to be doing heavy calendar management, and you're going to have to program Excel spreadsheets. Unless you can hit it out of the park, you're not going to be able to survive.
So, if you just want to be friends with a sports star, if you just want to hang out with celebrities, if that's why you want to apply, you'd say forget it.
It's going to be it's going to be in the resume. Unless you're you have a very deep resume with some strong recommendations from some prior celebrities or VIPs, you're not even going to get a call.
In this case, in this job description, it was identified that the Personal Assistant that they were looking for was for a football star. Is it unusual for celebrities to be identified when they are looking for these roles?
Yes, that part of it did catch my attention because typically the employers that come through me, for example, need a third-party recruiter because they want to insulate themselves from the onslaught of CVs and resumes that they're going to get.
What traits do celebrity PAs need?
The celebrity might be doing some sort of publicity stunt because it is certainly very unusual in my business for someone to put their name on a job description like that.
We have all picked up on this because it's a high-profile footballer. Are these job ads out there all the time for celebrity personal assistants?
With the advent of the internet, a lot of celebrities are attempting to hire assistants by themselves. So, they'll open a job ad, but 99% of the time it's going to list a "confidential employer."
I'm inclined to say perhaps that the celebrity took out a secret advert before and wasn't able to find the person he wanted. So, to boost the profile of the job ad, he put his name on it. This is just a theory of mine, and perhaps he's going to go for round two to see if he can get some more qualified candidates.
One thing I really wanted to ask you about, Brian, is confidentiality. You must see some things the general public would not even believe about these celebrities -- about these sports stars. How difficult is it to keep things confidential?
First and foremost, I want to say that it's standard operating procedure now to sign an NDA: Non-Disclosure Agreement. That's the first thing the clients do before they even tell me anything.
I have to sign the contract, and then all of the assistants who are interviewing for the position have to sign a contract. They are quite thick now because over the years, we've been seeing all these scandalous situations where the "PA tells all." They're writing books and go on the talk-show circuit.
The celebrities have gotten wise to it, and their attorneys are quite savvy, so you're not allowed to disclose a single thing that you ever saw while working for celebrities. You have to take all those secrets to the grave with you.
So, you can't be a "gossip" do this job.
Absolutely. Yes, it's all about business.
A lot of the seasoned personal assistants that have been doing it 5, 10, 20 years... They already know what they're getting themselves into. They already know that the public persona is going to be totally different, and they're willing to bend their own rules, so to speak, in order to get that big paycheck, so they can retire early on that on a tropical island.
And, interestingly, Brian, the job description has been withdrawn, which perhaps shows that they made a mistake in the advert, putting his name on it.
That's possible. I don't want to draw any conclusions, but it does say the job is no longer available. I just noticed that when I refreshed the page. Perhaps, they got some sort of whiplash effect that they weren't expecting because some news outlets have picked up on the story.
It's pretty easy, even if you're being polite, to constructively criticize this job ad because basically what they're asking for and what they're willing to pay are miles apart.
Personally, I don't think he would be able to fill the position at 60,000 British Pounds a year.
*** End of Program ***
We have all picked up on this because it's a high-profile footballer. Are these job ads out there all the time for celebrity personal assistants?
With the advent of the internet, a lot of celebrities are attempting to hire assistants by themselves. So, they'll open a job ad, but 99% of the time it's going to list a "confidential employer."
I'm inclined to say perhaps that the celebrity took out a secret advert before and wasn't able to find the person he wanted. So, to boost the profile of the job ad, he put his name on it. This is just a theory of mine, and perhaps he's going to go for round two to see if he can get some more qualified candidates.
One thing I really wanted to ask you about, Brian, is confidentiality. You must see some things the general public would not even believe about these celebrities -- about these sports stars. How difficult is it to keep things confidential?
First and foremost, I want to say that it's standard operating procedure now to sign an NDA: Non-Disclosure Agreement. That's the first thing the clients do before they even tell me anything.
I have to sign the contract, and then all of the assistants who are interviewing for the position have to sign a contract. They are quite thick now because over the years, we've been seeing all these scandalous situations where the "PA tells all." They're writing books and go on the talk-show circuit.
The celebrities have gotten wise to it, and their attorneys are quite savvy, so you're not allowed to disclose a single thing that you ever saw while working for celebrities. You have to take all those secrets to the grave with you.
So, you can't be a "gossip" do this job.
Absolutely. Yes, it's all about business.
A lot of the seasoned personal assistants that have been doing it 5, 10, 20 years... They already know what they're getting themselves into. They already know that the public persona is going to be totally different, and they're willing to bend their own rules, so to speak, in order to get that big paycheck, so they can retire early on that on a tropical island.
And, interestingly, Brian, the job description has been withdrawn, which perhaps shows that they made a mistake in the advert, putting his name on it.
That's possible. I don't want to draw any conclusions, but it does say the job is no longer available. I just noticed that when I refreshed the page. Perhaps, they got some sort of whiplash effect that they weren't expecting because some news outlets have picked up on the story.
It's pretty easy, even if you're being polite, to constructively criticize this job ad because basically what they're asking for and what they're willing to pay are miles apart.
Personally, I don't think he would be able to fill the position at 60,000 British Pounds a year.
*** End of Program ***
This program originally aired on BBC and was syndicated on BBC radio.
NOTE: This transcript was updated in 2025 to make it more succinct and relevant for the time.
