Virtual assistants work from outside your office, maybe in another city or even country. They utilize today’s vast technological resources like high speed Internet, VoIP (a low-cost telephone long distance service using high speed Internet but in the manner of a standard phone call), email, and conferencing to carry out their tasks that can include making your appoints, answering your phones, and even do your accounting.

Their services include office headings like administration, creative, financial, and even technical. Virtual Assistants can be accountants, graphic designers, programmers, and writers. Therefore, hiring one can not only make life easier in your business but also might provide you with resources you never imagined you could tap. What’s more, this is all freelance work, not requiring all the full-time benefits of company employees like health insurance, office space, office resources, etc.

To hire a Virtual Assistant, we first suggest writing a job description just like with any new hire. This will also determine the skills your virtual assistant requires. After you have a clear picture of who you need, it is time to start your search. A search for “virtual assistant” on Google will point you in the right direction. However, there are also organizations especially set-up to manage virtual assistants. Even Craigsllist.org has a global reach to find the virtual assistant right for you.

You will post an RFP or Request for Proposal detailing the qualifications the eligible candidate will possess as well as the tasks they will carry out. However, be aware that candidates may be in wholly different countries and time zones from you. On the other hand, they most likely are used to working out of standard office hours in their home. You should make the hours you expect them to work clear from the start and if they can work them without any problem.

Next, you will still need to conduct an interview even if they are on the other side of the world. This will help you review all potential candidates for virtual assistants more thoroughly. This can either be done on the phone via VoIP or video conferencing like Skype, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger that all provide remote audio and video conferencing. You should apply all the criteria as if this was a face-to-face interview, assessing personality, comprehension, and their rapport with you.

If you require specific skills to serve you, you might even consider a test, including having them reply to a typical customer service email, write copy, or show samples of their past work and walk you through it.

Finally, once you’ve decided on a Virtual Assistant, you should address compensation before they start working. Virtual assistants can work hourly or at flat rate per project they assist you with. Furthermore, you need to clarify how you will pay them. Their preferred payment method includes wire transfer, bank-to-bank, or PayPal, among many others.

All in all, virtual assistants are an effective way for you to work more efficiently.