Hiring A Virtual Assistant: X Questions to Ask the Candidates During the Interview

Every business has tedious tasks that take a lot of time and energy to be completed. They are not the most fun or engaging, but someone has to do them. You, as a business owner, may be better off focusing on the core activities of your business rather than losing precious time scheduling meetings or answering emails. 

Most business owners understand there comes a time when they need help, but costs can get in the way of hiring an assistant to help with daily office tasks. Still, thanks to technology, entrepreneurs can now hire virtual assistants to do most of the tasks a traditional assistant would whether you are interviewing in a small town or large city.

A virtual assistant is someone who works remotely on a freelance basis and has one or more clients whom they service.

There are companies that specialize in training virtual assistants and facilitating communication between employers and VAs, but you will still need to go through the interview process to make sure you are hiring the right person. Below are some questions you should be asking your potential VA during the interview to make sure they are a match for your business. 

What would you describe as your main skills?

There are many tasks a virtual assistant can cover, so before you go on holding interviews, you need to have a very clear idea of what you need from your VA. Do you need someone to keep track of your schedule, organize your travels and schedule meetings, or you are looking for a person that can help with bookkeeping, responding to emails, and managing spreadsheets? 

After you have determined that, you can ask your candidates about their skills to determine if they can complete the type of tasks your business needs handled. 

How flexible are your working hours?

Thanks to technology, you can work with a virtual assistant from anywhere in the world. Even if your business is in the States. This is why it is important to ensure their working hours align with yours.

They may not need to be always working during the exact same hours you are, but you need to at least be able to communicate and that they are available when you need them to be. 

What do you do if you are given a task you can’t complete?

It is important that a virtual assistant is proactive enough to be able to handle certain tasks without the need to receive your approval every time. By asking this question, you will be able to determine the VA’s working style. 

Instead of making huge mistakes, it is always best you ask questions when you don’t fully understand a task, but you want your VA to be proactive enough to at least try to come up with solutions before asking you for guidance.  

How do you prioritize the tasks you receive?

The purpose of hiring a VA is to help increase the efficiency of your business activities, so you need a person that knows how to successfully prioritize tasks based on the needs and goals of your company. 

A good VA should be able to determine by themselves which tasks are time-sensitive and which are the ones that can wait. Ask them how they have managed to do this in past jobs and what difficulties they encountered.