For this section, I am focusing on finding a VA on Upwork, a freelancer site. However, this advice can also apply to any other platform such as different Facebook Entrepreneur groups.

You might be asking:

“Why have a special section on this? Can’t I just post anything online and the PERFECT VA will appear?”

Let’s be frank: there are currently 12 million registered freelancers on Upwork. This means there IS someone that fits your project needs, but where are they?

The adventure is in finding them.

Your “project post” is the only tool you have to communicate your expectations to potential freelancers AND you are opening yourself up to receive lots and lots and lots of proposals to screen.

Taking time to create realistic, accurate posts is one of the actions that will help determine the success of your posting and to eliminate many proposals from freelancers.

Remember successful postings equals an easier life for you!

A quick thought to ponder

Creating a post for a freelance project is not the same as creating a job posting for a corporate job.

What do I mean by this?

As we all know, within the formal hiring process there are a lot of rules and requirements which shape how information is presented in a hiring post. This is not the case when hiring project based freelancers.

When I was working as a Program Coordinator for the Upwork Professionals team – I started with the mindset that I had in corporate America as a hiring manager and in HR.

Not to say corporate America is dishonest, but there is more wiggle room when writing a full-time job description as you will be working with the person for (hopefully) a long time.

For project based freelancers, you might only work with them for a short period of time. That doesn’t give much wiggle room. Really detailing the expectations of working together and the project outcome is a must.

When you create a realistic and inviting post, the freelancers that are the best fit will be drawn in while those less qualified or not a great fit will be reduced. Thus, the need to review unqualified proposals will diminish so your productivity in finding someone will increase!

Steps to create successful post

1) Prior to creating the post, spend a few minutes visualizing the desired outcome of this project or what the person doing this specific job will look like

2) Identify ‘Must Have’ skills and experience – these are non-negotiable.

Gather this now before you meet a person you like. Lowering your expectations of the experience needed because you like a person will have a long term negative impact on your project. It is tempting, but you need to have a firm filter for candidates of what skills and abilities you they must possess.

1) Use the information above to start your job posting.

2) The posting should include the who, what, when, where, why, how and how much of your project

Add any specific project requests in the project description

               Examples –

                         1. You want someone to check your email at 1:00 pm Eastern daily

                         2. You want someone who has experience with excel pivot tables

                         3. You want someone who can read and figure out next steps with your email

                         4. This is a new project so we will figure out your specific tasks as we go

6) Ask specific questions in the proposal for any skills and experience from your must do list.

                 Examples –

                         1. Tell me about a time you provided support to an Entrepreneur.  How did you structure your day and communication with them?

                         2. Tell me about a project you managed / coordinated with multiple freelancers from multiple countries? What tools did you use and how did you keep track of expectations?

                         3. Tell me about the system and tools you used as an VA to track your clients priorities, tasks and communications.

                         4. Tell me about your experience with setting up projects, templates and tracking tasks with (Asana, Wrike, Monday, Trello).

Adding as much detail as possible paints a realistic picture for the candidate of what you are expecting.

Or perhaps you might like to check out a more one-on-one approach? Feel free to contact me here: