Are you looking to hire an executive assistant but don’t have the budget for it right now? Why don’t you get yourself a virtual executive assistant? In this article, we’ll take a look at how you can find and hire a virtual executive assistant that will cost you only a fraction of what you’d typically pay for local talent. Read on.
You can start by crafting a descriptive job posting to attract the right people for the job. It has to define the essential skills you want to see in a virtual executive assistant, the duties and responsibilities associated with the role, and the qualifications needed to get the job.
The job title has to be clear. While odd job titles like Genius, Guru, Ninja, Rockstar, Superhero, and Wizard have gained popularity in recent years, it may be better to use a clear and concise job title in your job description because there’s a chance you may turn off or confuse potential candidates if you try to use a quirky job title. Just stick with the traditional job titles.
“We know that weird job titles can be fun and indicative of a more laid-back culture. However, without a cultural frame of reference, using them in your job listings can affect how well your job posting does. Most people search for roles that match their skills and experience, and so, using terms like ‘ninja’ and ‘rockstar’ in job titles and descriptions can confuse job seekers and put them off from applying,” the editorial team at Indeed explained.
Remember, the job description is very important. You want to make sure that every qualified candidate can find your posting, so everything has to be clear. Check out this article if you want to know how to craft the perfect job description for a virtual executive assistant.
You have two options here: You can choose to hire from a recruitment agency, or you can do the hiring yourself.
Option One: Recruitment Agency
The good thing about hiring from an agency is that you don’t have to do much. Just tell the agency what you are looking for in a virtual executive assistant, and they will handle the search for you. In most cases, they may already have quality candidates on their database.
Agencies will evaluate the candidates’ background and qualifications and eliminate the ones that are unqualified from the pool of applicants. This should save you a lot of time since you don’t have to narrow the field of applicants down to a few finalists for you to interview.
Of course, the downside is you will have to pay a bit more for their services, and many small businesses can’t afford it. Aside from that, it’s also possible that some agencies may not have your best interest in mind.
“Driven by targets and sales, many recruitment consultants have a tendency to push inappropriate candidates onto their clients in the hope that they will simply ‘fit’. All too often, little attention is paid to whether the individual is the most ideal candidate; rather agencies focus on selling a ‘good candidate’ from their database instead of taking the time to source the ‘perfect candidate’… and with the fees they charge, the perfect candidate is what you should get,” Rachel Craig said in an insightful article she wrote for Business 2 Community.
Of course, not all recruitment agencies are like the ones mentioned above. There are a lot of good ones. Here’s a list of some of the top virtual assistant companies today.
Option Two: Direct Hiring
Hiring a virtual executive assistant yourself can be time-consuming since you’re going to be spending a lot of time scouting and vetting candidates. The good thing about doing it yourself is you can make sure that you get the best candidate available. You already have access to an enormous global talent pool online, so that shouldn’t be a problem if you have the patience to sift through all those resumes.
Doing the hiring yourself is also so much more affordable. It’s even possible to find someone to fill the role for around $3 an hour. That’s the average hourly rate for a virtual assistant in the Philippines, by the way. Of course, someone with years of experience will likely cost more.
We prefer to hire from the Philippines because we have had a lot of success in hiring from there. Check out OnlineJobs.ph if you’ve decided to go the DIY route. With over 500,000 resumes, the site has the largest database of Filipino virtual workers.
* Disclosure: The link above is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To find out more about our view on affiliate products, please see this page.
Now it’s time to set up an interview with the finalists. Interviewing someone who will be working remotely is slightly different from interviewing local applicants, especially when you’re hiring someone from abroad.
You can get your virtual executive assistant from anywhere in the world, but you have to remember that there is likely going to be some sort of language barrier if English is his/her second language. That’s why having a video interview is recommended.
A video interview is the next best thing to interviewing someone in person. It allows you to effectively gauge a candidate’s ability to speak the English language, and it will give you the chance to assess their personality and see if they are a good cultural fit. You can’t do that by exchanging emails back and forth. You’ll also have a hard time evaluating if you’re interviewing via the phone because you can’t see their facial expressions and body language. It’s just better to do a video interview. Now, if they’re not willing to do a video interview, that may be a red flag.
You have to make sure that the person you hire can speak English fluently because if you’re going to be interacting with your virtual executive assistant on a daily basis. There must not be any issues in communication.
Hiring a virtual executive assistant can be inexpensive. You just need to know where to look. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to message us!