Discover how to hire remote virtual assistant jobs. Find top talent, navigate time zones, ensure compliance, and implement HR best practices for remote hiring success
Virtual assistant jobs have existed since the 1990s, becoming more well-known in the 2000s with advancements in email, cloud computing, and remote work tools. They became even more mainstream after The 4-Hour Workweek was published. The book highlighted how businesses could use virtual assistants to streamline operations and boost productivity.
In this article, we’ll explore how companies can incorporate virtual assistants into their workforce planning. By outsourcing administrative and repetitive tasks, organizations can free up in-house employees for higher-value work.
Hiring virtual assistants takes a unique approach, so we’ll go over some tools and best practices to help you find the right talent.
A remote virtual assistant is a professional who handles administrative duties and other routine tasks for their client. Some of these tasks include:
Virtual assistant jobs may also involve more specialized work in these areas:
Read next: 50 self-evaluation examples based on job description
Statistics show that hiring a full-time virtual assistant can lead to savings of over $11,000 a year. Most companies also outsource one department to virtual assistants.
When hiring a virtual assistant, you’ll need to work out how this role will integrate within teams at your organization. Draft a remote work policy as a guide for your potential hires and their teams.
Some essential skills listed on virtual assistant job postings include:
"There may be specific hard skills such as technology programs like Google Workspace, QuickBooks, or CRM platforms required,” says Toni Frana, career expert manager at FlexJobs, a website for remote jobs. "These specific skills would be highlighted in the job description.”
Before coming up with a detailed job description, identify what tasks you need help with and for how long. Is it a short-term job or something permanent?
Other points to consider:
Are you looking for a highly skilled candidate? Or are you willing to give someone with no experience a chance? This will set expectations on how quickly they can ease into the role.
Which tasks do you outsource? Is there a risk of duplicating work? If they are asked to handle sensitive information, are there any data privacy risks to address?
Consider where the virtual assistant is based. If you’re hiring them as an employee and they’re in another state, province, or country, you will need to meet labor, tax, and other compliance requirements.
If you hire virtual assistants as contractors or freelancers but treat them as employees, that’s misclassification. Your company could be penalized for misclassifying workers. Find out about labor laws in the state, province, or country you plan to hire from.
What will success look like for this virtual assistant job? Go over metrics and KPIs that your virtual assistant needs to keep top of mind, such as:
It would help for virtual assistant job adverts to specify what tools are required for the role. Are you looking at the basics like Google Sheets or Slack? Or would you expect them to have worked with the tools and software that your company uses?
If you consider this a “nice to have” instead of an essential requirement, be prepared to spend time and resources on training.
Specify working hours in the virtual assistant job posting. If you’re hiring in another time zone, state if you want them to work the same hours as your company.
Ready to start recruiting for virtual assistant jobs? Advertise or find candidates on some of the best virtual assistant websites. We list some of them here with a short overview:
Website: fiverr.com
Virtual assistant jobs listed: 30,000+
Fiverr is a well-known job board for virtual assistants, having been in the business since 2010. The website features talent across 700 skills listings, with filters for category, budget, and delivery time, to name a few.
When you do a search query, the top freelancers are shown first. Individual thumbnails for freelancers show:
Fiverr offers 24/7 customer support and has a mobile app version.
Website: flexjobs.com
Virtual assistant jobs listed: close to 40,000
FlexJobs proudly declares that it’s the number one job site for remote jobs. It features over 100,000 remote jobs, nearly half of which are for virtual assistants.
Apart from a search box at the top of the page, the website also has filters to narrow down your search:
Featured job postings appear at the top of the search results page. Top employers are identified by a Top 100 Remote Companies badge.
The site has a For Employers section with case studies and testimonials, media features, and other employer resources.
FlexJobs is also on our list of top job platforms for remote data entry jobs.
Website: onlinejobs.ph
Virtual assistant jobs listed: 10,000
This online job marketplace only features remote workers from the Philippines. It was also featured as one of the 4-Hour Workweek tools on author Tim Ferriss’ blog.
The onlinejobs.ph home page has search boxes for employers and job seekers, a listing of common searches, and testimonials from satisfied clients.
The interface is clean and organized; information is easy to find. The language used is no-nonsense, which helps make the search process straightforward.
Onlinejobs.ph is not involved in recruitment or hiring. If you would rather outsource the entire process, consider hiring a recruitment agency for remote workers.
Website: thereistalent.com
Virtual assistant jobs listed: not available
There is Talent is a recruitment agency especially for virtual assistants. They work with US companies and Latin American talents only.
The advantages of working with them are:
The website does not feature a list of candidates or job listings; they invite clients to book a call to talk about business needs.
There is Talent offers monthly plans to prioritize long-term work over one-off projects.
Website: upwork.com
Virtual assistant jobs listed: number not provided
Upwork is one of the most popular websites that advertise virtual assistant jobs. You can find talent through the search bar or by job category on the homepage.
The portal requires that employers pay freelancers through their site. Any payments or transactions outside the site are a violation of their user policy.
Pay rates for virtual assistants depend on a few factors:
Virtual assistant jobs in the US, for example, go for $27 per hour on average. This varies across states. This rate can go to as low as $5 to $12 per hour if hiring talent from South America or Asia.
Low-skill tasks such as managing inboxes or taking phone calls go for lower rates. More specialized work like digital marketing or customer support for niche industries command higher rates. These could go even higher if the candidate has experience in the role.
“Virtual assistants, executive assistants, and administrative assistants have been in demand for quite a while, particularly in the freelance space,” says Frana.
“Employers needing administrative support find the addition of a virtual assistant to be helpful. Having the support of a virtual assistant allows them to focus on broader company goals and objectives while knowing the day-to-day administrative tasks are covered.”
There won’t be a shortage of talent to meet the demand for virtual assistant jobs. There are now 40 million virtual assistants worldwide, and the industry is expected to grow to $25 billion in 2025.
The highest percentage of virtual assistants – 13 percent – come from the Philippines. There are some advantages to hiring from this Southeast Asian nation:
One disadvantage: the Philippines is 12 to 14 hours ahead of US time zones, 8 hours ahead of the UK. Some Filipino remote workers agree to work nights to match the business hours of their employers. This makes a virtual assistant job ideal as a work from home position.
Fabrienne Escandor is based near Manila, the capital city. She works as an executive assistant for a company based in Switzerland, managing the CEO’s emails and interviewing job applicants. She works from home, logging on at 8 p.m. and signing out at 4 a.m. Manila time. Despite the odd hours, she has no complaints.
"Working from home offers significant advantages, such as the ability to travel freely while maintaining productivity,” Escandor says. "One of the biggest highlights of being a virtual assistant is the flexibility it provides, allowing me to spend quality time with my family.”
When asked what helped her get the job, Escandor talked about the interview. “The CEO personally interviewed me and genuinely enjoyed our conversation, which made a strong impression,” Escandor says. “My fluency in English played a significant role, as I grew up in an American environment and feel completely comfortable using the language.”
Different practices apply when hiring a virtual assistant vs. hiring traditional on-site roles. Where body language and an in-person presence would have made a difference in the interview process, that may not be the case in remote roles.
Here are some best practices when screening candidates for virtual assistant jobs:
Conduct a test to see how well the candidate understands tasks, meets deadlines, and communicates online. Give them a scenario where they have to send an email; customize the task based on the role. If it’s for a customer service role, for example, have them reply to an email from an irate customer.
Another option is to assign a scheduling task to see how well they can work with online calendars and other tools.
Ask the candidate about the tools they are familiar with. See if this links up with what your company uses – that would be a quick win. “It may be a good idea to ask about technology programs and software that the candidate is familiar with to discover how that may translate to what the company uses,” Frana says.
You can also test their soft skills by asking scenario-based questions. Some examples:
Things to watch out for: unreliable tech, poor communication skills, lack of competence in using tools. If none of these work, the candidate wouldn’t be good for the job.
Aside from having a thorough interview and assessment process, there are a few more steps you can take. Look up their portfolio or work samples online. Ask for client testimonials and employer references. Find out as much about the candidate’s work process as you can.
"Trying to get an understanding of the communication style and preferences of the candidate will give insight into what it would be like to work together on a day-to-day basis, as well as on longer term projects,” says Frana.
Outsourcing routine, repetitive tasks is a good business move. It frees up your teams to focus on high value, strategic work. You also provide employment for someone who’s happy to do the job. It’s a win-win.
Hiring for remote roles requires a specific approach. Use virtual tests and assessments to find out if the candidate is suited for the role. Extensive interviews also help establish if they’re a good culture fit.
The process is unlike hiring for traditional roles. But when you consider the productivity and growth your company stands to gain, hiring a virtual assistant will be well worth it.
Is your organization considering virtual assistant jobs as part of its hiring strategy? Let us know in the comments below
