Behind Every Successful Coach is a
Virtual
Assistant
Tips for ensuring
the best fit for
the money:
Set up a Skype or telephone
interview with a minimum of
three VAs.
Request résumés and check
each candidate’s experience and
education level.
Evaluate the cost/salary of each
candidate in relation to their
training and experience.
Contact references for
each candidate.
Sign an agreement with the
candidate you choose specifying
that you can cancel their services
with a five-day notice of termination
of services.
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Coaching World |
February 2013
Two winning assets of a great administrative virtual
assistant (VA) are effective communication and
executive professional presence demonstrating
integrity, aptitude, and a positive attitude. Three basic
rules I like to follow and encourage others, including my
VA, to adopt are: (1) say how you feel; (2) ask for what
you want; and (3) don’t do what you don’t want to do.
With these three guidelines from transactional analysis
in place and understood, work can progress and there is
open communication.
Before interviewing VAs, it is a good idea to write
down the tasks you expect them to do for you. These
expectations are invaluable information. I have had
several assistants over the last two decades, and with
each experience I learned more and more about what to
do in order to hire the right individual. I had a tendency
to be impressed with the first interviewee, but often
received unsatisfactory work as a result. One time I
hired a VA only to learn that she did not own computer
or a copier!
Now I make sure I interview a number of potential
candidates before I make my final decision. VAs often
exaggerate their credentials, and a solid interview
separates experienced VAs from those just starting out.