Hire Virtual Assistant for your Online Business

Virtual assistants, also called virtual professionals, are remote administrative assistants. VAs typically work outside the office, performing jobs that an administrative assistant generally does. For example, they might make phone calls, serve product data entry, manage email, provide customer support services, do product image editing, perform social tasks (sending gratitude notes), or add product listing.

They are independent contractors who take up administrative tasks for clients and ensure they run like clockwork while operating outside the client’s office. Since you trust virtual assistants with critical and sensitive job tasks, like product data entry or customer support services, it makes sense to be extra careful when hiring them.

Some remote assistants have more specific jobs based on their knowledge, experience, and skillsets. For example, a virtual professional might do accounting, conduct market research, or create a master database through analysis.

Here’s a process that helps you find, evaluate and hire the best virtual assistant:

Define the position

Before initiating the hiring process, first elucidate details regarding:

• • Employment type. Are you planning to hire a permanent employee or a freelancer to assist you with a project? Is this job going to be a part-time or full-time position?
  • Compensation plan. Determine what is more cost-effective: paying per hour for specific independent tasks, paying per project when there’s a deadline, or paying monthly when hiring long-term employees to handle multiple job roles?
  • Skill requirements. What skills should be there in a eCommerce virtual assistant for this position? For instance, you can hire an all-rounder who can perform numerous administrative tasks, or is it best to look for specialists in jobs like bookkeeping or data scientists.

Create a Virtual Assistant job description

Once your thought process is clear regarding job profile, it’s time to communicate that to job aspirants. Here’s how to draw a clear, well-thought-out job description for remote workers:

Put ahead your company’s details. There are no geographical boundaries with virtual assistants, which means people from the entire world may see your job advertisement. Thus, make sure to add catching information, like your objectives, mission, and values, or a brief description of your company.

Outline the profile of your ideal applicant. Knowing that your new hire will work outside the office, list beforehand what skills they need to excel beyond the general job tasks. For example, it’ll be beneficial if they have good communication skills and task-management tools and software.

Explain your job profile and method of working. Encourage applicants to fill in critical information that’ll help you decide if they’re a perfect match. For example, be precise about your expectations, compensation and working methods, and schedule. Also, if there are any trial periods, be transparent about it.

Mention your selling points. Are you offering virtual assistants with a high-end tech stack? Do you pay extra to remote workers for working spaces? Do you provide utterly round-the-clock working hours? List down all the perks and benefits that’ll help seize potential applicants’ attention.

By following the above process, you’ll end up hiring a potential candidate.