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Hiring A Virtual Assistant

HIRING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT STEP ONE Clearly Define Your Expectations STEP TWO Create Your Job Post With The Step One Expectations When you are ready to hire an virtual assistant the first thing you need to do is sit down and figure out your expectations. You need to be very clear in what you need your V.A to do. Now that you have your expectations, it is time to write your job post. I would write this as a text file and save it because you may be editing it later. Not all V.A.'s share the same talents and skills. Not all V.A.'s who are writers, can also set up WordPress and MySQL databases. You need to write all of your expectations down so you can remember them You should keep it pretty simple. Maybe four or five sentences on what you are looking for as well as a bulleted list of expectations. when it comes time to select V.A's to interview. Make sure your expectations are written as simply as possible, so your V.A. will understand what is required and then they can tell you if they can or can't meet your expectations. Make sure to include how many hours per week you are looking for and how you will pay (Paypal is popular and protects you.) You might also mention how often you will pay (weeky, monthly, etc...) Killer Tip: Make your V.A. invoice you - this saves you time and is really their responsibility anyways. Killer Tip: Show your expecations to one of your less computer savvy friends. If they can understand it you are on the right track. STEP THREE Create a V.A. Hiring Test This is a step that many newbies completely forego. I certainly suggest you test all of your V.A. candidates. It is one thing to read a resume, but you have to make sure their skills back up their claims. 3. Get them to do some basic duties that match your expectations. 4. Duties could include uploading an HTML site to the domain, installing WordPress, doing basic WordPress tasks (settings, posts, etc..). Basically any technical detail you want them to take over you should test. You could even test writing ability by asking them to add a paragraph to a post. We get our V.A.'s to do a lot of simple technical things, so we test based on that. Tweak your test to match your expectations. 1. Buy a test domain or use one of your dormant domains to set up a test site. Killer Tip: Don't just ask them to write an About Me blurb, most V.A.'s 2. Give them limited access via FTP and potentially your control panel (you may have to ask your hosting company about this - explain your situation they have dealt with it before). have worked on About Me blurbs forever and are so used to that, it might not be indicative of how well they write. Ask a creative question that will not only test their writing, but will give you a glimpse of their personality. STEP FOUR STEP FIVE V.A. Interview Best Practices Post Your Job While there are a couple of different online sites to hire V.A.s, one of the oldest and most reliable is http://www.easyoutsource.com. There is no cost involved with this site (besides of course paying your V.A.), and it is very reliable. » Create a checklist for the above steps. You can use this each time you hire a V.A. or can give it to any hand. People also work more effectively following a to-do list. your colleagues who may need a » Full-Time V.A.'s obviously offer more attention and usually deliver on assignments quicker. Simply collect all of the emails from the potential V.A.'s that you can search for by skill, and email them your job posting. » If your V.A.'s salary seems too high, don't be scared to offer a slightly lower salary to start. V.A.'s may accept a lower salary to begin with, if you are willing to raise their rate as they prove themselves. Killer Tip: If you are really adventurous you can freely post on http://manila.craigslist.com.ph/ looking for a V.A. Be warned though there are scammers out there, and anyone you hire here will be your own discretion there is no screening process on Craigslist. » Never forget you are dealing with a real person. They are trying to do the same thing as you - earn a living. Treat them like you would like to be treated. » Create some kind of document (a spread sheet is easiest) to track all of your candidates. That way you can keep all your notes in one place. » When you first email your candidates keep an eye on how fast they respond to your emails. This is important because if they are not prompt when they are trying to win your business, why would be once they already have? STEP SIX Your V.A. Checklist 1. Is their resume and bio written well? » If you can't understand your V.A.'s writing you might want to move on. Even if you don't need them to write anything it will effect the communication between you two. 2. Do they have the skills listed that you require? 3. How quick do they reply to emails? » There are a LOT of V.A.'s out there, if you don't feel comfortable with one when interviewing - then move on. 4. Will they take your test? Once they did, how did they do? Did they finish it fast? Did they complete it accurately? » Remember your V.A. may recognize different holiday's than you - so always good to find out in advance what days they definitely need off. 5. Are you willing to meet their salary? Are they willing to lower it to match your budget? » Since you won't be interviewing that many people, it is a good idea to sent polite rejection emails to the other V.A.'s. The reality is, your first hire probably won't be your last hire, so no reason to burn bridges with other potential prospects. 6. Can you work with their working hours? 7. Does your V.A. know it out of the park on all of the above areas -if so yo might have found your new V.A.! Killer Tip: If you want to considerably speed up the interview process - go with a Skype call. If your V.A. is worth their salt they will be able to use Skype for a voice/video chat. This is a quick and easy way to not only interview your V.A., but to get to know them. Killer Tip: I suggest that you always include a trial period before you begin paying for anything in advance. You don't want to pay for a month and realize in a week that things aren't going to work out. 2 weeks is usually a good probationary period. HIRING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT STEP ONE Clearly Define Your Expectations STEP TWO Create Your Job Post With The Step One Expectations When you are ready to hire an virtual assistant the first thing you need to do is sit down and figure out your expectations. You need to be very clear in what you need your V.A to do. Now that you have your expectations, it is time to write your job post. I would write this as a text file and save it because you may be editing it later. Not all V.A.'s share the same talents and skills. Not all V.A.'s who are writers, can also set up WordPress and MySQL databases. You need to write all of your expectations down so you can remember them You should keep it pretty simple. Maybe four or five sentences on what you are looking for as well as a bulleted list of expectations. when it comes time to select V.A's to interview. Make sure your expectations are written as simply as possible, so your V.A. will understand what is required and then they can tell you if they can or can't meet your expectations. Make sure to include how many hours per week you are looking for and how you will pay (Paypal is popular and protects you.) You might also mention how often you will pay (weeky, monthly, etc...) Killer Tip: Make your V.A. invoice you - this saves you time and is really their responsibility anyways. Killer Tip: Show your expecations to one of your less computer savvy friends. If they can understand it you are on the right track. STEP THREE Create a V.A. Hiring Test This is a step that many newbies completely forego. I certainly suggest you test all of your V.A. candidates. It is one thing to read a resume, but you have to make sure their skills back up their claims. 3. Get them to do some basic duties that match your expectations. 4. Duties could include uploading an HTML site to the domain, installing WordPress, doing basic WordPress tasks (settings, posts, etc..). Basically any technical detail you want them to take over you should test. You could even test writing ability by asking them to add a paragraph to a post. We get our V.A.'s to do a lot of simple technical things, so we test based on that. Tweak your test to match your expectations. 1. Buy a test domain or use one of your dormant domains to set up a test site. Killer Tip: Don't just ask them to write an About Me blurb, most V.A.'s 2. Give them limited access via FTP and potentially your control panel (you may have to ask your hosting company about this - explain your situation they have dealt with it before). have worked on About Me blurbs forever and are so used to that, it might not be indicative of how well they write. Ask a creative question that will not only test their writing, but will give you a glimpse of their personality. STEP FOUR STEP FIVE V.A. Interview Best Practices Post Your Job While there are a couple of different online sites to hire V.A.s, one of the oldest and most reliable is http://www.easyoutsource.com. There is no cost involved with this site (besides of course paying your V.A.), and it is very reliable. » Create a checklist for the above steps. You can use this each time you hire a V.A. or can give it to any hand. People also work more effectively following a to-do list. your colleagues who may need a » Full-Time V.A.'s obviously offer more attention and usually deliver on assignments quicker. Simply collect all of the emails from the potential V.A.'s that you can search for by skill, and email them your job posting. » If your V.A.'s salary seems too high, don't be scared to offer a slightly lower salary to start. V.A.'s may accept a lower salary to begin with, if you are willing to raise their rate as they prove themselves. Killer Tip: If you are really adventurous you can freely post on http://manila.craigslist.com.ph/ looking for a V.A. Be warned though there are scammers out there, and anyone you hire here will be your own discretion there is no screening process on Craigslist. » Never forget you are dealing with a real person. They are trying to do the same thing as you - earn a living. Treat them like you would like to be treated. » Create some kind of document (a spread sheet is easiest) to track all of your candidates. That way you can keep all your notes in one place. » When you first email your candidates keep an eye on how fast they respond to your emails. This is important because if they are not prompt when they are trying to win your business, why would be once they already have? STEP SIX Your V.A. Checklist 1. Is their resume and bio written well? » If you can't understand your V.A.'s writing you might want to move on. Even if you don't need them to write anything it will effect the communication between you two. 2. Do they have the skills listed that you require? 3. How quick do they reply to emails? » There are a LOT of V.A.'s out there, if you don't feel comfortable with one when interviewing - then move on. 4. Will they take your test? Once they did, how did they do? Did they finish it fast? Did they complete it accurately? » Remember your V.A. may recognize different holiday's than you - so always good to find out in advance what days they definitely need off. 5. Are you willing to meet their salary? Are they willing to lower it to match your budget? » Since you won't be interviewing that many people, it is a good idea to sent polite rejection emails to the other V.A.'s. The reality is, your first hire probably won't be your last hire, so no reason to burn bridges with other potential prospects. 6. Can you work with their working hours? 7. Does your V.A. know it out of the park on all of the above areas -if so yo might have found your new V.A.! Killer Tip: If you want to considerably speed up the interview process - go with a Skype call. If your V.A. is worth their salt they will be able to use Skype for a voice/video chat. This is a quick and easy way to not only interview your V.A., but to get to know them. Killer Tip: I suggest that you always include a trial period before you begin paying for anything in advance. You don't want to pay for a month and realize in a week that things aren't going to work out. 2 weeks is usually a good probationary period. HIRING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT STEP ONE Clearly Define Your Expectations STEP TWO Create Your Job Post With The Step One Expectations When you are ready to hire an virtual assistant the first thing you need to do is sit down and figure out your expectations. You need to be very clear in what you need your V.A to do. Now that you have your expectations, it is time to write your job post. I would write this as a text file and save it because you may be editing it later. Not all V.A.'s share the same talents and skills. Not all V.A.'s who are writers, can also set up WordPress and MySQL databases. You need to write all of your expectations down so you can remember them You should keep it pretty simple. Maybe four or five sentences on what you are looking for as well as a bulleted list of expectations. when it comes time to select V.A's to interview. Make sure your expectations are written as simply as possible, so your V.A. will understand what is required and then they can tell you if they can or can't meet your expectations. Make sure to include how many hours per week you are looking for and how you will pay (Paypal is popular and protects you.) You might also mention how often you will pay (weeky, monthly, etc...) Killer Tip: Make your V.A. invoice you - this saves you time and is really their responsibility anyways. Killer Tip: Show your expecations to one of your less computer savvy friends. If they can understand it you are on the right track. STEP THREE Create a V.A. Hiring Test This is a step that many newbies completely forego. I certainly suggest you test all of your V.A. candidates. It is one thing to read a resume, but you have to make sure their skills back up their claims. 3. Get them to do some basic duties that match your expectations. 4. Duties could include uploading an HTML site to the domain, installing WordPress, doing basic WordPress tasks (settings, posts, etc..). Basically any technical detail you want them to take over you should test. You could even test writing ability by asking them to add a paragraph to a post. We get our V.A.'s to do a lot of simple technical things, so we test based on that. Tweak your test to match your expectations. 1. Buy a test domain or use one of your dormant domains to set up a test site. Killer Tip: Don't just ask them to write an About Me blurb, most V.A.'s 2. Give them limited access via FTP and potentially your control panel (you may have to ask your hosting company about this - explain your situation they have dealt with it before). have worked on About Me blurbs forever and are so used to that, it might not be indicative of how well they write. Ask a creative question that will not only test their writing, but will give you a glimpse of their personality. STEP FOUR STEP FIVE V.A. Interview Best Practices Post Your Job While there are a couple of different online sites to hire V.A.s, one of the oldest and most reliable is http://www.easyoutsource.com. There is no cost involved with this site (besides of course paying your V.A.), and it is very reliable. » Create a checklist for the above steps. You can use this each time you hire a V.A. or can give it to any hand. People also work more effectively following a to-do list. your colleagues who may need a » Full-Time V.A.'s obviously offer more attention and usually deliver on assignments quicker. Simply collect all of the emails from the potential V.A.'s that you can search for by skill, and email them your job posting. » If your V.A.'s salary seems too high, don't be scared to offer a slightly lower salary to start. V.A.'s may accept a lower salary to begin with, if you are willing to raise their rate as they prove themselves. Killer Tip: If you are really adventurous you can freely post on http://manila.craigslist.com.ph/ looking for a V.A. Be warned though there are scammers out there, and anyone you hire here will be your own discretion there is no screening process on Craigslist. » Never forget you are dealing with a real person. They are trying to do the same thing as you - earn a living. Treat them like you would like to be treated. » Create some kind of document (a spread sheet is easiest) to track all of your candidates. That way you can keep all your notes in one place. » When you first email your candidates keep an eye on how fast they respond to your emails. This is important because if they are not prompt when they are trying to win your business, why would be once they already have? STEP SIX Your V.A. Checklist 1. Is their resume and bio written well? » If you can't understand your V.A.'s writing you might want to move on. Even if you don't need them to write anything it will effect the communication between you two. 2. Do they have the skills listed that you require? 3. How quick do they reply to emails? » There are a LOT of V.A.'s out there, if you don't feel comfortable with one when interviewing - then move on. 4. Will they take your test? Once they did, how did they do? Did they finish it fast? Did they complete it accurately? » Remember your V.A. may recognize different holiday's than you - so always good to find out in advance what days they definitely need off. 5. Are you willing to meet their salary? Are they willing to lower it to match your budget? » Since you won't be interviewing that many people, it is a good idea to sent polite rejection emails to the other V.A.'s. The reality is, your first hire probably won't be your last hire, so no reason to burn bridges with other potential prospects. 6. Can you work with their working hours? 7. Does your V.A. know it out of the park on all of the above areas -if so yo might have found your new V.A.! Killer Tip: If you want to considerably speed up the interview process - go with a Skype call. If your V.A. is worth their salt they will be able to use Skype for a voice/video chat. This is a quick and easy way to not only interview your V.A., but to get to know them. Killer Tip: I suggest that you always include a trial period before you begin paying for anything in advance. You don't want to pay for a month and realize in a week that things aren't going to work out. 2 weeks is usually a good probationary period. HIRING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT STEP ONE Clearly Define Your Expectations STEP TWO Create Your Job Post With The Step One Expectations When you are ready to hire an virtual assistant the first thing you need to do is sit down and figure out your expectations. You need to be very clear in what you need your V.A to do. Now that you have your expectations, it is time to write your job post. I would write this as a text file and save it because you may be editing it later. Not all V.A.'s share the same talents and skills. Not all V.A.'s who are writers, can also set up WordPress and MySQL databases. You need to write all of your expectations down so you can remember them You should keep it pretty simple. Maybe four or five sentences on what you are looking for as well as a bulleted list of expectations. when it comes time to select V.A's to interview. Make sure your expectations are written as simply as possible, so your V.A. will understand what is required and then they can tell you if they can or can't meet your expectations. Make sure to include how many hours per week you are looking for and how you will pay (Paypal is popular and protects you.) You might also mention how often you will pay (weeky, monthly, etc...) Killer Tip: Make your V.A. invoice you - this saves you time and is really their responsibility anyways. Killer Tip: Show your expecations to one of your less computer savvy friends. If they can understand it you are on the right track. STEP THREE Create a V.A. Hiring Test This is a step that many newbies completely forego. I certainly suggest you test all of your V.A. candidates. It is one thing to read a resume, but you have to make sure their skills back up their claims. 3. Get them to do some basic duties that match your expectations. 4. Duties could include uploading an HTML site to the domain, installing WordPress, doing basic WordPress tasks (settings, posts, etc..). Basically any technical detail you want them to take over you should test. You could even test writing ability by asking them to add a paragraph to a post. We get our V.A.'s to do a lot of simple technical things, so we test based on that. Tweak your test to match your expectations. 1. Buy a test domain or use one of your dormant domains to set up a test site. Killer Tip: Don't just ask them to write an About Me blurb, most V.A.'s 2. Give them limited access via FTP and potentially your control panel (you may have to ask your hosting company about this - explain your situation they have dealt with it before). have worked on About Me blurbs forever and are so used to that, it might not be indicative of how well they write. Ask a creative question that will not only test their writing, but will give you a glimpse of their personality. STEP FOUR STEP FIVE V.A. Interview Best Practices Post Your Job While there are a couple of different online sites to hire V.A.s, one of the oldest and most reliable is http://www.easyoutsource.com. There is no cost involved with this site (besides of course paying your V.A.), and it is very reliable. » Create a checklist for the above steps. You can use this each time you hire a V.A. or can give it to any hand. People also work more effectively following a to-do list. your colleagues who may need a » Full-Time V.A.'s obviously offer more attention and usually deliver on assignments quicker. Simply collect all of the emails from the potential V.A.'s that you can search for by skill, and email them your job posting. » If your V.A.'s salary seems too high, don't be scared to offer a slightly lower salary to start. V.A.'s may accept a lower salary to begin with, if you are willing to raise their rate as they prove themselves. Killer Tip: If you are really adventurous you can freely post on http://manila.craigslist.com.ph/ looking for a V.A. Be warned though there are scammers out there, and anyone you hire here will be your own discretion there is no screening process on Craigslist. » Never forget you are dealing with a real person. They are trying to do the same thing as you - earn a living. Treat them like you would like to be treated. » Create some kind of document (a spread sheet is easiest) to track all of your candidates. That way you can keep all your notes in one place. » When you first email your candidates keep an eye on how fast they respond to your emails. This is important because if they are not prompt when they are trying to win your business, why would be once they already have? STEP SIX Your V.A. Checklist 1. Is their resume and bio written well? » If you can't understand your V.A.'s writing you might want to move on. Even if you don't need them to write anything it will effect the communication between you two. 2. Do they have the skills listed that you require? 3. How quick do they reply to emails? » There are a LOT of V.A.'s out there, if you don't feel comfortable with one when interviewing - then move on. 4. Will they take your test? Once they did, how did they do? Did they finish it fast? Did they complete it accurately? » Remember your V.A. may recognize different holiday's than you - so always good to find out in advance what days they definitely need off. 5. Are you willing to meet their salary? Are they willing to lower it to match your budget? » Since you won't be interviewing that many people, it is a good idea to sent polite rejection emails to the other V.A.'s. The reality is, your first hire probably won't be your last hire, so no reason to burn bridges with other potential prospects. 6. Can you work with their working hours? 7. Does your V.A. know it out of the park on all of the above areas -if so yo might have found your new V.A.! Killer Tip: If you want to considerably speed up the interview process - go with a Skype call. If your V.A. is worth their salt they will be able to use Skype for a voice/video chat. This is a quick and easy way to not only interview your V.A., but to get to know them. Killer Tip: I suggest that you always include a trial period before you begin paying for anything in advance. You don't want to pay for a month and realize in a week that things aren't going to work out. 2 weeks is usually a good probationary period. HIRING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT STEP ONE Clearly Define Your Expectations STEP TWO Create Your Job Post With The Step One Expectations When you are ready to hire an virtual assistant the first thing you need to do is sit down and figure out your expectations. You need to be very clear in what you need your V.A to do. Now that you have your expectations, it is time to write your job post. I would write this as a text file and save it because you may be editing it later. Not all V.A.'s share the same talents and skills. Not all V.A.'s who are writers, can also set up WordPress and MySQL databases. You need to write all of your expectations down so you can remember them You should keep it pretty simple. Maybe four or five sentences on what you are looking for as well as a bulleted list of expectations. when it comes time to select V.A's to interview. Make sure your expectations are written as simply as possible, so your V.A. will understand what is required and then they can tell you if they can or can't meet your expectations. Make sure to include how many hours per week you are looking for and how you will pay (Paypal is popular and protects you.) You might also mention how often you will pay (weeky, monthly, etc...) Killer Tip: Make your V.A. invoice you - this saves you time and is really their responsibility anyways. Killer Tip: Show your expecations to one of your less computer savvy friends. If they can understand it you are on the right track. STEP THREE Create a V.A. Hiring Test This is a step that many newbies completely forego. I certainly suggest you test all of your V.A. candidates. It is one thing to read a resume, but you have to make sure their skills back up their claims. 3. Get them to do some basic duties that match your expectations. 4. Duties could include uploading an HTML site to the domain, installing WordPress, doing basic WordPress tasks (settings, posts, etc..). Basically any technical detail you want them to take over you should test. You could even test writing ability by asking them to add a paragraph to a post. We get our V.A.'s to do a lot of simple technical things, so we test based on that. Tweak your test to match your expectations. 1. Buy a test domain or use one of your dormant domains to set up a test site. Killer Tip: Don't just ask them to write an About Me blurb, most V.A.'s 2. Give them limited access via FTP and potentially your control panel (you may have to ask your hosting company about this - explain your situation they have dealt with it before). have worked on About Me blurbs forever and are so used to that, it might not be indicative of how well they write. Ask a creative question that will not only test their writing, but will give you a glimpse of their personality. STEP FOUR STEP FIVE V.A. Interview Best Practices Post Your Job While there are a couple of different online sites to hire V.A.s, one of the oldest and most reliable is http://www.easyoutsource.com. There is no cost involved with this site (besides of course paying your V.A.), and it is very reliable. » Create a checklist for the above steps. You can use this each time you hire a V.A. or can give it to any hand. People also work more effectively following a to-do list. your colleagues who may need a » Full-Time V.A.'s obviously offer more attention and usually deliver on assignments quicker. Simply collect all of the emails from the potential V.A.'s that you can search for by skill, and email them your job posting. » If your V.A.'s salary seems too high, don't be scared to offer a slightly lower salary to start. V.A.'s may accept a lower salary to begin with, if you are willing to raise their rate as they prove themselves. Killer Tip: If you are really adventurous you can freely post on http://manila.craigslist.com.ph/ looking for a V.A. Be warned though there are scammers out there, and anyone you hire here will be your own discretion there is no screening process on Craigslist. » Never forget you are dealing with a real person. They are trying to do the same thing as you - earn a living. Treat them like you would like to be treated. » Create some kind of document (a spread sheet is easiest) to track all of your candidates. That way you can keep all your notes in one place. » When you first email your candidates keep an eye on how fast they respond to your emails. This is important because if they are not prompt when they are trying to win your business, why would be once they already have? STEP SIX Your V.A. Checklist 1. Is their resume and bio written well? » If you can't understand your V.A.'s writing you might want to move on. Even if you don't need them to write anything it will effect the communication between you two. 2. Do they have the skills listed that you require? 3. How quick do they reply to emails? » There are a LOT of V.A.'s out there, if you don't feel comfortable with one when interviewing - then move on. 4. Will they take your test? Once they did, how did they do? Did they finish it fast? Did they complete it accurately? » Remember your V.A. may recognize different holiday's than you - so always good to find out in advance what days they definitely need off. 5. Are you willing to meet their salary? Are they willing to lower it to match your budget? » Since you won't be interviewing that many people, it is a good idea to sent polite rejection emails to the other V.A.'s. The reality is, your first hire probably won't be your last hire, so no reason to burn bridges with other potential prospects. 6. Can you work with their working hours? 7. Does your V.A. know it out of the park on all of the above areas -if so yo might have found your new V.A.! Killer Tip: If you want to considerably speed up the interview process - go with a Skype call. If your V.A. is worth their salt they will be able to use Skype for a voice/video chat. This is a quick and easy way to not only interview your V.A., but to get to know them. Killer Tip: I suggest that you always include a trial period before you begin paying for anything in advance. You don't want to pay for a month and realize in a week that things aren't going to work out. 2 weeks is usually a good probationary period.

Hiring A Virtual Assistant

shared by lowellconsult on Jan 06
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With the growth of internet marketing, it is clear you need help. Solution: Hiring A Virtual Assistant.

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