Virtual assistants, in short, are generally people who help other people and companies get their jobs done. Not only bloggers employ them all the time, many small and big companies do the same. After all, it’s much cheaper to pay someone to do a specific job from their home than to hire another employee, set up an office for them, and pay them a salary and benefits. By becoming a virtual assistant, you can do a lot of great office work and social media-type tasks in the comfort of your own home and on your own schedule! This is essentially an administrative assistant job, only working from home!
What do virtual assistants do?
There are several tasks that virtual assistants can do. These tasks include email management, calendar management, research, managing social media accounts, scheduling posts, customer support, data entry, following up with clients, and more. Any task that a blogger or business owner needs to do, but doesn’t have the time to do, a virtual assistant can be hired. You can literally get paid to be on social media platforms!
What skills or experience are required to become a virtual assistant?
The specific skills or amount of experience you need to become a virtual assistant will really depend on who is hiring you and what they are hiring you for. For example, if you want to be a dentist’s office virtual assistant, some knowledge of working in a dental office or general secretarial work would be a plus. If you want to become a virtual assistant to a well-known blogger, running your own blog or managing blog posts will give you the experience you need. There are no specific class taking or completion requirements. You need to know how to do the skills you’re hoping to get hired for, whether it’s publishing on WordPress, calling clients, optimizing posts for SEO, or contacting brands for sponsorships. Communication skills, understanding of developing an online presence, organizational skills and understanding of administrative tasks are helpful traits for working in virtual assistant services. And for all online jobs, a solid internet connection and computer equipment are important for this line of work.
How Much Do Virtual Assistants Get Paid?
You can make good money as a virtual assistant if you know what you are doing. You can ask $20+ per hour for tasks like scheduling posts and approving blog comments. For more specialized skills like freelance writing, you may be able to get $350+ per post depending on the length of the post and the research involved. Those who offer social media management can easily warrant more than $300 per month to schedule status updates and community management. VA jobs are primarily part-time but some full-time and temporary opportunities are available.
Where can I find virtual assistant jobs?
Here are some great places to visit.
1. Telecommute Job Board
There are some great job boards online that specialize in listing remote positions. A few of my favorites for those looking for virtual assistant jobs:
There are job boards for writers and designers, but things can be a little more difficult when it comes to finding legitimate virtual assistant jobs from home. Because this work-from-home career encompasses so many tasks, there can be many great places to find new clients.
HireMyMom.com
Hire My Mom, as the name suggests, helps mothers find legitimate work from home jobs by giving them the flexibility they need. They list not only virtual assistant job opportunities, but also those looking for research, writing, graphic design, editing, accounting, web design, customer service, marketing, public relations, bookkeeping, desktop publishing, medical billing, payroll, human resources. Support, and more.
When it comes to first-hand experiences, we’ve got plenty of women willing to share.
Carrie Le Chevalier says, “I love it. I’ve been working with them for several years now. I’ve worked with at least 1/2 of DZ’s clients. They know I’m a mom first, and get it.”
Corinne Kirsten, a freelance writer and blogger, had this to say about his experience, “I’ve had a good experience with HMM so far. The job listings appear to be of a higher caliber. Posters know what skills they are looking for, but are also willing to pay a decent amount for those skills. All the clients I met there were great and easy to work with. I like the setup, where you can respond directly to clients and once you respond to the ad there is no middle-man.
“While there may be some dry periods, I have found both online and casual clients there and I find it worth the fee. I would recommend the site to anyone looking for online work. The site itself is easy to use and navigate, and there seems to be a steady flow of job postings to keep job seekers satisfied.”
cost: $99 per year or $29.95 per quarter
Flexjobs
This is one of the best job boards for telecommuters in my opinion. This is a paid membership, but they do the research for you, featuring only legitimate virtual jobs in over 50 categories – many positions are with well-known companies. And even though it’s a paid subscription, it’s very affordable. A client and your investment will be more than worth it.
i have used Flexjobs In the past, so it has my personal vote of approval.
cost: $14.95 per month
VAnetworking’s VAinsider Club
Some of my first clients as virtual assistants came through the job board at VAnetworking. As a VAinsider, you get access to monthly group coaching, monthly webinar training, monthly motivators, private brainstorming networks, and The VAult, which includes business templates, seminar archives, system sheets, ebooks, and bonus resources.
cost: $37 per month
Virtual office temps
This site lists virtual assistant jobs. Note that over 200,000 VAs subscribe to this site. Competition for these positions is fierce.
cost: Free
Even if you hesitate to pay to get access to legitimate virtual assistant jobs, consider the time and energy it will save you in the long run. In most cases, leads have already been screened for potential scams Clients usually come to the table with an understanding of what it’s like to work with a remote contractor and are prepared to pay a reasonable rate to do so. You also need to consider that you won’t be paying forever. Most will let you cancel at any time and you can stop your membership after you have a client or two under your belt.
2. Join a Facebook group for virtual assistants
They can be hard to find, but they are an absolutely fantastic resource if you want to be a VA for other bloggers. Prices are usually fair and you can learn a lot in groups. Many groups want to hire not only blog assistants but also bloggers. Ask within your network of virtual assistants if they know of any groups or would like to form one.
3. Ask around
Who do you know who is looking for a virtual assistant or know someone else who might be? Ask around! Let people know you’re looking for work. There are also a few email lists to join:
4. Join the forum
Virtual assistant forums are a great place to network and get job leads. I recommend joining VAnetworking.com and VirtualAssistantForums.com.
5. Cold email
Some companies don’t appreciate cold pitches, but if you can find the right person at the right time, you may be able to land a great job that you didn’t know was open. If you go this route, start with companies or bloggers you already have a relationship with or who seem particularly busy right now. Check out this free 5 day client challenge.
6. Companies that hire virtual assistants
- 99 social – Hires social media content specialist to manage client social profiles. You need to commit to a minimum of 10 accounts (about 3.5 hours per week). Pay an average of $12 per hour, according to the website.
- in the morning– These are high-level positions that require a bachelor’s degree and at least five years of experience.
- Equality – If you’re looking for a position that doesn’t require a desktop, you’re in luck. It only requires a smartphone and laptop. and graduate degrees.
- fancy hands – This company pays on a per-project basis. Each task will be assigned a rate based on its difficulty level and time required. They only rent within the US now, they are only looking for specialized service providers. Please visit their job boards often.
- fire gang – No experience required. You will need to commit 15-25 hours per week. Pay is $15-$17 per hour. Sign up for me Weekly Work-at-Home Newsletter And get my printable service list to help you identify profitable jobs you can offer clients! By signing up, you’ll receive new job leads, work at home tips, great printables, special offers and more.
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