Virtual Assistant: Job Profile and Role

The digital age continues to have an impact on our real life. It does not only affect our social interactions and our shopping behaviour. It also affects the set-up of various jobs. Take the job of a virtual assistant, for example. This profession would probably not exist if it were not for the digitalisation. But what exactly is the job of a virtual assistant?

In this blog, we will take a look at the job profile and role of a virtual assistant. We will tell you which qualifications and skills you need. You will also find out what annual salaries you can expect as a virtual assistant and who your typical employers are. To give you a better idea of the various tasks of a virtual assistant, we will tell you what a day in the life of a virtual assistant looks like. Last, but not least, we will give you three tips for thriving as a virtual assistant.

Short Summary

• As a virtual assistant, you perform various tasks, such as administrative tasks, for a small company or individual clients. These tasks are generally performed remotely.
• As a virtual assistant, you are typically in charge of scheduling telephone and video calls and managing emails and appointments.
• As a virtual assistant, you can be tasked with making travel and shopping arrangements for the company or clients you work for.

Job description

The job of a virtual assistant is to take care of administrative tasks, such as scheduling calls, managing emails and appointments, or making travel arrangements for a company or an individual client. It is the virtual assistant’s job to help their employers save valuable time and money, which in turn enables them to take care of their core business. Typically, a virtual assistant works as an independent entity, his or her daily tasks are performed and completed remotely.

Responsibilities

• Bookkeeping/Financial Management
• Database Management
• Project Management
• Administrative Tasks
• Customer Support
• Technical Support
• Content Creation
• Online Marketing
• Event Planning
• Personal Tasks

Different types of Virtual Assistants

• Virtual Financial Advisor
• Personal Virtual Assistant
• Business Virtual Assistant
• Marketing Virtual Assistant
• Chat Support Virtual Assistant

Salary

Full-time virtual assistants in the UK are typically paid between £26,400 and £26,800 annually. The salary can be influenced by the level of work experience, the employer, the company size, and the location. The highest annual salaries for virtual assistants are currently paid in the Greater London Area. They amount to £39,300. Higher annual salaries can also be expected in Edinburgh, where virtual assistants tend to get paid up to £30,000 per year.

Working hours

Typically, a virtual assistant works between 20 and 40 hours a week. The weekly working hours depend on whether you work as a part-time, or as a full-time virtual assistant.

Since the job of a virtual assistant is a remote job, there are further factors that have an impact on the weekly working hours. You should keep in mind that your working hours might exceed 40 hours per week. That depends on your client’s demands, the number of clients you look after, and the different time zones your clients can live in.

Especially the latter can mean that your working hours as a virtual assistant can stretch into the evenings. They can also result in you having to work at the weekends.

Employers

Virtual assistants are usually employed by startups, small businesses, and medium-sized businesses. Which sector you will end up working in depends on your area of expertise and your preferences.

You can also think about becoming a self-employed virtual assistant. It is not unusual in this profession to be employed as a so-called independent contractor. This gives you both the flexibility to look for your perfect employer and to have an influence on your weekly working hours.

Qualifications

There are no specific academic requirements to become a virtual assistant. However, most employers prefer applicants who have at least three years of work experience in an appropriate field. These can include administration or assistant work.

Furthermore, as a future virtual assistant, you should be familiar with frequently used apps and software, such as time tracking, social media, accounting, and project management.

Skills

If you are thinking about becoming a virtual assistant, you should have certain soft skills. These skills are your strengths and competencies. You should have strong interpersonal skills that help you understand your clients’ needs and preferences. Strong communication skills are also important when you want to excel in your job as a virtual assistant.

In this section, we will take a look a three more soft skills you should have or should develop when you want to work as a virtual assistant.

Written Communication Skills

As a virtual assistant, you are in charge of scheduling emails and appointments. You can also be in charge of booking flights and hotels for your employers. Even though some of these tasks can be done over the phone, some of these tasks will require written communication. Strong writing skills are therefore a must-have when you want to be a successful and professional virtual assistant.kills.

Time-Management Skills

It is likely that you will look after more than one client when you work as a virtual assistant. Therefore, it is important to have strong time-management skills. You need to apply these to every single one of your clients. They help you to stay on top of their respective schedules and needs. They also help you to bring an efficient structure to your day – including much-needed breaks in between your virtual appointments.

Self-Motivational Skills

As a virtual assistant, you will quite likely also work from home. This means that you are not in a normal office environment with timetables and other work-related structures, such as lunch or coffee breaks. Working from home or another remote location may have its upsides. But it also has a few downsides, a possible lack of motivation being one of them. If you are thinking about becoming a virtual assistant, you should know how to motivate yourself. This is important to get your daily tasks completed.

It’s a Chemical Reaction

Three surefire things guarantee a virtual assistant’s success: trustworthiness, independence, and chemistry. Trustworthiness is important since a virtual assistant tends to deal with highly sensitive client information. Independence is important since a virtual assistant does not work in a traditional office and therefore does not always have access to his or her superiors. Chemistry decides whether a client-virtual assistant relationship will actually work.

Career Path

As a virtual assistant, you have various career prospects. Assuming that you start your career as an in-house employee, albeit a remote one, you can become a supervisor for a team of virtual assistants. As a self-employed virtual assistant, you can think about changing your job title as well. This goes hand in hand with gaining a high level of experience and building a professional and flawless reputation.

Educational Background

You do not have to have an academic background to become a virtual assistant. Typically, you should already have a few years of work experience in an assistant-related field. Even though an academic degree is not mandatory, you can still think about earning a Bachelor’s degree, for example. Appropriate studies can be business, accounting and marketing. If you should decide on an apprenticeship, you can gain your first work experience during this training.

Note that you will need to earn a certain number of GCSEs and the required grades, regardless of your approach to the job of a virtual assistant.

Gaining Experience

There is no classic entry level when you want to work as a virtual assistant unless an employer explicitly states that you need to have a few years of work experience. Let’s assume that “all” you have is a relevant academic degree. In this case, you start with zero work experience and have to gain it by getting your first job. As in every other job, the golden rule is: the more years you have worked as a virtual assistant, the more experience you will have gained. Your level of experience can then be an influencing factor on your future employers and your annual salary.

Continuous Learning

Your job as a virtual assistant takes place in the digital world – be it social media, emails, or travel and shopping websites. Knowing how the respective apps and software work is vitally important if you want to do a good job. Unfortunately, apps and software change regularly and are usually also accompanied by faster and more efficient tools. By learning all there is to know about the technical developments you will stay on top of your profession. Continuous learning should also be applied to your personal education and the improvement of your soft skills.

A Day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant

Virtually all aspects of your working day will take part in the digital/virtual world. Well, almost all aspects. Naturally, you will still perform tasks in real life. Let’s take a look at some of the tasks and responsibilities that shape a day in the life of a virtual assistant.

Client Meetings

As a virtual assistant, you take care of a certain number of clients, and their needs and requirements. Usually, you already have an informative schedule of what each of your clients expects of you. It still does not hurt to go over these tasks and requirements in personal, albeit virtual, meetings. These client meetings are part of your day as a virtual assistant. They will clarify possible unanswered questions and issues.

Task Prioritisation

After you have finished with your client meetings, you need to prioritise the tasks that you need to complete. Which client should come first, maybe due to a more pressing deadline? Which jobs can be pushed back to a later date, and which jobs can be done with only a minimum of time and effort? By prioritising your day’s tasks, you can work through them in an efficient, time-saving and stress-free way.

Liaising with Colleagues

As a virtual assistant, you can be part of a team. This means that more than one person (you) works for a certain client, taking care of different tasks the client needs completing. In this case, liaising with your remote colleagues is part of your working day as a virtual assistant. This way, you find out which tasks have already been done, which tasks you are in charge of, and which tasks still need to be completed.

Tips for Thriving as a Virtual Assistant

If you are an ambitious person who wants to reach the top of the virtual assistant career ladder, we recommend that you take on board tips for thriving as a virtual assistant. Do not worry, we will not let you start googling these tips. We will give them to you. In this section, you will now find out three tips for thriving as a personal assistant.

• Self-promotion
• Tech proficiency
• Confidentiality and trustworthiness

Self-Promotion

Let’s say you work as a self-employed virtual assistant and need to build a client portfolio. How would you approach this? By promoting yourself. You need to have a strong and professional online presence that will attract potential clients, be it individuals or companies. You should also start employing social media for your self-promotion. By getting likes and followers, word about your expertise will spread. This word of mouth also works in the real world – and self-promotion is our first tip for thriving as a virtual assistant.

Tech Proficiency

As a virtual assistant, you need to be very tech-savvy since a great deal of your work is being performed online. You need to know your way around every relevant app and software. This involves your willingness to learn everything there is to know about these tools. This also involves you becoming an expert in how to use them. Being tech proficient, or working on your tech proficiency, is our second important tip for thriving as a virtual assistant.

Confidentiality and Trustworthiness

As a virtual assistant, you deal with highly sensible and personal information, be it a client’s emails, his/her travel itinerary, his/her shopping list, or the accounts. These data need to be treated with absolute confidentiality – regardless of the fact that some things you are dealing with might be well worth gossiping about with your friends. Only by ensuring confidentiality can you be trustworthy. If you keep these two important things in mind, you are implementing our third tip for thriving as a virtual assistant.

Frequently Asked Questions