Have you downloaded my article, “Gain Back Your Time and Increase Your Revenue with a Virtual Assistant (V.A.)?” The interview styled article asks Emma Crabtree, a Virtual Assistant herself, the questions:

• In-house administrative assistant, secretary, virtual assistant… So, what’s the difference?
• What things can a Virtual Assistant do to make life easier for small businesses?
• Can anyone benefit from a Virtual Assistant?
• What are the key interview questions to ask your potential Virtual Assistant?

To continue the brainstorming on what Interview Questions to ask you potential Virtual Assistant, here are some of the questions I use when conducting interviews:

• Skills
• Their office hours
• Per hour rates

My initial meet and greet with potential virtual assistant candidates involved an instant messenger (i.e. skype, msn, or aol’s aim) meeting. What did I learn from a text chat? Potentially, how fast they type and if they use correct spelling and grammar… plus, how comfortable they felt with holding quick meetings by text chat which I prefer. Even without any auditory queues, you can still read someone’s personality through a text chat. The next step was to qualify the skills of the virtual assistant. I created exercises with set instructions and asked candidates to participate in the exercise (with pay)! You learn how well they follow instructions. An important quality in a virtual assistant is someone who loves to learn and isn’t afraid to ask questions. Did they ask more questions about your business in relationship to the task? Did they come up with a more productive way to accomplish the exercise?