Virtual work has become a movement across the boards. Although the term originated in the early 1990’s, it has now evolved into something much bigger. There are virtual workers in almost any sector working for administrative purposes, accounting, social media and marketing, and many other niches.
Companies that both have been a part of the virtual career world are no longer the only companies employing virtuals and now many in-office type positions are allocating some of their work to virtuals as well.
While virtual work has become almost a buzzword, there is still a question about what is a virtual assistant or what components make up what a virtual assistant position actually entails. We wanted to clear this up so here is what a virtual assistant is and what virtual administration in any form entails.
A virtual assistant, by definition, is someone who works remotely from their home in a virtual capacity to help with certain duties delegated by the client they work for.
Virtual assistants can do anything from clerical work, marketing, administrative type work, and many dive into different niches beyond this.
As an example a real estate virtual assistant may have a very detailed background in real estate work. Many times, virtual assistants take their in-office work or career paths, and put them to use as virtual administrators. Therefore, a real estate virtual will most likely set out to find clients in the real estate world to help with any duties they seem to be in need of. This is a win/win for both the virtual and client because the virtual is both comfortable with the tasks and the niche in which they are working which can lend itself to very professional work being created.
Many people believe virtual assistants sit at home and waste time all day but that is further from the truth. Virtual assistants are answering the phones, drafting and sending emails, creating spreadsheets, and monitoring all your paid marketing accounts. Furthermore, virtuals are sometimes twice as motivated because they are doing all of this work from their home and on their own, so a greater sense of accountability is needed to complete these tasks without anyone to ask questions to within 10 feet of their desk.
The easiest way to describe a virtual assistant is simply a person doing the same work that they would do in office, just out of office. This eliminates any ill thoughts towards virtuals and takes away any stigma around working from home. Virtual assistants are doing the work, but they are also doing it in a non-conventional way by working at home.
Clearing up the who a virtual assistant is and what they do is key to this career to become a well-respected and universally accepted career path. The more people learning about virtual assistants and their capabilities, the more companies will start to add them to their workforce.
For more information on what a virtual assistant is and what they can do, visit Meadows VA School. If you have a desire to become a virtual assistant, becoming a member of Meadows VA School gives you access to learning modules and private job boards.
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