From Transcription to Virtual Assistance

I promised to write about how I evolved from being a transcriptionist to a virtual assistant. So here it is…

Just like how I became a transcriptionist, I was pushed to the virtual assistance niche. After a year of doing transcription, and maybe not doing it properly, I started to have ringing in my ears. It might have been due to the bad quality of my headset, or it might have been due to the numerous bad audio files I picked up from the work queue.

Whatever it was that caused me to hurt my ears, it must have been God’s work. A door was closed. I could not abuse my ears, so there was no question that I had to stop transcribing. But a window opened. I found job postings at Craigslist and replied to a few ads that I felt I qualify for.

After going through some Skype interviews, I finally got hired by an internet marketing company in the UK. The task was to create one-way backlinks from high PR sites to their site. Uh-oh… What’s PR again? And what is a backlink?

Fortunately, the boss only needed someone who could communicate well, dedicated to her work, with stable internet connection, a fast learner and honest. So I qualified.  He found me amusing, being so upfront about not knowing what he’s talking about and yet there I was, trying to convince him that I was the perfect VA for him.

It was quite an experience, learning SEO and internet marketing hands-on. Like I learned it as I went along. He would give me instructions over Skype, and if there’s something I don’t quite understand, I would just ask.  No problem.

And then one day, the boss asks, “Do you know how to prepare a wireframe?”

My reply… “Is that the one used for eyeglasses?”

So the boss sends me a link to a site showing what a wireframe is and how to prepare one. Then he sends me a Word file that has information about a business that I’m supposed to prepare a wireframe for. And that was it.

As I accomplished more tasks, I gained confidence that I could learn more and do better. So I started to accept more projects, more clients.  And in different time zones, too.  Before our homeschooling days, my Google calendar was set up for schedules at PST, EST and AEST (UTC +10).

At work, when a client asks me to convert M4A files to MP3, I look for a free software that will do that. If I’m asked to take still photos from a video, I find out how I could do that. And so it was an interesting journey with every client, and I enjoyed, and still enjoying, every minute of each trip!

One thing that I can never stress enough is the importance of honesty. While it’s true that I accepted projects involving tasks that I had no prior experience with, I’ve always admitted that fact to the client. My strongest point has always been the ability to learn, and learn fast. And staying true to my work ethic.