Word: hollywood
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...appealing as this lifestyle may be, if the thought of recruiting makes you cringe, take to heart that there is another more attractive, or at least more comfortable, job which proffers a similarly humbling experience that most Harvard seniors somehow neglect to consider: that of a Hollywood personal assistant. Eyebrow-raising and worthy of mockery? Sure. Once referred to as demeaning girl or guy "Fridays?" Of course. But drastically different from the illustrious fruits of recruiting? Hardly...
Investment banking supposedly develops management skills. But what better way to hone one's organizational abilities than to organize and run the household of a successful entrepreneur, practically a mini-corporation in itself? From paying house bills, to managing the staff, to scheduling facial and veterinarian appointments, the Hollywood assistant not only have responsibility of I-banking recruits, but a variety of activity to amuse themselves with as well...
Creativity is expected to exude from I-bank recruits, adding that touch of finesse to the rigors of consulting and researching. But personal assistants display as much, if not more, ingenuity in their own jobs. For example, one personal assistant to a handful of Hollywood luminaries explained to the New York Times that her job requires the "innate ability to get things done. If the star asks you for peanut butter from Japan, you don't ask, 'How do I get it?' You just say, 'O.K.'" If that's not resourcefulness, I don't know what...
Consulting is a popular choice among the plethora of jobs offered by investment bank recruiters. But personal assistants are looked to for advice as well, from creating wills to designing bathrooms. Again, similar concept but more variety and consequently, more satisfaction with the Hollywood option. Check, check...
...just the kind of smart, communal comedy (The Opposite of Sex, Happiness, Election, Go) to which the mass film audience has shown serial resistance. Yet here you will find an easy charm, a cleverly unforced sense of humor and a benignity toward all its genially oddball characters that Hollywood would do well to emulate. If moviegoers skip this one, they'll be missing a real treat...