All small businesses start with the potential of growing with time. And growth is a natural progression to your vision, hard work and dedication. In a majority of instances due to budgetary constraints, when starting out most small business owners take on all the responsibilities of the business themselves.
However as the business grows instead of getting straddled with time consuming administrative tasks, business owners may hire an in house employee or choose to outsource this responsibility to efficient VA’s. In the first instance the hiring process is easy as you know where and how to find an administrative assistant. The problem arises when you decide to hire a VA.
The issues of trust and compatibility can pose a problem as a VA is someone who works from his/her home or office and the only form of communication is through the internet.
How can you find a quality virtual assistant?
Finding the perfect assistant for your business requirements can be a tough task whether you are looking at hiring an in house administrative assistant or a VA. It gets more difficult in the case of a VA as the obvious disadvantage here is that the VA may not even be in the same country as you!
In such a situation most business owners are at a loss when it comes to looking for that perfect VA. When addressing the issue of finding a VA, there are two specific areas of concern:
How do you find a VA and more importantly where do you go if you want to hire one?
There are several sources you can utilize when you are scouting for a VA. Some of the more common ones have been listed below:
Search Engines/Internet: Since this is a virtual position the obvious place to begin with would be the internet. Although the internet is the perfect place to look for a VA you need to be careful in this respect as almost anyone familiar with the internet is an aspiring VA these days.
Having said that, the internet is still the leading source to finding a good VA for your business you can use any of the search engines like Google etc. to look up VA’s. All you need to do is type “virtual assistant” and the search engine will pull up a list of directories and personalized websites which offer VA services.
The following are some of the more common and popular websites for finding a VA.
Word of Mouth: When you are a small business owner you are bound to get in touch with other business owners who may also be utilizing the services of a VA. Ask around and see if they can come up with recommendations on who is a good candidate.
Virtual Assistant Certification Sites: The VA certification is like a diploma course which aims at making VA’s more proficient and qualified in their respective fields. Most sites that offer such a certification have their own database of qualified and certified VA’s. Examples of these sites are
Virtual Assistants Forums: All experienced and quality VA’s have an online presence and a VA forum is an excellent place to look for a VA or find leads and recommendations to one. Most VA’s join these forums to either pass on information, look for leads and advice or even to partner with other VA’s on specific projects. Examples of forums for VA’s:
Virtual Assistants Directories: The VA directories are a listing of VA’s and is again an excellent option when you’re looking for a VA. These directories contain information like their experience, qualification, certifications etc. making it easier for you to prescreen potential candidates.
Most of these directories are classified by city, state or country. Examples of such directories are
For the US - http://us.deskdemon.com/pages/us/va/index
For the UK - http://allianceofukvirtualassistants.org.uk
For Canada - www.canadianvirtualassistant.com/
For other countries - http://www.mediamage.com/va/
In conclusion, you have to remember that although a VA is an independent contractor providing B2B services. His/her role is of an virtual administrative assistant and in that position you would naturally want someone you can trust and develop a good working relationship with. Therefore it is of paramount importance that you select a person you can depend on and who in turn understands your requirements.
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