My Experience Working Like Virtual Assistant.
There is always a fear when you start something new, even more when you are forced to do so. Remote work became necessary when the pandemic started, and long before it was probably a luxury for some people. Back in 2020 I had, what at the moment I thought it was, my dream job as an English teacher and guide at a Montessori School. In March the same year, covid cases around the world started to come up on the news and in the moment, we thought the less, boom! A pandemic was announced to the world, and we were told to stay home for our safety. My dreamed job lasted 1 month and a half, suddenly it became something new and challenging. I was giving classed virtually to kids from ages 2 to 12 years old, I had to coordinate times with the rest of the teachers at school and even though my job increased, my salary went down, but it was that or nothing. Finishing up the school year, an offer came to my ear, keep working from home but it had nothing to do with teaching (here is when I talk about that fear of the new). A company from Puerto Rico was looking for a bilingual and virtual assistant to work part time, and eventually more time. At the moment, I was about to finish my job as teacher, so I said yes, got interviewed by both Sharkhelpers and Business Atelier, and in no time, I got hired (again, that fear).
Both Sharkhelpers and I had no idea what that was going to be like at the beginning, not even Business Atelier. I was the first virtual assistant Business Atelier would hire for their company remotely. First, they acknowledged my profession as a teacher and risked trusting my experience in customer service, because I never had experience at a business consulting, taxes and accounting firm like theirs. Then, there was me, saying yes to everything they would need from me from the beginning because everything would be new and taught so I had no fear to say YES. The fear started to decrease on the process, realizing how capable I was on this new job and Sharkhelpers always backing me up on every step.
Pandemic brought meaningful changes for companies around the world, and one of them for Business Atelier in particular, brought the tool of hiring its first virtual assistant. I noticed that they really needed a multitasking person to begin. As the only one by the time, my tasks started to increase and, even though I still could handle them, they were becoming a lot for the time I had available to work. The company continued to grow, it became necessary that they hired more assistants to perform different tasks, so they decided to continue giving the opportunity to Colombian talent, and a team of 4 Colombians emerge in Puerto Rico! Sharkhelpers is doing a great job recruiting talented people, no doubt with that.
I never saw myself working for a company like Business Atelier performing the diverse role I have performed, because my profession has to do with Education, most specifically to teach languages. So here comes my favorite part to share about my experience. Initially, I was looking for a part-time job because I have been working on a personal project. I started with 4 hours the first month, then I continue with 6 hours. I also had different schedules according to the time I needed for my entrepreneurship, and it worked out well. During this time, I started to learn about different projects the Company had at the moment, different administrative tasks, but what I enjoyed the most was the interaction I had with the owners, 2 passionate women who started all this project and are succeeding more and more every day, and have also inspired me to work harder on my personal project of working on my own language Academy which I share with my couple.
Going back to the beginning of this text, remember how I talked about that fear when you start something new, and how it increases when you are forced? Well, for most of the people around the world working remotely felt like that at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Sharkhelpers is a full team, is more than just a company, it is an outstanding group of human talented people that really contributes to their employee’s well-being and gives an opportunity to young people to start their professional paths and improve their personal lives. Sharkhelpers believes in new talents and goes beyond someone’s capacities, and not only offers all the necessary equipment to work but also offers emotional support so their virtual employees perform their tasks in the best way. Nowadays is very common to have a remote job, very good ones, but what is not common to find is a Company who worries so much for their employees who work at home like Sharkhelpers does. Before, working from home was a luxury, today is something common, but what it can be considered as a luxury is working at Sharkhelpers.
