Virtual Assistant Proposal Instructions
NEW INSTRUCTIONS:
Please apply through this Virtual Latinos platform and make sure you include all FOUR parts of the proposal in your submission (Introduction, Task Experience, Audio Clip, and Availability). Your answers can all be in the first person. Any and all parts of your proposal may be shared with the partner company whose job you applied to, at the discretion of the Virtual Latinos team.
CHECK THE TIME ZONES: Make sure to check the time zone of the jobs you send in proposals for to ensure you can be free during the requested working hours. Sending proposals for jobs and then pulling out due to a lack of understanding of the schedule may result in you being suspended or permanently removed from the Virtual Latinos community.
INTRODUCTION
Write 4-5 sentences introducing yourself, how your career has progressed so far, what your career aspirations are and why you would be a good fit for this role. An example format of this section is below:
Hello – my name is Alana and I am currently based in Los Angeles. Over the past 14 years, I have worked in non-profit management at two major universities in the US, building new and restructuring existing departments to streamline their policies and procedures, talent retention, and management structures. I’m excited to take on a new challenge in my career and make the shift from management administration to social media marketing, which is my true passion. I believe I am a good fit for your position because I am quick on my feet and able to adapt to any situation I encounter. Social media is a fast-growing, ever-changing business and I look forward to taking new steps in my career by putting these new skills to use by uplifting your company’s online profile.
Note: Note that you will be asked to write a different introduction for every job you apply to moving forward. Don’t use the same one for every position as you may want to highlight different parts of your career depending on the job you are applying to.
TASK EXPERIENCE
Write 2-3 sentences (please try to write complete sentences, which should end up being more than 2-3 lines) per task title mentioned in the job post. You should use these sections to highlight the relevant experience you have, how many years of experience you have with that specific task, and tell us why that experience makes you the best person for the specific job you are applying for.
The format of this section should look like this:
TASK EXPERIENCE
First task title name from the job post goes here – example:
CONTENT MANAGEMENT
Over the last two years in my role as a fundraising marketer, I have created and managed marketing calendars, including building out entire campaign timelines. In addition, I oversaw the creation and implementation of specific social media posts related to those fundraising campaigns. Those campaigns had a 10% engagement rate on them and brought in 20% of our overall fundraising total dollars.
Second task title from the job post goes here:
OFFICE OPERATIONS
Etc…
What NOT to write: Avoid using short sentences that don’t expand upon your experience and skills. Avoid using bullet points or making a list of your experience, as you should be writing your proposal in a paragraph-format.
Below is an example of a BAD proposal:
TASK EXPERIENCE
CONTENT MANAGEMENT
I have experience in content management. I can create designs on different tools. I will oversee social media campaigns.
Pro tip: Choose the most important parts of your experience for these sections and don’t list everything you have worked on. Less can be more if you pick the right kind of highlights from your career!
AUDIO CLIP
Please record a 45-60-second mp3 format audio clip (convert your audio files to mp3 using https://cloudconvert.com/m4a-to-mp3) and share a public Google Drive link (make sure the link is public, learn how to share your link correctly here) introducing yourself and speaking about why you are interested in this job. Note that you will be asked to create a different audio clip for every job you apply to moving forward. Proposals without an audio link or with audio links that are incorrectly named or unable to open will not be considered.
Audio file example below – click the link to hear what a great audio clip sounds like!
You should name the audio file in the following format: FIRSTNAME_LASTINITIAL_JOBID#.mp3
You can find the JOB ID number on the job posting. See the example below:
Pro tip: Be as natural as possible in your speaking tone and make it clear you are speaking freely and not reading text. Please upload this audio clip to your own personal google drive and share the link with us in your proposals.
AVAILABILITY
Confirm your current availability and schedule that you would be able to maintain for this job. Please describe when you would be available to start and what hours you are available to work each day.
AVAILABILITY: I am currently working full-time in a call center, however, I am very interested in this position and would only need to provide my employer with a 14-day notice. After that, I would have full-time availability. Example 2
AVAILABILITY: I recently submitted a resignation letter to my employee and my last day of work will be on July 22nd. I will be available to work on a full-time basis starting on July 25th.
PORTFOLIO GUIDELINESS & TIPS
A job will require you to submit a portfolio if one of the following tasks is listed in the job description, so that the client can review your work and have a better idea of your skills:
- Graphic Design
- Video Editing
- Content Creation & Copywriting
Remember that your portfolio is a way for you to showcase your skills, so please make sure to review carefully all the guidelines and tips below to submit a successful portfolio:
- Do not include your personal or contact information in any of the files you share. Please review the files you attach and make sure to remove any of these before uploading your proposal.
- Your creations must be added to a Public Google Drive link. Try to keep the files attached as organized as possible, please use folders for each of the categories mentioned above.
- You may have many great creations in your portfolio, but for the one you share in your proposal, pick the top 10 that you would like to share with the client and can show the diversity of your work.
- For content creation and copywriting, make sure you share examples that are in English. In case you have not done any of this work in English yet, please add a comment to your proposal mentioning this, but also feel free to create a copywriting example on a topic of your choice.
- If they are videos, make sure they are in .mp4 format and under 100MB each. You can achieve this by resizing the video, cropping it to just share a sample of it, or compressing it.
- Do not share links to videos or websites, all your portfolio must be files that can be added to Google Drive.
- Do not share any offensive material in your portfolio.
Note: If the job post you are applying to requires a portfolio, and the one you submit does not comply with the instructions, we may not consider your proposal.
MORE PRO TIPS FOR WRITING PROPOSALS:
- Do write about tasks, not requirements: Keep in mind that the best proposals are based on the tasks, instead of the requirements. You may cover any requirements as part of your introduction
- Do not merge task paragraphs: Writing about two or more tasks together in the same paragraph or section makes it hard for recruiters and companies to evaluate your experience. Instead – provide details of each task independently even when you think they are related somehow. If you don’t have specific experience in one or more of the task categories, please talk about any related or similar experience. You may also add that you are eager and willing to learn certain tasks.
- Do follow the correct proposal formatting and content requirements: Make sure you don’t miss any information detailed above. Our VL team members will send you feedback if they feel your formatting/content needs improvement. Some vacancies require additional information such as work samples, tests, etc. so please read the job posts thoroughly so you don’t miss anything. HOWEVER – if you continue to send incorrect/incomplete proposals after being given feedback from any of the VL team members, we will be forced to SUSPEND your account and terminate your ability to apply to jobs.
- Want to see what a good proposal looks like? → Good proposal example
- Want more information? Watch this video to learn more about the new proposal process.
