Category: virtual assistance

your virtual assistance career is more than convenience

Your Virtual Assistance Career Is More Than Convenience

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You should remember that if you are a virtual assistant, this does not mean that the clients will not anticipate you to work as a typical office-based employee. Simply because you work at home, this does not imply that you have the power to everything, such as your schedule. Take note that it is best that you work alongside your client. Thus, you should follow his or her preferred schedule or the company hours. In such way, you could coordinate well with him or her while carrying out the necessary tasks daily.

Flexibility may have become common nowadays among remote workers, but it is not as friendly as it seems. Simply imagine not being able to connect with your client. Be reminded that a harmonious relationship with your employer is best done through communicating consistently. Furthermore, flexibility entails that your client will not always have that opportunity to catch up with you for urgent tasks.

If you are working as a virtual assistant, you should keep in mind that even your attendance should not be influenced by your convenience to ask for absence approval. Truth to be told, it is much easier to ask permission to leave work through written SMS or message, isn’t it? However, this does not mean that you should abuse it. Treat your work with respect and consider the requirements of your clients always.

Provided your client appointed you to work as his or her virtual assistant with a set of tasks akin to executive assistance, this only signifies that you should be present as always as possible. Why? This is due to the fact you would always coordinate in behalf of your client.

The aforementioned facts do not mean that you cannot take leaves at all. There are exceptions, for certain, such as in times of emergencies. The point of the matter is that you should never let the convenience of virtual assistance take over you.

There is growth in virtual assistance work. You should remember that if you want to grow as a better professional worker, you should act like one. Perform your duties with relentless commitment and do not ever think that a job is easily replaceable. If you will show your client that somehow, you are way too comfortable and dilly-dallying, he or she will have a concrete reason to let you go.

Do you know that even clients who hire remote workers look forward to a long-term relationship? Yes, they do, for trust is difficult to build. If you will successfully establish a good reliance from your client to your person, you could secure a stable work.

never miss a deadline anymore with these simple tips

Never Miss a Deadline Anymore With These Simple Tips

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Deadlines are always present. Sometimes, it can be daunting if a big project is concerned, while at times, it could be disregarded easily. Why? This is due to the fact you do not even notice that you are facing a deadline since the task concerned is small. An e-mail that has to be sent within the day is already subjected to a deadline.

There are many reasons why you could have missed a deadline. As a virtual assistant, you tend to take care of a handful of tasks simultaneously. This results to you making poor decisions on which activity to prioritize. Another reason could be incomplete instructions, leading to incorrect output. Thus, you have to repeat the work.

Of course, the ever common reason for missing a deadline is lacking reminders. Virtual assistants may be known to be organized and well-versed in calendar management, but they are not resistant to mistakes. Thus, they could also be overwhelmed with work on hand, giving them the reason to plan things out poorly for themselves.

If you are a virtual assistant, there are so many ways (which are totally simple), that could keep you from missing a deadline aside from the conventional planning of your daily routine. Here are a few that could help:

Use your calendar. This is a pretty simple solution. Your calendar could be anywhere – your PC or laptop, your e-mail server, or even your smartphone. Use any of them or even all of those calendar applications you got to schedule whatever has to be done within a day or for the entire week. Set the notifications not only through pop-ups (which are easy to miss), but activate the e-mail reminders as well.

Task list may not be that friendly for a forgetful person. Yes, there could be task list feature on your calendar applications, but it will not be that useful all along. Scheduling your tasks with date and time is best done if you do not want to miss anything. Task list requires you to check a certain activity that is not done or the contrary every now and then. This will only take much of your time.

Sticky notes are still powerful. “Medieval” as it may seem, but sticky notes could still be helpful for you to keep deadlines met. The sticky notes pertained here are not the ones on your PC, but the papers itself. You can use these to keep yourself posted on what to do next. Put them near your eyesight or on your computer monitor.

Set those alarms. There will be days that you will not know what should be done next due to the influx of things to accomplish. This is when you will likely obliterate that even your calendar reminders would not be noticeable on your end, causing you to overlook them. Alarms are not simply deterrents to missed deadlines but wake-up calls as well, especially if you are on a night shift work. In truth, due to fatigue, one could easily snooze when working.

Keep double-checking a habit. If you do not want to repeat your work, double-check it. You should not rush into submitting an output unless you are certain there are no errors. There may be cases that you would still commit a mistake, but checking your work more than once will make it minimal and easy to rectify.

By following the mentioned tips, you would now have a better reason to become better at work. You do not have to attend a performance training to get the hang of your work without missing a deadline. Most of the time, it is about disciplining yourself using the resources available, such as what has been explained above.

Virtual Assistant Skills Are Best Gauged Through Work Than Words

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When selecting a virtual assistant, you definitely have this set of standards to follow or requirements in mind. Hopefully, the list of yours does not specifically include the need for someone, who is good at speaking in English verbally (except if you need a telemarketer or someone who would speak on your behalf). Be reminded that virtual assistant skills are not limited to good English verbal communication skills.

Indeed, it is quite difficult to work with someone, who cannot communicate well. Nonetheless, remember that the entirety of a person’s performance should not be measured based on how they speak. In the end, it is all about their output or how they carried out their job.

The aforementioned statement implies that if you are going to hire a virtual assistant, you should not depend solely on how a person speaks well during the interview. You should focus on their background or on what they have to offer.

Prior to rejecting an applicant after an interview given he or she does not possess the accent you prefer, check out his or her profile first. Find out if he or she has a considerable experience you need. A good example is when searching for a web developer. Determine if the applicant has your specified years of experience in the field instead of paying particular attention to his or her grammar.

Never give in to an applicant right away due to his or her interview answers. Take note that you could already check out possible interview questions online.

If you are really concentrated on how a person explains his or her capabilities, then dig deeper when questioning. Instead of inquiring if he or she could do something, try out to be technical. For instance, if a person is really good in calendar management, he or she will not simply say he or she will ask for the date and time of a meeting to be scheduled. The applicant will explain that as a virtual assistant, he or she will have to check the availability of the calendar’s owner and avoid conflicts.

Based on the example above, you definitely do not need someone with your similar accent if website development is concerned. The person you need will not even have to speak with anyone other than you or colleagues to complete his or her work. Simply give him or her inspirations for the work, specifics on what you want to see on your website pages, and other requests, and you are good to go.

It is understandable that you are quite doubtful to give a person the job based on his or her resume or curriculum vitae alone. Then, why not give him or her a chance to prove himself or herself? Freelancers are totally open for trials. After assigning the virtual assistant a task to work on for a short period, and if he or she did not deliver as necessary, then you could decide to put a halt on getting services from him or her.

You must remember that English cannot always be a standard in appraising someone’s capability. A person, who comes from a French-speaking country, can be really good in digital marketing without necessarily having to be great in English.  In contrary, a person speaking English fluently cannot always assure a seamless work in search engine optimization.

Try changing how your selection of virtual assistant is done going forward by considering the facts above. For certain, you will end up with better talents for your company.

weekend ideas for a busybodied virtual assistant

Weekend Ideas for a Busybodied Virtual Assistant

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You had a very busy week for certain, which is common among virtual assistants, gig workers, or freelancers around the world. Yes, there is this convenience to stay at home or work in your pajamas, but this does not mean that you do not encounter stress or even an anxiousness-causing situation one way or the other. You are still an employee who has to deliver output to your client or employer.

Nonetheless, this does not mean that you should drown yourself with uneasiness until the weekend. Remember, you own your weekend. Thus, there is no client, work, or even pressure that should come your way. If you want to make the most out of it, the first step is to keep yourself distant from your work even for a day or two.

Why? This is due to the fact relieving your mind and body from work could help you regain your strength, vigor, mental alertness, and even immunity from whatever sickness that could affect your feeble self.

There are various ways that you could make your weekend worthwhile. Given below are weekend ideas that could certainly help:

Visit a place you wanted to explore for a long time. Your life is not always about work. You should also have your me time or even a family excursion that could prove this. Try checking out the place you have wanted to visit – it may be a resort, mall, leisure park, or even a historical spot. It is somehow a means for you to reward yourself for the hard work during the past week.

Did you know that traveling could sharpen your mind, broaden your horizon, and even give you that exercise you have always missed? Well, now that you are aware of this, better plan out your next trip!

Find time to exercise. There is no doubt that physical fitness is one of the ways to a longer life. If you will concentrate on working solely, you may end up getting sick from too long sitting or stagnant lifestyle. Be reminded that your body has got to move, your muscles need revving up, and your limbs got to stretch as well.

You do not have to hit the gym as a way of doing this. You can simply check out routines you could do at home. By doing so, you would not regret it for you are not simply keeping your health in check, but also preparing yourself for the week ahead wisely.

Read a book. For some, this is totally insipid, but they are totally missing the heap of benefits reading can provide. Besides the fact you could expand your creativity and knowledge about lots of things, reading could also prevent your mind from lingering into your job-concerned worries.

Plus, books give you the sense of isolation, which is very helpful if you want to spend your weekend at home instead of venturing outside. While you are being transported to another realm, reading a book could maintain your cognitive stimulation. Furthermore, you could even broaden your vocabulary, which, of course, would help you in a lot of ways other than at work.

Join volunteering or charitable programs. If you are a person who prefers to feel fulfilled during your free time, you should try finding out about volunteering programs near your place. You could join an upcoming blood donation cause, whether you are the one to donate or the person to assist those who will. Alternatively, feeding programs or even awareness seminars could also work for you.

This will not simply give you the opportunity to help, but you could also improve your social skills. You have always been at home, so mingling with people in the flesh would certainly be a helpful factor for life.

Try out new recipes for yourself or your family. During the weekdays, it is anticipated that you would have limited time to take care of the cooking for yourself or your family. The tendency is, you buy from fast food chains or consume processed items. This could be deadly, if it ensues. Hence, to counterbalance your diet, you should try out healthy recipes to cook during the weekend.

The weekend is your chance to hone your cooking skills (if you are totally enthusiastic about kitchen work) and supply your body with the nutrients it needs. This could also be a bonding time for your family. Encourage them to join you so that despite being at home, you could find a way to spend the day fruitfully.

You should try out the aforementioned ideas if you want to make your weekend worthwhile. Do not simply snooze all day. According to Dr. Michael Breus, too much sleep could lead to health risks, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cognitive problems. Instead, make your weekend as helpful as possible for your mind and body.

 

Respect: A Trait That Every Virtual Assistant Should Have

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Virtual assistants have the freedom to work as they please, as long as they provide the deliverable required of them. They could wear anything and neglect work clothes, if they prefer to. They could even work at their most convenient times, as long as their client allows to. Most importantly, they could spend more at home without worrying about their job. Their laptop is just an arm away for them to take care of things.

However, due to the aforementioned convenience, there is a tendency for a virtual assistant to neglect important factors in sustaining a healthy client-freelancer relationship. For instance, VAs tend to forget how important it is to connect with their employee. Apart from the work relationship becoming automated and seemed machinelike, virtual assistants could become less friendly towards their client.

Be reminded that you are still an employee regardless of the fact you are working remotely. Home-based job does not entail lack of personal touch with your work.

If you do not want to end up your job without a harmonious relationship to recollect in the future, you should start shaping your personality as it should be. One good start is to learn how to become respectful to your client or employer. In truth, there are so many ways to do so.

A few tips below may help:

Always start your shift in a positive note. How could you do this? It is simple. You just have to avoid forgetting the most important greetings – good morning, good evening, or good day. You should always initiate a beginning that would affect your client’s mood positively. Be reminded that positivity is contagious. Thus, make yourself a source of it.

Apart from the common greeting, never forget how essential asking how your client or employer is. No, this is not an act of uttermost comfort towards your superior. This is a way to show him or her that you do care despite your type of relationship. A client or an employer may not say it, but they prefer that their staff at least give credit to them even in the simplest way.

Accept your mistakes and lower your ego. Yes, you may be an experienced virtual assistant or even an accomplished professional outside your remote working space. However, this does not mean that you already have the privilege to disregard the corrections and criticisms of your client.

Hear your employer out when he or she is pointing something that did not turn out right. Accept if you are wrong. Otherwise, explain your side in a respectful manner.

If your employer is wrong no matter how you see it, but he or she kept on insisting his or her side, simply keep mum. Follow what he or she wants to happen, for in the end, the result will convey which of you is right.

Understand the personal space of your client or employer. There are virtual assistants who only focus on work that they forget that their client also needs their personal space. For instance, they still send messages or e-mails during the night despite knowing that their employer may be with his or her family at home already.

Although there are cases that urgency requires you to speak with your client even at night time or beyond working hours, you should always prioritize respecting the time he or she has left for himself or herself. If your inquiry could wait or you could find means to sort out your concern, then you should keep yourself from pressing the send button.

The provided tips above are just a few of what you can do to maintain respect in your personality. You should take note that employers do not retain their staff based on their skills alone, but also on how they deal with their superiors or co-workers.