What Do The Traits Of A Reliable Virtual Assistant Look Like?

We’ve talked to a lot of business owners looking to hire virtual assistants for the first time as an agency with many virtual assistant clients, and even more, people debating whether or not to start working as virtual assistants. We frequently hear both sides reiterating the same query:

What makes a good virtual assistant?

Potential employees are unsure of their ability to work remotely as a VA, and clients are unsure of how to evaluate the type of person who would be the easiest to work with and able to relieve them of the most work.

What I’ve discovered over the years is that the hard skills necessary for virtual assistant work are constantly evolving. Do you have to be a good writer? Do you require knowledge of audio and video editing for podcasts? Depending on the needs of the client. Every assistant is unique, as are all jobs.

The soft skills required to become a virtual assistant are the same, despite the numerous options in a client’s contract. Here are the six characteristics that define the ideal virtual assistant, regardless of whether you’re considering becoming one or are prepared to interview and hire one yourself.

Effective virtual assistants work without ego.

When you agree to serve as someone’s virtual assistant, you make a commitment to complete the task at hand without requesting special treatment. You are not their starting quarterback or even their backup kicker. Your position? Waterboy. You also adore it! Being the waterboy appeals to you greatly.

A career in service requires a strong sense of humility. As a virtual assistant, you’ll perform the minute details that occasionally go unnoticed but still have a big impact. Your work has a significant impact because it enables your client to operate at their best.

Being humble in action

Not sure if you’ve got what it takes to serve without ego? Let’s see if this sounds like you:

Building up another person’s brand is just as rewarding as building up your own, if not more so. You have no problem using a generic “admin” email address to write ghost articles or respond to emails.

No task is too small for you. You don’t mind doing little things like making a lunch reservation or editing the blog’s introduction. You even like them. In your mind, it’s all in a day’s work!

With a smile and an open heart, virtual assistants offer assistance.

It should make you happy to make other people happy if you believe you want to become a VA. You approach every interaction with a friendly face and a welcoming attitude, regardless of whether it’s with one of your clients, your clients’ clients, or a teammate at your agency. You’re not afraid to go above and beyond to help out and cheer someone up.

When you were younger, you extended an invitation to a new student to join you for lunch. You are the neighbor who visits the new family across the street with brownies. Your friend knows she can call you if she moves into a four-story walk-up and needs help carrying their couch up the stairs.

Even though I enjoy dark humor just as much as the next person, your personality doesn’t have to be all sunshine and daisies; it just needs to be open, reassuring, and kind-hearted. This can take many different forms, both extroverts and introverts can make fantastic virtual assistants!

This Neighborly Attitude in Action

You learn that your client is having a particularly difficult time; perhaps their parent is ill or they are going through a divorce. The first thing that comes to mind is to see if you can send them a special gift to make their day.

You view the acquaintances or even friends of your clients. You are familiar with their significant other’s name, the number of children and animals they have, and whether or not they have seen the most recent episode of Game of Thrones.

Prepared to Work at Home? You’ll Need to Take Initiative.

Being a helpful virtual assistant occasionally entails being a little bit of a nag. Due to their busy schedules, clients frequently are unsure of when, how, or even how best to communicate their needs. You are not at all intimidated by that dynamic. You enjoy motivating yourself very much.

You’re not the assistant who waits around for assignments while fidgeting with their fingers. You ask and re-ask, “How can I help?” constantly in an effort to identify gaps in your client’s workflows and find new ways to help them.

Proactivity in Action

You observe that your client’s task management system is quite dated. You look into some more advantageous options, present them to the client, and explain how switching will improve their quality of life. Then, you help them implement the new tool for a smooth and easy transition.

You get a process document for a project that is lacking in many details. It hasn’t been updated in two years, hello! You make edits and adjustments as you complete your assignment for the first time so that the next guy will find the process document easier to use.

Sound like you? You’re in luck.

You Follow Through and Always Deliver on Time.

You are your own boss if you work for yourself. You therefore display it. You don’t need to go through each of your assignments with an editor. You don’t require a weekly reminder of the due dates for your projects. You actually dislike the idea of someone helping you complete your work; you much prefer to assume your own responsibilities.

Home-based employment has its own set of difficulties. Your client cannot, and should not, watch your every move to ensure that you are adhering to the terms of your contract and completing your work on schedule. The temptation to skip work for the day and binge the newest Netflix release might be strong, but you don’t mind taking care of business instead.

Reliability in Action

Most people like to believe that they are trustworthy. But what have you, our former customers or employers, to say? Think about these situations to determine whether you truly possess a mastery of the art of getting stuff done.

When you schedule a vacation, you prepare all of your work-related deliverables in advance, or you coordinate with your client in advance to fill your virtual assistant hours in a different capacity. No one needs to step in for you once you give your approval for that R&R because the work has already been completed.

Your own work is edited. You correct any errors in your initial drafts of social media posts or the audio gap in your podcast. You constantly check and double-check your work, so no one needs to review it.

Share Openly and Honestly.

You are aware that you do not work in a vacuum. Direct communication is therefore your best friend. You feel at ease giving your clients work status updates and disclosing significant life events that might have an impact on your schedule or workflow.

When everyone is on the same page and there are no lingering questions, you feel good and perform at your best.

Strong Communication in Action

Virtual relationships are more difficult to follow than real-life ones. Here’s what we mean by “virtual assistants communicating and sharing openly and honestly,” even though maintaining a certain level of privacy is acceptable and understandable:

You email your client before your deadline expires to let them know when they can expect your deliverables and why if unforeseen events like an internet outage or a sick child delay your work.

The Best VAs Seek Opportunities to Learn and Grow.

People have always remarked on your insatiable curiosity. People know you by the number of browser tabs you have open, the size of your bookcase, and how frequently you say, “Let me Google that.” People always make fun of you for seeming to know a little bit about everything, and your podcast queue is never-ending. You are the star performer at trivia nights.

You don’t hesitate to raise your hand and ask questions when it comes to client work. You don’t respond, “I don’t know,” when they ask for your opinion. You answer, “I don’t know… but I’ll find out.” To increase your skill set and advance your career, you look for professional development opportunities.

A Curious Mind in Action

You are informed of a service provided by other virtual assistants. You can’t do it, but you’d like to learn. You enroll in an online course so that you can eventually learn how to do it yourself.

Your mantra of “No news is good news” simply won’t do. You frequently ask clients how they feel about your work and what you can do better moving forward.

The Profile of a Good Virtual Assistant

For parents, artists, and pretty much anyone looking for a side gig, working as a virtual assistant is a fantastic opportunity. But success does require a particular kind of person! These traits are a great indicator of the type of person who would thrive in a remote environment as an assistant, whether you are considering becoming a virtual assistant (VA) or you are interviewing candidates for your company.

In fact, at Don’t Panic, we’re so convinced that these are the characteristics of a great virtual assistant that we’ve made them our own personal core values and measured all of the candidates for our current team members against them. Are you interested in hiring a member of our staff? Or perhaps you’d like to join our crew of obnoxious helpers? Contact us.