Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant interview questions:

Virtual Assistants perform various administrative tasks while working remotely. These tasks include scheduling appointments and responding to emails. This position’s responsibilities resemble those of an Administrator or Executive Assistant. Virtual Assistants might work from home or an office in a different location. During screening calls and interviews, make sure you’ve set working hours and schedules. Also, clarify whether you’ll provide candidates with necessary equipment and access to the Internet or if they’ll need to pay for it on their own. Your future hires will work under minimum supervision, so look for people who are highly responsible and organized. Use the following interview questions to evaluate how candidates perform regular administrative tasks. If necessary, include tests in MS Excel, MS Word or business email writing. As you’ll need to frequently interact online, a Skype interview could help you assess candidates’ communication skills.

Role-specific questions:

• How do you ensure accuracy in routine tasks such as processing expenses and preparing reports?
• What calendar management tools have you used?
• What’s your familiarity with online group communication tools? (e.g. Skype,
• Hangouts, Slack)
• Describe the steps you’d take to plan a meeting for 10 people.
• How do you make sure you find the best deal when booking travel accommodations?

Operational and Situational questions:

• What would you do if you had an urgent question, but couldn’t find anyone online?
• What would you do if you were working under a tight deadline and your computer crashed?
• You need important information from a co-worker who’s in a different time zone and won’t
• be available for the next four hours. How and when do you choose to communicate your
• request? Why?
• How would you organize employees’ contact information (e.g. in a spreadsheet) to ensure
• you have all necessary information in-hand and updated?

Behavioral questions:

• When you work from home, how do you manage potential distractions like phone calls or interruptions from family members while ensuring you meet your work responsibilities?
• How do you stay motivated and maintain productivity, especially when working on repetitive tasks?
• Have you previously worked as part of a distributed team or in a remote work environment? If so, what do you believe are the primary challenges and how did you overcome them?
• In the absence of specific deadlines, how do you prioritize your work and manage your tasks effectively?