by Virtual Assistant
(June 20, 2012)
When I talk about skills I don’t mean the skills which I currently have, I was not at all skilled when I started my freelancing career. Although I had some proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially with Microsoft Word and Excel and some data analysis skills, but when you are looking for an internet savvy person, of course I was not the right choice.
So working as a virtual assistant was not a simple challenge for me. Terms like HTML, SEO and link building were like an undiscovered world for me. Also I had no idea about how a website gets to the top of the Google search ranking.
When I got into this business and after researching and reading a lot of different materials on internet regarding my undiscovered barriers, I got to know that this study has a potential. I decided that this would be the job of future and if I learned these things it would definitely help me in future.
Honestly speaking, I was very lucky with my experiment. As I said that I knew nothing regarding any of the internet businesses. I have started out my career from scratch, but still I feel myself lucky that I found some good employers here at oDesk.
They not only trained me but paid me as well for that training. The only skill I had before starting my freelancer career was “My hunger towards learning new things.” Therefore I fed my hunger with the right food and today I can say that somehow I have learned a lot of new things as a freelancer.
So In my opinion the primary skill a virtual assistant must have is the “ability to learn.”
Everything else comes after that.
Well of course, you have all the rights to disagree with my point of view and you can explain yours by adding a comment to this post.
Comments for Do Skills Really Matter for a Virtual Assistant?
| Jun 20, 2012 | You Saw Everything Exactly Right. That’s the Most Important Point. by: FrancisWhat a great and honest blog post from you. I like how you explained that you thought that you did not have many skills when you started and it’s true that you did not know much about website building.But you remember that we started out with simple data entry jobs and only because you showed the most enthusiasm and you are the most organized and hardworking data entry person that I trusted you with more and more complex tasks.So you earned yourself the right to get more complicated tasks yourself. But it is true. The best two skills I asked to any virtual assistant are:
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| Jun 28, 2012 | money and skills by: KittycatSince I started studying, I also have been working – otherwise I would run out of money after half of the month.^^ I’ve had 3 different side-jobs and just now started to work for a new employer. At the beginning it’s again really difficult and I think I don’t know anything (also bec I’m very self-critical). 😛 But after the experience of my other jobs I know now, that in a few months I will be able to do it very good. Anyway my friends and my boyfriend keep telling me, that I shouldn’t worry and that as you said “the ability or hunger to learn” is most important. I think so too! And you’re right, one doesn’t only get money, but valuable new skills. =) |
| Jun 28, 2012 | There is another skills that we missed out by: Virtual AssitantI think there is another key skill that we missed out in our list and that is “Patience”Yes I know its very important that you should have a lot of patience especially in the struggling days of your freelancing career.I have referred oDesk to many of my friends and 90% them usually give up as they could not find a suitable job for themselves. Even I can quote my own example, I get my first job after struggling for a good (perhaps not good) 6 months. |
| Jun 28, 2012 | Interesting! by: Francis@Kittycat: thanks for joining the discussion! Continue to feel free to ask any questions about outsourcing to me or my VA – we won’t bite and there are no forbidden questions. :)–@VA: what did your friends do when they “failed with Odesk”? Did they look to work as a freelancer elsewhere? Or what were the alternatives? They must have done something. And now, with your experience and successes with Odesk – do you think you would land a job faster than in 6 months or do you think that’s a standard waiting period before you get a chance with an employer? Honestly, I’m surprised you had to wait so long. There are also pretty bad freelancers out there. Seeing your skills and ability to learn, what were the employers not happy with? |
| Jun 28, 2012 | Why I struggled for a long period? by: Virtual AssitantWell I don’t blame employers for my failure. I was not well informed with the processes of oDesk and there were no guidelines available about how to apply for jobs and what should you keep in your mind while applying for jobs.So in my initial days I just wasted my job quota by applying irrelevant jobs. I got a fraud employer, I worked him for more than a month and he disappeared one day. His payment method was not verified that’s why I did not get a single penny.I think that if today I create a new account on oDesk, I will easily get my first feedback within 10 days. Obviously nobody was there to teach me these little goodies and I learned it from my own mistakes. But wise people do not learn from their own mistakes, they learn from other’s experiences. |
| Jun 28, 2012 | What is this job quota? by: FrancisAlways interesting to get a look “behind the lines” and see things from your perspective as a provider/employee.I didn’t know there was a job quota. What does this mean? Are you only allowed to apply to a finite number of jobs? Is there a reason to this?About finding a job faster with the right kind of tips – I already sent you an email, and we will make a little sub-section with great tips on how to become a successful virtual assistant on Odesk soon. 🙂 Still, I wish you could get back at the cheap employer that didn’t even pay up for work already done. 🙁 |
| Jun 28, 2012 | Job Quota on oDesk by: Virtual AssitantYes you can’t apply more than 25 jobs per week. Initially it starts from a quota of 02 jobs/week which gradually increases as you complete your profile and by passing different tests, adding a photo to your profile etc.you can read full job quota details here |
| Jun 11, 2014 | Skills Matter by: JohnIf you’re a VA, it is vital that you are skillful with basic technical skills since your main task is to deal things online. But, the most vital skills a VA must have are the ability to understand and convert each task—since time is very essential in outsourcing. |
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