“How can I become a virtual assistant? I don’t have any experience. How can I get clients?” – These are the common questions we hear. Are you one of those people who wanted to quit your office job? You want to try working at home and want to become a virtual assistant? Then you are in the right community. Our aim here is not just to hire but to help you get started the right way. We understand that many of you came from the BPO, and corporate world, but working from home as a virtual assistant is a totally different job. In this article, we will discuss the most important things you need to know to become a virtual assistant.
Let’s start with the definition of a virtual assistant also known as a “VA”. A virtual assistant is a self-employed personal assistant who works remotely (home office) sometimes they work for many clients, but at HireSmartVAs.com, we pair you with a single client for full time work. Both options have advantages and it depends on your overall goals and objectives which path is best for you.
VAs provides administrative, technical, marketing, business support, and creative services. Business owners and webpreneurs use virtual assistants because it allows them to get their work done without hiring an employee or help them with various tasks.
If you want to become a virtual assistant, you can be successful in this field. As long as you have the right skills to bring to the table. Keep in mind that it may be hard at first. All you need is a good direction. There are necessary skills you need to learn and to become successful in this career.
Here are the must have soft skills:
- Common sense – You must have the ability to think independently, take initiative, make sound decisions, and act in a reasonable way. Sometimes clients will not provide you with detailed instructions or provide incomplete ideas leaving it up to you to have to use your knowledge or common sense to complete the project or task.
- Good Communication Skills- This is a must. Without good communication skills, you won’t even get a client. Most times you will be dealing with international clients, so you have to be well versed in English so your clients can understand you. We recommend that you practice and hone this skill.
- Discipline and Time Management – If you want to become successful in this field then you need to get in your own specific routine. You should seek to wake up at the same hour every day and put your work hours in when you are personally most productive or when your client requires you to. Most times, you will have numerous tasks in a day so plan ahead. You can use Google Calendar to schedule your daily tasks and deadlines.
- Flexible Personality- You won’t be successful if you can’t be flexible because you are required to perform several tasks and sometimes at once. Being able to multi-task is also vital in the workplace. This also can involve to adaptability to changing circumstances and finding new solutions. You will want to adapt to your client’s personality and management style for the best long term results.
- Attention to Details- This is a requirement as a virtual assistant because you must be thorough and accurate with the projects and tasks you do. Double check your work before you submit it to the client.
- Organized- Most of the clients will hire virtual assistant to help them stay organized and if you lack this then VA Career is not for you.
Some of the basic hard skills you can learn to become a virtual assistant.
- Research and Internet (Computer) Skills
- Data Entry
- English Communication Skills (Phone and email Skills)
- Customer Service Skills
- Writing
Some of the advance skills you may want to learn:
- Graphic and web design
- Online marketing skills
- Real estate knowledge
- Project Management Skills
Of course, this list is not limited to these examples. You can check 10 Things You Need to Know If You Apply as A Virtual Assistant for more details.
You think you have those qualities and want to advance your career? Become a Certified Real Estate Virtual Assistant now.
If you don’t have any of these skills, then you should seriously consider whether being a Virtual Assistant is right for you. The good news is, we are soon going to launch a training this year to help those who wants to become a virtual assistant but don’t know where to start. Once we have a date we will keep you posted in our Facebook Page.
