If you enjoy interacting with people online or through the phone and offering them information in a way that builds relationships between them and your company, then a virtual receptionist position is perfect for you.
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What is a Virtual Receptionist?
A virtual receptionist is hired by a company to ensure that their customers can be attended to, day or night. The job involves answering phone calls and giving feedback to customers when the business owner is unavailable. In some cases, virtual receptionists handle a wide variety of administrative work depending on the company.
Required Skills
To be a productive virtual receptionist, it is important that you have particular skills that will enable you to do the job well. Although the skills needed vary from one company to another, there are some that cut across the board, such as:
- Great organization skills. The position often requires the receptionist to plan their own schedule as per your client’s needs.
- Exceptional customer support skills. The ability to handle customer queries in a professional manner and relay feedback to clients is important in this job.
- Fast writing and typing skills. Writing tasks are key in this job. Most employers are looking for receptionists that can type at least 60 wpm when transcribing or doing other tasks that involve text.
- Good computer skills. Your computer is your main working tool so it is important that you are able to operate it independently.
- Interpersonal skills. Working as a virtual receptionist requires that you interact with people of different backgrounds. You will need to manage relationships between your company and clients to succeed at the job.
- Good knowledge of the internet. The majority of the correspondence between you and your employer or their client is done online. You should be technologically savvy and able to navigate the internet fairly well.
Job Responsibilities
When hired as a virtual receptionist, there are a number of tasks that you will be expected to do. These tasks may vary from one employer to another but the most common are:
- Handle inquiries from clients and sending out relevant responses
- Handling correspondence and taking notes
- Handling office accounting as well as billing
- Making travel arrangements, both locally and internationally
- Management of contact lists and spreadsheets for customers
- Preparation of newsletters and sending them out to clients
- Preparation of proposals or meeting materials as per employer requirements
- Setting up of meetings and maintaining client calendars
Companies that Hire Virtual Receptionists
Below is a list of companies that regularly offer work from home virtual receptionist jobs.
Gabbyville
Gabbyville hires receptionists to work for clients virtually from their office in Knoxville, TN. The company offers its services to small and large businesses to help cut down their administrative costs. When hired by Gabbyville, you will be expected to answer calls “live” and route them to appropriate offices. Appointment scheduling and setting up reminders is also a regular task when working for the company. Unfortunately, there is no information on working hours or payment terms on their website. If would like to work for Gabbyville, you will need to send your resume to their e-mail address, [email protected] to be considered for a position in the company.
Smith.ai
Smith.ai (Read full review) hires receptionists to work online. Their mission is to “empower and change the lives of highly talented, experienced individuals from all backgrounds and cultures to work in a fulfilling and rewarding workplace.” Smith.AI pays $10-$14+ per hour, with increased pay if you are bilingual in Spanish and English. If interested, go here to join their receptionist team.
Guru
Guru is a freelance site available worldwide that offers a variety of jobs for those seeking virtual assistant jobs among other work at home positions. You will need to send in a number of applications and wait to get picked among the number of people that have bid for the same job. Alternatively, you can choose to advertise your need for a job on the site while indicating your preferred pay per hour and highlighting your competencies on the site.
Freelancer.com
They offer home based jobs to receptionists interested in working remotely. The jobs vary from one company to another in terms of pay and the tasks assigned. On the site, you will find short and long term work from individuals as well as companies seeking virtual receptionists.
Upwork
Upwork is the best place to find administrative jobs and specifically virtual assistant positions online. The site is a platform that connects employers and freelancers by posting jobs that when done satisfactorily results in good pay. Payment on the site is through PayPal but other payment options are also allowed. Getting hired on Upwork as a virtual receptionist is possible as many people are currently doing similar jobs through the site.
Vicky Virtual
Vicky Virtual (Read full review) is based in the United States and only hires residents to work as virtual receptionists. The company targets small businesses seeing to free up their time by outsourcing phone work and customer service. If hired, you will be responsible for handling multiple phone calls from callers that need their questions answered. The company pays $10 per hour worked.
FlexJobs
FlexJobs offers virtual receptionist jobs on their site that have been screened to ensure that they are legitimate. The site categorizes the job positions which makes it easier to find those that are seeking receptionists to work remotely. Apart from offering a large number of jobs, you can also select those that match up with your schedule which can either be part-time, freelance, or flexible option.
Final Thoughts
In general, obtaining a virtual receptionist job online is a straightforward process. Consider the skills you already have, whether or not you have used them in a professional setting. For example, setting up appointments for your family, planning family vacations, talking on the phone, and so forth. Once you are aware of the marketable skills you already have, browse the list of sites above and sign up for an account. Most of them do not require a fee for you to become part of their community. Then, apply for work and soon you will begin working as an online virtual receptionist!
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