Entrepreneurs: Please Stop Requesting Résumés from Virtual Assistants

be a virtual assistant find va clients work with a va Dec 15, 2020

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There's an ongoing misunderstanding in the Virtual Assistant industry regarding potential clients asking VAs to submit a résumé. Oftentimes, when potential clients ask for them, a VA will just submit one even though it goes against the standard for the industry.

Why do they submit a Virtual Assistant résumé anyway? Because VAs want to book clients, even if they have to jump through time-consuming hoops to do so.

However, it's causing unnecessary work and some hard feelings. So, Entrepreneurs, let's talk some more about why asking for a résumé is a problem and what to do instead. If you're looking to work with a Virtual Assistant, let's kick the relationship off right.

Why Is It a Problem to Expect a Résumé from a Virtual Assistant?

First, just to be clear, let's define what a résumé is. According to Wiki:

A résumé or resume is a document used and created by a person to present their background, skills, and accomplishments. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often they are used to secure new employment. A typical résumé contains a "summary" of relevant job experience and education. The résumé is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes an application for employment, which a potential employer sees regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview.

Reading this definition is SO helpful because it makes it super easy to quantify the issue here. As it says, a résumé is:

used to secure new employment
to share job experience
accompanies a job application
seen by a potential employer
regarding a job seeker
used to screen applicants
followed by an interview

Let's look at all those bolded words - NONE OF THEM apply to Virtual Assistants or their clients. So it's quite easy to see now why a VA should never be asked to submit a résumé.

VAs are not seeking employment; they're seeking a service provider/client relationship with a fellow businessperson
VAs don't need to share their "job" experience because it doesn't necessarily apply to the relevant business, skills, or background which makes them a qualified Virtual Assistant
VAs don't submit job applications; again, they aren't applying for a job or employment and a client is not their "boss" (in fact, they've started their own business likely to get away from having a boss, ha)
VAs are not applicants; you both get to decide if you'll work together
VAs do not do job interviews; you'll likely instead have a discovery call or free consultation where you get to know each other and ask each other questions

Now that you read it broken down like this, it makes perfect sense, right?

Do THIS Instead of Asking a VA for a Résumé

Well, you might ask, if a potential client can't ask for a résumé, how in the heck are they supposed to judge if the Virtual Assistant is qualified to provide the service requested?

One way to think about it is this: When you book a plumber, choose a new physician, or retain an attorney, do you ask them for a résumé? Nope.

You use other methods to evaluate them. You might:

Look at their website - Do they present themselves as professional, educated, and competent? Does their business look well-established and legal?
Check out their social media - Do they use SM tools effectively? Do they seem controversial, lazy, or salty? (I mean, unless you like that kind of thing, lol)
Ask your friends or colleagues for recommendations - They know you and they know the service provider; who better to play matchmaker?
Look at client testimonials - Do they have favorable ratings/reviews on their Facebook Page or website?

Just use the same process with Virtual Assistants. You don't ask for their résumé; you do some research and evaluate them with publicly available means - website, social media, recommendations, and testimonials.

Here's One of the BEST Ways to Pre-Evaluate a Virtual Assistant

Pro tip: Another EXCELLENT way to pre-screen a VA is to do a Search in some entrepreneurial Facebook groups using their name. Then answer these questions:

Have people tagged or recommended them when someone else was looking for a VA?
Has anyone posted a "don't work with this person" (rare, but good to know)?
Has the VA herself been friendly, answered questions knowledgeably, given good advice, shown a good attitude, etc.?

When you combine this evaluation with the other 4 listed above (website, social media, recommendations, testimonials), you're going to have a pretty solid idea of who this person is and whether they're a service provider you want to work with (or steer clear of, as the case may be).

Another Reason Résumés Are No Good for Virtual Assistants

In the offline working world, résumés are not perfect but, hey, fine. Someone summarizes their work experience, education, and self-professed talents into 1 or 2 pages. Software scans them for the correct keywords, trash most of them, and take a small percentage to the next level.

Then maybe there are interviews (where the interviewee can again present themselves however they wish). Or perhaps the human resources or hiring department starts verifying facts with former employers and educational institutions, etc.

But in the online working world, entrepreneurs don't have a human resources department nor programs to screen documents for specific keywords.

What they have is the ability to research on their own and then listen to the gut feeling they get when they interact with a potential service provider via messages and a discovery call or two. Don't you think that the latter is preferable anyway?

I hope this article has been helpful in understanding why entrepreneurs should never ask a Virtual Assistant for a résumé and what should be done instead to find the best Virtual Assistants to have discovery calls with.