"As a recent fashion graduate, I was excited to get a job as a second assistant to a high-level executive in the fashion industry. I figured putting in my time with a gig like this could help me make some good connections to really begin my career. At first, the work seemed easy. I mostly ran menial errands, made appointments, and attended shows and events. Then I was asked to come with her and the first assistant on a trip to Maui, which sounded awesome at first.
"During the trip, I realized that something was off. I assumed she would have a friend or family member come on the vacation, but it was just us three. She made us spend every single minute with her — every meal, every shopping spree — and we didn’t have any alone time. When she’d go to the spa (which was every single day we were there), we would have to be waiting for her right when she came out. But it was when we returned from the trip that things took a turn for the worse.
"She started complaining about the first assistant to me, in a way that seemed like she was waiting for me to respond with gossip, which I didn’t have because I never had problems with the other assistant. Then, during a performance review, she told me a bunch of things that the first assistant had supposedly said about me (like I was lazy, boring, and was out doing other things for myself when I was supposed to be running errands for her).
"I couldn’t believe it because I thought I had a pretty good relationship with the first assistant and considered her a friend. I decided to confront her. The assistant claimed to have never said those things and that in her own review, the boss had actually had similar complaints about me! She was clearly playing mind games with us, for some unknown reason. I knew I had to quit, but I was making contacts and actually learning a lot, so I was conflicted. The mind games continued, along with straight-up insults. She’d call me and the other assistant worthless, and that we would never reach success. I lost a lot of weight, developed a general anxiety order, and couldn’t sleep. I finally quit, and the other assistant did as well, shortly after. Worst job ever."
Source: Refinery 29
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