A Virtual Assistant is an independent contractor who provides administrative services to clients while operating outside of the client's office. A virtual assistant typically operates from home office but can access necessary documents and tools remotely.
What does a virtual assistant do?
There are no set tasks that virtual assistants perform, and assignments vary depending on the employer. Here are some of the most common jobs given to virtual assistants:
Administrative work
Virtual assistants are most commonly hired for admin work. This includes scheduling meetings, booking travel, organizing calendars, and even answering phones via a connecting line.
Bookkeeping
Keeping track of finances is an essential part of running a profitable business, and virtual assistants can help manage a budget, make purchases, and track expenses.
Personal assistant
Virtual assistants can help organize tasks outside of work, in addition to their standard duties. Booking vacations, organizing a calendar, and purchasing gifts for friends and family are some of the more common personal duties.
Customer service
For companies offering a product or service, virtual assistants can be the first point of contact for customers looking for assistance with troubleshooting or an outlet for feedback. Virtual assistants can address basic, habitual concerns or give tutorials. If they are unable to help a customer, they can escalate it to the appropriate person within the company.
Data entry
Not all tasks fall under the umbrella of admin work; there is a wide variety of responsibilities that virtual assistants can take on, including data entry. In this role, a virtual assistant can easily compile data, check for accuracy, and delete unnecessary records. This is especially beneficial for patient recording, billing, postal work, and school administration.
Social media production
While many companies understand the importance of online engagement with potential customers or clients, the demands of social media management can sometimes seem endless. Virtual assistants are helpful for responding to comments and communicating with followers, but they can also maintain a posting schedule and even analyze account data.
Content management
If you use editorial content to drive traffic to your site, increase brand awareness, and engage potential customers, then you likely know the immense amount of work that goes into operations. A virtual assistant can help manage a production calendar, organize writing resources, and facilitate various elements of the publishing process, making it easier for you to focus on growing the content program.
Research
Every business must rely on research to inform its operations, whether it’s analysis of the market, customers, or performance. Research, too, can be a commodity to sell to clients. But research can be a time-consuming endeavor, even with dedicated resources, so some companies use virtual assistants to assist with compiling this information. Because these tasks are typically more manual, they’re best suited to virtual assistants specialized in data analysis.
How to start to become a virtual assistant?
Having previous experience as an administrative assistant or support staff member is helpful, but not necessary. In Philippines even individuals without vast experience can take training courses to learn needed skills in Surge Digital Agency. Build portfolio in freelance networks such as Upwork and Onlinejob.ph.