Wondering how you can build a stellar virtual assistant resume that catches attention among the sea of others?
This time we’re exploring the ins and outs of resume creation. We’ll explain why they’re important. We’ll also go over the key components involved in creating one, and good examples you can follow.
Why is Having a Well-Written Virtual Assistant Resume Important?
That’s like asking why you should make a marketable advertisement.
Your resume is how you market your skill in a professional market. There are a ton of people out there looking for jobs. A resume spells the difference. It distinguishes those who are considered eligible for an interview and those who are ignored. This isn’t solely about how many years of experience you have. It’s not even about how many certifications you qualified for. It’s about how you present yourself.
A well-written resume:
- Shows your capabilities and value you bring to the table.
- Clearly communicates your skills and experiences.
- Grabs attention either through word choice, layout, or design.
- Saves interviewers time by communicating all the necessary information concisely but meaningfully.
What Are The Different Types of Virtual Assistants?
Virtual assistants are simply remote workers covering many skills and industries. This means that the categories of virtual assistants are virtually endless. However, no matter the industry, we categorize VAs into three different types based on skill level, experience, and roles.
The three main types of virtual assistant are:
- Follower – entry level, basic menial tasks, less initiative but more flexible.
- Doer – intermediate level, specialized expertise, higher proficiency, more initiative and has own processes and workflows.
- Expert – advanced level, are typically guides, advisors, strategists and developers. They have tons of work experience and are industry experts, they are those that can manage doers and followers.
What Are The Key Components of a Virtual Assistant Resume?
There are about 6 crucial elements in a resume. Below is the typical order you would write them in.
Header and Contact Information
The main header, which is the biggest text on your resume, contains an applicant’s first and last name. Underneath you will find contact details such as email, work address, and phone number.
Summary Statement or Objective
This shows up near the top of the resume and acts as a kind of introduction. It is a few sentences that sums up your experience in that field or industry, skills, goals, and even achievements.
Work Experience
This section contains a list of clients or companies you’ve worked with. It also lists the duration of work. You usually write the most recent experiences first. The subheading usually contains the name of the role next to the company name. Underneath, you can find a bulleted list of responsibilities fulfilled and highlighted experiences in that position.
Education
This section contains the applicant’s formal education experience, usually the highest level attained. It can be high school, college, master’s, doctorate, etc.
This includes:
- Name of the course taken (if college educated).
- Number of years in the course.
- Name of college or university.
- Address of school.
- Date of graduation.
Skills Section
This important part of a virtual assistant resume contains the hard and soft skills relevant to the position. You would usually list hard skills first if there is a heavy requirement placed on technical expertise. Soft skills reveal how you manage yourself, the work, and relationships with other people.
Some resumes include an indicator of proficiency in that skill via a scale or stars. This helps quantify your abilities, which can attract more attention from hiring managers.
Certifications and Memberships
You can think of this part as an extension of the education section. Here you list other forms of continuing education (if any) such as courses and licenses. Next to the license or certificate name, you can list the name of the organization and the date you obtained it.
You can also list if you are a member of a professional group or association relevant to the job or industry.
How Do I Customize My Virtual Assistant Resume to The Job Description?
Not every employer comes to you. A lot of the time you are the one that needs to write an application for a job post. There are many job description templates that are helpful to get you started, but it’s important that you personalize those information fields.
Importance of Customizing Your Resume for Each Application
There are a few reasons why you should tailor your resume to each company.
- Management might require specific skills, certifications, education requirements, location requirements, and number of years of experience.
- The department may have a preferred format.
- HR may include something outside the template, like a pre-interview question.
Tips for Aligning Your Skills and Experience with the Job Description
- Highlight unique experiences you know will benefit your employer and give you an edge over other resumes.
- Write your skills and experiences parallel to how the job post lays it out. Think of it as a question and answer. It makes it much easier for them.
- Use the same keywords, language, and phrasing they use. Add in some industry language to flex your knowledge.
- Use language that quantifies your skills and experience. Show how you impacted certain key metrics during your stay. For example, you can use percentages to indicate how you helped increase monthly sales.
- Quantify experience into years and hours. Some companies may have education requirements for a certain number of years. In the event that you don’t meet the brief, you can quantify the hours and months spent on other certifications. This helps justify your place in the roster of candidates.
Virtual Assistant Resume Examples
Template 1
Analysis
Notice how Thomas, applying as a personal / administrative virtual assistant, writes his summary statement:
He qualifies that position in two ways. First, he states the number of years (2) he has worked in this role professionally. Second, he states which industries he has experience in: business, sales, marketing, and finance. He also brings attention to two skills, one soft and one hard skill: attention to detail and technological proficiency.
From those few sentences alone, a hiring manager would already have a good idea about him.
When it comes to work experience, what can we learn about Thomas from his descriptions?
First company:
- Appears particularly experienced in calendar management and scheduling.
- Is capable of organizing multiple business trips for large groups of people.
- Garnered trust to speak with important clients.
- Has research and bookkeeping skills.
Second company:
- Managed emails for someone in a high-ranking position.
- Has experience in customer service and data entry.
You can see that his experiences tell us more about his roles and responsibilities. Notice also how we can get an idea of his capabilities. See how this aligns with the skills he chose to list down.
How does the example align with the key components?
While they swapped the education and experience section, we see that Thomas checks all the boxes for a good resume.
Template 2
Analysis
This resume template includes a sidebar. One of the reasons this type of resume is effective relates to the importance of information and the direction people read. Notice the sidebar includes contact info, education, and skills.
A hiring manager can go through hundreds of resumes in a day. This style of resume can catch their attention and give them the key information they need. The other side contains the summary and then the expanded work experience.
There are four things main things I want to focus on:
- Notice how the summary catches attention. Sierra almost makes a claim that she then backs up with her work experience.
- Look at how they use industry language that relates to the Amazon Virtual Assistant position.
- She qualifies her experiences and skills with numbers and percentages.
- Her listed skills are purely technical/software-related. Notice how she makes inference to her other skills by weaving it into the work experiences section.
How does the example align with the key components?
Of the two virtual assistant resume examples we’ve listed, this one meets more than just the basics. It combines resume layout, quantifiers, and industry language to grab attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I include references on my resume?
Including references right there on your resume can be tempting. It’s understandable that you would want to further convince future employers with verifiable endorsement. However, most companies prefer you don’t do this until they specifically request it.
How can I demonstrate problem-solving abilities on my resume?
You can cite specific examples that inherently require you to be resourceful, show your ability to take initiative, and results of your decision making.
Ex: “Contributed to the creation of a company FAQ page after noticing an influx of similar customer inquiries. This led to a 30% increase in customer satisfaction.”
How do I address gaps in my work history on my resume?
Gaps in work history can sometimes raise the eyebrows of those in charge of hiring.
Here are some tips if you have gaps in your work history:
- Be honest but brief about why you took the break using professional terminology such as planned career break, sabbatical, job search, etc.
- Highlight lessons learned and skills acquired during that gap time.
- Explain if the gap was voluntary or involuntary like if you were volunteering, moving, or had health complications.
- Omit months when talking about work history.
What Is Outsource School?
Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.
This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.
Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.
Schedule a free sales call to learn more
Free resources you might like:
- Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
- Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
- Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
- Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists
Conclusion
Now you know how to craft a winning virtual assistant resume to get ahead of the herd. You’re one step closer to landing that job interview and further expanding your qualifications and experience.