Top 7 Must-Do’s Before Employing an Overseas Assistant
ByI’ve not posted for a while as I’m needing all my time to keep up with the promotion of my sites whilst trying to progress my internet marketing outsourcing project. To be honest it’s proving more difficult than I had anticipated. So far, I’ve taken on 2 people only to have them disappear on me. This is the point when, in the past, I would have abandoned the idea and moved onto something else. However, if I’m going to turn this into a real business I need to keep at it.
I’m tempted to go back to taking people on, on a per project basis but ultimately I’m looking for one person so, for now, I’ll continue with that approach. If I can find the right person then, in the future, this whole process will be a lot less painful because, hopefully, I will be able to delegate some of it to them.
So far, these are some useful things I’ve learned, the hard way 
, to do before taking someone on:
1. Know What You Are Looking For
Take the time to do a detailed job specification that includes the projects and tasks that you need doing. Write a person specification to clarify the essential qualities of the person who will do the job.
2. Be Prepared
Know what exactly is involved in a project and how long the various taks take. Wherever possible, have experience of the work yourself so you have first-hand knowledge. If that’s not possible, make sure you ask candidates for estimates of how long they think they will take to do a particular task. Bear in mind that generally people underestimate how long something takes.
3. Have Realistic Expectations
In most cases you will have to train a worker to do the job exactly as you would like it done. Even when they tell you they have experience the chances are they won’t do things the way you need them to. Also, what you understand by a task or skill can often be different from what someone else understands.
For example, if you are looking for a content writer be very specific about what sort of content you require – blog posts, online articles, print articles etc. – and, related to that, what experience you require.
4. Check Authenticity
If available, look at applicants’ profiles carefully and any feedback and ratings from previous work carried out. If you can get references do so, especially if you can speak to the referee.
5. Check The Quality of Work
Ask for examples of past work. However, it is easy for someone to pass off other’s work as their own so, if satisfied with this part, move on to a test piece.
6. Ask For a Test Piece of Work
Ask for a piece of work to be completed as part of the selection process. Depending upon how time-consuming/skilled this is you may or may not want to pay for it. Ask them to time themselves and and make, at least part of it, open-ended. This gives you a chance to test their initiative and their speed and also gives you a comparison point between all candidates.
7. Conduct a Short Interview
Conducting an interview is easily done on Skype. If spoken english is an important part of the work you want done then interview over the phone. If not, then using chat will give you an idea of how comfortable they are with english and how easily they can write in it. Prepare the questions you want to ask in advance, relating them to your job and person spcifications.
Once this steps are completed you will be ready to make a well-informed job offer.
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