How I Started as a Virtual Assistant

It was in October 2011 when I started my first online jobs through odesk.com. With my frustration and stress in the office routine, I turned to attend a series of webinars hosted by Mr. Jomar Hilario, a well-renowned online marketing guru in the Philippines. There were days when I wanted to participate in one of his live seminars/workshops on how to become a virtual assistant, but my schedule does not permit me to do so. Good thing he offered an audio version of his How to Become a Virtual Assistant seminar and I quickly purchased it online. After I finished the audio seminar and after I have read blogs of people who had the similar dilemma as mine, I got so inspired and confident that I can change my life 360 degrees and become a full-time Virtual Assistant.

Soon as I learned about odesk.com in 2011, I started out my profile but never really paid attention to how to improve it. I was not that determined. Thus, I left it hanging incomplete for quite some time. When I learned more about how to boost my "marketability" in odesk, I quickly overhauled my odesk profile and took the tests which will reflect my expertise in writing. Writing is my passion, and I was thinking that I ought to make a career out of it if I am going to pursue my Virtual Assistant career. 

My first gig as a Virtual Assistant (online writer) was to blog about a variety of topics. It was for an American client who is maintaining a sort of Wikipedia website (Usenet) hence, I started with the work in October 2011, and up until now, I am still writing articles for this client. Then, I realized I can manage to handle some more work perhaps, try out the fixed-price contract available in odesk. I did get a few and found it very fulfilling when clients are very pleased with the articles that I submit, and some would even pay me a bonus. Opportunities and job offer came in one by one, and I was definitely happy about how things are working out for me as a newbie Virtual Assistant. I admit that starting at a lower rate per hour was a stepping stone. So, as I gained more experience and confidence, I eventually increased my hourly rate. 

Now, I am happy to be working on a part-time basis for several clients whom I am writing articles for website content and some as a research assistant. What I even appreciated more is the fact that I can use my background in Psychology for some projects I handled. I also get to have my fair share of demanding clients, and when they ask too much of my effort which I know I cannot accommodate, I just end the contract rather than carrying on with the project which I cannot deliver on their expected schedule. But overall, my Virtual Assistant experience is indeed an eye-opener that I can actually start a career by working at home as long I have the determination, motivation, and yearning for change. It is just a matter of time to hone my skills and brave the world of becoming a full-time Virtual Assistant. 

My First oDesk Contract Ended

My first two months of having a dull oDesk profile did not do me any good. I was waiting and waiting for jobs to come in but there's nothing, zero, zilch, nada! Sure, I got a few interviews here and there but did not make it simply because of my dull oDesk profile. Now, after realizing what I needed to do and that's basically dazzling up my oDesk profile with all the skills test and good scores, I finally got 4 contracts with different employers all at the same time. It was crazy and overwhelming at first. I'm on my second work week, by the way, and I am getting the hang of it. But, what I realized also is that if this is only a part time job, it's not good to have 4 employers all at the same time because it can be quite demanding of your time.And so, as a consequence of being "overly employed", one of my contracts ended --- the easiest one which is blog commenting job. I may have neglected it simply because I knew it was an easy task where all the rest of my job requires me to really write articles that will be used for website contents. After checking my oDesk profile and saw that notification that one of my employers ended my contract, I got a bit disappointed but realized it was actually my fault since I am a newbie, I got so overwhelmed and took the job but did not put much effort on it. Anyway, the remaining three contracts, I hope to retain because I really want a part time online job. oDesk is the most reliable source of online job I know. :-)