PROGRESS NOTES

Steps to Take Before Hiring a Virtual Assistant

hiring virtual assistant Oct 01, 2026

How to Hire Your First Virtual Assistant: Start With a Clear Job Description

You have probably said it at least once:

“I need help.”

Your calendar is full. The inbox keeps growing. There are follow-up emails to send, website updates to make, forms to organize, social posts sitting half-finished, and a list of little jobs that somehow keeps getting longer.

So someone tells you, “You need a virtual assistant.”

That sounds great.

Then comes the next question.

What would I actually have them do?

That is where a lot of therapists get stuck.

You know you need help, but you have never hired a virtual assistant before. You do not know what to delegate, what skills to look for, or what to put in a job description.

So you keep doing everything yourself.

That is the trap.

You do not need to understand everything about hiring a VA before you start. But you do need to get clear about the job.

In episode 181 of the Scaling Therapist Podcast, Alyssa Avant and I talked about The 4 Elements of a Great Virtual Assistant Job Description. Alyssa has years of experience working as a virtual assistant and leading a VA company, and she gave us a simple place to begin.

Start by Looking at What Is Eating Your Time

Before you write a job description, look at your week.

What keeps taking longer than it should?

What do you dread doing?

What keeps getting pushed to tomorrow?

What are you doing simply because you have always done it?

Alyssa shared a simple idea in our conversation:

Just because you can do something does not mean you should keep doing it.

That matters for therapists.

You might be perfectly capable of updating your website, formatting an email, scheduling podcast guests, creating graphics, or organizing spreadsheets.

But every hour you spend there has to come from somewhere.

Maybe it comes from seeing clients.

Maybe it comes from building the course you have talked about for two years.

Maybe it comes from dinner with your family.

Every yes has to come from somewhere.

The first step in hiring help is not finding a VA.

The first step is noticing what you no longer need to carry.

General VA or Specialist?

“Virtual assistant” is a big term.

Think about the word “doctor.” A podiatrist and an eye doctor are both doctors, but you would not ask one to do the other person’s job.

Virtual assistants can be the same way.

Some VAs handle general administrative work.

Others focus on:

Bookkeeping
Podcast support
Websites
Email marketing
Social media
Graphic design
Course setup
Client scheduling

That means one of the first questions to ask is:

Do I need general help, or do I need someone who already knows how to do a specific job?

If you need somebody to organize files, update spreadsheets, schedule meetings, and handle routine admin work, a general VA may be a good fit.

But if you need someone to build a course inside a specific platform, edit a podcast, or manage an email system, you may want someone who already works in that area.

You do not want to hire someone and then discover that the main tool your business runs on is something they have never used.

That brings us to the job description.

1. Define What Success Looks Like

Start with the end.

What do you want this person to accomplish?

You do not need to write a 14-page standard operating procedure before you hire someone.

I have made that mistake.

Sometimes we try to document every click because we think delegation means teaching another person to work exactly like us.

It does not.

A good VA may have a completely different way of getting to the same result.

Instead, tell them where you are going.

For example, instead of saying:

“Follow these 37 steps to repurpose my podcast.”

You might say:

“After every podcast episode, I want the show notes published and two social posts ready for review.”

Now your VA knows what finished looks like.

The road may be different.

The destination is clear.

2. List the Tasks and Responsibilities

Next, get specific about the work.

What will this person actually own?

Do not write “help me with my business.”

That is too fuzzy.

Write down real tasks.

For example:

Upload the weekly podcast
Format and schedule the email newsletter
Update website pages
Create social media graphics
Schedule podcast guests
Organize files
Follow up on missing information

Alyssa suggests looking at the things that take too much time, the things you do not know how to do, and the things you simply dislike doing.

That list can tell you a lot.

You may discover you do not need “a VA.”

You need someone to own five very specific jobs.

That is much easier to hire for.

3. Name the Skills and Tools They Need

Now look at your systems.

What programs does this person need to know?

Maybe you use:

WordPress
Kit
ActiveCampaign
Canva
Trello
Google Workspace
A course platform
A practice management system

Put those tools in the job description.

Alyssa talked about people coming to her team with website platforms or software her team had never used.

That creates a problem for both sides.

The VA spends hours trying to learn a tool.

You spend money while they learn it.

Everyone gets frustrated.

Sometimes training is worth it. But if a certain tool is central to the job, it helps to know before you hire whether the person already has experience with it.

4. Decide How You Will Work Together

You can hire a great person and still have a miserable working relationship if communication is a mess.

Decide where the work lives.

Email?

Trello?

Slack?

Another project management tool?

Pick a main place.

If tasks are scattered between text messages, email, voicemail, and three different apps, you will spend half your time trying to remember where the conversation happened.

One source of truth makes life easier.

Alyssa also recommends regular updates. Her team sends clients a weekly email covering what was completed, what they still need from the client, and what is coming next.

That is simple.

But it keeps a small problem from becoming a four-week problem.

Also decide whether you are hiring someone for:

A one-time project
or
Ongoing support

Maybe you need help setting up a course once.

Or maybe you need someone every week to help the business keep moving.

Both are fine.

Just know which one you are hiring for.

You Do Not Have to Delegate Everything at Once

Hiring your first virtual assistant can feel like a big jump.

It does not have to be.

You do not need to hand over half your business on Monday.

Pick one area.

Pick one project.

Pick something that keeps stealing time from work only you can do.

Then write down what success looks like, what the person will be responsible for, what skills they need, and how you will work together.

That is your starting point.

A good job description is not paperwork for the sake of paperwork.

It is a map.

It gives you and your VA a better chance of walking in the same direction.

And when the right work finally leaves your plate, something important happens.

You get some room back.

Room to see clients.

Room to think.

Room to teach.

Room to build the thing that has been waiting because your calendar has been carrying everything else.

Resources From This Episode

Alyssa Avant’s Virtual Assistant Job Description Training
Get Alyssa's VA job description resource

Alyssa Avant and Company
Learn more about Alyssa and her work

The Christian Business Advantage Podcast
Listen to Alyssa's podcast on Apple Podcasts

Scaling Therapist Podcast, Episode 181: The 4 Elements of a Great Virtual Assistant Job Description
Listen to Episode 181

One simple next step: before you start searching for a VA, write down three things you would be relieved to stop doing.

That list might be the beginning of your job description.

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