You’re racing to find a virtual assistant because work is simply becoming too much. You’re running a successful business now—that’s why you’re strapped for time, skipping meals and losing sleep.

Virtual professional help is just a click away if you ever need it, you know. But of course, just any VA won’t do—you need to choose a virtual assistant who is perfectly matched for your needs and business.

Hire the wrong one and you’ll find yourself in the face of a series of unfortunate events. Thankfully, there’s a way to avoid the bad hire omens in quick, easy steps.

So, how to choose a VA?

We’re going to break down the steps in this blog post. Before you know it, you’ll be able to delegate to a competent and affordable remote collaborator.

How to Choose the Right Virtual Assistant?

Assess Your Needs

This first step has more to do with you than your virtual assistant—what do you need?

• Start by identifying the tasks that you need help with.

  Think about the tedious tasks that could be passed on to someone else because they don’t need your personal attention.

  Ask yourself, “What’s your biggest challenge in your daily business operation? What are your task priorities?”

• Determine the skills required to accomplish these tasks.

  For instance, an accounting assistant needs to have mathematical skills, software proficiency and great attention to detail to be successful in this role. Having these traits allows them to process invoices and prepare financial reports accurately.

• Consider the size of your business.

  If you’re a startup company, it benefits you to hire a general virtual assistant, who takes on a wider range of administrative tasks than a specialized VA.

Take the time to list all the tasks, from the basic admin work to specialized projects—this will dictate the flow of your recruitment process.

Determine Your Budget

Now, let’s talk about your budget. We know we said that virtual assistants are your most cost-effective staffing solution, but their rates significantly vary based on their expertise, scope of work and location.

For instance, virtual assistants from the Philippines and India are way cheaper to hire compared to VAs from the U.K. Why? Because these countries have a lower standard of living. Similarly, bilingual remote workers charge more than those who only speak one language.

You can do your research to understand the hourly rates of your virtual professional based on these factors. While you’re at it, consider the total costs, including project fees and additional charges.

Know your numbers—determine how much you’re willing to invest without compromising your financial goals. But if you’re uncertain about what you can and can’t afford right now, let’s break down the numbers together!

Choose Between Freelancer or Agency

So, where do you want to hire your virtual assistant? Do you want to recruit them yourself or use a recruitment agency?

There are two main channels to go with: freelance marketplaces and virtual assistant agencies.

• Freelancers are more time-consuming to hire because the process requires your personal attention. Although they have cheaper rates, they need more management. Nevertheless, it’s a good kick-off point for a small business entrepreneur who has time to spare for onboarding.

• Agencies like VAV have a do-it-for-you setup. From start to finish, they will take care of the hiring process for you with their robust training and onboarding systems.

  VA companies also provide a broad range of services, with the best pool of talent to choose from. However, this hassle-free hiring experience comes with a cost and less direct control.

Decide on which hiring route you want to take and then compare the rates. In doing so, you can make an informed decision that benefits your business the most.

But if you want to choose your virtual assistant without the stress, book a consultation with VAV and explore our rich VA services.

Research and Shortlist

It’s easy and fast to hire a virtual assistant through an agency. But since you’re the one who’s going to be investing and working with them directly, hiring should still be a hands-on project.

Here are the places where you can locate the best VAs in virtual town:

• Online Platforms

  Use marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr or specialized VA platforms to find candidates.

• Referrals

  You can seek recommendations from your circle, from friends and family to industry contacts. This is truly helpful because you’ll be getting referrals from people you already trust and know. They understand your needs and provide you with prospects who can fill these open positions.

• Agency Review

  If you want to partner with an agency, find every recruitment agency that piques your interest and research the companies on their website. Check their online presence and read through feedback from different client experiences.

  This is an effective way to reveal someone’s reputation that might not have been obvious in their star ratings. Just be diligent and seek full transparency.

To help you separate the wheat from the chaff, you can ask the following questions of your VA service provider:

• How do you match virtual assistants with clients?
• Is there a trial period?
• Do I have control over my assistant’s working hours?
• Do you have references from previous clients?
• In case my VA gets sick, can you provide an instant replacement?

Virtual professionals from recruitment agencies like VAV have been carefully evaluated and validated. Don’t forget that they also have their reputation on the line. It is in their best interest to match you with the right assistant perfectly suited to your needs.

Therefore, only reach out to trusted agencies like VAV and schedule a consultation to carefully explore your options.

Evaluate Skills and Experience

What does your virtual assistant need to excel in this role?

Think about the skills, experience, tools and other necessary requirements. For example, if you have an online store on Amazon, it benefits you to hire someone proficient in this platform with customer service expertise.

With that being said, thoroughly vet your candidates by doing the following:

• Review portfolios and ask for examples of previous work to assess their ability and relevance to your needs.
• Check references by contacting previous clients. This will give you a clear picture of what it would be like working with your candidate. It will also help you confirm the honesty of your VA.
• Assess communication skills by evaluating how your candidate communicates with you. Are they speaking clearly? Can they convey their ideas properly? This is important, especially in a remote setting, where the success of the collaboration often lies in effective communication.

Start this journey by creating a skill list. Outline all the must-have skills of your future VA and make sure that they’re apparent in the resumes you’re reviewing.

Conduct Interviews

Why is an interview necessary? An interview is a process of gathering more information about your candidate beyond the resume and portfolio. You want to have a stronger grasp of their qualifications and skills to make an informed decision.

So, how do you go about this?

• Prepare Questions

  Ask your candidate about their experience, working style, availability and how they handle different situations.

  Here are some targeted questions to ensure your VA’s fitness for the role:

  • How do you handle a project while you manage various tasks?
  • Describe a moment when you worked under strict deadlines.
  • How do you keep communication clear and concise with team members?

  Most importantly, throw in questions that are relevant to the position. For example, if you need a marketing assistant, you can ask questions like, “What makes a good marketing campaign?” or “How do you stay current with the latest marketing trends?”

  These inquiries help ensure your VA candidate is suitable for the role and matches your organization’s culture and working style.

• Assess Soft Skills

  Soft skills relate to the attitude of your would-be virtual assistant towards work. Can they work in a team? Are they willing to learn? Can they find solutions to complex problems? These skills are needed so they can effectively use their hard skills.

• Evaluate Technical Skills

  Make sure your assistant is confident and capable with the tools you’re using. This is crucial because you want to onboard them and hit the ground running. If they know the tools, you can ensure a smooth and effective collaboration and avoid costly mistakes.

  For instance, if you’re using Trello, a virtual assistant who hasn’t used it before will likely miss the updates and work on the wrong assignment. This will delay the project and interrupt your overall operation.

Effective interviews not only point you to the right candidate but also set the foundation for a productive working relationship.

Want to streamline your hiring process? Get it here!

Start with a Trial Period

Don’t do the guesswork—test them out!

Always start with a trial period. This is a strategic move to engage your virtual assistant before agreeing to a long-term collaboration.

Test their responsiveness, skills and how they align with your work style—and avoid a bad hire altogether. You could try things out for a week or a month.

Give smaller tasks just so you can assess their quality of work before handing them bigger projects. Afterward, provide feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve performance and the working relationship.

For example, you can carry out a one-week paid trial for your video editor assistant. You can assign them to edit three 5-minute raw videos that week and evaluate their output.

At VAV, we have a flexible trial period. We have a personalized system aimed at vividly seeing how your candidate really performs in a real-world setting. This is how we build confidence in the partnering process.

Establish Clear Expectations

Expectations need to be set from the get-go so your virtual assistants are guided on where their contributions lie in the grand scheme of things. As such, they can focus their efforts on the real tasks at hand and pursue them with confidence.

• Communicate Clearly

  Communicate your expectations clearly regarding deadlines, quality of work and communication frequency. In addition, maintain regular communication and establish check-ins with your VA. This way, you can keep your goals aligned and address issues quickly.

• Documentation

  Create guidelines on how you want each task to be completed and how much time it should take to finish them.

Are you ready to delegate smarter and streamline your dizzying workflow? Follow these steps and talk to one of our recruitment experts!

Time to Hire Your Virtual Assistant

Choosing your virtual assistant is no small task. There are risks that come with choosing the wrong person.

Thankfully, with the right steps, you can make the hiring process more secure and straightforward. Plan it all out, scour the digital realm for the best VA candidates, and employ the one who can keep up with your changing business needs.

VAV can offer you expert advice on recruitment and match you with one—the “one” who can change your business for the better.

Book a consultation today, and let’s get started.