FSBO Guide - Authorify

Interviewing and Hiring Virtual Assistants I actually conduct the interview personally

. Because most of my clients speak English, it’s important

to hire someone with an accent Americans can easily understand. You also will want to communicate with your assistant without difficulty, via either phone or Skype. Of course, there are other options, such as Facebook Messenger, Google Duo, WhatsApp, or other messaging platforms. If you’re hiring an individual who will work extensively with your clients, make sure they are highly skilled in the English language. When prospecting, for example, an assistant must be able to follow a telephone script, understand regional American accents, and respond appropriately. When interviewing, also make sure that the person responds to your questions quickly and easily. If they take a five- or ten-second pause before responding to a question, their English skills may not be sufficient. People who are fluent in a language can think in that language, without having to take time to interpret it in their mind before they speak. We will discuss language skills later when we go through the questions you ask in the interview. When beginning the interview, it is nice to start with a certain amount of small talk. You might ask job candidates how they are, what the weather is like, or where they are currently located. There are a couple of reasons to do this. First, you want the candidate to be relaxed and comfortable. They might be nervous about the interview, so allowing them to see that you’re a normal person is helpful. There may be instances in which conversing on the phone is not as important. For example, if the candidate has a great deal of experience and can communicate effectively through email, it might not be important for them to speak well on the phone. A person who lacks the ability to speak English well usually makes less money. This can be both good and bad. You just have to determine the importance you place on English skills. There are virtual assistants who have worked with me for many years and I have never once spoken to them on the phone. For example, I have never spoken to my programmer. In fact, I can guarantee that his English is terrible. However, he is excellent at what he does, and he writes well, so his lack of spoken fluency doesn’t matter. If spoken English skills aren’t important to you, I would suggest interviewing via chat. You can use the Skype chat function to see how quickly the candidate can respond to your written questions.