Get paid to work with a star! FabJob Guide to Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant John C. Havens Visit www.FabJob.com FabJob Guide to Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant Contents About The Authors .......................................................................................7 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................8 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................10 1.1 What is a Celebrity Personal Assistant? ....................................11 1.1.1 “Celebrity” ............................................................................11 1.1.2 “Personal” ............................................................................16 1.1.3 “Assistant” ...........................................................................17 1.2 Benefits of a Career as a CPA ......................................................18 1.2.1 Pay ........................................................................................18 1.2.2 The Perks ..............................................................................20 1.2.3 Future Possibilities .............................................................21 1.3 About This Guide .........................................................................21 2. Preparing for a Career as a CPA ........................................................24 2.1 Personal Traits ...............................................................................25 2.1.1 Being Able to “Fit In” .........................................................26 2.1.2 Being a Good Communicator ...........................................31 2.1.3 Being Able to Solve Problems ...........................................37 2.1.4 Being Organized .................................................................43 2.2 Office Skills ....................................................................................48 2.3 Life Management ..........................................................................56 2.3.1 Household Tasks .................................................................56 2.3.2 Shopping ..............................................................................60 2.3.3 Party Planning .....................................................................68 2.3.4 Travel Arrangements ..........................................................74 2.4 Fan Control ....................................................................................79 Copyright © 2014 FabJob Inc. • www.fabjob.com • 4 FabJob Guide to Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant 3. Getting Hired .......................................................................................83 3.1 Celebrity Contact Information....................................................84 3.1.1 All Types of Celebrities ......................................................84 3.1.2 Particular Types of Celebrities ..........................................86 3.2 Job Advertisements ......................................................................91 3.2.1 Job Websites .........................................................................91 3.2.2 The “Trades”........................................................................93 3.2.3 Related Job Ads ...................................................................95 3.3 Connecting with the Right People .............................................95 3.3.1 Your Existing Network ......................................................96 3.3.2 People One Step from a Celebrity ..................................100 3.3.3 How to Make Connections in Any City ........................103 3.3.4 Networking in Los Angeles .............................................113 3.4 “Stepping Stone” Jobs ................................................................117 3.4.1 Entertainment Industry Jobs ...........................................118 3.4.2 Other Jobs with Celebrities .............................................124 3.4.3 Become a Concierge .........................................................125 3.5 Employment Agencies ...............................................................127 3.5.1 Agencies Used by Celebrities .........................................129 3.5.2 Other Employment Agencies ..........................................135 3.6 How to Contact People ..............................................................136 3.6.1 When to Use E-mail ..........................................................136 3.6.2 Getting Through to the Right Person .............................137 3.6.3 What to Say ........................................................................138 3.6.4 Common Mistakes to Avoid ............................................142 3.7 Resumés and Cover Letters .......................................................145 3.7.1 A CPA’s Resumé ................................................................145 3.7.2 CPA Resumé Writing Tips ...............................................147 3.7.3 A Sample Resumé .............................................................148 Copyright © 2014 FabJob Inc. • www.fabjob.com • 5 FabJob Guide to Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant 3.7.4 The Cover Letter ...............................................................150 3.7.5 References ..........................................................................153 3.8 The Interview ..............................................................................155 3.8.1 Screening Interviews ........................................................155 3.8.2 Meeting The Celebrity .....................................................156 3.8.3 Post-Interview ...................................................................160 3.8.4 Salary and Benefits ...........................................................161 4. Conclusion ..........................................................................................163 4.1 Thoughts on Being a CPA ..........................................................163 4.2 Networking .................................................................................164 4.2.1 IAPO International Association of Professional Personal Assistants ....................................164 4.2.2 Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants (ACPA) ...165 4.2.3 New York Celebrity Assistants (NYCA) .......................166 4.2.4 U.K. Association of Celebrity Assistants (UKACA) ....166 Copyright © 2014 FabJob Inc. • www.fabjob.com • 6 FabJob Guide to Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant About The Authors Lead author John C. Havens is an actor and writer living in Maplewood, New Jersey. Most recently, he’s appeared in principal roles on the TV shows Law & Order, and Hope & Faith. He has also worked with many celebrities including Mary J. Blige, Blythe Danner, Denis Leary, Gwyneth Paltrow, Christopher Reeve, Rene Russo, Christopher Walken and Raquel Welch. He was featured in the films The Thomas Crown Affair, Life or Something Like It, and Robert de Niro’s Prisonsong, and has appeared on television in Law & Order: SVU, Spin City, Third Watch and the Disney Channel. Contributing author and editor Tag Goulet is a leading writer and editor of career guides who has hired personal assistants for wealthy families. Tag’s career articles have been read by millions of people worldwide at AOL, CNN, and Microsoft’s MSN, and appeared in newspapers in the United States, Can- ada, and Europe. She has been featured in media from ABC and Oprah.com to Entrepreneur and The Wall Street Journal online and in many women’s magazines including Woman’s Day and Woman’s World. Tag is co-founder of FabJob., an award-winning career publisher whose web- site, www.FabJob.com, was named “the #1 place to get published online” by Writer’s Digest. Contributing author Rhonda Markowitz has worked in the music and entertainment business for more than 20 years. She writes extensively on entertainment and lifestyle topics, and has interviewed major film stars, musicians and other celebrities. She also contributes to various magazines and online outlets, has written a celebrity biography (under a pseudonym) and is writing a reference work about the early days of rock & roll. Contributing author Jason Simas found his first job in L.A. as the chauf- feur/butler for a Playboy “Bunny”, and later worked as an assistant on films starring Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Beals and Gary Sinise. After ac- cepting a job with the William Morris Agency (as an agent’s assistant and then TV coordinator), he worked closely on projects with stars such as George Clooney, Bill Cosby, Brooke Shields and Quentin Tarantino. In addition to analyzing scripts and tracking industry projects, Jason inter- viewed prospective celebrity assistants and made recommendations to the stars. He currently lives in California where he is co-directing/producing a documentary. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Jason is also an accomplished painter and photographer. Copyright © 2014 FabJob Inc. • www.fabjob.com • 7 FabJob Guide to Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant Acknowledgements To provide insider information for this guide, the authors and editors conducted interviews with more than a dozen current and former celebrity personal assistants (CPAs). Advice from the celebrity personal assistants and other industry insiders appears throughout this guide. Due to confidentiality agreements, some celebrity personal assistants who contributed to this guide have asked to remain