Virtual Assistant Internship: What to Expect and How to Prepare – Jooble Expert Insights

The virtual assistant profession is becoming increasingly popular these days, as the popularity of virtual assistants has grown alongside home office work. If you are a future virtual assistant, find virtual assistant internship jobs on Jooble. A virtual assistant internship is an excellent opportunity for beginners to gain the experience they need for future employment. 

If you want to learn more about what these assistants do and how to find a virtual assistant internship opportunity, read Jooble’s summary.

Related: Please see our “How to become a VA page”

Jooble: What does a virtual assistant intern do?

The duties of a virtual assistant intern can be varied. They really depend on the industry and the type of company they work for. The tasks of a virtual assistant may include the following:

• Administrative tasks such as handling emails, organising data, managing calendars and other documents, etc.
• Managing social media platforms – whether it’s scheduling posts, managing messages, or even creating social media posts. 
• Customer service – virtual assistants can offer email or chat-based services as customer service agents, or they can be asked to provide telephone support.
• Research – virtual assistants are often asked by companies to analyse and collect information and data, to be done by an external and independent person.
• Content creation – not only social media posts, but also newsletters, blog posts or presentations can be created by a virtual assistant.

As you can see, the virtual assistant profession is very diverse, so it’s hard to single out one category. Try to develop in the area where you feel most skilled.

How to Boost Your Skills

Whichever field you choose, a successful virtual assistant will need a few skills to help you work effectively.

These include good communication skills, as in most cases a virtual assistant will never meet the client. So you will need to learn to communicate both orally and in writing in a correct and clear way. Communicating professionally but to the point can go a long way to ensuring that the work runs smoothly. And if you have any questions about a project or disagree with something, you should always let your client know. 

If you’re a virtual assistant and you work online, you’ll definitely need to learn to manage your time well. You might have several clients or several types of clients at the same time – and then what do you do? Do you get lost between tasks or try to prioritise? Surely the second is more sympathetic, as it is for us. Stick to deadlines, learn to get your tasks right and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.

As a virtual assistant, in addition to your personal skills, you should also be familiar with basic digital tools and software. Find out which are the most popular platforms that people use. It’ll be a big plus if you don’t have to learn how Slack works from your new client, for example, but you’ll already know the basics.

How to Prepare for a VA Internship

If you think you’ve got the basics down and have found the direction you want to go in as a virtual assistant, it’s time to take action to find a good internship program. According to Jooble, following these steps will make success easier than you think.

Build a portfolio or CV

Yes, even if you don’t have any specific experience, since you’ve learned about software, how programs work, etc. during your preparation. In fact, you may even have experience, you just didn’t call your position a virtual assistant while working in a home office during lockouts. 

Create a professional online presence

It is becoming more and more common for virtual assistants to create their own website, a professional social media profile and join Facebook or LinkedIn groups. If you’re a bit lost, feel free to ask other virtual assistants what they would do to get started, but they’d probably say the same thing as we would. In addition to social media platforms, sign up to freelancer sites like OnlineJobs.ph or Fiverr, where you can also work as an intern.