Assistants in South Africa: From Office to Virtual

With a fast-growing economy and the sport of opportunity, South Africa has no time to rest. Given an average unemployment rate of 27%, there isn’t much room for being picky when choosing a job. That said, there’s one particular job that escapes many of those that are looking for work, and that’s the position of a virtual office assistant (VA for short). A virtual office assistant can be considered the brain behind the muscle or the plan behind the action: he or she basically does all the “legwork” for a specific company or entrepreneur. That legwork includes tasks like email management, calls management, scheduling, blogging, marketing management, data entry, correspondence, coordination of team members, and basically whatever it is that’s needed for the smooth operation of the company or entrepreneur.

The Pros and Cons of Being a Virtual Office Assistant in SA

Working as a virtual office assistant gives you freedom and comfort because you work from home. It also gives you the time to focus on other things and develop more skills. All this is good, but it comes at a price. A virtual office assistant loses some of the perks of a contract-based office job—insurance, benefits, the possibility of raises and promotion, strong connections and a lesser risk of losing the job are some of those perks.

Becoming a Successful Virtual Assistant

• First off, as with most other ventures in life, you need to know what you are: What skills and knowledge do you have? What connections and experience do you have? These are very important questions because being clear about your abilities and extent of reach will guarantee that you don’t aim at goals that are higher—or lower, of course—than what you can achieve.
• After you’ve written down your qualities and knowledge, you have to fully dedicate yourself to this. Yes, you’re home, but it is still a serious venture, which is what many beginning virtual office assistants forget.
• If you have viable connections, hit them up and know what they may need. If you’re beginning off a blank page, the perfect place for you is freelancing platforms. In South Africa, there is a handful of freelancing platforms that are very lucrative, and those include Freelance Cape Town, SAFREA, NoSweat, SA Creative Network, and others.

So, now you’re ready to start rowing. You just have to always hone your skills, sharpen your methods, strengthen your connections and never settle for what’s less when you can jump right up to what’s more. Becoming a—successful—virtual office assistant in South Africa will provide you with good income and the fact that the sky truly is the limit.