What is a Virtual Assistant? What is a Virtual Assistant and what does a Virtual Assistant do? Show We’ve put these questions together because they get frequently, and one generally follows the other. This is our definition of a Virtual Assistant, although it can vary: A Virtual Assistant is an office administration professional that works from the comfort of their own home office or a leased office space or anywhere they want to be! They are generally sole traders, carrying their own ABN and working the hours of their choosing. What does a Virtual Assistant do? Well, there are endless ways this can be answered, but in short, a Virtual Assistant does the majority of things that a personal assistant or office administrator does, but they’re never in your office. Answering telephones, replying to emails, invoicing your clients… anything you can do online, your Virtual Assistant can help you with. What can a Virtual Assistant do for me? Advancing technology means that you don’t need to hire an administration professional to sit in your office. Below is a tiny list of tasks that our VAs regularly carry out for our clients:
What if I only need you to answer my phones? Not a problem! We’re professional and can a have dedicated line set up for you within about 30 minutes (once the admin part of the process is done)… Why should I go with you? If you’re weighing up the pros and cons, we’d suggest giving both a trial run. You can then decide based on results, not on words. We often speak to clients who’ve not had much success with overseas VA’s, and want someone that they know they can rely on, that speaks their language and understands business in Australia – and that’s important! What hours do we work? Our core hours are 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. Anything outside that can be negotiated with the VA in question. We’re usually reasonably flexible. What tools do you use to get your job done? We love living in this era of technology! There are so many tools available to us online to make working remotely easy for everyone. We love Dropbox for file sharing, we use Google Apps for our email, calendar and contacts, we use Skype for communicating – just to name a few. Of course, you may have your own CRM or programs/technologies that you use in your business, we’re more than happy to use these. How do we share files? With the use of Dropbox you can share the files that you want to share with us, so that we work in real-time on the same documents. There is no need to send files via email and there will be no chance of duplicate documents. It works just like a normal server, just in the cloud. We also use Google Drive or any other file sharing program you choose… it’s entirely up to you! Will you sign a confidentiality agreement? Yes – this is part of our Service Agreement. It protects you and us and benefits all parties. How do you answer our telephone calls? When your dedicated telephone line is connected, we answer as if we’re in your office AND it’s our location is transparent to your clients. You can forward any phone to this number if you’re busy, so your calls don’t go unattended. It includes a voicemail facility too! How can I hand over my email inbox to you? If you want us to manage your email inbox, it’s easy. We simply set up a copy of your email account on our desktop and manage it from there. Or, if you’re already in the cloud ie. Gmail, we can simply log on throughout the day to action your Inbox. What are your payment terms? We have a strict 7 day payment term. If payment is not received within the 7 days, we get sad and you may incur late fees and have your services suspended due to non-payment… What are my payment options? Payment options vary from VA to VA, but generally speaking:
All the payment details you need will be on your invoice. Virtual assistant jobs are a fairly well-known and highly coveted type of remote work. If you’ve been wondering how to become a virtual assistant, or where to find virtual assistant jobs, read on!
Every virtual assistant job is a little bit different, of course, but there are some general components to expect. Most virtual assistants provide support to their employer or clients in the form of answering emails, transcribing documents, preparing statements and letters, organizing files, coordinating schedules and calendars, making travel arrangements, and generally taking charge of administrative tasks to help a client focus on the other aspects of their jobs (or personal lives). The good news for anyone hoping to work remotely as a virtual assistant? Virtual administration is one of the fastest-growing remote career fields, according to FlexJobs data. What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?Virtual assistants can work as executive assistants, administrative assistants, personal assistants, and in other related positions, depending on the client. A typical virtual assistant job description may include any combination of the following:
Because so many virtual assistant duties are done through a computer, excellent typing skills and being highly comfortable using different computer programs are a must. How Do You Become a Virtual Assistant?If you have no direct experience or are looking for virtual assistant jobs for beginners, here are some ways to get started. Have you booked appointments, made travel arrangements, managed someone’s calendar or email, blogged, or promoted something on social media? All of these are common virtual assistant tasks. Even if you believe you have no experience, you may have transferable skills that can set your resume apart. You may already have the right skills to become a virtual assistant without realizing how valuable they are. To give them the proper context, these skills should be detailed in your virtual assistant cover letter. If you need to brush up on some areas, virtual assistant training and certifications can be obtained through self-study or taking online virtual assistant courses to learn best practices. As a virtual assistant, you can work directly for employers, or for a virtual assistant agency that provides services to other companies, or offer your own services on a contract basis. If you wish to go into business on your own, determine ahead of time which virtual assistant services you’ll offer, perfect your resume, and start networking. If you offer social media, web design, content production, or creative services, consider maintaining an online portfolio with examples of your work. After becoming a virtual assistant and working for your first clients, be sure to collect positive testimonials that can impress new clients. How to Find Virtual Assistant Jobs & Companies That Hire Virtual AssistantsAccording to the FlexJobs database, the companies below frequently hire for virtual assistant positions: There are many other companies that commonly hire for virtual assistants, too. When it comes to virtual assistant job titles, be on the lookout for titles like virtual administrative assistant, administrative coordinator, virtual secretary, personal assistant, executive assistant, and similar titles. What Makes a Good Virtual Assistant?Great job candidates possess virtual assistant skills like phenomenal written and verbal communication and open and transparent communication practices where they are viewed as a reliable, reachable partner by their clients. Time management and organizational skills are a must, as is a natural ability to take charge of a situation and organize it for the benefit of a client. Also, experience with or knowledge of cloud-based communication technologies like file sharing, password managers, and phone and video conferencing is important. Finally, people who hire virtual assistants are looking to lessen the stress and disorganization in their lives. Don’t wait to be asked to do specific tasks—if you see a client is struggling, offer to help them with something you aren’t currently doing. This gives you more work to do and lets them rely even more heavily on you. Virtual Assistant Salary: How Much Do Virtual Assistants Make?PayScale shows a wide range of pay for virtual assistants, depending on their skill level, years of experience, industry, and clientele. The range is $21,000 to $56,000 per year, with the median annual rate at $36,272. Hourly virtual assistant pay ranges from $10.16 to $29.49, with a median hourly rate of about $16. Just like any other remote job, you’ll need to have a dedicated home office in order to work as a virtual assistant. In addition to a computer with a high-speed Internet connection, you’ll also need a printer, copier/scanner, and fax. Most likely, you will need a dedicated landline (or two) as well. Virtual assistant jobs come in all shapes and sizes: full-time, part-time, employee, freelance, temporary, and alternative schedule. Many virtual assistants work with more than one client at a time on a freelance basis, combining several part-time projects to create a full-time business for themselves. If you’re looking for a virtual assistant job that offers flexibility, you’re in the right place! We update our database daily with the latest flexible and work-from-home jobs in more than 50 job categories!
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What is a virtual assistant and how does it work?
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