Virtual Assistant: Is This Trendy Career Hot Or Not?

Virtual assistants are officially going viral. 23-year-old Jessica Hawks piqued the interest of social media users when she went viral in a video viewed over 100K times. In this video, she explains how she rakes in $9,000 a month from the comfort of her own home. This video has inspired others to pursue a successful career doing whatever they do best—even without a college degree.

Throughout the pandemic, everyone worked from home. For some people, it was a blessing in disguise, while others longed to be back in the office. But if you loved working in your PJs, not paying for gas or parking, not having the same store-bought sandwich for lunch, and being able to “step out of the office” whenever you liked, then becoming a virtual assistant (VA) may be the career for you. And there has never been a better time to start a work-from-home career; in fact, remote work has increased by 44% in the last five years! So, now is your chance to shine in your favorite pajamas.

What is a virtual assistant?

In short, a virtual assistant’s job is to make someone else’s life easier. But a much simpler question would be, what do virtual assistants not do? A VA provides services to business owners that range from administrative tasks to social media marketing. Think of it this way: Maybe a small business owner has a lot on her plate and needs help managing the ins and outs. She’s tired and running behind on shipments; there’s too much to do and very little time. That’s when VAs come in to save the day!

And being a virtual assistant doesn’t mean you’ll be an executive assistant. One of the best things about this role is that it’s incredibly diverse and depends on your unique skill levels. Some popular services virtual assistants offer include email management, calendar management, social media management, bookkeeping, content creation for websites and blogs, e-commerce store management, and customer service. With so many services to offer, be sure to pick something from which you and the business will benefit.

Why is being a virtual assistant the trendiest job?

Depending on who you end up working for, you may write a newsletter and schedule Facebook posts one day. While, the next day, you could be organizing a start-up conference in the Bahamas (Yes, in the Bahamas!). This flexibility is all because the job is virtual, making it possible for you to work from anywhere in the world. And not only can you be anywhere from Alaska to Australia, but you can be picky with your work hours. At the minimum, virtual assistants can work anywhere from 20 to 30 hours a week. Of course, it’s entirely up to you and the services that you hope to offer.

Now that you know more about this up-and-coming job opportunity, remember it takes perseverance to operate your own business, but the benefits are worth it.

How to avoid scam jobs

The internet is strewn with questions over the new trend of virtual assistants. Some questions around the internet ask, “How can virtual assistants not be scammed?” While there is always the possibility of a scam, there are also ways to avoid that mishap. Being aware of the common red flags will help you steer clear of these scams and land a real job to start your career as a virtual assistant.

First, if the position asks you to pay for the beginning training, there’s rarely a job at the end. In the best-case scenario, you will receive low-quality lessons, and then the scammer will disappear with your money. Second, it’s also a common scam to require prospective VAs to pay for software, promising they’ll receive their money back with their first paycheck. This action is entirely unnecessary—A genuine client should be able to provide you with access to digital tools without you needing to pay anything. In addition, downloading unfamiliar software could give the scammer remote access to your computer to steal your information or hack your accounts. All in all, there are ways to avoid hackers and scammers; you need to keep an eye out for the red flags.