Hiring a Virtual Assistant: 4 Things to Consider

July 18, 2020

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Hiring a virtual assistant is an important business decision. All virtual assistance is not equal because the industry is actually very diverse— here is a quick primer on the major differences between virtual assistance offerings and what they mean for you as a business owner:

Foreign vs. Domestic

A foreign virtual assistant will be cheaper but there will be cheaper but the language barrier makes it difficult to get complex tasks completed precisely and slows down efficiency as misunderstandings are worked out. If you need ongoing communication on constantly changing assignments, it may be best to overlook foreign assistants.

By working with an American virtual assistant, you are able to bypass these difficulties. The cost difference may be easily justified by the increase in productivity.

Company vs. Individual

Another way that the virtual assistant industry is split is between companies providing virtual assistance and individuals working alone. Working with someone alone, you have the benefit of being one of very few clients but you may invest many hours into training only to find that the individual that you are working with moves on to other things. Also, they may not be able to support you during, for instance, vacations or emergencies.

A virtual assistant company such as Golean Health is set up in such a way that there is backup and redundancy because we work as a team. If your virtual assistant goes on vacation, your tasks will be covered by another employee till they get back.

Skills and Resources

Many people are drawn to virtual assistants because it is an extremely flexible service — this is actually one of the defining characteristics — you are essentially purchasing blocks of man hours that can be used almost any way you wish, on whatever your business needs.

It’s probably not important that your virtual assistant have prior training in your industry (though it might be). Rather, you should be looking for someone that is organized, quick learning, and with a “can do” attitude.

Where specific skills are needed, such as experience with a particular piece of software, you may find that a virtual assistant company is better suited than an individual simply because they have more people on hand and so a wider variety of skills, talents, and resources are available to you.

Hours of Availability

While 24/7 support is the ideal, most small businesses do not need constant support. We are available during business hours and we have very few problems with working hours. If a client has a task after hours, they are able to send us an email and we pick it up the next morning.

If you are working with a foreign company, you may want to be sure that they are fully staffed during your hours of operation and not running on skeleton staff while the brunt of the work is done later.

Foreign versus U.S. Virtual Assistants

July 17, 2020

Being a U.S. virtual assistant company, I think people often assume that we are against the idea of outsourcing work to foreign countries. This isn’t the case. We feel that offshore outsourcing and foreign virtual assistance in particular, is an important tool in a small business owner’s toolbox.

Many people go about finding a virtual assistant with one thing in mind (rock bottom price), find the cheapest service they can, have a horrible experience, and then right off the entire virtual assistant industry which is a shame.

There are distinct pros and cons of working with a foreign virtual assistant versus one located in the United States and you should be aware of these going in. They each offer unique benefits and drawbacks that make each well-suited for particular types of work.

Foreign virtual assistants:

Working with a foreign virtual assistant or virtual assistant service has the obvious, major advantage of being cheap. U.S. virtual assistants simply cannot compete with foreign assistants on price. However, up front price and end value are different things and cheaper is not always better.

This part of the conversation needs to be treated carefully. There are inherent disadvantages to outsourcing work to other countries. Generally speaking, the person you are working with will speak English as their second language. This may not matter in some situations and may actually be an advantage (for instance if you want to provide customer support to customers from that country). However, in other situations it can be a tremendous barrier for obvious reasons: important bits of information can be lost during the back and forth discussion of a project which may lead to results that are slightly off mark.

Being a virtual assistant is more challenging than people assume — it is not an easy job to be handed a project and be expected to run with it knowing very little about context and the intent of an assignment. Especially when vague or cryptic instructions are given and you really have to read between the lines to grab hold of what needs to be done. I can only imagine how difficult it is to do this when the instructions are not in my native tongue.

That being said, some work is just so straightforward that language barriers do not matter and in these instances, why not outsource to a foreign country?

U.S. Virtual Assistants:

Again, virtual assistance is not easy. When work is not straightforward (and it often isn’t) eliminating any potential problems, such as language barriers, is the key to an evolving, collaborative relationship. Tasks can be handed off and results are reliable so there is little hesitance to delegate.

In order to compete, U.S. virtual assistants have to deliver more value to justify more expensive pricing. They understand this so you will usually find that American virtual assistants put more emphasis on becoming a part of their client’s business. Not all business owners want this but for the solo business owner who can use all the help he or she can get, this can be an important advantage.

Also, in situations where your virtual assistant will be doing client-facing work, such as customer support, taking phone calls, or making sales calls, you may want to avoid them having to deal with language barriers as well.

Work with a Dedicated Medical Virtual Assistant. Click here for more info.

4 Sure-Fire Signs You Need Additional Personnel

April 7, 2020

“Most people have been so bustling, knocking themselves out perplexingly to do all they consider they should do, they never get around to what they wish to do.” – Kathleen Winsor

Most commercial operation owners as well as group leaders reason off upon employing a single staff for their businesses until they finish up all tired as well as overwhelmed. And do we know why they do this? Three reasons: 1) since they think that they can do it all themselves, 2) they don’t wish to outlay money, as well as 3) they don’t wish to give up control.

There comes an indication where we have to sense to let go of small things, move in a little competent people, so we can concentrate upon large things which set up your business. Here are 4 sure-fire signs that it’s time to begin seeking (and asking) for assistance.

Your inbox looks similar to 2 million ‘spammers’, who have sent you mail… though they haven’t. How most critical letters of seductiveness emails (and sales) have we forgotten responding to simply because it was buried at the bottom of your inbox? If you’re a categorical hit chairman for your business, you can’t mean to let requests rise up unanswered as well as unread for days in your email accounts. Today’s consumer wants present benefit as well as if you haven’t responded to their minute of exploration inside of 48 hours, they’ll take their commercial operation elsewhere.
You stand in engagement appointments as well as blank deadlines left as well as right. Dropping a round with clients or impending clients isn’t starting to teach certainty in your capability to encounter deadlines. Lots of my clients have unintentionally stood in requisitioned appointments as well as afterwards found out after an actuality which they in truth longed for a single of them. If your report is so full of customers or alternative meetings which we need a GPS usually to navigate by your work week, it will be the time to secure an assistant.
You haven’t outlayed more than 5 waking hours in the final 5 days with your associate or children, as well as your dog attempting to punch you since he suspected you were an intruder. I know this sounds funny, though believe me, this unfolding does happen! If you find that you’re putting in over 60+ hours a week during your place of business, we really need to secure a single personnel or a good human resource company, like Solvo Global, to save more time. It’s time to have a list of all the tasks we perform in a single day as well as confirm which ones we can nominate to that one person or freelance company. Freeing up a little of your changed time will concede you to combine upon what you do best, namely flourishing your own business.
The IRS called as well as they’re seeking for taxation profits from 2000 as well as we haven’t a idea where they’re stored. This is when perfect fear will set in. Busy commercial operation owners lend towards you to suspend upon you do ‘small’ things which might be vapid as well as time consuming, similar to elementary filing as well as a classification of bureau paperwork. Yet these tasks have to be taken care of or else you can find yourself in a genuine connection when we need to find a stipulate or request as well as it’s buried in a 3 feet tall rise of lax papers. It might take you two hours to find what you’re seeking for as well as you’re still left with which towering of paper. On an alternative hand, if we hired a part-time partner as well as it took her 2 hours to set up your primary filing system, from afterwards upon it might usually take 10 mins to find a specific document.

In closing, one more certain pointer which we need to secure a single benefit is when we comprehend we haven’t had a genuine eighth month in over a year, as well as you can’t see yourself receiving time off for 6 months. Whoa! Time too behind a lorry up as well as revisit a genuine reason you went into commercial operation in an initial place. we don’t consider it was to work yourself into an early grave, was it?

Powering Up Your Resume

March 26, 2020

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Most resumes could use some improvement. Even if you aren’t necessarily breaking any resume rules, that doesn’t mean that your resume couldn’t use some polish and a little pizzazz. If you’re looking to give your resume a boost, these tips could help.

Get help from a friend.

Have a friend read your resume, then have a conversation together about what your experience and skills are. Have them ask you informal, interview style questions. Then go over your resume together. Did you leave out something really important? For example, did you list that you volunteer but forgot to write that you have a leadership role? Sometimes it’s hardest to write about yourself, and talking to a friend could help you highlight important points that you might have missed.

Rethink order and structure.

Look at lots of resume samples online and from friends. How does yours compare in style? Are theirs more or less readable and easy to scan? Don’t let your resume be one giant block of text—break important points out into bullets and keep things relevant but succinct. When deciding on order or how to group experience, go with what makes the most sense and will be the easiest for another person to understand.

Rewrite, edit, rewrite, edit.

Edit down and eliminate all clutter and unnecessary words. Rewrite to make things more readable and succinct. Remember: Wordy doesn’t make you sound smarter or fancier—it just frustrates the reader. Keep it simple and clear. If your friend reading your resume doesn’t understand something, rewrite it. Whoever reads your resume won’t have the benefit of you sitting there ready to explain, so make everything crystal clear.

Time to update.

How long has it been since you wrote your resume? Many recent graduates list college and school activities at the top, but if you have been working for a few years, it’s time to rethink the order of things. You want to highlight your most relevant experience and accomplishments, not list all your old college activities. Keep honors, scholarships, and, if you desire, your GPA, but lose any other experience that doesn’t directly relate to your current career path. If you have been working a long time, don’t let your resume get too long—keep only what you really need.

Think of your resume as a quick story that sums up your experience. Tell it succinctly in an order that makes sense and you will already have put yourself a head above the rest. Think of everything good hr companies, such as Solvo Global, would be looking for.

Interview Tips For Job Seekers

January 16, 2020

Before You Arrive:

Do some homework! Prior to interview research the potential employer by going to the company’s website. Another alternative is to research articles or press releases written about the company in the library or on the internet. The time and effort spent researching the company will add depth to the overall conversation and better prepare the candidate for the interview and to convince the human resource management.

Bring your resume. Paperwork can be misplaced and the interviewer will be appreciative of your preparedness.
A general understanding of the business will greatly enhance conversation and demonstrate enthusiasm.
Plan ahead. The candidate should be familiar with the area prior to the day of the interview. If necessary call for directions in advance to avoid getting lost or running behind schedule.
Look in the mirror and practice your facial expressions. This may seem a bit silly at first but what you are actually doing is seeing yourself as others would, therefore potentially eliminating any negative facial expressions.
Remember, it is very important to smile, not only when you are introduced to the person who will be interviewing, but anyone else you may meet.

Interview Day

Arrive 10-15 minutes early for interview in case information is required to be filled out or use of the restroom is needed.
Remember to shut off your cell phone before you enter the building.

Tips To Improve Communication

Communication is more than what is said. It is often the nonverbal communication that people are not conscious of. Make a positive and professional first impression by giving a firm handshake to each interviewer and addressing them by name.

Treat the person who greets you with kindness and respect. Interviewers often get feedback from the receptionist as well as other co-workers about the candidate’s personality.
Eye contact is extremely important when communicating. If you look away while speaking, especially during an interview, it shows lack of confidence in what is being said in addition to sending the subtle message that the information provided may be false.
Posture is an attribute of confidence. When standing, be sure to stand up straight. When seated, lean slightly toward the front edge of the chair to indicate attentiveness and interest.
Hand gestures should be minimal and movements natural.
The key to successful interviewing is a positive attitude.
Maintain focus on the company’s needs while presenting confidence in fulfilling them.

Keeping these suggestions in mind greatly increases the probability of a job offer.

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