How to Become a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistant jobs are one of the fastest-growing careers today. With a wide range of benefits like flexibility and great pay, many people are beginning to wonder how they can become virtual assistants themselves. To become a virtual assistant, you should first research what it is and get a better understanding of the different skills you will need. Virtual assistant jobs require a strong understanding of a variety of computer programs in addition to the skills you may already have. Once you identify the different skills you can offer and the ones you need to learn, it will be easier to determine what type of virtual assistant job may be best for you. Virtual assistants can work for a variety of purposes, people, and sectors, including Digital Marketing, Healthcare or Law Firms.
What Are the Benefits of Becoming a Virtual Assistant?
Working as a virtual assistant comes with a multitude of benefits including:
100% remote work
Higher wage opportunity (earn in a stronger currency)
Work-life balance
Create international business connections
Flexibility with hours and when you work
Is It Easy to Become a Virtual Assistant?
While becoming a virtual assistant isn’t necessarily easy, it is completely possible for anyone who has the right skills and uses the right tools. For example, it’s going to be much harder trying to become a virtual assistant if you’re not familiar with common online programs you need to operate like Google Drive or Zoom. Though some virtual assistant jobs require more skills than others, there are also many opportunities for entry-level positions too, such as a general administrative assistant. By improving your proficiency with online programs and using skills you’ve already mastered, you can become the best virtual assistant.
Who Needs Virtual Assistants the Most?
Virtual assistants are used in a variety of fields of work. Right now, some of the businesses requesting the most help from virtual assistants include:
Healthcare
Legal services (Lawyers, Law Firms, etc)
Property managers and Realtors
Marketing agencies
Small business owners (Startups, Saas companies, etc)
Each of these fields stays very busy in today’s fast-paced workforce, and may not have enough hands. They don’t always know how or what to outsource to be more productive. That’s where virtual assistants come in. These industries are always seeking help for things like administrative work, phone calls, research, marketing, and even more technical fields.
9 Tools You Should Learn to Become a Virtual Assistant
When becoming a virtual assistant, teaching yourself new skills like how to use prominent online tools will help you immensely. Becoming proficient in these programs will not only make your job search easier, but the virtual assistant job itself will be much more familiar when you begin. Working as a virtual assistant means you need to be comfortable with a variety of online programs, despite your specialty. Here are some of the top recommended tools to learn how to use before becoming a virtual assistant:
Google Drive
Google Drive is a popular storage service created by Google that many companies, businesses, and assistants alike, all can use to store their information, contacts, and more. It allows the user to synchronize the files to any computer they access their account on, making editing, sending, and receiving files much easier. Knowing the basics of Google Drive is essential for anyone looking to become a virtual professional.
Clockify
Clockify is a common program used by businesses everywhere to keep track of workers’ hours, timesheets, and other data. The program also helps to track efficiency, helping users identify where a lot of their time goes. This helps improve productivity and time management. Clockify is another tool any virtual assistant should be ready to use.
Asana / Trello
Asana and Trello are two popular programs that make the process of teamwork immensely easier. Both services make creating projects, collaborating, editing, and returning work as efficient as possible. They also allow for quick and easy communication between team members. Becoming familiar with either of these programs is a great way to get yourself ready for working with others online.
Calendly
Calendly is a scheduling program that makes communication and scheduling easier and more organized. It eliminates time and confusion by melding schedules and openings so people can meet at the most opportune times. Knowing how to operate Calendly is a good skill to have, especially if you plan on being an administrative virtual assistant.
Hubspot
Hubspot is a big program for any company that handles marketing. The service works by helping with basic digital marketing aspects such as converting leads, growing site traffic, and developing marketing strategies. Learning how to use Hubspot is especially important for any marketing virtual assistant.
Quickbooks
Quickbooks is a program popularly used to help manage finances for a business. It includes tools that help with inventory, general accounting, taxes, payroll, and more. Because many virtual assistants help with payroll and inventory, getting familiar with Quickbooks and how it works could help in the future.
Active Campaign
Active Campaign is a software that helps with the customer service and marketing side of a business. It operates via cloud software (100% online) and assists with aspects such as email marketing automation, automated marketing, and customer experience automation.
Canva
Canva is a creative platform used for graphic design. Businesses use Canva for things like logo design, social media graphics, posters, and more. Learning how to use Canva is a great way to expand your creative skills as well as learn important programs, too.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics helps businesses enhance their content and understand their customers. Knowing the terms of Google Analytics, as well as being familiar with the program, is essential for almost any virtual assistant. The service helps any business to create content that they think will better suit their customers based on the analytics Google gives them on their customers’ behavior.
While some of these tools may be easier to learn than others, many of them offer free training assistance such as Canva, Google Analytics, Asana, and more. If you’re looking to enhance your skills with these programs, there are also learning platforms like Coursera to help you along the way.
Where to Find Virtual Assistant Jobs
Virtual Latinos
Virtual Latinos is the number one place to find a virtual assistant job that’s fit for you and your skillset. With dozens of different virtual assistant jobs and our help connecting you to different businesses, you’ll be able to find a great job in no time. We have a high success rate and are one of the first virtual assistant businesses to center around Latin American talent. Our goal is to help all those who apply find their perfect virtual assistant job, because we work as a family. We focus on long-term work relationships unlike other project-based platforms like Fivver or Upwork.
Fiverr
Fiverr is a site that goes both ways and is used by businesses and the virtual assistants who work for them. They help freelancers and virtual assistants find work almost anywhere and are an easy platform to use. Unlike Virtual Latinos though, Fiverr does get a bit oversaturated, and each individual is on their own.
Upwork
Upwork is another site that helps virtual assistants find jobs by working with different independent professionals. Upwork is a good service for a virtual assistant that is specialized in a certain area, for example graphic design or marketing. The program works by helping companies find an assistant that matches the specific skill set they’re looking for.
Workana
Workana is a popular site used by freelancers everywhere. It helps to connect companies with clients by pairing them together by matching skills and requirements. Workana also has a broad reach and helps to connect clients to assistants around the world.
Work with Our Team at Virtual Latinos
If you’re a Latino looking for a virtual assistant job, our team is ready to help. Whether you’re from Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, or another area, we help people like you find amazing remote jobs every day. Don’t be afraid to take your skills and apply them somewhere new. To learn more about the application process to join our team, watch this video. For more information on how our agency works, visit us here. Get started with your new virtual assistant career today.
