Part 2: Find And Hire Your New Assistant What Makes a Good Assistant?
Determining the type of assistant you need depends on two things: the kind of work you want done and the type of person you need to do it. Sometimes, what you need is someone who thinks fast, not necessarily someone with specific experience in a certain range of tasks. For me, when I was on the hunt for a VA, the first thing I wanted to know was whether the individual had a high level of aptitude. I wanted to know that this person could easily handle the challenges I delegated without hand-holding. Test even your virtual candidates as if you were hiring an in-house worker. Don’t rely on a sales pitch to get the job. Assign a task to assess common sense, intelligence, organization, drive, and basic skills. Aptitude vs. Experience There are two qualifying things you should determine before you hire. The first, which I’ve described, is whether that person possesses a reasonable level of intelligence so they won’t constantly need clarification. The second thing you should look for is how much experience the person has. Deciding whether aptitude or experience is most vital to the job is the first step in choosing a good assistant. You must think carefully about all the possible scenarios in your work situation and decide which of the two would be most crucial. When Skills and Experience are More Important Sometimes, you need someone who has actual experience in the task(s) you want performed. For instance, if you need a graphic designer who will create graphics for you, you need someone with experience in that field. It would be a waste of time to get someone new to the job, then train him/her to produce graphics and logos. Therefore, keep in mind that for specialized fields like graphic design or tax accounting, someone with intelligence won’t be enough. You will need someone with relevant, professional experience. It’s important that they’ve done similar jobs successfully before.
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