Bypassing Gatekeepers: Getting Your Resume Directly to Celebrities and VIPs
Bypassing celebrity gatekeepers
The best way to beat-out the competition is to not have to compete with them at all. Whether it be online, in the newspaper or through an employment agency, by the time you’ve found out about a job posting for a celebrity personal assistant, up to 1000 people (or more) have already applied for the position.
If you want to work for a celebrity, VIP or high-net-worth family, do your homework. Find out everything there is to know about the person. In the past, I’ve been hired for jobs on the spot because I impressed the inter-viewer to no end. Each time that happened, it was because I had done exhaustive homework.
Once you have all the data you need, apply directly to the company. In your cover letter, you should state why you want to work for the person and what makes you the best candidate. Additionally, instruct them to keep your résumé on file if no positions are currently open. If you’ve done your job and thoroughly impressed them, they will call you when a position does open. Therefore, they won’t need to even post a job online or go through an employment agency to find someone.
The best way to bypass gatekeepers is to mail more than one résumé. After you’ve collected all the data during your homework session, you should have several addresses to company offices and/or homes for the employer. Start with one mailing. If you don’t hear back within a month, try another one of the addresses. I’ve mailed as many as six résumés over a six month period before I got a call, so I do know that this system works.
Sometimes fearful assistants who are already employed with the VIP you’ve targeted will throw your résumé in the trash. By mailing to different offices and/or homes, you will dramatically increase your chances of getting noticed because the different channels may be handled by different people.
During my career coaching sessions with assistants, I usually give them insider information based on the kind of job they are trying to get. Because each candidate and industry has a number of factors, I can’t cover everything here. Feel free to contact my office for more details if you have questions.
If you want to work for a celebrity, VIP or high-net-worth family, do your homework. Find out everything there is to know about the person. In the past, I’ve been hired for jobs on the spot because I impressed the inter-viewer to no end. Each time that happened, it was because I had done exhaustive homework.
Once you have all the data you need, apply directly to the company. In your cover letter, you should state why you want to work for the person and what makes you the best candidate. Additionally, instruct them to keep your résumé on file if no positions are currently open. If you’ve done your job and thoroughly impressed them, they will call you when a position does open. Therefore, they won’t need to even post a job online or go through an employment agency to find someone.
The best way to bypass gatekeepers is to mail more than one résumé. After you’ve collected all the data during your homework session, you should have several addresses to company offices and/or homes for the employer. Start with one mailing. If you don’t hear back within a month, try another one of the addresses. I’ve mailed as many as six résumés over a six month period before I got a call, so I do know that this system works.
Sometimes fearful assistants who are already employed with the VIP you’ve targeted will throw your résumé in the trash. By mailing to different offices and/or homes, you will dramatically increase your chances of getting noticed because the different channels may be handled by different people.
During my career coaching sessions with assistants, I usually give them insider information based on the kind of job they are trying to get. Because each candidate and industry has a number of factors, I can’t cover everything here. Feel free to contact my office for more details if you have questions.