Becoming a virtual assistant is quite an easy task with the technology we have today. It is also quite easy to run a whole office virtually due to the same technology. The trick to being successful in this line of work is learning how to quickly find, apply for an actually land virtual assistant jobs.
If you are a virtual assistant and you're struggling to find work, check out these 5 resources from an established virtual assistant below:
1. Elance.com – Elance is the world's largest and leading online talent and skills marketplace. It helps companies hire and manage professionals or freelancers to get work done and grow their business. At the same time, it provides professionals and freelancers the opportunities to work and earn.I put it on top of my list because in my experience, it gave me the best clients so far. I have found long term virtual assistant works through elance. Although it is not a free marketplace, spending almost $20 a month for the membership is very much worth it. I can earn $1000 to $2000 a month working as a Virtual Secretary from elance alone.How to apply for virtual assistant jobs: With a paid membership, you will be given “connects” that you can use in placing bids to job postings. Make sure you have a good proposal and reasonable rate when bidding especially when you are just starting. When you have built a good reputation and earned positive reviews, you can opt to increase your rate.How you can get paid: Client can pay you through elance and then withdraw from elance to your bank or PayPal.2. Guru.com – Like elance.com, Guru is one of the biggest online talent marketplaces. Almost all projects that can be outsourced are found in here. I found some good clients in here although they are more short term that what I got from elance. It is not about the marketplace I think, maybe I was just luckier with elance or that guru has more virtual admin assistants to compete with over these jobs.
How to apply for virtual assistant jobs: For free memberships, you are only allowed to bid to a few select job postings which makes it difficult to land a job or get a project. With a paid membership, you can get more privileges in placing bids to jobs available. You are given up to a hundred bid counts per month if I am not mistaken. You also need a good proposal and a good reputation for better possibility of getting hired.
How you can get paid: Client can pay you through Guru and then withdraw form Guru to your bank or Paypal.
3. Craigslist.org – Although many people say dealing in Craigslist is a lot riskier than any place else, I would still put it at third spot due to some good clients it brought me. I have gotten virtual assistant tasks from here since I started as a VA. This is where I got my first client, that actually paid. Yeah, there were some clients that did not pay. That is the risk with craigslist. It is an open classified ad site so the possibility of getting scammed is higher.
How to apply for virtual assistant jobs: When you see ads on craigslist, you can find contact information of the poster. It can be an email, phone number or a url where you can apply online. Make sure you have a good proposal prepared. Rates in craigslist in my observation, is a bit lower because the companies looking for workers are generally those that do not want to shell out some cash to register in paid online marketplaces such as elance or guru. So giving a reasonable rate is critical for you to be considered when applying.
How you can get paid: Since it is an open classified ad site, payment option depends on the client. Most of them pay via Paypal. The assurance is not 100% but it is worth the risk so far in my experience.
4. Odesk.com – Odesk is a unique online talent marketplace because it requires its service providers to log in to their workroom so working hours can be logged and the buyer or clients can monitor the work done. You get to feel you are just in a regular office with your boss monitoring your work. At first I like working here but since I started doing other stuff aside from being a virtual assistant, I slowed down. I have gotten good clients here, mostly for data entry and research jobs.
How to apply for virtual assistant jobs: Odesk is a free marketplace. They only add a small percentage on top of your regular rate whether hourly or fixed, which will be charged to the client. So basically, you do not need to pay any fees to get work. Make sure you have prepared a very appealing proposal to get noticed because, being a free marketplace, expect to have more competition. I would suggest you start with smaller projects, like data entry, research and writing jobs just so you can build your reputation. Eventually you will get bigger projects as you add positive reviews/feedback.
How you can get paid: You can get paid through Odesk and then withdraw from Odesk to your bank or Paypal.
5. freelancer.com – Used to be getafreelancer.com, freelancer is one of my favorites because it is free to register and a lot of virtual assistant jobs are available. In my experience though, among freelancer, elance, guru and odesk, it is only in freelancer where I experienced getting scammed. Because a company can post a job for free in the first post, chances are, some people will take advantage and post jobs that are not legit and will only try to screw you. I have experienced once not getting paid. Although it was only a short term small project, I became more reluctant to apply to jobs offered by new buyers. Since then, I always apply to jobs posted by old buyers.
How to apply for virtual assistant jobs: It is free to register in freelancer.com although it charges you a small amount after you were awarded a job or your bid won. Prepare a good and appealing proposal for your bid to be noticed more. I always customize my proposals or letter of application depending on the need of the client. Virtual assistant jobs vary from tasks so it is better to have a customized proposal.
How you can get paid: You can get paid through freelancer and then withdraw from freelancer to your bank or Paypal.
With all of the sites mentioned above and anywhere else online, consistent positive reviews and a good online reputation is a must in order to become a successful virtual assistant. I hire assistants and outsource projects from time to time and I select people solely off of their reviews and reputation online. Wouldn't you?
What other avenues do you know of that are pretty solid for finding virtual assistant work?
CHALLENGE Yourself to Profit!
Free Download: Build Your Profit-Generating Online Business With This Free Blueprint
Sign Up, follow the easy steps and You'll get the tactics, strategies & techniques needed to create your online profit stream. It's free!
