Do you want to hire a virtual assistant? Are you finding it tough to do so with the overwhelming number of applicants? No worries. There are a few tips you can keep in mind while hiring the virtual assistant to do Virtual assistant jobs.

This step by step guide will help you find the best one for your business. Undeniably, a virtual assistant would be a helping hand for small business owners. They do all the repetitive tasks that are otherwise done by the owners and save their time.

When you hire the potential candidate, you can hand over the administrative and other functions to them and focus on the potential projects and develop your products.

There are good and not so good virtual assistants available. To ensure that the person you are planning to hire is a perfect fit for the company, keep these points in mind.

1- Prepare the Job Responsibilities

Before you start to look for the virtual assistant, you must prepare detailed job responsibilities that you want the person to handle. You must also be clear on the number of hours the person has to work in a day or week. You mention the tasks that a person would handle and the skill set required to qualify for the job.

You mention the equipment necessary for them to have, such as a personal computer, internet connectivity, Skype, and so on. You can also tell your work expectations and values from them. If you want an experienced person, you also have to mention the experience.

2- Location and Budget

When you plan to hire a virtual assistant, you can hire a candidate who possesses the skill set to do the job irrespective of location. There is no time constraint for this job. However, you must make sure that you would meet the candidate every day and discuss the tasks with them.

Be clear on the working hours and the meeting hours. There should be a clear budget in mind so that you do not waste time getting connected with the candidates who are expecting too high pay, which you cannot afford.

3- Post the Job in the Job Portals

It is tough to find the best virtual assistants, though there are many in the market. There are a few websites and communities that are dedicated to virtual assistants and freelancers.

You can use those platforms to post jobs and find a dedicated candidate who is seriously looking for a virtual assistant job. You can also post the job on websites or blogs and reputable job sites.

4- Screen the Applications

When you post the job, you will receive hundreds of applications. You call the candidates only who you find are the perfect fit for the job roles and responsibilities.

The candidates you are going to shortlist must have good communication skills, and at the same time, they should handle the tasks efficiently. You check their resume, cover letters, and samples of their work before short listing and to learn more about them.

5- Conduct the Interviews

You can know the prospect candidate in a much better way when you take their interviews. You can schedule Skype interviews or call them to learn about their job profile and whether they meet your requirements.

When you are taking the interview, you must ask all the questions that would impact the working relationship, such as work environment, skill set, efficiency in doing the tasks, ability to handle problems, time management, and the amount they are expecting and so on.

Before calling the candidates for the interview, prepare a set of interview questions so that you do not miss any critical point to ask.

6- Discuss the Payment

The virtual assistant who is efficient in handling the tasks is a big plus for the small business owners trying to grow their business. There should be effective communication between both parties. You stay clear on the payment part.

The business owner would create the tasks and distribute them to the virtual assistant to complete a day or week. You can tell them the timings at which you would schedule the meetings and the reports that they have to send weekly and how the deliverables would be shared.

You can decide whether the payment would be every week or per project. If you are going to pay them on an hourly basis, tell the candidate to maintain a tracker. You can discuss the workload with the candidate in advance.

7- Start the Work by Giving a Small Project

Though the virtual assistant has performed well in the interview, you should not hand over a big project to them at a time. It is better to start small and slowly add the workload based on their performance. Over time the virtual assistant can turn to be a critical part of the job, and you can start to give incentives to encourage them to work for you for a long time.

These tips help you hire the best virtual assistant for the business.