How to land a remote VA job, step by step
Free guides for job seekers in the Philippines and Malaysia: starting out, training, interviews, and spotting a real job from a scam.
Career guides
- Expected salary: how to answer without guessing: How to answer "what is your expected salary" for a remote VA job: find the going rate, compare hourly and monthly pay, and give a range, with examples.
- How to get paid by overseas clients and keep more of it: Wise, PayPal, bank transfer or GCash: what each costs when a client abroad pays you, from each provider's fee page, and what to agree before you start.
- Data entry jobs from home: how to tell real ones from scams: What data entry work really is, the tools clients use, how data entry scams work, how to build proof for free, and where real data entry work is listed.
- How to get a customer service job you can do from home: Chat, email and phone support from home: what each involves, how it differs from a call center, what clients check, and where to look on day shift.
- Leaving the graveyard shift for a day shift job from home: What night work does to your sleep and health, how to move your body clock back to day shift, where remote day jobs are, and what to ask before you quit.
- What Singapore clients expect from a remote worker: Working with Singapore and Malaysian clients from the Philippines: their hours, how they message, which language to use, updates, holidays and data.
- Your work from home setup: stay online through brownouts: The work from home setup you need in the Philippines: a computer that runs video calls, tested internet, a backup line, brownout power and a headset.
- How to become an appointment setter from home, step by step: What an appointment setter does all day, what clients ask for, how to show you can do the job before you're hired, and the offers to avoid.
- How to become a remote bookkeeper without a CPA license: What remote bookkeeping work looks like, what clients ask for instead of a CPA license, how to get experience before your first job, and what to avoid.
- How to become an executive assistant, starting from admin: What an executive assistant does for a CEO, the skills EA job posts ask for, how to build EA experience from an admin role, and what to avoid.
- How to become a video editor from home, step by step: What a remote video editor does, the software real job posts name, how to build a portfolio with no clients, and how to land your first editing job.
- How to become a social media manager: skills and first job: What a social media VA and manager do, the skills real job posts ask for, how to build proof with no clients, and how to land your first role.
- How to become a remote graphic designer in the Philippines: What remote graphic design work looks like, the skills clients check, how to build a portfolio clients hire from, and how to land your first job.
- How to become a virtual assistant from home, step by step: What a virtual assistant does, the skills real VA job posts ask for, what you need at home, and how to get your first VA job with no experience.
- Virtual assistant training without paying a training fee: Free virtual assistant courses from TESDA, Google, Microsoft, HubSpot, Canva and Alison: what each teaches, which VA job it fits, and the fees to refuse.
- How to spot legit work from home jobs in the Philippines: Real remote employers pay you, never the other way round. Seven signs of a fake job, a ten-minute check before you apply, and where to report a scam.
- Job interview tips for remote jobs: pass the video call: Job interview tips for remote VA jobs: test your setup the day before, what to do if the call drops, what clients ask, and what to ask them back.
- How to answer "tell me about yourself" without rambling: A three-part answer to "tell me about yourself" for remote jobs, with example answers for an admin VA, a video editor and a telemarketer.
- How to do well in an AI interview, recorded or live: Some employers now screen applicants with an AI interview. What happens in one, what the software checks, how to structure answers, and what to avoid.
For businesses hiring
Written for companies that hire through Catalyst Outsourcing.
- How a Singapore business hires a Filipino VA: agency, EOR, or direct: Three hiring routes compared on cost, timeline, and contractor-misclassification risk for Singapore businesses bringing on Filipino VAs.
- Filipino VA vs a Singapore employee: the real cost difference: A side-by-side breakdown of the fully-loaded cost of a Singapore admin hire versus a remote Filipino VA, with the scenarios where each makes sense.
- What a virtual assistant actually costs a Singapore business in 2026: A breakdown of local hire costs versus Filipino VA rates in SGD, by role, for Singapore SMEs comparing their real monthly outlay.
- How to write a VA job post that good candidates answer: Specific salary ranges, real tool names, and one well-placed screening question get you stronger VA applicants and fewer generic cover letters.
- What a virtual assistant really costs in 2026: Real hourly rates for Filipino VAs and specialists by role, what pushes a rate up, and the costs that don't show up on the invoice.