Virtual Assistant from the Philippines

by Knocks
14 replies
I have never hired a VA before and have generally stayed away from freelancers. I've had two poor experiences hiring a writer and a designer from Odesk/Elance and have not hired anyone since then.

My volume of work is growing, and I no longer have time to spend on all my projects, and I am considering hiring a VA.

How much should I expect to pay per hour for a quality, hardworking VA from the Philippines? How many hours per day is it reasonable to expect of the VA? What is the most common payment method? What qualifications should I ask for, and how can I check for possible fraud/cheating? Thanks!
#assistant #philippines #virtual #virtual assistant
  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Willy
    Originally Posted by Knocks View Post

    I have never hired a VA before and have generally stayed away from freelancers. I've had two poor experiences hiring a writer and a designer from Odesk/Elance and have not hired anyone since then.

    My volume of work is growing, and I no longer have time to spend on all my projects, and I am considering hiring a VA.

    How much should I expect to pay per hour for a quality, hardworking VA from the Philippines? How many hours per day is it reasonable to expect of the VA? What is the most common payment method? What qualifications should I ask for, and how can I check for possible fraud/cheating? Thanks!
    Hello Knocks,

    I understand you have concerns about hiring VAs before. I am a former VA and online manager before for 6 years, but usually for a hard working VA, you can pay between $400 to $500 a month and they mostly accept Paypal. For the qualifications, I suggest you should ask for the resumes and interview them on Skype via video call.

    Hope this helps you a bit. Cheers!
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  • Profile picture of the author ewritezone
    I don't do hourly or monthly payments. I had way too many bad experienced with those payment models.

    I figure out what needs to be done, and hire someone to do that particular work, and pay them a fixed amount. This reduces my chances of getting scammed.

    Do you want a website designed? Hire someone to do it for you. If you want a bunch of content created, hire someone for that. This way, you'll hire experts for every task, and you won't have to spend more money than you have to.
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  • Profile picture of the author birgit23
    finding a great VA is like dating. You have to date many before you find the one you love. I usually offer a lower rate as a trial rate and up it once I am happy with results. I have noticed since Odesk and Freelance joined forces, the asked for rates have definitely gotten higher, but just because someone asks for example $11 per hour does not mean they are not willing to accept less. What has worked out well for me is look for newer members hungry to work. Definitely ask for a sample of their work and look at their star ratings and feed-back. Once you found "the one", treat them well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Slade556
    Why limit your search to the Philippines?
    In any case, interviewing them first is a very, very good idea! Getting to know the people you'll work with long term is always a good idea.
    As for the price, check out what they usually ask for (see what VAs usually charge on Odesk and other websites) and when you find someone, try to negotiate.
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    • Profile picture of the author PLR Basket
      Originally Posted by Slade556 View Post

      Why limit your search to the Philippines?
      In any case, interviewing them first is a very, very good idea! Getting to know the people you'll work with long term is always a good idea.
      As for the price, check out what they usually ask for (see what VAs usually charge on Odesk and other websites) and when you find someone, try to negotiate.
      The Philippines is the absolute best place for low cost high quality VAs. They work well, are polite and reliable unlike many other countries I won't mention.
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  • Profile picture of the author adsads64
    I tried VA from the Philippines and all i got was scammed from kids that had their sisters id and more
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    • Profile picture of the author PLR Basket
      Originally Posted by adsads64 View Post

      I tried VA from the Philippines and all i got was scammed from kids that had their sisters id and more
      May I ask where you're from just out of curiosity?
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      • Profile picture of the author alannahgmvw
        Originally Posted by PLR Basket View Post

        May I ask where you're from just out of curiosity?
        that's why you should conduct an interview and ask about their past projects especially their portfolio. This allows you to know them well and see the quality kind of work that they are doing.

        I have worked with virtual assistants/admins from Philippines(http://www.myvirtualworkforce.com.au/) and they are really good when it comes to their task. In other scenario's when others got scammed and received low quality work because they skip the important part which is filtering the applicants.
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        • Profile picture of the author flyingz1092
          I hired some VA's from New Zealand, price is similar and they do great work
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          • Profile picture of the author RafaelThaGreat
            You know I hired my first VA in July 2014, and I've learned so much since then.

            Personally, I like hiring Philippines exclusively because they are cheap ($3-4hr), fluent English speakers, polite, and hard working.

            Out of 50+ jobs I had a single bad experience with one worker I had to fire from the Philippines for not listening to my instructions. Everyone else has been stellar.

            Currently I have a great Filipino VA doing some marketing tasks for me for 8 hours a week at $3.33hr and she's been awesome. I hired her from oDesk and she bills me hourly and at any time I can view her screen during the hours logged to verify she's working and not goofing off. Never had a problem with her.

            The comment about hiring VA's in like dating is absolutely right. Interview a few, look at their hours billed, look at their ratings, and start from there.

            Good luck amigo!
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  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    I'd rather see a sticky or similar and have threads like this locked, similar to "how do I make $100 a day". It becomes bait for people marketing in the thread, and the topic has been covered countless times. Beware of any site you have to pay in order to get offers and talk directly with potential candidates.
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    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
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  • Profile picture of the author DIABL0
    Everyone I know uses Hire the best Filipino employees and virtual assistants the Philippines has to offer!

    Full time VA should run you 400-500 per month.

    You really want to have a process to find the good ones..
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  • Profile picture of the author slickymedia
    If you want a full-time VA he/she should be working for at least 8 hours a day for 5 days/week. Qualifications should be their work experience ( you can consider asking for a copy of past work reports) check if there are good comments for his/her services and interview first before the start of the job. Most legit Virtual Assistants will give you free trial to test their work.

    The most common payment method is Paypal.
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