Why I Became a Virtual Office Administrator
Keep on keepin’ on.
This week I’m sharing my story of how I came to be a virtual office administrator!
Photo by Micah & Sammie Chaffin on Unsplash
Taking a Leap
In late 2021, I had been working at my job for eight years. The pay, my coworkers, and the work were all fine. Nothing really more than that, but it was comfortable. Eventually, things started to get less fine and less comfortable, and I started to look for something new. I applied for a new job, and within a week I had an official offer and a start date. It was hard saying goodbye to the work and the people I had given eight years of my life to, especially since I couldn’t be sure things at this new job would be better. Luckily, it turned out to be better than I had imagined, and totally worth the risk!
My new coworkers were a great group of creative, talented, friendly people that I genuinely enjoyed talking to, many of whom I’m still friends with today. The work was fun, engaging, and a perfect fit for my skills and experience. Other perks were a fully remote team and a flexible schedule that allowed for weekdays off (grocery shopping on Tuesday mornings became my new favorite thing). Then, after three years of working at what turned out to be my dream job, I got laid off.
Now What?
I was crushed. Not only because I was suddenly out of work and without a paycheck, but also because I realized that this job had raised the bar for what a workplace could be, and the chances of finding another with that exact combination of great coworkers, enjoyable work, a fully remote team, and schedule flexibility would be really low. Of course, that didn’t stop me from immediately applying to as many jobs as I could. I knew a paycheck was the most important thing in this case, and I was willing to let go of the expectations that had been set with my previous job. Unfortunately, the job market was tough. Like, “apply for thirty jobs in a week and get two rejection emails if I was lucky” kind of tough.
Taking Another Leap
After more than six months of very frustrating and demoralizing searching, I decided to try something new. I had been running my little online shop for almost two years by now, so why not use my small business knowledge to branch out? I had all the skills that I used in my last few jobs, plus all the customer service experience I had gained from years of working in retail and hospitality. Then I realized that other people don’t love organizing calendars, inboxes and files like I do, and that led me to virtual assistance! Once I started learning more about it, I was more and more convinced that this would be a great fit for me, and here I am!
Final Thoughts
I realize that freelance work is not easy or glamorous, but it does have its benefits compared to a traditional office job, and I’m willing to put in the hard work to be successful at it. I’m still very early into this new career that I’m building for myself, but I’m really enjoying the journey so far, and I’m confident that I can make it happen!
Have you ever experienced a sudden life change? How did you handle it? Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from you!
