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15 Virtual Assistant Interview Questions To Help You Find The Best Candidates

 

15 Virtual Assistant Interview Questions To Help You Find The Best Candidates

 

Conducting an interview can be tricky, and you have to carefully plan and consider what questions you need to ask the candidate.

Asking the right questions will help you hire the right virtual assistant for your company. You may be hiring a team of virtual assistants, so the questions you ask must be aimed toward the specific role you need them to do.

The last thing you want to do is hire a virtual assistant who is not up to the job, causing you to waste time and money.

If this is something you don’t have experience with, then let me guide you through some of the most critical interview questions.

The Top Questions You Should Ask When Interviewing A VA

Below are the top virtual assistant interview questions that you need to ask before hiring a VA.

1 – How Long Have You Worked As A Virtual Assistant?

If a candidate has experience working as a virtual assistant, it will help you decide if they are the person you want to hire.

Experience is not essential if you wish them to perform basic admin tasks. However, if you are hiring virtual assistants to work in a specialised role, then an experienced virtual assistant is necessary.

However, a virtual assistant candidate may have a high skill set but lack experience. In this instance, you must use your judgement to determine their suitability for the role you need them to perform.

2 – What Areas Would You Say You’re An Expert In?

Every virtual assistant’s role is different. For example, some positions require basic administrative skills, while others need bookkeeping, social media management, or sales skills.

During the virtual assistant interview, it is vital to ask what skills the candidate excels in. For example, you don’t want to hire someone for a bookkeeping role if they have little knowledge of this area.

Suppose a candidate has no experience but a keen interest in learning and developing in a particular area such as social media. In that case, it may be worth hiring them with a view to upskilling.

3 – Why Did You Decide To Become A Virtual Assistant?

When asking virtual assistant interview questions, it is essential to ask open-ended questions like this one. You will often find that the candidate will provide additional general information about this question.

All virtual assistants come from different backgrounds and cultures, and their general life experience may mean they have the required skills you can utilise in your business.

The candidate may have worked in different business sectors in previous jobs, which means they have other skills.

The answer to this question will also allow us to judge the person’s commitment and passion they have for being a virtual assistant.

4 – What Are Your Favourite IT Tools?

Virtual assistants will all have to use different IT tools to help them perform various administrative tasks. A wide variety of tools are available, so it is essential to find out which software tool they enjoy using the most.

All tools are meant to make performing administrative tasks easier; therefore, it is paramount to know which tools they find easier to work with.

If the virtual assistant you hire will be working on managing projects, then both you and the person you hire must understand the project management software your company uses.

5 – Are There Any Tools You Don’t Like Using?

It is equally important to determine which software tools the candidate dislikes using. A good virtual assistant will know many IT software tools, but that does not necessarily mean they will enjoy using all devices.

Many virtual assistants will have used tools that don’t help them perform to their best; therefore, it is vital to find out which ones.

The best candidates will always be open with their answer to this question which may help you improve the productivity of the virtual assistant you decide to hire.

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6 – What Security Systems Do You Use?

When compiling virtual assistant interview questions, the above question is vital. In addition, all remote workers need a good internet WiFi connection.

If your virtual assistant is handling sensitive information, they need robust IT security systems.

They will need to have two-way authentication on crucial apps. It is vital that the worker only uses a secure private WiFi connection and has the latest antivirus and malware software installed on their computer.

Having up-to-date security protections in place is vital when working remotely. Failing to ensure your remote worker has the proper security measures in place could prove catastrophic for your business.

7 – What Are Your Preferred Working Hours?

This question is essential regardless of who you are hiring. VAs often have many clients, so it is crucial to work out which working hours suit your business and the worker.

Many remote workers work hours that fit in with their family life and often need to be flexible depending on how many clients they have.

The person you hire may be based in a country with a different time zone and have different communication styles.

If you need to speak to your VA weekly or daily, you must schedule a set time to make these phone or video calls within business hours.

8 – How Many Hours A Week Are You Available?

Remote workers may be in the same time zone, but that doesn’t mean they will be available to work the same hours. In addition, great virtual assistants will have several clients, which means they won’t always answer your calls or emails immediately.

If your business requires tasks urgently, you must make this clear to the candidate before hiring them.

It is up to you to establish how many hours of work you need before hiring. This way, you ask candidates if they can work the required hours.

Being clear about the required hours saves you time in the long run.

9 – How Do You Organise Your Workload?

Working remotely requires the VA to have organisational and communication skills. In addition, VAs are often juggling multiple clients, so they have to manage their workload accordingly.

Being able to prioritise tasks based on importance is essential. You need to know that the VA you hire will make the tasks you set high priority.

You will need to determine if the VA has measures in place if they cannot meet a specific deadline. You must be confident that they will communicate if they have any deadline issues before it becomes a problem.

10 – What Are Your Preferred Communication Methods?

Many VAs expect weekly phone calls with you or other team members. First, however, it is essential to find out their preferred method of communication.

You may be used to communicating with your VAs by phone or video calling. However, some workers feel more comfortable communicating by email or sending short messages using apps such as Slack.

Finding the best way to communicate by asking part of your interview questions will save you time and ensure that the person you hire feels comfortable from the start.

Making sure your VA is comfortable in their job will always ensure a higher performance level and meet deadlines.

11 – What Attracted You To This Job Offer?

You can always expect to have varied answers to this question.

If the job requires the worker to perform mundane basic data entry tasks, don’t expect them to give an enthusiastic response. However, if the VA post is for a customer service representative or someone who looks after your social media accounts, the answer they provide should show far more enthusiasm.

A candidate may enjoy engaging with people as part of a customer services team to help provide excellent customer service, or they may have a flair for creating superior graphic design and dealing with social media posts.

They may also be particularly interested in your business sector and are passionate about helping your business growth.

12 – What Would You Like To Achieve Next In Your Career?

Great candidates will always give an excellent answer to this question. These are the candidates you should be looking to hire. A VA with a clear career path within your industry will likely want to improve their core skills.

If offered the position, these candidates often have little trouble articulating what may be required if they encounter a problem. When your VA can solve problems without needing help, they are always a good match for your business.

If a VA is willing and motivated to learn a new skill or task while still meeting deadlines, it can only benefit your company.

13 – How Do You Handle Problems You Can’t Solve?

Problem-solving is vital in any business. How a candidate answers this question will give you a good indication of how they solve problems without additional help.

However, it is essential that the VA feels confident enough to reach out to you or other employees if they encounter a problem they cannot solve.

There is no point in a candidate giving you what they feel is a good answer if they are too afraid to approach you when they have trouble with some tasks.

Whatever your management style, a strong sense of your workers being able to ask for help is needed.

14 – How Do You Manage Difficult Colleagues?

Personality clashes happen in life and business. How candidates answer this question often indicates what type of character they are.

Focusing on being aggressive with fellow workers does not reflect well on their people skills. The VA must always have a clear idea of what they must do to make sure their

work does not suffer.

The VA’s answer might be to hold a meeting to address the problem with the co-workers. If there is still a difference of opinion, then a compromise must always be met.

The smooth running of your business must be the highest priority at all times. However, you will need to intervene if the problem escalates and spills into broader personal matters.

15 – What Skills Would You Like To Learn?

The best candidates will always provide a solid answer to this question. They may have progressed their career from doing data entry tasks, but they will always be eager to learn new skills.

These new skills could vary depending on the VA’s interests and your business sector. For example, the VA may want to learn how to become a graphic designer or be more knowledgeable in social media management.

The candidate may also want to improve their English to a high standard. In this example, your company may be able to provide them with additional online English lessons.

Contact Us For Help With Interviewing VAs

Interview questions and virtual assistant tests for candidates are never as straightforward as they are made out to be. Therefore, getting references from a VA’s other clients is good business practice before hiring.

Hiring a VA on a temporary contract or a paid trial period before you hire them on a long-term agreement often suits both your company and the VA.

Hiring is often time-sensitive, so why not let us do all the work for you to come up with the ideal virtual assistant interview questions? We can verify all the candidates for you and train them to the required work style you need.

Call us to arrange an appointment to discuss your VA needs. We will be able to match you with a suitable VA in no time.

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