What is a good initial task to "test" virtual assistant firm?
I'm new to hiring remote help, and I want to assign them a small, legitimately useful task with a low downside to see if the relationship will work. What are some good general categories to look at?
Answers ( 3 )
Without knowing what you need help with, I can only guess what sort of tests you should ask them to perform.
Let's assume you are asking for coding help with software. Here's one thing you should not do: ask a candidate to solve a problem that, if successfully solved, will make their hiring unnecessary. My son went through a period of applying for jobs in data science, and at least 4 outfits got free solutions from him as "test assignments" and then never called back. That may sound like a great deal to you; if so, please reveal your intentions so I can tell everyone I know to boycott your firm.
As you've probably seen, you're going to get varying levels of competence from virtual assistants, depending on how much you're willing to pay hourly. My basic rule of thumb is to hire for the job you're looking to accomplish.
For example, if you want someone to do simple, rote tasks where you can easily write up a procedure, aim for a lower per hour virtual assistant. Right now, I'm looking to hire someone to do the social media posts for Sage. I've mostly gotten it down to a science after all these months. Find a good question already asked on Sage or ask a new good question on Sage, add UTM descriptors so I can track metrics, shorten the link, download an appropriate image, login to Hootsuite, and create the post.
For something like this, I don't need a rocket science admin to do it. Just someone with solid common sense, fairly basic computer skills, and an eye for what is a useful question to ask. This question, for example, is a very useful one for others and I'll use it for a social media post in the next couple of days.
A second example I'm going to have a virtual assistant do is some basic research on top LinkedIn influencers in different categories. This will help me assess how good he or she is at web searches while also providing me (hopefully) with a Google spreadsheet of influencers I can target for Sage. I'm guessing this will take me 10 min to explain to the VA for very useful upside and no real downside other than a delay getting the information.
You did ask for categories, so here are categories I think work:
Hope that helps!
Thanks -- this is super helpful!