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business newsWhen Your Boss Is a Star: Paris Hilton
The hotel heiress needs round-the-clock care.
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All of the action kept her former personal assistant extremely busy. "I had to be diligent about checking the Blackberry, even in the middle of the night. It could be a phone call or a text message," says Hilton's former employee, who chose not to reveal her name. "I had to be contactable 24 hours a day for personal and business reasons. Each day varied but I was responsible for maintaining a schedule of her affairs."
The assistant says she fell into the job through a family member with a connection to her landlord, who was a Hilton family friend. "I began as her manager’s assistant and then became her personal assistant. I was also her business assistant," she says.
The hardest part of the job? Getting up at "ungodly" hours. "You have to prep and get ready for photo shoots with hair and makeup. I’d wake her up in the morning in her bed," says the former assistant. "I’d work through the night for events and then be back at the house at 5 a.m.
"I also had to make everyone aware of the calendar, the transportation. And because [Hilton] was super high profile, I had to secure security and a driver always. I had to have 10 steps prepared for every one step," she says, "but it became routine.
"I had to be very diligent to not forget anything," the former employee recalls. For Hilton, she carried around a duffle bag of extra make-up and several phones and phone batteries. She became a master at setting priorities on a daily basis, and setting up "an alternative plan in the case of unexpected obstacles."
The hours were long -- "When your client works a lot, you work a lot because you’re the support," she explains -- but, in the end, it was also lot of fun. "I got a quick insight into that world without having to be in it too long. Because Paris worked in so many different areas, it helped me shape the direction I wanted to move in."
Hilton's former employee is now assisting a well-known nightlife impresario.
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THE SALARY: Undisclosed, but let’s say it was not enough to shop alongside Hilton. (But probably enough to bid for the same clothes on eBay (EBAY) one month later). |
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THE PERKS: Hilton, a fashion icon and designer, had no trouble sharing the wealth of goods that came her way. "Designers loved her, so people sent stuff. She always shared with me," says Hilton's former employee. "Sometimes people sent two of everything because they knew me, too." |
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LESSONS LEARNED: “The job taught me not to be impressed with celebrity. It also shaped the way I protect myself in situations,” says the assistant, who added that working with Hilton taught her about the importance of privacy when dealing with high-profile personalities. She also learned how to use Hilton's professional contacts and "how to speak to someone who would otherwise be too high up and untouchable." |
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