Basic tips for building a successful virtual assistant career

Virtual assistant services have now become a lucrative career option due to demand for business support services not only among small and medium sized enterprises but also by large corporate. The advances made in the information technology has created vast employment opportunities and virtual assistant services is emerging as one of the specialized industry with independent contractors offering professional services through remote administrative office and specialized support. 

Virtual assistant services are provided through virtual offices or home cum offices  located in remote locations using the latest informational technologies with the help of latest electronic equipments such as computer, fax, phones, mobiles, servers, printers and other gadgets that simplifies the process of providing virtual assistant services. For small businesses, hiring the services of virtual assistant is cost effective that does away with the process of recruiting permanent employees to perform their day to day business functions such as drafting of contracts, correspondence, management support, legal support, secretarial work and other technical functions.

Becoming successful virtual assistant or molding virtual assistant services, as a career option requires certain basic qualifications and work experience that are described as mentioned below in tips format and these are:

1. Assessment of skills: Before looking for a virtual assistant position or starting virtual assistant services, the concerned person should ensure that he or she has basic skills necessary to be a successful virtual assistant. Having previous work experience in an office as secretary or as an administrative assistant would be a plus point and if not then at least the following basic knowledge and skills are necessary such as:

–Typing speed of 50 WPM, Working within Windows XP or Mac environment,

—Using internet and search engines effectively, using web mails, and remote email services daily,

—Understand basics of social media marketing practices, email marketing and newsletter creation, having excellent organization, and scheduling skills.

2. Assessing equipment: For starting a virtual assistant services or working as a virtual assistant service provider, the concerned person must possess and have knowledge of using the necessary equipment to complete the work functions of a virtual assistant. These equipments or devices include a Computer(Mac or PC) with at least 100 GB of storage capacity and 1MB of RAM, two different latest browsers, an email client such as Outlook or Thunderbird, a phone (cell or landline), printer, scanner, and high speed internet connection.

3. Creating set schedule: Creating a set schedule whether working day/evening/night shifts does not matter. However, it is important for the concerned virtual assistant that he or she must set a schedule, routine and trained to work during the same time each working day. Thus, these are some of the basic tips for setting up a virtual assistant business or for making a career in the field of virtual assistant services.        

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