LD Staff Writer
What Is a Virtual Assistant?
Yay! I got a new job as a virtual assistant! Wooo! Wait, you don’t know what that means? I’ve discovered that it’s not an easy job to describe… Especially to my grandmother (who still doesn’t quite have a handle on her iPhone 4).
The quick description I’ve been able to come up with: I work with different businesses all over the world to help with daily tasks like Excel spreadsheets, emails, and processing shopping orders. Ta da! See, it isn’t too complicated!
…Except for that one pesky word that seems to throw everyone off. Once my grandmother hears the word “virtual,” I can see her check out. Oh well, perhaps that’s a mission for another day!
My past job was working at a rental company, conducting the sales for wedding and other party rentals. Since this was a local business, I had space to try out new things and take on new tasks. I helped with all social media management, advertising, and marketing. I loved researching, attending workshops, and listening to webinars about these topics – and learning how to apply them. I wanted to learn.
I wanted to try something new, but within these new interests I had acquired. I also wanted to get away from sales calls and over-obsessed mothers of the brides… They’re the worst!
How I Applied
One of my friends saw a job posting for LongerDays and sent it over in a Facebook message. To be honest, I didn’t even read the description of the job. I saw “Virtual Assistant” and left it in my messages to be left unread. To me, a virtual assistant is someone who does freelance, remote work – and it did not appeal to me at all.
A couple of weeks later, I was still applying for jobs and this mysterious note was still lingering in my Facebook Messenger. Curiosity compelled me, and I finally clicked the link to LongerDays.com.
Before I knew it, I’d read every bit of information on the site – about the job as a virtual assistant, the blogs about work culture, and the companies that hired LongerDays. Once I had thoroughly reviewed the information, I landed on the career page and applied. I didn’t even have to think about it this time. No hesitation.
I knew I would love this company when I saw application questions like “Is your atention to detial extroardinary? Can you provide and example?” and “If you look at a clock and the time is 3:15, what is the angle between the hour and the minute hand?”
I also loved the philosophy that LongerDays will try basically any task, but will let the client know if it’s something they don’t know how to do (or have never done). Such tasks are deemed “best effort” because the staff is learning as they go – instead of claiming expertise.
I knew I’d be in an environment where I could learn and take chances. This approach also showed me that LongerDays is honest with their clients – and would be honest with me. I knew I would absolutely love it!
After I submitted my application, I quickly got an email from Emily about scheduling an interview! Happy dance! If you’ve ever been on the job hunt, you know the happy dance I am talking about – when you’re excited about an interview because you’re actually excited about the job.
The Interview
I scheduled the interview as soon as I could. The location for LongerDays is also a huge appeal… Located in downtown Muskegon, right above Unruly Brewery and The Block.
I took the beer garden entrance to the elevator. I’d been in the elevator in my past life – when The Block was a wedding venue. My elevator passed the familiar second floor, and continued up to the third and final floor. The doors opened to a long hallway with no signs or direction on where to go… The only place I could go was the door at the end of the hallway.
The LongerDays office is even better than I imagined… To be honest, I am not sure what I was expecting, but it’s exactly how I pictured a “millennial” or “start-up” type of workplace. The building is old with exposed ductwork, wood paneling, hardwood floors, high ceilings… With Apple computers everywhere.
I’d never worked at a place like this before – it’s old and new at the same time. Everyone was at their desks, with multiple monitors and headsets. It took a moment for someone to turn away from their screens to notice I’d wandered into their workspace.
My first interview was with Andrew and Colton. We went downstairs to Unruly and sat on the couches while they asked me random questions about myself, past work, and all of the normal interview fodder… But this was different than the average interview.
I felt comfortable – not nervous in the slightest – which lead to conversations about theatre, Harry Potter, and cats vs. dogs. By the end of the interview, I knew they were looking for someone with a positive attitude, willingness to learn, and the personality to fit in with this nerdy group. I left the building knowing it was one of the best interviews I’ve ever had!
The next day, I received another email from Emily asking for a second interview. HAPPY DANCE AGAIN! I quickly replied with a time. The second interview was pretty much the same as the first, but this time I interviewed with Emily and Mikey. We talked even more about cats. Mikey even asked me to name ten characters from Harry Potter – I aced the test!
At the end of interview two, Emily said I was a great candidate, and told me I should hear a response over the next two weeks. Those two weeks of waiting were painful!
Eventually, I heard from Emily that they would be thrilled to have me join their team! Oh, relief doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt! LongerDays gave me the opportunity I’d been seeking for months – the chance to try something new and see where it takes me! Thanks, LD!
Want to learn more?
[su_button url=”https://longerdays.com/2018/01/01/take-a-tour-of-our-features/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#2F6690″ size=”10″ center=”yes” radius=”6″]Take a tour of our features![/su_button]