Receiving a certification from a respected organization is always a high point in any professional’s career. Some industries require a certification in order to legally practice in the profession. While other industries offer certification programs as a means of enhancing the credentials of an individual in the industry as well as help maintain excellence in the industry as a whole.
In the Virtual Assistance (VA) industry, there are already a few certification programs in existence but most of them require that the individual VA be a member of their organization or the certification costs more than the budget of a startup VA will allow. Now there is a program which is offered to anyone in the industry without having to be a member of any specific organization or having to break your budget.
Three prestigious VA organizations and their respected owners have established VACertification.com. The dream and intention of the program is to provide the ever-increasing VA industry with a voluntary certification program that takes into account the practicing professional’s education as well as their experience.
Applicants are rated on a formula that is based on their various educational accomplishments as well as their experience in the business world and as a practicing Virtual Assistant. This formula is set and used for all applicants, no exceptions.
By utilizing a standard formula, VACertification hopes to set a standard in the industry that will maintain the confidence of the public in the abilities of the VA they may be interested in working with. The certification program also gives new, up and coming VA’s something to strive for.
Based on the set rating system, the VA is eligible for one of two levels of the certification:
PVA (Professional Virtual Assistant) is the first of the two levels of certification. VAs at this level have worked hard to hone their skills and are experienced in their craft.
MVA (Master Virtual Assistant) is the pinnacle of the certification program. This level consists of VAs who have expanded their education with additional courses pertaining to their practice and who have more depth of experience by taking on a variety of tasks and projects.
Most VAs have spent their careers perfecting their professional and customer service skills. These skills are what their clients come to depend on and what will keep any new clients coming back. By adding a certification to this list of credentials, it can help in the decision process of the potential client when considering working from among several VAs. Also, as this certification is rated and presented by the individual’s peers, it is a tremendous boost to the VA’s confidence and can help in their marketing efforts.
Janice Byer is the owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (but you knew that already when you read the first paragraph :-). She invites you to visit her website at http://www.docutype.net and sign her guestbook (another opportunity to get your business name out there).
