TMZ, in its ever-vigilant Lindsay Lohan coverage, is now reporting that Lindsay’s personal assistant, Jenni Muro, quit her job just hours before Lindsay was arrested for a DUI. From the article:
According to police, Lohan’s assistant quit just hours before Lohan was popped for DUI, and when the assistant’s mother came to pick her up, Lindsay gave chase. We’re told the assistant’s mother called the police, warning them that Lindsay was hot on their tail, and that she was headed for the nearest police station.
No word on the ex-assistant’s name, but we’re sure she endured a lot of misery. After all, we remember what happened when a past Lindsay assistant defected to work for Jessica Biel, don’t we?
Gossip columns (you know, the ones not writing about Lindsay Lohan’s latest arrest) are abuzz with word that comedian/writer Steve Martin is soon going to marry his girlfriend, Anne Stringfield. Anne is a writer for New York magazine and a former assistant to poet Derek Walcott.
Here’s a grainy black-and-white photo of the couple (thanks for nothing, Google image search). The couple have reportedly been together since late 2002 and are 27 years apart. Aww, we sure hope these two crazy kids make it.
So what if every job article ever says that you shouldn’t talk smack about your coworkers? This MSN article says that gossip might actually be good for you. Stating what we at STA have known for ages, the writer notes that the act of ’sharing stories’ helps to form bonds with others and find commonalities.
From the article:
Researchers say that a little bit of gossip is healthy. It’s what keeps the culture going, greasing the social machinery.It’s almost like being told that cigarettes are good for you.“It’s a social skill, not a character flaw,” says Frank McAndrew a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. “It’s only when you don’t do it well that you get into trouble.”
So, hear that, everyone? Don’t just gossip–gossip well. If anyone can clarify what that means, we’d like to know. Does it mean no swearing? Use of code words? What about looking over your shoulder to make sure the person you’re trash-talking isn’t standing behind you?
This week, we at STA learned that there is one good thing about going to work in the summer: your office has much better a/c than your apartment. So stay cool, assistants, and breeze through this week in STA land.
Horror story roundup: age discrimination at the library, a creepy sleepwalking boss, and the stealth assistant job.
In the universe of celebrity assistants, CaCee Cobb stepped out on her own(sort of), and fired NBC anchor Stone Phillips bought his assistant a car. What has your boss done for you lately?
Finally, don’t miss our interview with Free Food for Millionaires author Min Jin Lee, who dishes on job searches, the value of connections, and wants to give away two free copies of her book to STA readers. Free stuff and helpful advice? Not a bad way to kick off the weekend.
Min Jin Lee’s debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires, tells a story many of us can identify with. Casey, the daughter of working-class Korean immigrants in Queens, goes to Princeton and then returns home to New York thinking she’ll land a job in no time–only to discover that an Ivy league degree doesn’t go as far as the ‘right’ last name. The book is based on Lee’s own experiences navigating the work world, and she agreed to sit down for an interview with Save the Assistants. Even cooler, she has also offered to give away two free copies of the book to lucky STA readers. To enter, send an email to contact@savetheassistants.com by Friday, July 27 with the subject line “Free Food for Millionaires.” We’ll choose two winners at random.
STA: What was the worst job experience you ever had?
MJL: Right before I quit being a corporate lawyer, I worked seven days a week, for well over twelve to fourteen hours a day for a solid month. The work in of itself was fine enough, but I think, ideally, no one should have to work in such quantity for whatever kind of money. After that month, I tendered my resignation. I am not sorry that I did.
STA: What should recent college graduates focus on in their job searches, particularly if they have to choose between a creative pursuit and a desk job?
Continue reading ‘the sta interview: min jin lee’
She was annoying on Newlyweds (and if you’re annoying when Jessica Simpson is in the same frame as you, you’re really annoying) and has an annoying spelling of her name.
But, as ex-celebrity assistants go, she’s somehow managed to have a career of her own. This is mostly due to her relationship with Scrubs star Donald Faison (he’ll always be Murray from Clueless to us). That said, no one seems to even know what her ‘career’ is, but hey, good luck kiddo.
NBC has fired hottie Dateline host Stone Phillips because of budget cuts at the network. While we’re sorry to see him go, we’re vindicated by news that he’s as much of a stand-up guy as we always thought. The New York Daily News [scroll down to second item] reports that when Phillips packed up his desk, he also thanked the person who’d helped him out all those years–you guessed it, his assistant.
According to the Daily News, “Budget cuts cost the lantern-jawed anchor his reported $7 million-a-year job in June. But on the way out, he bought a car for his longtime assistant to thank her for her loyalty.” In case you were interested, the car was apparently an Audi. Now, that’s a class act.
I’m an office assistant for a public library, basically what I do is check in magazines and newspapers, send the magazines off to the bindery, process microfilm, file the magazines and newspapers, discard unwanted books, etc etc.
When i’m not doing that, or sometimes in the middle of doing that, I’m shipped off upstairs to the computer lab to help people with their computerly resources (read: look up porn). My problem is, I’m the youngest person in the whole building, even the pages (book slingers) are older than I am. The librarians have no problem with treating me with respect, they often defer to me because they know that I’ve worked in libraries since I was 15 and for some of them, that’s longer than they have. The people in my own department, however, treat me like I’m a retarded six year old. They tell me things that to me, are common sense, like “alphabetize those before filing them,” make sure those “books are checked out to damage” etc. A lot of the time they make sweeping generalizations about “people under 30″ like how none of us should be allowed to drive because we’re irresponsible and that we should just let our parents take care of us.
However, some of their chatter is delving into my personal life. One co-worker in particular, S, has stated that I should have my license taken away because the car accident that I got into was “my fault,” (it wasn’t my fault–the other guy ran a stop sign), and that I have “no right to work” because I should have my boyfriend/fiance take care of me. The main problem is that S is our boss’ friend. She sits around and never does anything. She’s responsible for filing clippings and governement documents which are always behind, so my other co-workers and I are stuck doing them.
I want to broach the subject of S’s age discrimination with my boss, but I want to do it in a way that seems non-threatening, yet firm enough that my boss may actually do something. –Submitted by “M,” Indianapolis
Last week, we advised you to make some friends.
This week, we’re telling you it’s OK to make some enemies.
This article lists six kinds of office jerks who you’re best off avoiding at all costs. For example, there’s the Idea Stealer (hmm…why does that one sound so familiar?), the Bully, and the Loud Phone-Talker.
The thing to remember is that when we say “make an enemy,” we’re not saying “tell this person you hate him/her and be openly hostile.” It’s never a good idea to have an outright feud with anyone you work with. Better, realize that you don’t have to be friends with this person. You can be civil to him or her in meetings, but not to follow up with “so what did you do last weekend?” type questions. Don’t try to get these people on your side, and don’t create alliances unless absolutely necessary. You only have so much energy to devote to office politicking, and you might as well devote it to people who won’t irritate you in the meantime.
For more, click here.
Sometimes before the bad job, there’s the bad job interview.
New York City-based holistic healer Ana Sola was applying for a position at a psychologist’s office, and she claims that the doctor groped her and asked her inappropriate questions during the interview. She also alleges he asked her to bring in naked pictures of herself.
Ana Sola said the doctor, William Swan, told her he planned to use the pictures to help female victims of sex abuse with his assertiveness-training program. She said one of the pictures he showed her was a graphic photo of a threesome.
“I thought it was very strange,” said Sola, who’s suing Swan, a nationally renowned job-interview expert, for assault and battery.
So what exactly makes someone a “job interview expert”? I’m willing to bet half the people reading this site are job interview experts, considering how many weird, crazy, or flat-out terrible interviews they’ve been on. And here’s more:
It was at that interview that, Sola alleges, Swan gave her a massage as part of her “job training,” and then groped her.
Right, because “job interview experts” all agree that massages in interviews by employers to prospective employees are totally kosher? Please. There’s currently a trial underway. Good luck, Ms. Sola.
