Interesting little article about Prince's PA when he was in London:
http://jobsadvice.guardia...06,00.html

And copied here for anyone not able to see the link:

Stars in their lives


Forget lifestyles of the rich and famous - being a PA to a celebrity involves hard work and unsociable hours. But, as John Kercher discovers, the job does have its perks

Monday October 22, 2007
The Guardian

There are many reasons to become a PA, but glamour is not one of them. Red carpet arrivals, celebrity schmoozing, exclusive invitations - they aren't normally part of the job description. Unless, of course, you're a PA to a star.

Even then, says Natalie Pryce, who has spent the summer working for Prince during his stay in the UK, things aren't quite as flashy as they seem.

"The job appears far more glamorous from the outside than when you're actually doing it," she says. "The reality is a lot more hard work, and the schedules can be more manic than in a normal office environment. Sometimes, as with Prince, everything is compressed into a specific timescale so the attention to detail has to be more meticulous and precise."

Still. PA to Prince. What right-minded worker would turn down that opportunity? That is, of course, if they could get an interview in the first place. Natalie was recommended for the position by a former boss.

"After completing a communications degree, I knew that I wanted to work in music," she says, "and I landed a job as an assistant to an A&R (Artists and Repertoire) manager at the record company BMG. My responsibilities included receiving demo tapes and acknowledging them - or sending them back, as was usually the case."

Years later, her BMG boss recommended her to a concert promoter, who was handling Prince's O2 tour.

So what was applying for a job with Prince like? "I had to send in my CV," says Pryce, "which was followed by an interview, at which Prince was present. There didn't seem to be any specific questions directed towards me, [it was] mostly discussing schedules so they could see what my organisational skills were like."

As with any other job, organisation is key - and the work can be very unpredictable. "What's different about being a PA to a celebrity is that the requests can be either random or specific. You have to be on your toes the whole time."

Unsurprisingly, a celebrity's post and email are a bit more interesting than the pile waiting to be opened on most PA's desks. "There would be lots of invitations which I had to respond to," Pryce says. And then there are the restaurant tables to book - although there's significantly less fighting to get in somewhere good. "I might be told of a relevant restaurant, but mostly it was up to me to find the right one. I would do this by either visiting some, getting recommendations, or liaising with PR companies who represented various major restaurants. Then I would make the relevant bookings."

All of which makes calling up the MD's favourite haunt and asking for his table sound like an easy task in comparison. Not, Pryce says, that you want your employer to think that anything is a hassle ."You want it to look quite easy, that everything flows and fits into place at the right time," she says.

But surely you get to experience a little bit of glamour? In Pryce's case, she had to attend every one of Prince's 21 shows as part of her job, and spend time in the backstage VIP room greeting A-listers such as Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz and Alicia Keys. "You aren't there to fraternise," she says, "simply to make certain that they are shown to their table, made comfortable and that their needs are attended to."

And don't expect to spend much quality time with the celebrity you're looking after. "Prince is an extremely regimented and creative person, and when his creative team is around him, his PA is not required." So much for the thrill of hanging around with pop stars.

The hours worked by celebrity PAs aren't exactly encouraging, either - Pryce says she would often find herself working from two in the afternoon until three in the morning, having been on duty at the after-show party once the concert had finished. And the pressures can be enormous: one of the lows of the job is dealing with people who are trying to get to your boss through you.

"Everyone [is] trying to be your friend and swamping you with gifts. They mostly have an agenda, be it wanting to meet your employer or getting free tickets, and you have to be polite," Pryce says. "I'm not talking about a few people, either. The phone never stops ringing and people will come straight up to you with their requests."

On the plus side, Pryce says that she received top-of-the-range beauty products and candles worth hundreds of pounds, and was invited to several spectacular events and A-list parties - even though, admittedly, she had to work. But working can seem a little more jolly when you're doing it in the presence of megastars.

Which is why there isn't a shortage of people thinking that they might like to be a celebrity PA. So how do you go about it?

"I would recommend working in an office to begin with," says Pryce, "and then getting a job in an area which interests you, whether it be an artists agency, a television company, with a publicist, or in a record or entertainment organisation.

"What you are trying to improve is your organisational skills, because that is really what being a PA is all about. If you can become PA to a high-profile executive in one of these types of companies, then you are a step nearer being recommended, and if some celebrities get to meet you, something might click."

But only if you don't behave like an idiot. Remember not to gush when you meet a celebrity. Be friendly and businesslike. Explain your skills and be clear you're prepared to go the extra mile. Jonathan Holiff, founder of the Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants, says: "Assuming you have the skills and the temperament, it really comes down to a personality match."

Just don't mistake getting on professionally for becoming bosom buddies. As Pryce says: "You are there to make their life run smoothly. You might be friendly with your employer, but that doesn't mean you are going to be their friend."

she sounds quite a professional lady

cool

Thanks for the article! I need info like that...

fadershader said:

Thank you for shearing the article!

nice read.

I was once part of the entourage of a national political figure. (I was a press aide.) It is heady stuff -- but exhausting.

Stupid .org

Let me try again...

Interesting read! Thanks for posting it!