Why Upskill?
Dearest reader,
I’d like to paint a scenario. You’ve been working as a virtual assistant for your client, and you’ve managed to build a working client/VA relationship. You carry out your administrative duties each week without fail and your client has come to trust you. He sends you a proposal for one faithful workday, he wants to add social media management duties to your workload. That shouldn’t be a problem right, it is because you have no social media management skills.
What if you’d like to have more than one client, another source of income? You go through job listings and find one for a virtual assistant. ‘Yes!’, you’re excited. Something that’s right up your alley. A whole other set of skills that you do not possess are listed as the requirements as soon as you open up the job requirements.
If these scenarios are not enough to show you the importance of upskilling as a Virtual Assistant, the following should.
5 Reasons You Should Upskill as A Virtual Assistant
BECOME AN ATTRACTIVE APPLICANT
In a sea of many applicants, while perusing resume after resume of candidates that are seemingly qualified for the virtual assistant job listed by an employer. The employer comes across a resume of an individual who isn’t only skilled at organizing schedules and responding to emails but is also well versed in SEO and digital marketing!
The employer knows he has reached his jackpot because he has found a virtual assistant who will not only make his life easier by organizing his schedule but has the technical know-how to manage his business online.
The deal gets sweeter, he does not have to outsource to more people as he’s found what he needs in you- his virtual assistant.
HIGH RETAINMENT POSSIBILITIES
It is not a foreign concept that change is the only constant thing. This doesn’t exempt the working environment.
This is essentially why it is key to have a growth mindset. For instance, your client started out marketing his business on Instagram and your job description as his virtual assistant includes marketing his business on Instagram. His business is expanding and he desires to create a blog and establish his business as a top authority in his industry and requires a content writer with background knowledge in Search Engine Optimization.
It would certainly feel a lot like receiving comfort food on a hard day to discover his Virtual assistant is knowledgeable in SEO and up to the task. He sees what he needs in you, and you have an opportunity to earn more. An opportunity the decision to upskill would have afforded you.
As a business grows, there’s a high possibility that your requirements as a virtual assistant would expand to accommodate more requirements and it would be disappointing to be unable to catch up due to a lack of required skills.
REDUCE BOREDOM
As someone doing the same task over and over again, week after week, boredom is never too far away.
At the workplace, it’s common to talk about burnout but what is less talked about is ‘bore-out’. Bore- out simply put, is extreme boredom. A common cause is feeling under-challenged over a long period of time.
This can make you start to feel that the work you’re doing has no real purpose to it.
With boredom comes complacency and a lack of motivation to do your work and deliver your best. Learning a new skill will keep you on your toes. You will not have an opportunity to be bored with the decision to upskill.
ANTICIPATE CLIENT’S NEEDS
Increasing your skill set as a virtual assistant can open your eyes to loopholes in your client’s business. You can now see problems that you weren’t aware of clearly. The best part is due to your new skillset. you’re now qualified to solve them.
A good pitch to your client and assurance that you’re the man for the job could give you that leg up as a virtual assistant. Your existing relationship gives you an edge.
DIVERSIFY YOUR NETWORK
Learning new skills means interacting with a new set of people. That’s more people within your network, and with proper positioning, more potential clients.
As a virtual assistant decked with a good amount of technical know-how, it is not long before your employer is singing your praises to his business owner friends. This could open more doors of opportunities for you.
After taking you through these reasons, I am certain you are convinced why it is essential for you to constantly upskill as a Virtual Assistant.
Bye for now,
Alexis.
