The best job in the world?

I recently read an article in Vanity Fair written by the Secretary of Bernie Madoff on what it was like working for the biggest crook in history. It's a really interesting piece but I have to admit the article interested me not really because of the fraud issue, but mainly because of my curiosity of what it must have been like to hold an executive assistant job (as secretaries are usually referred to in France) at such a high level.

As I am at the brink of leaving my current E.A. job in a few weeks, I can't help feeling a pang of regret of moving "forward". It's not like I'm not happy that I have been promoted and that my management has recognized a potential in me and showed me their confidence in my abilities to do more than take messages and keep schedules - but the simple fact is I loved being an assistant. I really enjoyed it.

I guess it's probably my maternal side. These people needed me to "take care of them"... they depended on me to put order in their otherwise hectic schedules, shield them from useless or time consuming situations, bring to their attention important issues and basically rearrange their lives in order for them to be able to make the best out of their time and concentrate on the important tasks that their high level positions required of them.

My job was a discreet yet quite indispensable one and that suited me just fine. I remember my boss once telling me that the thing that stressed him the most, even more than the budget season or a client complaint, was my vacations. It seems pretty shallow to say this, but if ever there was an ego boost, that was it.

Another of the things I loved about this job is that it allowed me to know pretty much everyone in the organization. Usually, people working in different departments have their usual contacts and very seldom do they reach out beyond. But I needed to know pretty much everybody in order for me to be able to handle any type of situation that could arise and I liked being on friendly terms with everyone from the IT guy to the the logistics girl to the head of territory to the HR manager, etc. This will sadly no longer be the case when I start working in my new position as slowly but surely whenever I'll need something from a person outside of my "usual contacts", the procedure will be to ask the executive assistant to get it for me.

But the thing that stresses me more than I care to admit is the fact that now people will expect me to to "show off" more. As an E.A. it was part of my job description to not crave being in the spotlight which was fine by me. My work was evident without me having to scream out for people to notice it. When things went on smoothly, people knew that Fned had gotten the job done without me having to write up charts or pin point Key Performance Indicators. But all that will have to change once I start my new job and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I guess I was absent the day they taught "corporate shark techniques" at business school because I've simply never had a burning desire to push and shove my way up the corporate latter. But I've been working in the business long enough to see how it works and I know that once you've crossed over to the functional side, it's everyone for themselves. As an E.A. I never had to worry about this, nobody wanted my job and yet I had access to even the most confidential of issues in the company and a permanent access to the ear of the boss. Basically, I was always in the first row without having to stab anyone in the back to get there.

So am I happy that I'm moving forward? Yes, of course I am. Life would be much too boring if we stayed in our comfort zone all our life. We all need new challenges in life and I love learning new things. Also, it's no secret I've already been working on some projects from my new position for quite some time now and if I had to go back to "just" being an E.A. that wouldn't be so exciting either... so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.

But as I read Eleanor Squillari tell the story of her 25 year job as Bernie Madoff's secretary, I recognized a lot of her in myself and even smiled at a few passages in which her evident pride at the job flared up... I could relate to that sentiment and it made me ask myself if I wouldn't have rather enjoyed to continue along that path... (although hopefully never to end up working for another Madoff!).

Fned.