Here is how to vet a virtual assistant: start with the role, then check every candidate against it: the skills it needs, the experience that would make someone better at it, the hours, and whether you will enjoy working with that person every day. At Skale Bak that means more than 350 candidates sourced for each role, 50 to 60 screened and met one to one, and 3 to 4 finalists for you to choose from.
You already know what good work looks like in your business. That is a big reason it is successful. What is hard is finding the person who can do it your way, when every resume in the pile looks the same.
This guide is about the vetting: how to do it yourself, and exactly how we screen every role at Skale Bak.
How do you vet a virtual assistant before you hire?
Vet a virtual assistant in 6 steps: write the role, find the right people, check them against the role, test the real work, confirm the hours, and meet the finalists yourself. Most of the vetting happens before the interview, in step 1.
- Write the role. List the tasks you want off your desk, the skills those tasks need, and the past experience that would help. If you have not picked the tasks yet, start with what to delegate to a virtual assistant first.
- Go and find people. Search for candidates who fit the role instead of waiting to see who applies.
- Check every candidate against the role. Drop anyone missing a skill the tasks need.
- Test the real work. Ask each one to walk you through a task like yours from start to finish. If you are hiring on your own, add a short paid task that mirrors the work.
- Confirm the hours. Agree the hours they will work for you early, and ask which hours they prefer.
- Meet the finalists and choose. You will work with this person every day. The last decision is yours, and it should be about fit.
Each step makes the list shorter, so the people who reach the last step can all do the job.
What should you look for when hiring a virtual assistant?
Look for 5 things when hiring a virtual assistant: the skills your tasks need, experience that makes them better at your role, the hours you need, how they listen and ask questions, and whether you will enjoy working with them. The first 4 you can check. The last one you feel when you meet them.
| What to look for | Why it matters | How to check it |
|---|---|---|
| The skills your tasks need | Your assistant runs these tasks every week | Ask them to walk you through a task like yours, step by step |
| Experience that fits your role | The right background can make them better at the job than you expected | Ask which tools and platforms they have used for this work |
| Your hours | Clients, agents and leads reach you during your day | Ask which hours they prefer, and why |
| Listening and good questions | Your assistant builds your systems with you | Notice whether they ask about how you work today |
| Fit with you | You will talk to this person every day | Meet them live, on video |
The right experience can make an assistant even better at the role. An owner of a marketing agency placed a Skale Bak assistant on building websites for her clients. Even Baklid, who founded Skale Bak, tells it this way:
"He had even more knowledge of the platforms they were building these websites on, and she was stunned."
The same goes for roles that do not have a title yet. When a venture capital firm needed a custom role, the search found an assistant with a background in raising capital. He now analyzes companies and deals, finds the deals the firm is looking for, and presents them to management so they can look deeper at the best ones. Writing the role first is what made that search possible.
How does Skale Bak screen virtual assistant candidates?
The Skale Bak virtual assistant hiring process sources more than 350 candidates for every role, screens them to 50 to 60, and meets each of those one to one. You meet the 3 to 4 strongest and choose.
Even built the process this way on purpose. In his words:
"We do not simply go into a database, have people apply and send you a pile of resumes to pick from. We work out what you are looking to accomplish, which tasks you need done, which skills the role needs, and what past experience would make your assistant even better at it. Then we source more than 350 candidates for the role, not just the people who apply."
| Stage | What happens | The number |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation | We go through your week and agree which jobs come off your desk | 30 minutes |
| The role | Tasks, skills, helpful experience and hours, worked out for your business | After agreement |
| Sourcing | Candidates found for the role, not only applicants | More than 350 |
| Screening | Each one checked against your role | 50 to 60 remain |
| One to one | Even and the team meet every one of them | All 50 to 60 |
| Finalists | You meet them and choose | 3 to 4 |
The whole search takes 2 to 3 weeks from agreement to finalists. Everything between the consultation and the final interview is on us. You are a busy owner, and your time goes into the one decision that should be yours.
Why does Even meet every candidate?
Even and the team meet all 50 to 60 screened candidates one to one, to qualify them further before any of them reaches you. Only the strongest 3 to 4 become finalists.
"My team and I meet every single one of them, one to one, to qualify them even further. That way you know exactly who is being brought onto your team."
Finding the right person is half of it. The other half is what you plug them into, and Even is clear about the order:
"Systems first, then plug in the best talent. Get the system and the foundation right, and an assistant can do so much for you."
That is why the search ends with a handover. On the first day, your assistant and you are in the room together, with access, tools and the way you work set up, so they do real work that same week. How it works walks through each step from the consultation to the daily shift.
How do you check that a virtual assistant can work your hours?
Ask which hours they prefer, and why, early in the conversation. Every Skale Bak finalist is qualified on being comfortable with, and preferring, US hours when your role needs them.
Even explains the check:
"This is a really big qualifying piece of our search. We make sure the talent we introduce is comfortable with, and prefers, working US hours when the client needs them."
It matters most for operations, admin, client work and marketing, where people reach you during your day.
One top candidate had worked US hours for more than 7 years. They had elderly parents and young kids. Working at night in the Philippines meant being with their family during the day: taking care of them, and being present. Even put it simply:
"It was really good to see. That is what they preferred, and that is the role they were placed in."
What questions should you ask a virtual assistant in an interview?
The best virtual assistant interview questions ask about the work you will hand over. Use these 7, and fill in your own tasks and tools:
- Walk me through how you would handle this task from start to finish.
- Which tools have you used for this kind of work?
- Tell me about a process you set up or improved for someone you worked with.
- What would you do if a task came in and the steps were not written down?
- Which hours do you prefer to work, and why?
- What would you need from me in your first week to do this well?
- What questions do you have about how my business works?
The answers to 1 and 2 show skill. 3 and 4 show how they think. 5 shows whether the hours will last. 6 and 7 show whether they will build the work with you or wait to be told.
Through Skale Bak, those questions about skills and hours are answered before a finalist reaches you. Your interview can go straight to the person.
Who should make the final choice?
You should. Through Skale Bak, all 3 to 4 finalists can do the job, so you choose the one you will most enjoy working with every day.
Even explains why the last decision stays with the owner:
"This is a person you are bringing onto your team. It matters that you will enjoy working with them every single day. All of the finalists can do the job, but we need to make sure you will have a great working relationship for a long, long time."
In the final interview, notice how the conversation feels. Do they ask about your business? Do they listen to the answer? Would you look forward to the morning call?
How long does it take to hire a virtual assistant?
Through Skale Bak, it takes 2 to 3 weeks from agreement to meeting your finalists, after a 30 minute consultation. Hiring on your own takes as long as your own evenings allow, because the search, the screening and the interviews are yours.
The time goes into the vetting. Sourcing more than 350 people and meeting 50 to 60 of them one to one does not happen in 2 days, and it should not.
Once you choose, the costs are simple:
| What | Through Skale Bak |
|---|---|
| Rate | $13 an hour, the same for every role |
| Hours | 20 or 40 a week |
| Placement fee | None |
| First week | 7 day guarantee: feel the difference, or that week is refunded |
| If it is not working | A free replacement, for as long as you work with us |
| Notice | 30 days, any time |
The full breakdown is on the pricing page. If you are still deciding between an agency and doing the search yourself, compare a virtual assistant agency vs a freelancer. For what the hours add up to each month, read how much a virtual assistant costs.
Where should you start if you want to hire a virtual assistant?
If you are working out how to hire a virtual assistant, write the role down before you look at a single candidate. List the tasks you want gone, the skills they need, the experience that would help and the hours you need covered. That one page is the brief every good search starts from, with or without us.
To make the list, take the free Handover Playbook. It is the playbook we use on day one: everything an assistant can take off your plate, and the order to hand it over in. Then you walk into any interview knowing exactly who you are looking for.
Questions people ask
Do I need my systems ready before I hire a virtual assistant?
No. Even's advice is that it is better not to have every system created and perfect before your assistant starts. You build the systems together, which is how your assistant learns the business as well as you do.
What happens after I choose my assistant?
The handover. Skale Bak runs the first day with you and your assistant in the room together: access, tools, the NDA and the way you work are set up, so your assistant is doing real work that same week.
Should I give a virtual assistant a paid test task?
If you are hiring on your own, yes. Keep it short, pay for the time, and make it a real piece of your work, so you see how the person works on your process and not only how they interview.
What if the assistant I choose is not the right fit?
Through Skale Bak, the 7 day guarantee means you feel the difference in your first week or that week is refunded. A free replacement is included for as long as you work with us, and notice is 30 days, any time.