August 7, 2024
Editorial Guidelines
Experts in this article:
We work with expert side hustlers and gig app users. Our goal is to bring you unique insights into how to best use your time...
Matt is a freelance writer and content creator. He launched his writing career in 2020, and, in addition to his work for Side...
If you’re looking to become a virtual assistant and want to prepare yourself for the inevitable interview you’ll have to pass to land a position, you’re in the right place.
We’ve collected over 50 questions that interviewers like to ask when hiring for VA roles. We’ll list them and give you a few tips on how to answer them. We’ll also suggest several questions that you can ask your interviewer, regardless of whether they’re a potential client or the hiring manager for a company.
Let’s dive in.
A job interview is a chance for a potential employer to evaluate you and decide whether you seem like a good fit for the position. As a VA, you’ll need to show that you’re trustworthy, organized, reliable, and reasonably tech-savvy. You may also need to demonstrate that you have a specific set of skills, if the client is looking for a particular type of specialized work (e.g., graphic design, transcription, etc.).
Preparing for your interview is a multi-step process that you should complete ahead of time. Follow these steps to make sure you’re in good shape when the big day comes.
For obvious reasons, interviews for virtual assistance gigs are generally conducted remotely (i.e., over video call). Make sure you have access to a professional, no-noise environment. If you have a home office, that’s ideal; if not, any area of your house with decent lighting and a neutral background will do, as long as you’ll have your privacy there.
When you prep your space, it’s also a good idea to figure out what you’re going to wear in your interview. You probably don’t need to dress up in a suit to interview for a VA gig, but you should wear something professionally appropriate (most of the time, a business casual outfit will be fine).
When you prepare for any interview, you should research the employer. At minimum, make sure you’re clear on the responsibilities that will be expected of you if you land this VA job.
Additionally, if you’re interviewing with a company (rather than an individual client), look up all of the following information:
The need to be prepared is something we’ll keep coming back to again and again in this article. Knowing this information will show the interviewer that you’re proactive and good at research. It will also demonstrate a high level of interest in the role.
Technology can be finicky, and five minutes before your interview isn’t the best time to test your internet connection. Well in advance, check all of the tech you’ll use to make sure it functions.
Ensure that your connection is stable (and reasonably fast) and that your microphone and webcam both work. Conduct a practice run beforehand by calling a friend using whatever software you’ll use in your actual interview (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, etc.).
Some people prepare for interviews by writing out answers to common interview questions. This isn’t a bad idea, and if you think it’ll help, feel free to do it, but you should also practice coming up with answers spontaneously.
After all, in your interview, you’ll have to think on your feet. Referring to your notes every time you’re asked a question won’t make a good impression.
That brings us to the questions you’re likely to be asked when you interview for a VA gig. Obviously, your interviewer isn’t guaranteed to ask all of these, but there’s a good chance they’ll ask some of them. Read on for a look at the most common virtual assistant interview questions.
Almost any interview (for any job, not just VA positions) will feature at least a few questions about yourself. Be prepared to talk about your:
Many interviewers kick things off by asking questions like:
How to answer these questions: These questions are usually just meant to warm you up, so don’t get hung up on preparing for them. Be ready to talk about your education and professional experience, as well as your hobbies, likes, dislikes, and so on.
Try to relax—it’s hard to give a wrong answer here, as long as you’re polite and don’t say anything truly outlandish.
Questions about your availability are usually direct and straightforward. You may be asked:
How to answer these questions: It’s best to be honest when you answer these. Don’t make any commitments you can’t stick to.
That said, most employers prefer virtual assistants who are able to make themselves available during their own working hours but are willing to put in time outside of them when necessary. It’s worth emphasizing your flexibility—assuming you genuinely can accommodate a flexible schedule.
When interviewers ask about your goals, they’re shifting the focus from your past to your future, trying to understand why you want to work in the role you’re applying for. You may be asked:
How to answer these questions: These questions require a little bit more preparation than the first two sets. To explain what you find appealing about the role, for example, you have to understand it, so be sure you’ve done your homework.
Talk at least a bit about what interests you about this particular VA gig. In other words, try to find something that grabs you about your potential employer’s work, rather than just saying “I want a job I can do from home” (something that applies to all virtual assistance jobs, which may make your interviewer worry you won’t be very invested in the role and won’t stick around long).
Your work experience is a large part of your professional profile, and it will come up in almost all interviews. You’ll almost certainly be asked about your:
When interviewers ask you about the jobs you’ve done in the past, they want to make sure that your experience aligns with the demands of the role you’re applying for. Their questions will probably include:
How to answer these questions: If you’ve worked as a VA in the past, these questions will be simple to answer. If you haven’t, they require more finesse. You shouldn’t lie about or embellish your past experience, but it’s fine to talk about work you’ve done that required the same basic skills, even if it wasn’t in a paid position.
For instance, as a high school or university student, you probably used office software (such as Microsoft Word and Excel) and had to regularly email people—both of which are core skills for many VAs. The key is to find something to talk about. Be specific about what you learned and how you’re confident you can leverage those skills to be a great VA.
Many interviewers like to ask questions like:
How to answer these questions: This is your chance to brag a little. Be as specific as possible. Instead of saying something vague like, “I’m proud of how I helped my client manage his schedule,” say something like, “I saved my client more than 80 working hours over the course of 2 months by digitizing his calendar.”
As a rule of thumb, pushing yourself to give concrete details almost always leads to delivering a stronger, more convincing answer. That’s true across the board, not just applicable to this one set of questions.
As a virtual assistant, you may have to work under pressure. You’ll probably get asked:
How to answer these questions: Tell a story about a difficult situation you encountered and how you dealt with it. The main potential pitfall you need to avoid is saying anything bad about your previous employers, which is widely considered a faux pas in job interviews.
In other words, highlight a challenge like, “I had to complete an assignment on deadline and my internet kept dropping.” Don’t say something like, “My last client had unreasonable expectations” (even if that’s true).
Your interviewer will probably mix questions about your skills in with ones about your past experience. Both sets ultimately get at how you’re likely to perform in the role you’re interviewing for.
The specific questions you’ll have to answer will vary from position to position, but often will touch on:
Virtual assistants don’t have to be wizards with technology, but they have to be reasonably proficient with it (the job title includes the word “virtual,” after all). We’ve listed some questions you may be asked below, but this list is far from complete.
How to answer these questions: Take a closer look at the job description to see if it mentions any specific tools you’ll need to use. If it does and you aren’t already familiar with them, look them up ahead of time so that you’re prepared to give an informed answer when you’re asked about them.
Communication is key in any work environment. Questions like the ones below will focus on your usual communication methods and tools:
How to answer these questions: Stress that you understand the need to communicate proactively, which is particularly crucial in any remote position. When you give examples of how you’ve handled communication issues in the past, talk about how you listened to others as well as how you expressed your own ideas. Both are equally important to being a good communicator.
Employers expect their virtual assistants to be on the ball when it comes to managing their time and tracking their assignments. For that reason, questions like the ones below are quite important:
How to answer these questions: Here again, answer with as many concrete details as you can. “I’m a naturally organized person” might be an honest answer, but it doesn’t give your interviewer much to work with. If you’re able to list specific software that you’ve used to keep track of tasks and deadlines, that will leave them feeling much more confident that you’re actually as organized as you say.
Virtual assistants sometimes have to handle sensitive information. If your interviewer asks something like this about your confidentiality practices, you should have a well-rehearsed answer ready.
How to answer this question: In addition to assuring your interviewer that you take confidentiality seriously and are capable of acting with discretion, prepare ahead of time so that you’re well-versed in the best data security practices (such as never leaving your work computer unlocked and unattended, and using a password manager).
Employers in virtually all industries prefer candidates who know how to learn. Realistically, you won’t know everything you need to excel in your new VA gig right off the bat. If nothing else, you’ll need to pick up your new employer’s standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Moreover, technology is changing all the time, and clients and employers value workers who are committed to staying current and won’t get lost.
Come up with answers for these questions:
How to answer these questions: Emphasize that you’re someone who not only is capable of picking up new skills and procedures but genuinely enjoys doing so. This is a good time to mention your professional goals. Stress that staying current is a big priority for you, and that you prefer to challenge yourself instead of letting yourself stagnate.
Many interviewers like to ask general questions about candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. These take essentially the form you’d expect:
How to answer these questions: Talking about your strengths should be easy. Just say something that you’re genuinely proud of, such as your attention to detail, patience, or motivation.
It’s easier to get tripped up when talking about your flaws. Here’s something you shouldn’t do: try to dodge this question by listing something that isn’t really a weakness (the classic example here is, “I care about my work too much,” as well as its close cousin, “I’m a perfectionist”). Most experienced interviewers have encountered these dodges before and won’t be impressed by them.
Instead, think about what your actual greatest weakness is, whether it’s a tendency to get frazzled when things are hectic or an aversion to doing math. You’ll be fine as long as you quickly follow your answer up by explaining the steps you’ve taken to overcome your weakness, whatever it is.
Some interviewers will present you with hypothetical scenarios and ask how you’d respond to them. These are usually variations on “what would you do if …” and are meant to test your knowledge and problem-solving skills.
They may include questions about:
Scenario-based questions are often quite general, like the ones listed below.
How to answer these questions: These questions are hypothetical, but your answers don’t have to be. If you’re encountered a real-world situation that fits your interviewer’s description, feel free to talk about that and explain how you dealt with it.
Try to deliver your answer with confidence; it’s important to demonstrate that you can handle complicated and challenging situations.
However, if your interviewer hits you with something truly difficult, it’s also okay to say, “I’d ask my manager or client how they wanted me to deal with that.” You need to be a good problem-solver, but it’s also important to know when you need to kick a problem up the chain of command.
Technical issues are an unfortunate reality of modern office life. They can arise at any moment, and often come up at the worst possible times (such as before a big meeting).
You may be asked:
How to answer these questions: To respond to these questions competently, you need to be comfortable fielding minor tech issues. Fortunately, this is an easy skill to acquire. Many problems can be solved just by turning the offending gadget off and on again, and by referring to its documentation or searching the web if that fails.
It’s also worth mentioning the steps you usually take to prevent tech issues from cropping up in the first place. For instance, you can tell your interviewer that you periodically save your work and back up your important data so that you won’t lose it in a crash. (Having said that, remember to actually do this when you land a position as a virtual assistant—it’s a good habit to get into.)
Your interviewer may ask you what you know about the role you’re applying for. If the gig consists of providing virtual assistance to an individual, this is tantamount to asking you what you know about your interviewer. If you’re applying with a company, they may ask what you know about their operations and overall mission.
These questions can be challenging, but they also offer a great opportunity for you to show off your research skills and interest in the position. To be sure of doing well, spend at least half an hour looking into the business or client you want to work for, and read the ad for the VA role multiple times.
You may be asked questions like:
How to answer these questions: As mentioned, the only way to nail these questions is to do your homework. Not all applicants are in the habit of researching the positions they apply to, so doing this will significantly improve your prospects and show that you’re someone who’ll go above and beyond what’s expected of you.
“Company culture” is a vague concept, but many employers put a lot of stock in it. Questions about it often include:
How to answer these questions: This probably goes without saying, but you should deliver positive and enthusiastic answers to these questions. Your interviewer will be evaluating not just what you say but how you say it.
Pay attention to their general demeanor and do your best to match it. If they act serious and professional, you should, too. Conversely, if they’re relaxed and relatively casual, that’s probably what the team you’ll be joining is like, and you’ll make a good impression if you match their energy (although don’t go overboard).
Be ready for questions about the scope of the VA position you’re applying for (and your salary expectations). These can be tricky, and it’s important to practice your answers to these thoroughly:
How to answer these questions: Hopefully, the job ad will have explained the main tasks you’ll have to perform, so if you’ve done your research, answering those questions should be simple. (If the ad was very terse, it’s fine to simply ask about this.)
Talking about your salary expectations, on the other hand, can be fraught. If you give a figure that’s too high, you might put off your interviewer and make them think they can’t afford you. Give one that’s too low, and you might undercut yourself.
This is actually one of the (very) few situations in which it’s okay to politely decline to answer your interviewer’s question. A common piece of advice is to never be the first one to throw out a number. Instead of responding directly, you can say something like, “Can I ask what range you have budgeted for this position?”
If your interviewer presses you about what salary you’re looking for, say something like, “I don’t have a number in mind at this stage. Right now, I’d rather focus on the value I can bring to you / your company as a virtual assistant.”
If you say that courteously, it’s unlikely to cost you the job (and if it does, it’s a red flag and a sign that this employer might not be a good one to work for, anyway).
Don’t forget that in addition to answering questions, you should also ask some. Asking a few well-informed questions about your potential employer and the tasks you’ll have to perform will show that you’re thoughtful, engaged, and that you care about the role.
This isn’t just a tactic to strengthen your candidacy. The answers—and how your interviewer delivers them—will give you information that may genuinely help you decide if this gig is right for you.
Consider asking something like:
If you think about anything else you’d like to know in the course of your interview, don’t be afraid to ask about that, too. Again, most decent interviewers will be impressed by a VA who asks them smart and insightful questions, and won’t consider answering them to be a nuisance.
July 8, 2024
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.