Specific Requirements For A VPA
- By Lawrence Perry
- Published 06/17/2010
- Career
- Unrated
This will be more than enough to tell you that they already have the experience you need to feel comfortable and confident working with your VPA. By this time, too, he/she also has a good idea of how the business goes and how to effectively communicate with you, making sure that both parties are on-track and on schedule.
Should you look for certifications? You can; however, let me tell you right now that it's just going to be a waste of time. As I've mentioned earlier, there are really no recognized professional institutions that govern this profession. Hence, any certificates that will be handed to you by your candidate can only do so much for him/her. Moreover, certificates these days can easily be produced and reproduced, and you don't have much time to verify their authenticity.
An MBA in India is certainly not equivalent to an MBA in the West, and the qualification may be false, so just where do you put your faith? One company I dealt with had a team in India do a project for them, and was delighted with the result. However, the second project that they did for them was done so poorly that they lost a very important client so beware!
I once found a good virtual assistance company which was the only company that I ever used who guaranteed the same person hired throughout the year, before they renegotiated the salary, the web designer involved then had more skill.
They also offer in the case of a regular monthly employer a selection of resumes/CVs, and give you the opportunity of interviewing the person. If you have specific skills that you require they will go out and look for them.
I've had a number of clients ask for SEO work on a project or pay as you go rate, and they were taken a back when they suggested that it would be cheaper if they employed a regular worker through them at a monthly salary who would brand with them, share their ethos, but work 160 hours a week for less than their minimum.
They generally offer staff round the clock to work your office hours, be you in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore or another country. Their staff work on average eight hours a day, have your bank holidays off and two weeks paid at Christmas.
Hopefully, as there are more and more professionals engaging in virtual assistance and as there are a great number of business owners who are asking for their services, there will come a time when this profession will have its own established and globally acknowledged standards. By then, you can start counting on certificates and even educational background. As of the moment, focus on the abilities of your potential VPA as well as on your gut feel.
Should you look for certifications? You can; however, let me tell you right now that it's just going to be a waste of time. As I've mentioned earlier, there are really no recognized professional institutions that govern this profession. Hence, any certificates that will be handed to you by your candidate can only do so much for him/her. Moreover, certificates these days can easily be produced and reproduced, and you don't have much time to verify their authenticity.
An MBA in India is certainly not equivalent to an MBA in the West, and the qualification may be false, so just where do you put your faith? One company I dealt with had a team in India do a project for them, and was delighted with the result. However, the second project that they did for them was done so poorly that they lost a very important client so beware!
I once found a good virtual assistance company which was the only company that I ever used who guaranteed the same person hired throughout the year, before they renegotiated the salary, the web designer involved then had more skill.
They also offer in the case of a regular monthly employer a selection of resumes/CVs, and give you the opportunity of interviewing the person. If you have specific skills that you require they will go out and look for them.
I've had a number of clients ask for SEO work on a project or pay as you go rate, and they were taken a back when they suggested that it would be cheaper if they employed a regular worker through them at a monthly salary who would brand with them, share their ethos, but work 160 hours a week for less than their minimum.
They generally offer staff round the clock to work your office hours, be you in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore or another country. Their staff work on average eight hours a day, have your bank holidays off and two weeks paid at Christmas.
Hopefully, as there are more and more professionals engaging in virtual assistance and as there are a great number of business owners who are asking for their services, there will come a time when this profession will have its own established and globally acknowledged standards. By then, you can start counting on certificates and even educational background. As of the moment, focus on the abilities of your potential VPA as well as on your gut feel.
