The Beginner's Guide to Celebrity Personal Assistant Jobs with Brian Daniel
Meet the go-to source for celebrity personal assistant jobs, Brian Daniel. Brian Daniel is a veteran personal assistant that has worked with Hollywood A-list, royalty and billionaires. He is the founder and director of The Celebrity Personal Assistant Network, the world’s only personal assistant consultancy dedicated to PA jobs to the 1%. Often called “The Headhunter to the Stars,” Brian places personal assistants with celebrities and high net worth families in the United States and abroad.
Brian has recently released an update of his e-book, “Dream Careers: The Tutorial for Finding Elite Personal Assistant Jobs,” which is the most authoritative bible on the personal assistant industry. The new interactive edition has hundreds of embedded hyperlinks, which lead the reader to photos, videos and articles on being a celebrity personal assistant.
We are excited to have Brian reply to one of our Dear ATA letters! If you have the slightest curiosity about celebrity personal assistant jobs or becoming a celebrity assistant, this article is just for you!
Dear ATA: “I have been a C-Level executive assistant for the last 8 years. I have been with the same principal for that time and have had great success managing both his personal and professional life. I would like to transition out of my corporate role into a personal assistant position working with a celebrity (or similar) but I have been told by two different recruiters that I lack the experience necessary to support someone on that level.”
Brian’s Response:
This is the kind of question I am often faced with when asked for advice. In this bad job market, I would have to say that staying where you are is the best way to go — and the reasons are many.
Since you have eight years of tenure at your current job, you must obviously like the job, and they also feel the same or you wouldn’t be there. In short, why spoil a good thing?
This may be a “grass is greener on the other side of the pasture” kind of situation. I don’t know how much you’re getting paid now, but it is likely more than you would get paid with a celebrity -- that I'm sure of.
When candidates ask me whether or not they should work for a high-net-worth family or a celebrity, I always say a
high-net-worth family — always. The celebrity personal assistant jobs, from the outside, do seem more glamorous; but they are plagued with long hours and sub-standard pay. That’s not always true, but certainly the norm.
I got a resume last week from a candidate who is the personal assistant to a very high-profile actress, and she only makes $700 a week. Yes, you read that correctly. Additionally, she works 12-hour days. Doing 6- or 7-day weeks is not uncommon. When you do all the math and divide the hours, it’s far less than minimum wage.
The real kicker is that the $700-a- week rate was AFTER her raise because she’s been working for the actress for three years. To be fair, this is the extreme situation because most celebrity assistant jobs pay about $1000 a week, but with just as many hours.
Perfectly juxtaposed to that situation would be a PA to an executive or high-net-worth individual. Those jobs can easily pay $100K plus and have a lot more job stability. Celebrity assistants usually quit or get fired every six months to one year.
I currently represent candidates that work for billionaires, and they make in excess of $120K per year with amazing benefits, plus they have somewhat of a life because they have regular work hours (because there are multiple assistants to pick up the slack). Those jobs can last 10 to 20 years.
I agree and disagree with the recruiter about the prior experience. A very-well-kept secret is that about 50% of celebrity assistants had zero experience before they got the job. They come from a variety of professional backgrounds and usually landed the gig because they were someone’s neighbor or niece — something to that effect.
So, you can find those celebrity jobs in the "hidden job market" on your own. The trick is you have to speak with someone trustworthy (someone who has a proven track record in the celebrity assistant world) who can give you advice.
Most celebrity assistants won’t give advice because it’s an informal sort of “Illuminati” situation and they are tight-lipped about it. In short, they don’t want to let the secrets out because then it increases competition in the marketplace — something they especially don’t want in this bad job market.
When celebrities go to agencies to get an assistant (because they have run out of nieces and nephews to hire), then they do expect a lot of prior experience because they are paying the agent a 10K to 20K commission — so they expect and will get the best.
Natalia’s Question Continues…
“I’m not exactly sure what the difference is exactly between what I do, versus what people with celebrity personal assistant jobs do, but I know for a fact that I am more than capable of meeting the requirements”.
Brian’s Response
There is no easy way to explain the difference because each and every employer is night-and-day different. Sometimes you can be hired as a second assistant (entry level PA), and you’re just running basic errands and picking up groceries.
If you move to an Executive Personal Assistant position to someone like George Clooney, for example, then you are going to be managing complex calendars, both personal and professional. Not to mention the management of subordinate assistants and managing car fleets as well as private jets.
Natalia Asks… “What are some things that I can do in my current role to prepare me for celebrity personal assistant jobs? Do you have any advice for someone who’s looking to make this transition?”
Brian Concludes with…
In closing, I would say you need to consult with a professional recruiter who places celebrity assistants. I also recommend reading a couple books that were written by celebrity assistants. There are only a couple legitimate ones out there because most books of that kind are filled with made-up stories for entertainment value.
If you can get some good advice, read the books (and get a little luck) then you could land your first “celebrity personal assistant” gig and then be ready to have an agent represent you.
Brian has recently released an update of his e-book, “Dream Careers: The Tutorial for Finding Elite Personal Assistant Jobs,” which is the most authoritative bible on the personal assistant industry. The new interactive edition has hundreds of embedded hyperlinks, which lead the reader to photos, videos and articles on being a celebrity personal assistant.
We are excited to have Brian reply to one of our Dear ATA letters! If you have the slightest curiosity about celebrity personal assistant jobs or becoming a celebrity assistant, this article is just for you!
Dear ATA: “I have been a C-Level executive assistant for the last 8 years. I have been with the same principal for that time and have had great success managing both his personal and professional life. I would like to transition out of my corporate role into a personal assistant position working with a celebrity (or similar) but I have been told by two different recruiters that I lack the experience necessary to support someone on that level.”
Brian’s Response:
This is the kind of question I am often faced with when asked for advice. In this bad job market, I would have to say that staying where you are is the best way to go — and the reasons are many.
Since you have eight years of tenure at your current job, you must obviously like the job, and they also feel the same or you wouldn’t be there. In short, why spoil a good thing?
This may be a “grass is greener on the other side of the pasture” kind of situation. I don’t know how much you’re getting paid now, but it is likely more than you would get paid with a celebrity -- that I'm sure of.
When candidates ask me whether or not they should work for a high-net-worth family or a celebrity, I always say a
high-net-worth family — always. The celebrity personal assistant jobs, from the outside, do seem more glamorous; but they are plagued with long hours and sub-standard pay. That’s not always true, but certainly the norm.
I got a resume last week from a candidate who is the personal assistant to a very high-profile actress, and she only makes $700 a week. Yes, you read that correctly. Additionally, she works 12-hour days. Doing 6- or 7-day weeks is not uncommon. When you do all the math and divide the hours, it’s far less than minimum wage.
The real kicker is that the $700-a- week rate was AFTER her raise because she’s been working for the actress for three years. To be fair, this is the extreme situation because most celebrity assistant jobs pay about $1000 a week, but with just as many hours.
Perfectly juxtaposed to that situation would be a PA to an executive or high-net-worth individual. Those jobs can easily pay $100K plus and have a lot more job stability. Celebrity assistants usually quit or get fired every six months to one year.
I currently represent candidates that work for billionaires, and they make in excess of $120K per year with amazing benefits, plus they have somewhat of a life because they have regular work hours (because there are multiple assistants to pick up the slack). Those jobs can last 10 to 20 years.
I agree and disagree with the recruiter about the prior experience. A very-well-kept secret is that about 50% of celebrity assistants had zero experience before they got the job. They come from a variety of professional backgrounds and usually landed the gig because they were someone’s neighbor or niece — something to that effect.
So, you can find those celebrity jobs in the "hidden job market" on your own. The trick is you have to speak with someone trustworthy (someone who has a proven track record in the celebrity assistant world) who can give you advice.
Most celebrity assistants won’t give advice because it’s an informal sort of “Illuminati” situation and they are tight-lipped about it. In short, they don’t want to let the secrets out because then it increases competition in the marketplace — something they especially don’t want in this bad job market.
When celebrities go to agencies to get an assistant (because they have run out of nieces and nephews to hire), then they do expect a lot of prior experience because they are paying the agent a 10K to 20K commission — so they expect and will get the best.
Natalia’s Question Continues…
“I’m not exactly sure what the difference is exactly between what I do, versus what people with celebrity personal assistant jobs do, but I know for a fact that I am more than capable of meeting the requirements”.
Brian’s Response
There is no easy way to explain the difference because each and every employer is night-and-day different. Sometimes you can be hired as a second assistant (entry level PA), and you’re just running basic errands and picking up groceries.
If you move to an Executive Personal Assistant position to someone like George Clooney, for example, then you are going to be managing complex calendars, both personal and professional. Not to mention the management of subordinate assistants and managing car fleets as well as private jets.
Natalia Asks… “What are some things that I can do in my current role to prepare me for celebrity personal assistant jobs? Do you have any advice for someone who’s looking to make this transition?”
Brian Concludes with…
In closing, I would say you need to consult with a professional recruiter who places celebrity assistants. I also recommend reading a couple books that were written by celebrity assistants. There are only a couple legitimate ones out there because most books of that kind are filled with made-up stories for entertainment value.
If you can get some good advice, read the books (and get a little luck) then you could land your first “celebrity personal assistant” gig and then be ready to have an agent represent you.