How to Write A Virtual Assistant Job Description: Top Tips

Thinking about hiring a virtual assistant? You’re not alone. Check out the JobStreet listings for virtual assistants, and you’ll find hundreds of openings nationwide. The Philippines is one of the world’s top countries for virtual assistants (VAs). Both foreign and local employers tap our talent for remote help.

How to start? In order to hire your VA you’ll need a job description. But with the rise of remote work, the term “virtual assistant” now covers a wide range of tasks. So take a moment. You may be hiring in a hurry, but the clearer your job description, the faster you’ll find the right VA for you. Use our template below to help you start.

Still on the fence about hiring a remote employee? Here are several good reasons to do it:

• Save time and money. How much is your time worth? Outsource routine tasks instead of hiring full-time employees or doing it yourself. Especially for lean businesses, VA support reduces burnout and frees key staff to focus on tasks no one else can do. 

• Extra hands to scale your business VAs can act as staff extensions at critical times, such as setup/launch, peak season or for a major project or event. 

• Ensure that tasks outside your core competency get done right When you need everything at once, your VAs can be contractors with prior experience and without a learning curve. For example, a growth area for VAs has been setting up or running online stores. In theory, it’s easy. In practice it can be time-consuming and stressful.

A virtual assistant is a team member who provides remote support to businesses and professionals. They work from anywhere with a stable internet connection, which means you have the chance to work with helpful, hard-working VAs living anywhere in the country. 

What does a virtual assistant do? Here are some of the most common support tasks assigned to VAs:

Office and administration

• Make or answer phone calls, set appointments

• Office correspondence and paperwork: send follow up emails, track packages etc.

• Organize online files, for example a shared drive or dropbox

• Manage schedules and online calendars

• Type, transcribe, update spreadsheets and databases

• Email: monitor inboxes, maintain mailing lists, organize scheduled mailings

• Tech/hosting support for webinars and other online events

Specialized tasks

• Book and arrange travel

• Customer support - answering questions, processing orders

• Format reports or presentation slides

• Draft, edit, proofread, do SEO research

• Bookkeeping, billing and accounting

• Social media - create and post content, update profiles, reply to comments or queries

• Manage online stores, including booking and tracking deliveries

• Event planning in tandem with onsite colleagues - canvassing, suppliers, RSVPs

Can VAs do this all? Yes, but one VA can’t do it all. An effective VA job description limits the tasks your VA will focus on. Too many requests, from too many people, will make your VA less effective.

Tip: Put your VA’s focus in the headline of your job description, for example “Virtual Assistant - Office and Administration” or “Virtual Assistant - Online Store.”  

Next, list any education, technical and non-technical skills, and certifications you require. If you’re looking for certain personality traits, include those too. 

What are some of these traits, then? Good VAs are communicators, able to be understood and build rapport with colleagues they’ve never met offline. They’re helpful but self-disciplined, working independently after onboarding. Don’t hire a VA if you intend to micromanage them. 

Here are some of the most common skills required:

• One year or more experience as a VA or doing similar tasks 

• Be familiar with cloud technologies, esp. those related to remote work. Some examples are desktop sharing, VoIP, online calendars, meeting/webinar tools

• Good spoken and written communication, in the language/s your staff/clients use

• Be very organized, good at multitasking and time management

• Detail oriented, with a sharp eye for errors in emails, spreadsheets or schedules.

• Have the discipline to work with minimum supervision and follow-up

• Must have a PC (XX standard), XX software installed and reliable Internet connection

Education and certifications

Rather than a college degree, typical VA office tasks require focus and organization. Quite often, an online skills test or sample project is more useful to gauge an applicant’s abilities. 

Should your company insist, Coursera and others offer online Virtual Assistant certifications. Check the credibility of a certification before you list it. If tasks like tech support or online marketing require further certifications, be sure you mention it.

So you know what you’re looking for. What’s your candidate looking for?  

In a recent JobStreet report on recruitment trends, more than 11,400 Filipino job seekers said that salary range is the first thing they check in a job ad. Second is a precise, clear description of the expected tasks. 

Also read: What Jobseekers Wish Employers Knew

So cut to the chase. When setting a salary range, be realistic about what you’re asking for. Compare it to the cost to find, hire, train and maintain an onsite employee.

Also, state the time commitment you need: full-time or part-time, fixed-term or temporary, by hours worked or per project. For example: “Task-based. Set your own schedule after the daily call.” “Full-time remote, West Coast US hours. Not a freelance position”, etc.

This is a key factor for applicants. Many become VAs specifically for the flexible time, location and work/life balance the role can offer. 

Also read: How To Use The JobStreet Salary Report To Hire Better in 2022

Here’s a sample VA job description

Virtual Assistant - Administrative and travel

Independent Contractor - 6 month contract 

We are a sales team of three within a fast-growing company in the xx industry. We are looking for a virtual assistant to provide office and admin support, reporting to the Sales Manager.

Your assistance will help our highly mobile team run smoothly. You will need to be organized, calm under pressure and able to multitask. For example, can you run four different viber chats without sending the wrong message?

Responsibilities:

• Set up and provide minutes for daily team call

• Coordinate online calendars for a team of 3

• Send templated follow-up emails, ensuring all details are correct

• Maintain customer contact list

• Format presentation slides using our template

Please have:

• Plenty of experience using MS Office (Word, Excel) and Teams

• Knowledge of online calendars (e.g. Google Calendar, Calendly)

• Good communication skills - speaking and writing English and Tagalog, Cebuano a plus

• Your own computer, software and internet connection (xx specs and speed)

Job Type: Fixed-term 6 month contract Pay: xx monthly, xx/hour overtime Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8:30 am - 4:30 Philippine time (Note: If your role is flexible or task based, highlight it here) Education: Partial college and up. We will ask you to complete an online skills test. Experience: 1 year or more in administrative or office work Location: Remote (NCR main office). No travel required.

SEEKBetter talent now – remote or onsite – with JobStreet. If you’re a first-time hirer, simply register and then create your employer profile to post your job description. If you’ve hired through us before, update your company profile to access the Talent Search, and visit the Inspirations page for practical hiring tips and industry news.