5 Critical Skills Every Virtual Assistant Should Possess

5 Critical Skills Every Virtual Assistant Should Possess5 Critical Skills Every Virtual Assistant Should PossessBeing a virtual assistant requires a similar skill set as an in-house executive, personal assistant, project manager, or social media strategist.If youre looking to make the leap from your present position to being a virtual assistant, having a solid foundation of these five critical skills will help you in a successful transition.1. Communication SkillsThis is a crucial part of being a successful virtual assistant. Theres no such thing as too much communication when working remotely.Transparency is essential be sure to ask on day one what your clients expectations will be for you and how they want to communicate. You need to have the preferred form of communication in distributions-mix to help the beginning stages of the relationship run smoothly.Determine what will work best for each of you email, text, or an instant messaging system like WhatsApp, facebook inc Messenger, or even Twitter are good starting points. Good grammar and writing skills are also important as most of your communication will likely be in writing.2. Cloud-Based KnowledgeWhen working remotely you need a comprehensive knowledge on how to share information and the best process for you and your clients. Three areas that youll need to understand areFile sharing (Google Drive, Google Docs, Dropbox). Sharing files helps your client see progress in real time instead of waiting for updates.Google Voice. With thistool, you can choose one number to share with each client and look as if youre working in the same office.Password Manager. Using a password manager is a great way for your clients to share their personal and business account information youll need access to without giving you the actual passwords for their individual accounts.3. Time Management SkillsThe ability to work unsupervised can take some getting used to. Youll need to be able to create a schedule, set deadlines, and be accountable for your hours.Scheduling blocks of time that allow you to work uninterrupted helps with productivity. You can also use a time-tracking software like My Hours to help keep track of your clients projects and tasks.4. Take-Charge AttitudeDoing only what youre asked to do will make you an average virtual assistant.If you want to stand out, you need to be able to take charge on projects, make suggestions on how things can work better, and bring attentionto anythingthat needs it. A virtual assistant typically falls into a management role as time goes on.5. Organizational SkillsBeing organized doesnt come naturally to everyone. If you dont have a complete home office available to you, set aside an area of your home that can be designated as your office. Have a system in place whether its on your computer or via hard copy where you can keep your work safely stored out of reach and view of kids, animals, and houseguests- and be sure to always back up your files.Virtual assistan ts typically have diverse backgrounds and are successful professionals who want to leave the corporate 9 to 5 workplace for a more flexible schedule. This allows them to work around their family life instead of vice versa. Possessing these five critical skills will help ensure success in your new venture as a virtual assistantFind a Virtual Assistant JobLaura Licursi is the founder of Elite Virtual Assistants.Readers, have you worked as a virtual assistant? If so, tell us what other skills or tools have been useful to you in the comments section below