A virtual assistant is a real person that supports you or your business remotely from their home office. They can virtually be anywhere and the services they provide range from professional administrative, technical, personal, or creative assistance. Since virtual assistants are entrepreneurs and freelance workers, you as their ‘employer’ do not have to worry about employee-related costs.
The best way to find a virtual assistant obviously is the Internet. In this article I will show you five different websites that will help you track down the perfect candidate. All of these services are free, until you decide to hire a virtual assistant who meets your criteria.
Virtual assistants looking for work will find you, if you post a brief request and job description on Twitter. You can virtually extend the 140 character limit by adding a link to a more through description of what you are looking for. Moreover, you may want to search Twitter for virtual assistants yourself and get in touch with them directly.
Here are some Twitter tips:
- 5 Tools To Escape The 140 Character Limit Anywhere
- 5 Twitter Job Services For Some Real-Time Job Search
- 3 Tools For Twitter People Search
- The 6 Best Tools To Schedule Twitter Updates
- 8 Top Twitter Track Tools to Organize the People You Follow
CraigsList
If you would like to post an anonymous job offer or add a few more details than what will fit into 140 characters, CraigsList is an excellent alternative to Twitter. Moreover, you can find an assistant who lives in a desired location, including your own city. The advantage with CraigsList is that you are in direct touch with the candidate without a middle man to worry about.
Curious about CraigsList?
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VA Networking
VA Networking is a social network for virtual assistants. It provides people starting out in the business with resources to improve their business. If you are looking to hire a virtual assistant, tap into this network and find the perfect match. You can submit a ‘request for proposal’ (RFP) to hire a VA and your RFP will be posted on the virtual assistant job board of VAinsiders.
Elance
Elance is a platform for online employment. You can post a job offer for free and candidates will apply or rather bid on your project. The chief attraction with Elance is that you can review the profiles and portfolios of applicants and evaluate how they have performed previously.
Guru Employer
This service is similar to Elance. You post a project, receive offers, and can browse the profiles and websites of candidates. When you select a freelancer, you deposit the funds for the project with Guru. Once the agreed work was received, you release the funds and your assistant gets paid. You can also browse all virtual assistants that offer their services through Guru by keywords or country.
Conclusion
There are many free and creative ways to find employees online. You will find that people with various backgrounds, skills, and from around the world will apply to your job posting. Candidates will quote hourly rates from as low as $5 or as high as $50. Keep in mind that there are no educational standards for virtual assistants. Moreover, you may encounter language or cultural barriers. It’s your job as the potential employer to evaluate whether an applicant will be able to perform the duties you expect and is worth the pay they request.
Have you ever hired someone online? What website or service did you use and what have your experiences been?
Image credits: sellingpix
The 5 Best Websites To Find A Virtual Assistant is a post from: MakeUseOf
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