How to Become a Virtual Assistant and Companies That Hire

What Is a Virtual Assistant? Definition & Meaning

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).

What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?

虚拟助手可以工作executive assistants,administrative assistants,personal assistants, and in other related positions, depending on the client. A typicalvirtual assistant job descriptionmay include any combination of the following:

• Calendar and schedule management
• Travel arrangements
• File and document organization
• Email monitoring and organizing
• Answering and directing calls
• Billing and accounting activities
• Writing and maintaining records
• Vetting potential clients, projects, partnerships, etc.
• Maintaining or updating a client’s social media or professional profile

Because so manyvirtual assistant dutiesare 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 commonvirtual assistant tasks. Even if you believe you have no experience, you may havetransferable skillsthat 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虚拟助手封面letter. If you need to brush up on some areas,virtual assistant training and certificationscan 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 avirtual assistant agencythat provides services to other companies, oroffer 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 anonline portfoliowith 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 Assistants

According to the FlexJobs database, the companies below frequently hire for virtual assistant positions:

• BELAY
• Boldly
• Great Assistant
• LHH – Lee Hecht Harrison
• Paragon Planners
• Randstad
• VaVa Virtual Assistants

There are many othercompanies that commonly hire for virtual assistantstoo. 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虚拟助理技能like phenomenal written and verbal communication andopen and transparent communication practiceswhere 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 videoconferencing 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?

Payscaleshows a wide range ofpay for virtual assistants, depending on their skill level, years of experience, industry, and clientele.

The range is $22,000 to $60,000 per year.每小时的虚拟助手支付ranges from $10.75 to $27.46, with a median hourly rate of about $17.