So, you’ve decided to save your company money and lighten your workload by hiring a virtual assistant- that’s great! Now comes the next step: finding that perfect candidate to join your team, become your right hand guy or gal, and be that person who makes you say “why on earth did I not do this earlier?”
That perfect one is out there. With a little bit of strategic searching, you’ll find him or her faster than Prince Charming found his Cinderella. Your happily ever after awaits!
Step One: Ask Yourself “What Do I Need?”
Next, you’ll want to think about what the virtual assistant needs to know. Do they need social media knowledge (and a Hootsuite certification to back it up)? Do they need to understand the jargon and nuances of your given industry? Do they need experience with certain software, like QuickBooks? These requirements can weed out potential candidates.
Next, figure out how available you need the virtual assistant to be. Do they need to be awake at the same time as you? (This likely rules out overseas virtual assistants.) Are you needing them to prioritize your organization (which may make a virtual assistant juggling multiple clients not a good fit)? How many hours a week do you need them? Do you need guaranteed office hours where you can expect to access them?
Finally, figure out your budget. It won’t help you to find a perfect fit that’s insanely outside of your price range. Evaluate your financial state and get a realistic picture of how much you can afford to spend on a new hire.
Step Two: Gather the Options
You can post this job listing on a variety of places, including:
- general job posting websites like Linkedin, Craigslist, and Indeed
- freelancing websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and SimplyHired
- virtual assistant job posting sites like Virtual Assistants and VA Networking
Don’t forget about the power of your network. Talk to other business professionals, organizations you’ve partnered with, old mentors, even family friends to see if anyone can recommend a person or agency.
An underutilized tactic for finding candidates is to tweet about it. No, really. Many social media savvy virtual assistants are active on Twitter. Posting about your opening on social media can lead to some proactive digital experts finding you.
Or, you can skip this lengthy process of posting and weeding through candidates and choose the experts at Alpine Small Business Solutions to handle your virtual assistant needs!
Part Three: Picking the Perfect Candidate
So, you know what you want and you’ve got several candidates promising to give it to you. Now you’re ready to pick the perfect option.
It’s important to interview for this position like you would any other team member. Investing the time and energy now can save you in the long run from a bad hire- and repeating the process all over again.
After the interview process, you’ll be able to see which candidate rises to the top as the best fit. Hopefully, you’ll feel enthusiastic and confident about this new team member, but there is always the option to hire on a trial or one test project basis.
Once you find that perfect fit, check out these tips for maximizing your virtual assistant.