6 Surefire Ways to Land your First Virtual Assistant Job
Are you pursuing your first virtual assistant job, but don’t know where to start? That’s okay, you’re in the right place. In a previous post, I share how to become a virtual assistant even if you have no experience, so give that a glance for a foundation.
Below you’ll find 6 strategies to beef up your portfolio, earn certifications, and gain that confidence to land your first virtual assistant job!
What Exactly Is a Virtual Assistant?
Let’s recap: A virtual assistant (VA) provides remote support for business-related tasks, generally from a home office or co-working space. There are many different types of assistant roles for our mama tribe. When I started looking, I was surprised by how many! It’s a great field to get into to build up your experience, especially if you don’t have many previous jobs working from home.
Here are some examples of what virtual assistants do:
- Administrative tasks
- Bookkeeping
- Social media management
- Graphic design
- Content writing
- Website management
- Customer service
- Email handling
- Blog management
- SEO development
And guess what? The list goes on! Businesses and solopreneurs are always on the lookout for virtual assistants to help them free up time from daily or repetitive tasks so they can focus more on complex projects and strategy work. So, if you’re thinking you don’t have the right experience, you might be wrong! There are many types of virtual assistants roles, and you could be a perfect fit for one.
Tips to Land your First Virtual Assistant Job
The great thing about becoming a VA, is that there is more than one path to getting hired in this field! Check out the tips below for strategies to propel yourself to the top of the pack for that next opportunity.
#1: Nail down your transferable skills
Before you begin your job hunt or if you feel stuck identifying your transferable skills to the virtual assistant world, stop and try the following exercise to get your creative juices flowing.
First, consider the types of jobs you’ve held in the past. Grab a pen and paper and write them down.
Next, take a moment to think about the tasks in each role you’ve performed that could be useful in a virtual assistant role – jot those down too. Here are some ideas if you need some inspiration:
- Were you in charge of a team or project, like a supervisor? That means you’ve got communication, organization, and leadership skills. Check!
- Maybe you were a teacher. Teaching involves critical thinking, planning, and usually experience with Microsoft Office and Google Apps. And patience, don’t forget patience.
- Perhaps you worked in customer service, like me? Then I know you’ve got a well-rounded set of skills like writing, time-management, and keeping customers happy.
- Do you already have a side hustle? That’s a great experience! It could include creativity, marketing, and online research.
- It doesn’t have to be a full-time job either. Have you designed logos or graphics for yourself? Have you written for a personal blog just for fun? You can use all of this! It’s still relevant experience and can help you during the application process.
So, take some time to think about what could be relevant to this job and how you’d tell future clients about it! Go ahead and write it down. There’s no rush, take your time, and really think back on what skills could apply today!
#2: Consider some online certifications
Okay, so I said you can do this without experience, and you totally can! However, as your building your portfolio and applying for jobs, if you’re willing to invest a bit of money, there are some worthwhile virtual assistant online certifications out there. Having education and training in the subject can show potential clients that you’re serious and ready to learn.
For example, here’s a proofreading course through Proofread Anywhere if you’re considering focusing on a proofreading role. Many courses (even Proofread Anywhere) have a free workshop session to dip your toe and see if you like it before investing.
You can also find courses through Udemy and Coursera. Below are 2 courses through Coursera focused on building marketing skills:
- Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate
- Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate
Many community colleges offer online certifications and courses in common administrative tools. I’d also recommend checking out professional organizations like the Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA) and the non-profit International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) for courses and training opportunities.
#3: Get familiar with common tools
When applying for virtual assistant roles, you’ll notice many of them want experience with certain tools or applications. In fact, lots of job listings have the same requirements. So, it’s a good idea to check them out and try a few. That way, you can add them to your list of skills.
Here are a few examples:
- Google Apps (Docs, Sheets, Drive, etc.)
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
- Task Management Apps (Trello, Asana, Atlassian, etc.)
- Communication (Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.)
- Customer Service (Zendesk, Intercom, Jira, etc.
- WordPress
- Quickbooks
- Canva (for making graphics)
#4: Create profiles on multiple job sites
I’ll be making a post in the future about the different flexible job sites and benefits, so stay tuned for that!
In the meantime, one site you can explore is Upwork. I like Upwork because you can apply for jobs you’re interested in, and your proposal can catch clients’ attention even if you don’t have all the experience. To get started with this platform, you can sign up for free as a freelancer. Yep, I said free! Here’s some more info you’ll want to check out before you make a profile.
There are other ways to find virtual assistant jobs, like checking FlexJobs (follow the previous link for a direct list of their current VA jobs), or you can go through companies that directly hire virtual assistants. If they approve you, they’ll match you with clients.
#5: Use professional language
When you talk about your past experience, always use professional phrases for the tasks you performed. For example, let’s say you have an Etsy shop where you sell your handmade good. For this experience, describe yourself as a small business owner (because you are, mama), while highlighting your experience in marketing, customer service, and other areas. Get specific!
It’s crucial to showcase your skills with confidence. If clients see your abilities and that you sound professional, you have a better chance of getting hired!
#6: Apply to jobs that match your skills
Flexible job sites have a ton of job postings. Keep in mind, you don’t have to apply to every single one, and if you haven’t been a VA before, there will be some jobs that you might not qualify for – and that’s completely okay! Your best bet for your first virtual assistant job is to seek roles related to what you’ve done before.
Laser focus on the opportunities that align with your experience. Even if you don’t meet every requirement, still go ahead and apply! Do not sell yourself short.
You probably won’t land the first few jobs you apply for (if you do, that’s amazing!) but stay positive. With each attempt, learn from the experience and apply it to the next opportunity. You want your first virtual assistant job to be the RIGHT role for you to build upon.
Final Thoughts
Getting that first client can be challenging, but once you do, it sets you up for future success. Use the strategies listed above to beef up your profile and skillset, take a few online certifications, and gain the confidence to position yourself to win your first virtual assistant job.
As you build relationships, it not only influences the reviews they can leave for you but also showcases the hours and types of skills you’ve dedicated to the job on your profile. This gives you a significant advantage for future opportunities.
Stay consistent and persistent, and let me know once you land your first virtual assistant job! I can’t wait to hear about it!
