The Virtual Interview

"Interview" to most of the world means being invited to a
company or office to be interviewed for a job. There are lots of
sites and tips for getting through those interviews
successfully. One such site told me about the seven steps toward
making a good impression at an interview:

1. Appearance
2. Clothes and accessories
3. The way you sit or stand
4. Eye contact, smiles
5. The handshake
6. Your voice
7. Your vocabulary

In the world of Virtual Assistants, we can cross out the first
five steps and all we have left to make the impression is our
telephone voice, our vocabulary and our ability to communicate
via email and our web site.

Preparing for Your Virtual Telephone Interview.

Before the initial telephone interview, you've had an
opportunity to review the "job description" or the list of the
projects your potential client has in mind for a Virtual
Assistant. If the potential client has not provided a list to
you, then before scheduling the telephone interview, ask the
potential client to please put together a list of the projects
he/she could give to you right now if you were her VA. If this
person doesn't have a list, ask her to put a note pad at the
side of her desk and jot down those tasks that she could
delegate.

This list will be your "job description." Ask her to email you
the list when she has five or 10 items on it. Be sure to prepare
for your interview by studying the list and matching your
talents with her needs.

Before the interview:

1. Visit the potential client's web site if available
2. Identify your Five Strengths

- List your skills and experiences that match the job
description or list

- What skills do you have that work well for all clients,
communication, time-management, resourcefulness

- What makes you unique? What are your strong personal traits?
Are you good at meeting deadlines, keeping schedules, etc.

3. Prepare answers to questions such as:

- How do you communicate that your are upset with a situation
- Tell me about your work day
- Do you ever fall behind on your projects
- How do you schedule your projects
- What is your greatest strength
- What is your weakness
- What was your most difficult project

 4. Prepare some success stories – a good format for these is
the SPARE – as explained by Carole Martin in her book,
"Interview Fitness Training," (www.interviewfitnesstraining.com)

S or P– tell about the situation or problem
A – What action did you take
R – Results – What was the outcome or ending?
E – Enthusiasm – Tell the story in an interesting way, adding
details that bring color and interest.

5. Prepare questions to ask the potential client

Now you are ready to schedule that phone call.

If you've been emailing potential clients, you can expect that
some of those people may pick up the phone and call you, wanting
to "interview" you immediately. Be sure to have your notes close
to the telephone in the event the conversation leads to more of
an interview. However, it is perfectly okay for you to tell this
person that you would prefer to schedule a time for the call
when you will be able to spend more time talking in detail about
his/her needs and your qualifications.

Good luck with your next Virtual Interview. Don't wait for
people who are looking for a VA to find you, be ahead of the
game – you contact them. Where? The Directory of Virtual
Assistants. Once you are added the The Directory Of Virtual
Assistants, you will have an opportunity to receive potential
client listings.

Although the person at the other end of the line can't "see" your smile,
they can hear it. Good luck with your next Virtual Interview.