Hiring a Virtual Assistant will free up your most valuable resource, your time. A virtual assistant provides miscellaneous services to savvy business folk from a remote location. Technically you can ask your virtual assistant to spearhead any task you please. Anything from scheduling your calendar to squeeze in more appointments, do digital marketing tasks, or head off to handle personal errands in your stead. Heck, you could combine a virtual assistant with a range of productivity tools to streamline your processes even further. The limit to the task you assign is limited only by your imagination and wallet (and quite possibly the laws of your state and/or county).
Hiring a competent virtual assistant frees up the most valuable of your resources – your time. Mundane, repetitive tasks can be given to your reliable personal aide leaving you free to focus on what you do best or what is most profitable for your organization. Virtual assistant services can also mean that you do not forget regular tasks and deadlines, making your operation more effective and probably significantly more efficient.
We all readily understand what is meant by an assistant. The virtual prefix is the key factor in the rise in popularity of hiring virtual assistant services. The resource can be anywhere in the world, working remotely with you but in frequent communication. Usually, this means a lower cost of labor than hiring a regular employee but does not lose you any of the supervisory control that proximity might provide. Think of your virtual assistant as being in the next office and available on the end of a phone or Skype chat.
While there is no limit to the category of work that can be farmed out or outsourced to a competent individual, common administrative, financial and customer service tasks form the majority of the demand for the skills of a virtual assistant. Research and writing, bookkeeping and chasing accounts receivable, customer contact/response, drafting and transcribing correspondence as well as preparing presentations are all typical of the most popular business activities that can be performed by virtual assistant services. Do not be constrained by that brief list. Freelancer.com offers you candidates with practically any skill you can think of.
So – how to identify a good fit for your needs? Just like preparing to hire a regular employee, make a list of the skills and competencies that you want in an individual. Rate them using the MoSCoW prioritization technique into Must Have, Should Have, Could Have and Would Like To Have. That way, you can focus on the most important characteristics and skills and reduce the risk of being distracted by attractive but non-essential attributes in a potential assistant.
On Freelancer.com you will find a vast range of individuals looking for virtual assistant vacancies with a pool of expertise to choose from. Take the time to draft a paragraph that clearly outlines the duties of the role, followed by your list of Must Have attributes. Be clear about the level of experience your ideal candidate should demonstrate but also be realistic. You are unlikely to find a perfect match for all of your ideal skills and expert in one virtual assistant, and therefore it may require a degree of compromise.
Very often, people seeking virtual assistant jobs will have provided a portfolio of sample work that provides a ready indication of likely suitability. Feedback from previous engagements will quickly help you to filter out unsuitable candidates but be open to considering people who are relatively new to the world of being a virtual assistant. You may find a gem who is competent and eager to help in order to gain feedback so as to build a career. Freelancer.com allows you to contact candidates directly.
With over 19 million users, you'll be sure to find a good virtual assistant via Freelancer.com; one who can prove to be a stepping stone in leveraging your time, productivity and efficiency to a new level. Post your project today!