Virtual Assistant Training Lesson 2

 

Your Home Office Set-Up:

1.   Yes you have to set-up your home office, the area in your house where you’ll be doing “home” work J.  The area should be the quietest place in your house, obviously to keep you concentrated while at work.

2.  You must have a reliable computer, one that works perfectly fine even after long hours of use (does not “hang”). Your internet connection must likewise be reliable, stable and fast (a broadband will do, no dial-ups please).  Also invest in a good external hard drive to back-up your important files, but for now a handy 2GB flash drive will do.

3.  You must have a clean work area (free from clutter), a comfortable chair, and an extra space for keeping files/documents/book/references that you might immediately need while doing your work.

4.  You must have a notebook and a pen ready, to write down things that you need to remember.  Like a “To Do” list, don’t rely on memory alone.  A hardcopy of notes is preferred than the “notepad” in your PC/laptop when jotting down important things.

5.  You must determine your work hours (morning, noon, afternoon, night, etc.).  Preferably, the hours of your regular day when there are less or no distractions (ex. when your kids are at school).  

     HOWEVER, like when it’s vacation time and your kids are most likely at home, inform them that it is important that they stay quiet and avoid asking you things while you are working.  

Your Online and Offline Skills:

Offline Skills:

Skills that you acquire thru school education or thru your hobbies.  Your interest/s, life and work experiences will definitely matter when working as a VA. So start writing them down – do you know how to bake, write poems, are you a health enthusiast, do you like to draw, take pictures, balance your finances, and so on. Write them down and determine which are the things you like to do most.

Why? Because you have to look for VA jobs that interests you or jobs that are related to what you already know about – to serve your employers better, to decrease the learning curve, and to make work more enjoyable (or bearable J) to do.

Online Skills:

These are the computer and internet skills that you already knew AND those that you need to learn.

Write them down in a two-column list.  On the left side – skills that you already knew and on the right side skills that you need to learn.

Example:

Computer and Internet Skills
Skills I Already Have	Skills I Need to Learn
1.     Basic computer operations	1.     Blogging
2.     MS Word/Excel	2.     Skype
3.     Email Basics	3.     Email Marketing
4.     Chat / Instant Messaging (IM)	4.     Forum posting
5.     Organize computer files	5.     SEO
6.     Facebook, Twitter, Linked in	6.     Facebook marketing
7.     And so on…	7.     And so on…

What Can You Offer as a VA?

This includes not only your skills but also your attitude and character.  Are you dependable? Can you easily adapt to new situations? Are you a fast-learner? Can you meet deadlines? Work under Pressure? And so on.  Employers like to know these things when hiring someone, a character reference should likewise be readily available.

Assignment:

1. Create your VA Resume using the list/s you made. Click HERE to view a guide in resume writing.

2. Visit gcflearnfree.org for free online lessons  (Microsoft applications, Email basics, blog basics, and other useful skills). 

  

Next Lesson:

Setting-up your VA Blog.

^_^