Martyn Butler, founder · Updated 6 November 2026 · 7 minute read
The short answer
The virtual assistant interview questions worth asking are about specific past events, not general qualities. Ask them to walk you through a normal day in their last role, a mistake they made and what they did next, and how they chased somebody who was not replying. For a VA in the Philippines, add questions on their computer, back-up internet and power, and the shift in UK time.
Where the interview fits
An interview on its own tells you how somebody interviews. What you need to know is how they work, and a short paid task, drawn from the real job, shows you that far better. Our guide at /guides/test-tasks-to-hire-a-virtual-assistant covers how to set and score one.
So split the conversation in two. A short introductory call before the task, to check the basics and let them ask about the role. Then a proper interview after the task, with their work on the table. The questions below are grouped that way.
The introductory call
Keep it to about twenty minutes. You are checking that the basics fit and that they can talk clearly about their own work, not deciding whether to hire them. A few questions do it:
- What have you read about this role, and what part of it would you be best at? It shows whether they read the advert, and it is a fair opener.
- Which hours could you work, every week, in UK time? Ask for a specific answer, not 'flexible'.
- When could you start, and do you have any other work that would carry on alongside this?
- What would you want to know about the job before doing a paid task for it?
Questions that get past rehearsed answers
Ask about specific past events rather than general qualities. 'Are you organised?' has only one answer. 'Tell me about the last time you had too much to do' has a thousand, and the real ones sound different from the made-up ones. Follow each answer with 'what happened next?' and 'what would you do differently?' until you reach detail they could not have prepared.
| Ask | Listen for | Be wary of |
|---|---|---|
| Walk me through a normal day in your last role, from logging on to logging off. | Named tools, real tasks, an order to the day | A description of a job title rather than a day |
| Tell me about a mistake you made at work. What did you do next? | A real mistake, owned, and what they changed afterwards | No mistake at all, or one that was somebody else's fault |
| Tell me about a time you had to chase somebody who was not replying. | Several steps, a change of approach, a time limit | Sending the same email again and waiting |
| Describe a procedure you followed every day, step by step. | Enough detail that you could follow it yourself | Vague steps, or 'it depends' at every turn |
| Tell me about an instruction you thought was wrong. What did you do? | They raised it, politely, before or instead of ignoring it | They quietly did it their own way |
| Three urgent requests arrive at once. How do you decide what to do first? | A way of choosing, and telling the people who have to wait | 'I would do them all at once' |
The interview after the task
This is the conversation that tells you most, because both of you are looking at the same piece of work. Ask:
- Talk me through how you did it. Where did you start?
- Why did you answer the customer that way? What else did you consider?
- What was unclear in the brief, and what did you assume?
- What would you change with another hour?
- If this were your job every day, what would you want written down for you?
Why the follow-up matters
Good answers here are specific and a little self-critical. A candidate who can explain every choice in their own words did the work themselves. One who cannot explain work far better than the rest of their application may have had help, from a friend or a tool. Ask kindly and see.
The overseas questions: set-up
A remote assistant is only as reliable as the computer and connection they work on, so ask about both directly.
- What computer will you work on, and is it yours? Ask for the processor and memory rather than the brand. Our own application asks for at least a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 and 8GB of memory.
- How fast is your internet? Ask them to run a test at speedtest.net and send you the result link rather than quoting a number. We ask for at least 10 Mbps download and 5 upload.
- Where will you work? A quiet room matters for calls, and a shared space at home can be noisy at the times you need them.
- Will anyone else use this computer? If it holds your logins, the answer should be no.
The overseas questions: back-up internet and power
Connections drop and power goes, in the UK and in the Philippines. The question is not whether it will happen, but what they do when it does.
- If your internet goes down, what do you work on? A second connection or mobile data they can work from is the answer you want.
- If the power goes, what happens to your shift? Ask how their computer and router are kept running, or where they would go to carry on.
- Do you have a second computer you could use if yours breaks?
- Who would you tell, how, and how quickly? Agree it before they start: a message in one named place within a set time, and a note of the hours lost.
The overseas questions: hours
The Philippines is 7 hours ahead of the UK in British summer time and 8 hours ahead in winter, because only the UK changes its clocks. A shift covering UK office hours runs through their afternoon and evening. /uk-philippines-time shows both sides.
- Here is the shift in UK time and your time. Can you work it every week, including in winter, when it finishes an hour later for you?
- What else is in your day around those hours? Another job, study or family commitments are fine, if they do not clash with the shift.
- How would you get to a place to work if you had to leave home?
- Which public holidays do you usually take? The UK and Philippine holidays fall on different days, so agree now which apply.
The overseas questions: communication
Across a time difference, most of your working relationship is written. These questions test how they will tell you things, especially the things that are awkward to say.
- How would you tell me you did not understand an instruction? Listen for a clear question, not a guess.
- How would you tell me a deadline was going to be missed, and when?
- If I said something that sounded unclear or rude in a message, what would you do? Direct UK phrasing can read differently, and it helps if they will ask rather than worry.
- How do you like to receive feedback: in writing, on a call, straight away or at the end of the week?
- Is there anything in this role you would find hard to say no to? A customer asking for a refund is the usual one.
Questions you should not ask
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination because of age, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Questions about whether they plan to have children, their religion, their marital status or their age have no place in the interview, wherever the candidate lives. Whether UK employment law applies to an overseas contractor depends on the arrangement, so take advice, but the fair answer is the same either way: ask about the work.
Scoring what you heard
- Ask every candidate the same core questions, in the same order, so you compare like with like.
- Write notes during the call, in their words, not your impression.
- Score straight afterwards against criteria you set before the first call, and write one line of evidence beside each score.
- Put the interview score beside the task score. When they disagree, trust the task.
What good candidates ask you
Leave time for their questions, and notice them. Somebody who asks how the work is checked, who they go to when they are stuck, what happens on UK bank holidays, or what the first week looks like is already thinking about doing the job well. A candidate with no questions at all is not always a bad sign, but it is worth one gentle prompt.
How we do it
With Mango & Co., the screening happens before you meet anybody. Each candidate has passed our tests, a timed exercise built from your role's real work, references and an interview with us, and our application asks about the set-up above: the computer, a speed test result, back-up internet and a back-up computer, and whether they can work a fixed shift in UK business hours. You then interview a vetted shortlist and choose, and we make the offer and handle the contract.
If you would like to know what kind of person would suit your business, and which jobs they would take first, our free plan at /fit takes a few minutes.
Common questions
What should I ask a virtual assistant about their computer and internet?
Ask what computer they will work on, whether it is theirs, and for the processor and memory rather than the brand. For internet, ask them to run a test at speedtest.net and send you the result link instead of quoting a number. Our own application asks for at least a Core i5 or Ryzen 5, 8GB of memory, and 10 Mbps download and 5 upload.
What questions should I not ask a VA in an interview?
Do not ask about plans to have children, religion, marital status or age, wherever the candidate lives. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination because of characteristics including age, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, and sex. Whether UK employment law applies to an overseas contractor depends on the arrangement, so take advice, but the fair approach is the same: ask about the work.
Is an interview enough to hire a virtual assistant?
No, an interview on its own mostly tells you how somebody interviews. A short paid task drawn from the real job shows you how they work, so hold a short introductory call before the task and a proper interview after it, with their work on the table. When the interview score and the task score disagree, trust the task.
What happens if my VA's internet or power goes down?
A good VA has a plan for it before it happens, so ask about it in the interview. For internet, the answer you want is a second connection or mobile data they can work from, and for power, how their computer and router keep running. Agree in advance who they tell, in one named place, within a set time, with a note of the hours lost.
How long should a first call with a VA candidate be?
About twenty minutes is enough for an introductory call. At that stage you are checking that the basics fit and that they can talk clearly about their own work, not deciding whether to hire them. Ask which hours they could work every week in UK time, when they could start, and what they would want to know before doing a paid task.