Published December 1, 2021
Updated March 23, 2023
Building the right team is paramount to any organization's success, especially a small business like a property management company.
Imagine if you have ten people working for you, and two of them are below average—that means 20% of your workforce performs below average and will significantly negatively impact your business!
One of the best ways to choose the right team members for your organization is to have a good arsenal of questions to ask your top candidates when meeting or talking with them during the team building process. When conducting video meetings with potential virtual property management assistants, here's what companies should keep in mind.
What's the Goal Of a Great Virtual Assistant Meeting?
Choosing a virtual property management assistant is not much different than hiring someone who will work out of your office. Selecting a team member—whether it's a contract position and a remote assistant job or an onsite W-2 employee role—is selecting a team member! By that, we mean it's critical to make sure every team member is the right fit for the job and your company.
Every good team member includes an excellent search and meeting process. When you've selected the best candidates to fit the job you've posted on the VPM Solutions platform, your next step is to set up video conversations and learn more about each candidate.
The goal of any meeting is to use it as a tool to learn more about what you like about a potential VA, keep an eye out for red flags, and help them get to know you and your company a bit better, too.
Use a Virtual Meeting to Get Through a Few Details
Since virtual assistants won't work in your office or use equipment you would provide for an employee, it's critical to learn about a few important technical details early in the interview. Ask potential remote team members about their office setup, including their computer's capabilities, and additional equipment they might need for the job, and test their internet speed.
No matter how good a fit a person is for your organization or the role, if they don't have a stable internet connection or a computer that can handle the software requirements and their assigned tasks from their remote location, they will not be able to perform the job role successfully.
Look for Potential
When choosing a remote property management assistant that lives and works in a different country, you're most likely building your team with someone without property management experience for rental properties in the United States. However, that doesn't mean you should discount an excellent potential VA based on a lack of U.S.-based property management services experience.
Instead, choose a VA based on your core values and look for virtual contractors with the potential to learn quickly and grow in their roles. This helps ensure you get the right person on the bus! You can always train the right person and give them key performance indicators so they know if they are doing a good job.
VPM Solutions Provides Training
Aside from choosing a team member based on a fit with your company's values, remember that VPM Solutions provides training (for free) to all virtual assistants on our platform.
So, even if an excellent property management virtual assistant candidate checks most of the boxes you're looking for and they are an excellent fit for your team's culture — but lack some of the industry training you'd prefer they have — ask them to complete courses and certifications through VPM Academy to get them up to speed.
What Are the Best Questions to Include for a Productive Conversation?
So, what should you ask a candidate during a video conversation? Our team has pulled together a list of excellent questions to consider, depending on the role you need to fill—whether it's an administrative assistant, maintenance coordinator, or marketing professional.
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What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with? Why?
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What type of people do you find it easiest to work with? Why?
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What did you like most/least about your last job?
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What motivates you? Why?
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How do you stay organized?
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If you were to get this position, what does success look like to you in the next 90 days? Six months? One year?
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What are some of the problems you encountered in your last job? How did you resolve them?
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Of all the jobs you have had, which did you find the most/least rewarding? Why?
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What is the most frustrating situation you have encountered in your career to date?
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If I were to ask your supervisor to describe your work, what do you think they would say?
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What does the prospect of this job offer you that your last job did not?
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What are the areas in which you require improvement? How would you go about making these improvements?
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Please give some examples of decisions you have made on the job. What were the ramifications of these decisions?
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Why are you applying for a position with our company?
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What can you offer our organization?
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How does this job opening fit in with your career objectives?
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What would make you resign from a position with this company?
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Do you have any questions about this position? Our company?
Note that it's not crucial to include every one of these questions in every conversation with a potential virtual assistant for property management. Use these questions as a guide by adapting them to your company's needs and goals when it's time to find a virtual assistant!
Let VPM Solutions Help You Find and Talk With Excellent Virtual Assistants
Scheduling virtual meetings to fill a job role can't take place until you find enough talented remote assistants to fit the role and your property management business. VPM Solutions makes it easier and more cost-effective to find skilled property management virtual assistants while reducing payroll costs and improving profits for property managers.
Signing up for a Free Company Profile is easy! We also have some excellent free tools to help you post a job, find ideal VAs, then conduct an effective virtual meeting to select the ideal VAs for your company. Reach out soon to learn more!
Get a more comprehensive list of interview questions and other free tools when downloading our free kit, the "Real Estate Virtual Assistant Hiring Kit."
