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Virtual Assistant

By Alison Doyle, About.com

Virtual Assistant

Image © Suprijono Suharjoto
Definition: A Virtual Assistant (VA) is, in most cases, an entrepreneur who works from their home office. A virtual assistant usually has had experience working in the real business world as an administrative assistant, office manager, paralegal, etc. Virtual assistants provide administrative, secretarial, and clerical support, as well as creative and/or technical services for a client.

There are online associations which provide educational opportunities for virtual assistants, lists of virtual assistant businesses, and helpful information for the virtual assistant community. There are large web-based companies that will match up virtual assistant's to businesses looking for assistants, or smaller localized virtual assistant firms looking to hire assistants.

Virtual Assistant Job Listings

  • Assistant Match
    Assistant Match accepts applications from virtual assistants who have experience in the field. They place virtual assistants in part-time positions which can be completed in their home office.
  • Office Details
    Hires VA's as independent contractors and pairs them up with small businesses looking to higher a virtual assistant. This company requires at least 5 years of administrative experience.
  • Virtual Office Temps
    A staffing firm that pairs up projects that need to be completed with virtual asistants (VAs) to complete them.
  • VA Networking
    VA networking forum, which has resources for both virtual assistance and businesses looking to hire VAs.

Disclaimer:
You may see advertisements for work at home jobs on this page, because that's the topic of the article. Just because you see an ad here, that doesn't make it a legitimate company. Carefully investigate companies that you are interested in.

Also Known As: VA, personal assistant, virtual personal assistant
Examples: Aimee worked from home as a virtual assistant for several clients.

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