Anna Wintour is seeking the perfect assistant: someone to ‘juggle multiple tasks at once’ and make up to $80,000 a year

Fans of the now-cult classic The Devil Wears Prada can finally apply to their dream job, though for others it may be a nightmare. Anna Wintour is searching for the new Andy Sachs, the character played by Anne Hathaway in the film. The all-powerful fashion editor, currently global chief content officer at Condé Nast editorial group and editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, wants to find her new right hand and assistant. The film, which stars Hathaway and Meryl Streep, is inspired by a book that an ex-assistant of Wintour’s wrote about her demanding work conditions. Once again, reality is stranger than fiction. Anyone who fulfills a list of requirements can enter the running to play a key role in the powerful editor’s life.

According to the posted job listing, the chosen one will have to arrange the editor’s meetings, events and commitments, as well as supervising the communication with her New York office. It’s not an easy job, but as the movie says, “a million girls would kill for it.”

The job offer was published last week on the editorial group’s website, where anyone can apply for the position. But what requirements must a candidate have to work hand-in-hand with one of the most recognized and influential fashion journalists in the world? As the listing explains, the applicant should be an extremely organized person, capable of multitasking in a fast-paced environment and with strong verbal communication, interpersonal and collaboration skills, as well as time-management skills (including the ability to juggle multiple tasks at once).

Beyond the work requirements, the candidate will have to demonstrate “confidence, enthusiasm and a can-do attitude balanced by humility and a willingness to learn.” They must have a university degree and one to two years of work experience in the editorial, content or digital media industry. Whoever fulfills all the requirements will make between $60,000 and $80,000 a year, according to the candidate’s experience. “This is a tremendous opportunity for an ambitious, business-savvy professional who is passionate about culture, fashion, digital media, and content,” the offer says.

The salary has been widely criticized on social media, given the demands of the job and the tasks involved. Though it may seem glamorous, numerous ex-assistants of Wintour have shared horror stories about working for her. Lauren Weisberger, who was her right hand between 1999 and 2000, wrote The Devil Wears Prada in 2003 about her experience, basing the character of Andy Sachs on herself.

Almost 20 years later, history repeated itself. In a biography of Wintour published in 2022, titled Anna, an assistant alleged that the editor once forced her employees to remain seated at their desk, even if they needed to go to the bathroom, unless there was another assistant present. Though the work conditions, according to those who worked alongside her, are difficult, the new assistant won’t have to know the difference between turquoise, lapis lazuli and cerulean, nor will they have to get an exclusive advanced copy of the seventh Harry Potter book, as occurs in the film.

In addition to editing Vogue, Wintour also organizes the Met gala. She personally creates the guest list and chooses the industry professionals and public figures invited to one of the events of the year. But it is not a free invitation: each guest has to pay around $30,000 to confirm their attendance.

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