Virtual Assistant is emerging as a most demanded profession these days when work from home is dominating the traditional workspace. Virtual jobs have taken a toll over the traditional offices when the whole world is going digital. When the offices were closed during the lockdown, businesses relied on online marketers and content creators to advertise their products and services. The Virtual Assistant jobs in India recorded a significant increase in 2021. Here you can get to know everything about this upcoming profession.
What is Virtual Assistance?
Virtual Assistance means supporting and facilitating the work of a client from a remote location.
It focuses on assisting the client and helping them do the important and priority tasks on an urgent basis.
Freelancing work such as blog writing, content writing, graphic designing, administrative work and Telecalling are some of the jobs that a virtual assistant helps to perform on a priority basis as they have the expertise in their fields.
Who is a Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant is an independent worker who has an online presence and is specialized to perform the tasks such as digital marketing, Telecalling, maintaining records, graphic designing, and so on.
Virtual assistants offer freelancing services to clients and help them to prioritize their work. They are specialized to perform particular tasks online.
What are the necessary qualifications for becoming a Virtual Assistant?
There are specific qualifications for some jobs online, for instance, web development, administrative work, maintaining bulk records, accounting, personal Assistance, operations and HR-related work require graduates with work experience for high-level jobs. Other jobs such as email marketing, cold – calling, social media marketing, blog writing and graphic designing demand people with necessary expertise and may prefer freshers.
What are the skills possessed by a Virtual Assistant?
The necessary skills which are required to offer virtual assistance services are as below:
1. Communication skills– The candidate should have the necessary skills to communicate with the clients and understand their requirements. Both oral and written communication skills are considered to select a candidate for a virtual assistant job.
2. Proficiency in English- This is a very important requirement for landing a job as a virtual assistant, such as a blog writer or a content writer. These days everyone is in need of a person who is eloquent and has excellent English proficiency.
3. Online marketing- These jobs search for people who have an active online presence. Those who can gain prospective customers by offering digital marketing or social media marketing services are preferred.
4. Creativity- The candidate who can generate ideas for the company’s success and implement them creatively can get hired for major work positions in reputed organizations. Graphic designing and web development jobs require a creative application.
5. Well-versed in a foreign language- These days, even Indian companies are looking for those who have practiced and adept in a foreign language. Work from home translator jobs is coming up nowadays.
6. Expert in computer languages- For IT-related jobs, the candidate needs to possess computer skills and should have knowledge of computer and programming languages such as C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python and many others. A degree in this field will be a plus point.
7. Critical and objective thinking- This is a must-have quality for every person applying for virtual assistant positions. Someone who can make informed decisions and think keeping all the consequences in mind deserves this post.
8. Will to learn- As learning is gaining, every other organization looks for someone who is willing to learn and give a shot to new things and gain new experiences.
Apart from the above-mentioned skills and specializations, the candidate must also be self-disciplined and motivated to take the initiative and can work in a dynamic environment.
What are the types of Virtual Assistant jobs?
A Virtual Assistant’s job is home-based and only requires a laptop, an internet connection and some useful tools to provide administrative and support services to the client. They can be hired on different basis such as Internships, Part-time jobs, Full-time jobs, Freelancing and so on.
Following are the types of Virtual Assistant jobs:
1. Virtual Research Analyst- Research Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Technical Analysis are some of the jobs which are widely performed virtually.
2. Virtual Marketer- They are in high demand these days. Jobs such as Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Facebook and Instagram Marketing are emerging as one of the priority jobs in the country.
3. Content Writer- It is also a high-demanded job. SEO Content Writing is coming up as an important virtual assistance job nowadays. Companies are hiring skillful content or blog writers for work from home jobs.
4. Data Entry Virtual Assistant- People are appointed for virtual jobs that involve maintaining records and statistics. MS Excel and Spreadsheets are some basic requirements for these types of jobs.
5. Virtual Administrative Assistant- The job of a Virtual Administrative Assistant includes administrative tasks such as scheduling meetings and conferences, preparing reports and managing social media accounts for overall efficiency. For this job position, a person who can make decisions effectively without any delays is suitable.
6. Virtual Bookkeeping Assistant- If you are looking for job posts that require maintaining data of the expenses of a business, then this one’s for you. A Virtual Bookkeeper is required to prepare necessary ledger accounts, Profit and Loss Accounts and Balance Sheets for the business and ensure that all customers have received invoices for the transactions. Virtual Bookkeeping Assistants facilitate timely and accurate preparation and maintenance of business accounts so that analysis can be done and the profitability of the business can be judged.
7. eCommerce Virtual Assistant- An eCommerce Virtual Assistant helps to maintain the accounts of the online suppliers, update inventories, maintain databases and statistics, upload product images, realizing orders, computing returns, handling customer complaints, and bookkeeping. This type of job involves multitasking, and hence the candidate needs to have adequate contacts to diversify the products to be sold and should be sufficiently trained and experienced to maintain product bills and manifestos.
8. Real Estate Virtual Assistant- A type of Virtual Assistant job that revolves around uploading property clicks and handling social media accounts, along with maintaining records and making appealing presentations.
What is the salary of a Virtual Assistant?
The salary and perks of a Virtual Assistant depend upon the qualifications and specializations, along with the work experience. Some of the other factors which influence the performance and salary are confidence, determination and versatility of the work done by the candidate. In India, a Virtual Assistant may earn INR 250-INR 450 per hour, and the average salary per month is INR 25,000. The perks include Certificates and Letters of Recommendation for interns and weekend holidays. Many organizations also provide training to the candidates, which also helps them in the future.
Which businesses appoint Virtual Assistant?
Many companies appoint Virtual Assistants to outsource non-core activities. Even the top companies are in search of web developers, digital marketers, blog writers, and bookkeepers.
Amazon requires Virtual Assistants for marketing, content creation, customer support, and many other activities. Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa are some examples of top virtual assistants.
Virtual Assistants can also create an account on freelance websites and provide their services. Some top freelance websites in India are Fiverr, Freelancer, Upwork, 99designs, Worknhire and Toptal.
Some of the best Virtual Assistant companies in India are Brickwork India, Hub staff Talent and Webcentre.
Conclusion
Virtual Assistant jobs are rising at a rapid pace in the country, and they will dominate in the future. Almost every startup or venture is looking out for virtual and technical assistants to outsource some core and non-core activities. These jobs are suitable for a person who has an active online presence and is efficient in handling multiple tasks.
Questions
1. What are the main areas of Virtual Assistance?
The main areas around which a Virtual Assistant job revolves are online marketing, content creation, maintaining records and statistics, technical Assistance, research analysis, portfolio analysis, ecommerce, real estate and so on.
2. What are the functions of a Virtual Assistant?
Virtual Assistants are required to have excellent communication skills as the most important requirement. Apart from that, they are also required to have an active online presence, marketing skills, ability to multitask, creativity and should always be willing to learn.
