Tag: virtual assistant facts

Overconfidence Can Ruin Your Reputation as a VA

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There are virtual assistants, who are way too confident about what they can do, that they did not notice that this trait of theirs keep clients at bay. Why? This is due to the fact clients are not impressed by what you say but by what you do. You cannot state that you can perform well and make him or her believe right away. Most of the time, an employer would tell you to prove it first through works, then he or she will see if you are stating a fact.

This is when trial comes in the scene. Have you ever wondered why clients request for a trial period? Be reminded that they are aware that they cannot surmise the performance of an employee by depending on his or her background, previous experience, and interview.

Virtual assistants should remember that no matter how good they think they are, staying mum is the best option to do. It is more impressive to make your performance speak for itself. Indeed, during the interview, you must share what you can do and what you have accomplished previously, but this can be done without a tinge of being improperly surefooted. You can simply say you have experience in this skill number one and number two. You do not have to say that you are the best the client could find out of all the applicants simply due to what you believe in.

Take note that clients steer away from forwardness. They would rather work with someone, who is obviously accepting the fact that he or she is not perfect and there is a lot of growth to reap out there.

Overconfidence should also be avoided at all costs in the instance of accomplishing a certain task. If you keep this trait, you may end up overestimating what you can do. One good example is when you provide a tentative date of completing a certain work. There are virtual assistants, who miscalculate their productivity due to their extreme reliance on their skills. Be reminded that during the process of finishing an activity, requirement changes may be on the way. Always consider, as well, that you may commit mistakes, resulting to repeating the work. Stay on the safe side and provide a workable end date of your project.

A client will be more disappointed if you have not met your guaranteed accomplished date of the task. On the other hand, he or she would find you admirable if you have given a feasible end date and you have submitted the work earlier than the said period.

Keep your feet on the ground and you will positively influence what your client thinks about you. It is simply normal to aim for your employer’s approval, but this can be done in the right way without ruining your reputation.

Seamless Reporting: Possible Reasons Why Some Virtual Assistants Fail at It

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Freelancing or working remotely has become the foundation of a convenient job. There is no denying that one of the biggest reasons why people switch to gigs online due to their freedom to earn money without necessarily having to leave home. Even if you are in your pajamas, this is not an issue to your employer. All you have to do is ensure you submit the deliverables needed at the right time.

However, there are cases that some virtual assistants tend to let comfort take over them. As a result, they take advantage of skipping work whenever they want to. Simply imagine having the freedom to ask your client for leaves without the apprehension of seeing a displeased reaction. Even if your client says no, the intensity of pressure on you would not be as high when you are facing the person himself or herself. This should not be practiced as a virtual assistant.

Note that sick leaves are exceptions. You do not choose when to get ill and no one would ever want to suffer from health failure.

One possible factor that leads to some virtual assistants to leave for work without taking into consideration their clients’ businesses or pending tasks, to be specific, is having the thought that you, as an employee, is different from the ones in the office. This is totally wrong. You must remind yourself that your location is the only discrepancy. Act as someone that may require validation from your superiors. Do not simply work but challenge yourself to become a better member of the organization, as well.

Moreover, some VAs may often be not present at work if they stick to the idea that they will be able to find replacement work right away. Again, this is not right. There are more people becoming interested in online freelancing. In other words, the competition is getting tough. You do not want to get caught in this, do you? If you do not, treat your job as if it is the last you could find.

However, a virtual assistant’s absence may also stem out from the client’s side. There are VAs, who tend to lose interest with their job for they are being treated unfairly. For instance, they are often asked to carry out too many tasks in a very limited time. On the other hand, they may not find any enthusiasm to work for they are not being guided accordingly. Yes, this happens, such as when the client does not provide good training or offer a helping hand when the specifics of a task or project require clarifications.

From the given facts above, one thing is certain — virtual assistance is a two-way relationship. A virtual assistant should offer efficient service to a client (which should cover being present at all times, as much as possible, to cater to his or her routine and ad hoc tasks) and the latter should also nurture the employee.

Virtual Assistants Should Never Steer Away From Admitting Mistakes

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It is somehow embarrassing or should you say, unprofessional, when you make mistakes at work. This is nothing but natural, especially if you want to make the best out of your day. However, you should know that there is no person, who does not err. This is the same way with you being at work. There will be instances that suddenly, you will forget to e-mail a prospect or maybe, you may miss a deadline due to your negligence in taking notes of your projects.

Still, this is typical, and the most important thing is, you should not blame yourself. Aside from accepting what had happened, you should not be afraid of admitting mistakes. Did you know that clients prefer employees, who do not feel apprehension when it comes to stating the thing they have done incorrectly? For them, a person with such character is hinting his or her desire to learn. Apparently, mistakes are lessons.

Indeed, it is easier said than done, but why you should not try doing it going forward? You would soon see how your client will appreciate more of your honesty. This is due to the fact that at times, when you cover up your errors, a bigger problem will arise.

There is a good example for this. If you are assigned with a time-restricted project and due to your rushing, you did not read the requirements carefully that you forgot a certain document to deliver during the submission date. It is anticipated that your client may even voice out that you are indeed careless in this situation, but believe it or not, if you will admit your mistake and guarantee that this will not happen again, the tension will be reduced. Your client will see that you are not someone, who protects much of his or her professional image to the point of deceiving people around him or her.

Moreover, when you open up your mishaps with your employer, you would also give him or her indication that you can afford criticisms regarding your actions. From these criticisms, you could move forward with a better mindset in the said situation.

Additionally, if you will tell the truth rather than weasel your way out of the predicament, you and your colleagues or employer will find it easier to determine a solution. Remember, if there is a touch of falsehood with your statement, the analysis of the situation could go astray.

Did you know that you could also teach others with the mistakes you made? Yes, you could, especially now that they could also learn how to cope with it the way you did. Your transparency could also be contagious, that your colleagues will not be too prideful.

Remember, it is never a flaw to make a mistake, more so admitting it. You can never be a perfect employee unless you stumble once in a while.

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.

Top Traits a Virtual Assistant Should Possess

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Being a virtual assistant is not something that you should take lightly. It is not also about just being your typical office-based self, but working at home. Take note that it takes a lot of things to consider yourself a reputable virtual assistant. Many do not consider how important professional traits are in the online industry, resulting in them losing a lot of opportunities or wasting jobs they could have sustained.

So, if you are looking into making yourself the best option for most clients or firm out there, you got to develop the traits that they are looking for in a virtual assistant. Given below are the top ones you should consider:

Proactive. Yes, this is indeed one of the most important traits a virtual assistant should possess. In the online world, your client will rely on you heavily, whether you like it or not. Thus, there are instances that he or she would not even be available always to train you with your work. You got to make ways to ensure you are doing things right for him or her.

As a virtual assistant, you should know how important devising your own solutions to issues is. You should practice yourself working on your own. There are VAs who only depend on what their client would instruct. This is totally wrong! Be reminded that they will expect you to know what is next based on the resources you have and training they gave.

You got to know the in and out of their operations. Study everything slowly and carefully, so that you could take a grasp of what they need from you. There is no rush in this, especially if you are new, but this is very important.

Responsive. Many virtual assistants lose their good reputation due to poor communication with their clients. There are even cases that they lose their job due to incompetence in using their messaging platform to follow up their clients regarding their work every now and then.

Be reminded that clients, who outsource people online, prefer someone who would always be there to respond to their inquiries. This does not mean that you have to be online beyond your shift. The critical period is during your reporting time. You have to be there whenever he or she is asking you something. This goes especially to those working as an executive assistant to C-level people.

At times, due to your unresponsiveness, you will end up delaying what has to be done. You would never want this to happen, for in the end, the blame will be on you.

Timely. This could refer to two things. First, it is about how timely you are in submitting your due work, which would always help your client big time, since you will not delay other functions on their end. If you can provide the complete tasks earlier than expected, it will certainly be a plus point for you.

Always plan out whenever you are about to engage in certain activities. Consider how you could actually expedite things without losing the quality of your work.

Secondly, timeliness could also pertain to your reporting habits. You should at least avoid being tardy, or making your client wait always a few minutes before you log in.

Do you know that even if you are late for a few minutes, it could already impact your image negatively? It only shows that you are actually disregarding the agreement between you and your client about your schedule. You also have to think that most likely, your client woke up early just to meet you on time. Be sensitive, too!

Respectful. There should be a great amount of respect given to your client. Be reminded that even if you are not working face-to-face, this already eliminates the need for you to give respect to your superior.

There are virtual assistants who often forget that despite Western clients prefer a laid-back type of employer-employee relationship, there is a limit to it.

As much as possible, show respect by abiding by the rules of your client. Ensure that whenever you are speaking to him or her, there are these hints in your word choices that you are is his or her employee.

Respect could also be applied when reaching out to your client in order to initiate a discussion. Never forget to consider their time zone. Always remember that it is most respectful to send a message during the working hours of your client only. Be reminded that they also leave their offices and deserve privacy in their homes.

Keen-Eyed. You should know that you are hired as a virtual assistant for your client needs someone who would pinpoint things he or she cannot see easily. For instance, in a certain project, it is not your client’s responsibility to determine the mistakes. It is now yours to identify and introduce to him or her.

Most clients do not have time focus on small things. They mostly need assistants for they want to concentrate on a bigger picture for their firm. Thus, as much as possible, you should be keen-eyed in knowing what should be corrected and done.

Always remember that your output should be perfect as much as possible. You never would want a client to repeat the work on your behalf or ask you to redo it. Take note that this will waste a lot of time and resources.

Although there are instances that you may also commit mistakes, being keen-eyed prevents this possibility in the most effective way.

The aforementioned traits can be attained as long as you commit to your job and understand the priorities of your client. Taking things seriously may mean difficulty at times, but it would take you a long way in the online industry.