An assistant is that professional who is in charge of organize data and files, schedule appointments, distribute task calendar. It is a task that has traditionally been carried out by secretaries and administrative staff in person, but which can currently also be carried out over the Internet.
There are many companies and self-employed workers that require personnel to help them manage their administrative activities. That is why they are looking for professionals who, remotely, can be in charge of developing these tasks.
At the moment, virtual assistant is not part of the list of jobs that can be replaced by AI. To properly manage administrative tasks, the presence of a human is required, although they no longer have to be in the office in person.
How to become an assistant or secretary via the Internet
Although there are academies and professional training centers for administrative assistants and secretarial professionals, if you want to offer your services as a personal assistant over the Internet, no one is going to ask you for a qualification.
In reality, you can offer your work without having higher education or many years of experience. You just have to know where to offer your work and reach the target audience that can hire your services.
If you want to become a virtual personal assistant and build your client base, keep the following considerations in mind:
– Determine your service portfolio: Configure your service portfolio clearly and in detail, so that it is clear what you are going to offer. Specialization is essential, in order to stand out from the rest of the professionals who also offer their services on the Internet.
There are assistants who are experts in managing productive apps to get the most out of each hour of work, while others focus on administrative and accounting work. Others, for their part, can carry out more creative tasks such as writing texts for third parties.
– Demonstrate your experience: Generate a portfolio with the work you have done and present your skills, projects and any testimonials or letters of recommendation that a client has given you. This way you can justify your experience when it is required.
– Use online platforms to offer your services: There are websites where you can offer your services as a professional virtual assistant, such as Indeed, Infojobs, Flexjobs, Dice… There are also websites specialized in remote jobs, such as Upwork and Freelancer. LinkedIn, for its part, also has specific options for self-employed professionals and freelancers.
– Online training: Don’t forget to take online courses to improve your skills or train yourself in the fields you want to offer. Constantly improving is ideal to perfect your performance and achieve better results.
Some worthwhile courses are the following: Working as a Virtual Assistant (Alison) and How to Become a Virtual Assistant (Udemy), but the offer is very wide on the Internet.
– Practice networking: It is a simple but very effective task. Practicing networking consists of connecting with people who work in the same field and companies that may require your service. You can get a lot of contacts on Facebook and LinkedIn.
– Prices: Based on your skills and the amount of work you can handle, you should establish the costs of your services. The amount will depend on many factors, such as the country where you live, city of residence, specialization, experience, skills…
You will be responsible for pricing your work and adjusting it appropriately according to the law of supply and demand in your field, to place yourself among the average of professionals with skills similar to yours.
