What you are going to LEARN in this episode:
- What’s is like to be a Virtual Assistant
- The importance of English Proficiency
- How the BPO and Call Center industries help train Virtual Assistants
- Why a “home-based” VA jobs provide safety and freedom
Welcome back!  In an effort to remove the MYSTERY around working with a Virtual Assistant, I interview Cherry Lou, the LibertyVAs.com Recruitment Manager!  We’ve been working together for a few months and she opens up with her story and experience in the call center and “BPO” industry right after graduating with a 4 year degree.  I hope you come away with valuable insights on the freedoms and opportunities available by becoming (and working with) a Virtual Assistant and you realize that they aren’t much different than you, the Entrepreneur.  Everyone is using the skills and talents they’ve built to open doors, make connections and hopefully better their and their family’s lives. Â
We start out hearing Cherry Lou explain what the BPO (or Business Process Outsourcing) industry and her experience working in a call center for AT&T. Â She goes on to explain why the BPO industry is so popular in the Philippines and how the skills learned while working in call centers builds the skills necessary to be an awesome Virtual Assistant. Â
A typical day of a chat support representative in the Philippines:
- Traveled 1-2 hours to go into work. Â (each way, unpaid travel)
- Graveyard shift which often feels dangerous to travel alone
- Very long days (check in 30 min before shift starts). Only paid for 8 hours/day, but often had to work much longer until the clients stopped calling
- Didn’t allow for much creativity or dynamic work. All scripted and it got really unmotivating!
We continue on to hear how Cherry Lou decided to change call center jobs and why she saw it as a real first step to building her own freedom. Â Eventually, after several years of similar call center tasks, she felt confident enough to become a Virtual Assistant and work from home! Â Tune in to find out how…
Being a VA is so much better than working in the BPO industry.  Repetitive tasks, little to no creativity and bosses who don’t appreciate you…sounds terrible!
We end the interview by discussing the importance of English and when the average Filipino begins learning the English language. Without the ability to read, write and speak English, many Virtual Assistant positions are very limited and this is one of our TOP skills that we test for when matching our LibertyVAs.com clients with a new virtual team member.
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