How to Find Virtual Assistant Jobs for Beginners

Are you looking for virtual assistant jobs for beginners?

Virtual assistants, or VAs, work behind the scenes for their clients performing all kinds of tasks from email management, scheduling, billing, invoicing, data entry, and more.

This means you’re an integral part of the inner workings of an online business. I can attest to how valuable VAs are – I have several VAs helping me keep this site running, and I would be lost without them.

Technology has allowed more and more companies to operate online, and this opens the door for virtual assistants who are looking for flexible ways to make money from home. And there are lots of ways to enter this field without any previous virtual assistant experience.

This article will provide you with a lit of companies that hire entry-level virtual assistants, plus tips on how to use previous experience when applying, courses to help you kickstart your career, and more.

How to Find Virtual Assistant Jobs for Beginners in 2024

1. Fancy Hands

Fancy Hands has virtual assistant jobs for beginners who can complete simple tasks that take around 10-20 minutes. These tasks can be everything from scheduling travel, data entry, quick research tasks, proofreading, writing emails, and more.

Here’s how Fancy Hands works: People (not you as the VA) pay for a membership to Fancy Hands that lets them put in so many requests per month. Then, Fancy Hands finds a virtual assistant in their network to complete the request.

Virtual assistants are paid $3-$7 per task, which might not sound like a lot, but remember the tasks only take 10-20 minutes of your time.

The company says they’re looking for new virtual assistants, and here is what Fancy Hands says they’re looking for:

• Very strong communication skills. People will tell you what to do, you must be able to figure out what they’re asking for, and be able to get a clear response back to them.
• You need to have a computer and a reliable internet connection
• People with knowledge of different fields
• Self-starter, you should want to take on more responsibility and try new things.

Fancy Hands says there is room for growth for beginner virtual assistants – working as a dedicated assistant is one way to earn more. A dedicated assistant is a VA who works for one client instead of doing tasks for multiple ones.

2. 24/7 Virtual Assistants

24/7 Virtual Assistants is based in Philadelphia but has a network of virtual assistants working with clients all over the world. Because it’s a global company, consider including any other languages you’re fluid in on your resume.

This company has virtual assistant jobs for beginners to experienced VAs – they’re looking to fill their clients’ needs, and if a client matches your skill set, they’ll contact you.

Most of the professionals who hire through 24/7 Virtual Assistants are looking for people who can help with:

• Transcription: Being able to turn audio or video into text
• PowerPoint: Create professional-looking presentations
• Research: This can include researching products, industry facts, or preparing marketing analyses
• Planning: This can include internet marketing, email list management, and more

24/7 Virtual Assistants says the average pay is $10-$12/hour and can range based on your skill level and the client’s requirements. Most of their clients are looking for part-time VAs, which can be anywhere from 20-120 hours of work each month.

3. Upwork

Upwork is a platform where companies, solopreneurs, online business owners, and individuals can hire skilled freelancers for all kinds of different work, and that includes virtual assistant jobs.

Here’s how Upwork works for virtual assistants:

• Sign up for a free account
• Create a profile to list your skills, availability, related experience, and anything else that might stand out to potential clients
• Create pre-packaged projects (this is a new feature) that have defined parameters, including price, time, and what you’ll be doing
• Submit proposals to existing job listings

As a beginner, you’re probably more likely to find virtual assistant jobs by submitting proposals. And I know from using Upwork for Facebook ads that you’ll need to put in some hustle here. Proposals need to be personalized, well-written and focused on how you can address the pain points of a specific client,.

You’re in control of how much you charge on Upwork, and there are VAs on Upwork that charge close to $50/hour. But when you’re first getting started, earning $12-$20 is more realistic.

Upwork charges contractors a 5%, 10%, or 20% service fee depending on how much is billed with a client.

Related: 8 Legitimate Work From Home Jobs with No Startup Fees

4. Fiverr

Fiverr is another freelance job platform where beginner virtual assistants create profiles and list the kind of services you offer – these are called “gigs” on Fiverr.

Having a professional-looking profile is key on Fiverr. It should include your skillset, what kind of technology you’re familiar with, the kind of work you can offer, any certifications you have (professional or academic), etc. Think about what tells potential clients that they should hire you.

Sellers on Fiverr (this is what you’re called if you use the platform to find jobs) can price their gigs at whatever they want, for as little as $5.

Fiverr can be an awesome place to find virtual assistant jobs for beginners, but you’ll be competing with people who are willing to work for next to nothing. Think less than $5/hour. Fiverr also takes a 20% commission of whatever you make.

As you gain more experience and get some solid reviews, you’ll be able to raise your rates and appeal to higher-paying clients.

You can learn how to make the most out of Fiverr in Everything You Need to Know to Make Money on Fiverr.

5. 99 Dollar Social

Virtual assistants can do a lot of different things, and if social media management is one of the areas you want to work in, check out 99 Dollar Social. This site helps businesses create new content for their social media channels.

99 Dollar Social matches VAs with businesses who want to up their social media game, and while there’s no previous experience required, you should be able to:

• Be highly organized and be able to work from home
• Create a minimum of seven pieces of content per week and always submit your work on time
• Take constructive criticism
• Understand how to use Google or Bing to search for content that matches the clients’ needs
• Have a reliable internet and computer – work cannot be done from a phone or tablet
• Available Monday through Friday in U.S. time zones
• Speak and write fluent English, though not necessarily a native English speaker

Virtual assistants on 99 Dollar Social pays you per job, and most VAs average $12/hour.

Related: 13 Legitimate Work From Home Jobs (Earn an Extra $1,000 Per Month in 2020!)

6. Belay

Belay finds virtual assistants for business owners who are ready to grow their business and want to hand over some of their responsibilities to a VA. There are virtual assistant jobs part time and full time on this site, and you’ll have to be willing to work Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

Belay wants virtual assistants with some experience, but any kind of administrative work qualifies. They also prefer to hire virtual assistants who have a bachelor’s degree and experience working remotely.

If you have transferable skills (more on this a little further down), you’ll need to do the following to become a VA with Belay:

• Fill out an online application
• Go through two interviews (conducted over video conference calls)
• Pass a skills assessment

You can set your rates anywhere from $5-$20, and Belay also hires bookkeepers, web specialists, and social media strategists for companies.

7. Use Online Forums and Channels

Networking online is how more and more freelancers are finding work these days. And, I know it works if you’re looking for virtual assistant jobs for beginners because that’s how I hired my new VA, Liz.

Liz is in a female networking group that has a Slack space and saw the jobs listed in one of their channels. She had been looking for a side hustle and it met her criteria (flexible, remote, etc.), plus it aligned with skills she had from previous jobs in office management, HR, and operations.

Here are some of the best places to network online if you’re looking for virtual assistant jobs:

• Slack: You can find Slack channels through sites like Slofile or on Reddit under reddit.com/r/slackhangouts
• LinkedIn: There are professional groups for people in the same industry and with similar interest
• Facebook: Search for Facebook groups for virtual assistants, freelancers, small business owners, online entrepreneurs, etc. There are a lot of Facebook groups so you’ll have to spend some time finding ones that are a good fit.

One word of advice: don’t use these forums for the sole purpose of job hunting. Be willing to connect with others, answer questions, engage, help when you can, etc

Highlight Your Related Experience When You Apply for Virtual Assistant Jobs

While you might not realize it at first, you probably have some experience that will help you find a job as a VA, even one that requires experience.

I know, I know… you’ve never worked as a virtual assistant before, but think about your past jobs, volunteer work, hobbies, etc. Have any of them required that you:

• Use software like Excel, Google Drive, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe, Quickbooks, Asana, Trello, Slack, Dropbox, WordPress
• Have excellent communication skills, like emailing back and forth with customers, clients, donors, etc.; answering phones; making appointments; scheduling travel
• Organize things like email inboxes, files, research materials, etc.
• Do data entry of any kind

Those are just a few transferable skills you can highlight when you apply for VA work. Even things like managing a busy household converts to teamwork, time management, communication, listening, leadership, project management, and more.

My point is, don’t feel like you have nothing to offer when you’re first getting started. I’m 100% sure you’re bringing something to the table.

How Do I Become a Virtual Assistant Job With No Experience?

Besides the 7 options I listed above, another approach is to start your own virtual assistant business. In the article How to Become a Virtual Assistant in 2020, you’ll learn the four steps you need to take to start your own business:

• Step 1: Decide on your services: Using skills you already have or ones you can easily learn, come up with a list of services you can offer
• Step 2: Determine your pricing: You can offer package options where clients pay you on retainer and upsell with extras
• Step 3: Get your business in order: From your internal business structure to taxes
• Step 4: Build your online presence: Create a website, put yourself out there on social media, and get the word out
• Step 5: Land your first clients: Check job sites like the ones I listed above, cold pitch, network, and more
• Step 6: Keep your clients happy: Happy clients means a better business for you. Regularly check in with your clients to see how you can better serve them

Virtual assistants who run their own businesses can make considerably more per hour – like $20-$25/hour to start – and part of that is because you aren’t paying commissions or stuck with the rates the company you’re working for charges its clients. This gives you the chance to scale your business, and that’s where the real flexibility and money is.

Courses to Help You Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business

If you want to fast track it, there are a couple of really comprehensive and valuable courses that will help you learn the skills you need and launch your business.

30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success

The 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success course teaches you how to build your VA foundation, how to pitch clients, establishing an online presence, launching your business in your target market, interview tips, and more.

You will also have access to its VA Leads Community, which helps you find clients, offers tech support, and on-going education

Become a Pinterest VA Today

Pinterest virtual assistants are VAs who specialize in helping business owners gain more followers and increase their revenue through Pinterest. That involves creating and optimizing pins, running ads, scheduling pins, leveraging Tailwind Tribes, and much more.

This course also comes with leads, updates, invoicing templates, and more.

Learn more at How to Make Money on Pinterest in 2020 (Earn $1,000 Extra per Month!)

Do Virtual Assistants Make Good Money?

You definitely can make good money as a VA, but it depends on your experience and how you find work. Like any other job, you’ll make less as a beginner, but there’s a lot of room for growth.

Beginners can realistically expect to make $8-$15/hour, and experienced VAs or those who run their own business can earn $25/hour or more.

The Final Word on Virtual Assistant Jobs for Beginners

Deciding to become a virtual assistant comes with a lot of perks, like flexibility, working from home, and there’s room to earn more as your experience grows.

The VAs who have worked for me have been a massive help, and I honestly don’t think I could run this site without them. I hear the same thing from everyone I know who has a virtual assistant.

So if you want to get to work, start checking out those sites I listed above. I would also encourage you to check out the course 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success.