Becoming a Celebrity PA

Becoming a celebrity personal assistant (PA) can be a rewarding experience for anyone seeking a challenge in London or the UK. One question that almost every private PA asks – how do I become a celebrity PA? With visions of travelling the world, attending lavish parties and brushing shoulders with the world’s elite, it’s a career that many aspire to. However, with a 24/7 schedule, demanding workload and tasks ranging from laundry to lifestyle management, the reality of a celebrity PA job can be a little different.

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What is a celebrity PA?

A personal PA to a celebrity involves high-level support to a high-profile and publicly known individual. As the right-hand man or woman, a PA will usually work incredibly long hours in a pressurised environment – after all, it’s working for someone who is used to getting what they want, exactly when they want it. A personal assistant to a celebrity will provide some of the following:

• Extensive diary management
• Organise all domestic and international travel
• Communication management
• Liaise with other members of the support team
• Looking after all personal errands

What skills does a celebrity PA job require?

To carry out a celebrity PA job efficiently, the fantastic individual must be incredibly organised, more than capable of juggling many tasks at one time and able to shift priorities and respond to changes while under pressure. They can go from confidante to communicator in one swift turn and as such, need to be able to think on their feet and act with the highest levels of discretion at all times.

A personal assistant to celebrities will also have fantastic written and verbal communication skills, be a whiz at planning events and parties, and have exceptional research skills, confidently hunting down information or goods as required, more often at the very last minute.

Finally, a successful celebrity PA will possess outstanding interpersonal skills, as they need to work closely with their principal, as well as other members of the team and external collaborators.

Benefits and challenges of a celebrity personal assistant job

While it is hard work, there are perks to a celebrity assistant job. It offers a hugely variable workload and the chance to really make the job your own. Due to the demanding nature of the role, it can also be a chance to solidify your skills and transition into a true 1:1 gatekeeper. This kind of experience is only a positive to employers when the time comes to start looking at new opportunities.

Supporting someone that closely also comes with its own set of challenges. A celebrity PA will naturally create a close relationship with the high-profile individual. While there are lots of people around you, the job often requires you to work by yourself without anyone to bounce ideas off, delegate tasks to or confirm your thinking.

How to become a celebrity PA

Becoming a personal assistant to celebrities requires a long-term plan. As with any private PA role, the key to securing and succeeding in a celebrity personal assistant job is building up your experience supporting an ultra-high-net-worth-individual (UHNWI). If you are a business PA, look to increase the amount of private support in your role. Even if this starts at an 80-20 split, this is a great base on which you can build your experience. Over the next few years and your next few roles, look to increase this split until eventually you are comfortable supporting an individual on a completely private basis. From there, it’s about networking and finding out about opportunities to support a celebrity or UHNWI. A recruiter like Tiger Private can often help in this case, proving your experience follows a similar route to the above.

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Tiger Private often recruits for celebrity PAs in London and internationally. Should you be a private PA looking for work as a celebrity PA, make sure to get in touch.

Author Tiger Contributor Tiger Recruitment Team