WHAT IS DATA ENTRY?

In the Information Age, Digital era, it has become common in today's world; all the business has been automated. No paper works exist as everything is made computerized, that makes your work simple and easy. That why data entry job appears.

I. The concept/definition of Data entry:

From Wikipedia.com, the definition of a Data entry clerk is: “A data entry clerk, sometimes called a typist, is a member of staff employed to type data into a database using a keyboard, optical scanner, or data recorder. The keyboards used can often have specialist keys and multiple colors to help in the task and speed up the work.” Data entry clerks are also known as Customs Entry Clerk, Data Input Clerk, Data Keyer, Data entry Keyer, Data Processing Clerk, Data Typist.

To be more specific, Companies that need to file many legal documents, images, and/or other information will benefit greatly from having a data entry clerk. Software can interpret much information from documents, but it's not always accurate thus the data entry clerk makes sure the information is filed in the correct manner. Normally companies look for individuals with an aptitude to perform repetitive tasks, and have above normal typing skills. Many large organizations really need data entry workers to keep the company running smooth and prevent investing large amount of time locating documents (some may be in an archival system).

II. WHAT SKILLS ARE REQUIRED FOR A DATA ENTRY CLERK?

Through data entry projects that we have done, we came to the conclusion that there are 3 essential skills for a data entry clerk.

1. Office Software, Written (including Grammar) skills:

They must possess certain essential software skills like using word processors, spreadsheets, database, and other related record management software.

2. Fast typing speed:

The speed for a data entry is about 40-50 words per minute. Don't be worry about this speed because you can improve it by several ways that we mentioned in article "HOW TO IMPROVE TYPING SKILLS FOR A FRESH DATA ENTRY?"

3. Patience and concentration:

As they have to spend long hours in the same seating position doing the same job, patience and high concentration is extremely important. Having high levels of concentration and patience is not just another attribute for data entry clerks; as in case they lack this attribute, they would feel doing a thankless job, resulting in low quality output.

III. The trend of data entry jobs:

Nowadays, most of data entry jobs are outsourced to outsourcing service agencies because companies which use data entry services can focus on their competencies; save money, save time, increase the productivity and level of quality. And of course, outsourcing services agencies will do the best in order to accomplish the jobs with the highest quality, highest accuracy.

Source: AM Outsourcing Services Agency Website

LinkedIn- professional social network that will support you in SEO campaign.

LinkedIn is a social networking website for people in professional occupations. There are several different purposes to use your network on LinkedIn:

• To keep in touch with the people within your own network and to always have updated information about their current occupation.
• Via one of your network contacts, you can be introduced to an employer or business associate of choice.
• Employers can search for qualified people, and also get them recommended from contacts the employer can trust.
• It is possible to find contacts from a company where one would prefer to work, and to find information of the work environment.
  

Because of these useful functions, LinkedIn becomes the largest professional network. Therefore, using LinkedIn is one of the ways to help you improve your website’s SEO.
There are 3 crucial things you must keep in your mind:

1. Joining in LinkedIn groups:

A lot of the groups that you can join here are regularly read and linked too. This makes them very powerful social signals should you successfully create your own discussions and link them back to your website.

→ Joining in groups: the more the better.

2. Getting more connections:

The more connections you get, the bigger the following you have on your profile. You can target CEO’s or managers, and this gives you some control over what the demographic will be of the people you are connected to. Whenever you gain a connection, you are well advised to go through their connections and invite them to connect to you, as long as they are in the industry or demographic that you will find useful to contact in the future.

A large number of connections mean that you can post content for their attention much the same as you would on Twitter or Facebook, absolutely, it will help you in SEO.

In addition, perhaps one of people in your connections will become your customer in one day.

→ Getting more connections: The more the better.

3. Group discussions can be like guest posts:

Answer questions is the way you can PR for your business and at the same time, you can build backlinks.

→ Group discussions: The more the better. However, remember that your answers must be useful for the askers, otherwise, they will be spams and other people will not appreciate you.

With 3 main things above, LinkedIn helps you improve your website’s SEO. Anyway, you also should create your profile and company’s profile professionally and it will be easier to attract other people.

Source: http://www.outsourcing2vietnam.com/blog/116-linkedin-com-some-ways-to-improve-your-website-s-seo.html

HOW TO IMPROVE TYPING SKILLS FOR A FRESH DATA ENTRY?

For a data entry, the speed and accuracy of typing is one of the most essential skills. A good data entry typing speed is usually considered to be between 40-50 words per minute (40-50 WPM). How to improve the typing skill? There are several different techniques that you can do to help improve typing skills:

1.Proper placement:

The first rule for a fresh data entry is that learn to type the proper way (no typing with one or two fingers). This means your fingers should be on the home row keys A, S, D, and F with the left hand and J, K, L with the right hand.

2.Type more and practice:

The second rule for data entry is typing and practice typing more will obviously help the most. The more you type the more familiar you will become with the computer keyboard and the position of the keys.

3.Chatting:

Online chat can be a great place for a fresh data entry to learn to type and is also usually fun at the same time. But, keep in your mind, if you're really wanting to learn to type more efficiently while chatting make sure to use proper capitalization, punctuation, and do not use chat slang.

4.Practicing through online typing tests:

Run through each of the online typing tests several times. Not only will doing each of the different tests help improve your typing, you will be able to catch your errors and notice your progression. Remember the goal: “A good data entry typing speed is usually considered to be between 40-50 words per minute”.

There are several websites providing typing tests such as:

http://www.careerstep.com/free-typing-test

http://10fastfingers.com/typing-test

http://www.calculatorcat.com/typing_test/

5.Type pages of a book with lots of text:

Although not an option that is as fun as some of the other suggestions but typing everything on that page is a great way to help improve your typing.

6.Create your own blog:

Sometimes, with a data entry, typing is exceedingly boring. Why you don’t turn the boring work into something interesting? You can share your information, emotion with other people by typing a paragraph each day. Beside practice typing, it also helps you release stress after a hard-working day.

 With 6 techniques above, you also must remember “PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT”, practice typing more; the most likely you become a successful data entry in near future.

 By the way, when do a job as data entry, prepare eye drops to protect your eyes from eyestrain.

Source: http://www.outsourcing2vietnam.com/blog/111-how-to-improve-typing-skills-for-a-fresh-data-entry.html

10 reasons to Outsource your tasks

Time is precious for any entrepreneur. Spending it on time-consuming tasks is definitely not a better choice for any business person. You should outsource certain tasks that can be done by others, to get some free time for yourself to focus on building your business.

Many people summarize that there are 10 main reasons to outsource your tasks.
1. You are an individual entrepreneur and have very less money to invest on a full time employee.
2. You are a small business person, but don't need a full-fledged office set-up to run your business
3. You find yourself spending time on simple administrative tasks that could be handled by others
4. You get irritated and frustrated to sit in front of your computer when you could attend a business meeting.
5. You spend too much time on reading emails that don't need your immediate attention
6. You miss important emails and fail to respond to your clients immediately
7. You burn the midnight oil and find yourself stressed out for the early morning client meeting
8. You find yourself married to work 24/7
9. You need help on some tasks that you are not good at.
10. You don't want to do repetitive tasks every day.   

10 Things to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

Using a virtual assistant can shave hours from your workweek, but knowing which tasks to delegate can be tricky, whether you're starting or growing a business. Most virtual assistants are contract or freelance workers who do their jobs from home and focus on administrative tasks that are similar to those of an executive assistant or secretary. Websites that specialize in contract workers, such as odesk.com and elance.com, have thousands of listings for virtual assistants.

With the number of virtual assistants are growing, their expertise now runs the gamut, making it easier to find someone who fits your organization, says Jaleh Bisharat, vice president of marketing at oDesk.com, which is based in Redwood City, Calif. In 2012, oDesk had 25,000 postings for virtual assistant jobs, compared to about 2,500 in 2008.

Entrepreneurs can use virtual assistants for everything from making vendor or customer service calls to sending out thank you cards to prospective clients. It's important to build trust, just as you would with a permanent employee. "They become a team member who just happens to work remotely," Bisharat says. Not sure where to start? Here are 10 ways you can use a virtual assistant to improve your business.

Bookkeeping: Keeping tabs on bills and other bookkeeping matters can be one of the easiest things to assign to a virtual assistant, says Kathy Colaiacovo, marketing director for the International Virtual Assistants Association, a Henderson, Nev.-based trade group. Many small businesses choose to share their bookkeeping systems with their virtual assistants who can then follow up on tasks such as outstanding invoices or unpaid bills. "You will need to hand over some control [including] passwords and access to accounts," Colaiacovo says.

Online Research: You can easily farm out Internet research to virtual assistants. Common requests include finding information on corporate websites, exploring new products and vetting potential employees or business contacts, says Sue Kramer Harrawood, president of Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance, an Orland Park, Ill., firm that provides companies with virtual assistants. Be sure to send clear instructions, along with user names and passwords so assistants can get access to specialty search tools or paid websites. Tristen O'Brien, an eBay marketing expert in Westfield, Indiana, asks his assistant to help him find blog topics, as well as occasionally proofread his blog [link: www.theebayentrepreneur.com] on eBay selling. "She researches what is trending and reports back to me," O'Brien says.

Database entries: Whether it's a slew of new business cards picked up at a conference or updated information for existing contacts, keeping databases current is a suitable task for virtual assistants. Be specific about your needs and expectations, and make sure the virtual assistant has done this type of work before so there's less room for errors, Kramer Harrawood says. "Follow up is a huge thing for business owners. Sometimes clients will fax or scan business cards to us, and [virtual assistants] will plug them into the database."

Data presentations: Turning raw data into a clear PowerPoint presentation or summarizing research findings in a Word document can be a huge timesaver when prepping for meetings, says Rich Pearson, chief marketing officer at eLance.com, a jobs website for freelancers in Mountain View, Calif., who uses a virtual assistant himself. The data "comes back in a format I can share," he says.

Managing email: To keep you from wasting time in your email inbox, some virtual assistants will filter your most important emails and respond to the rest on your behalf, Colaiacovo says. Such email management is easy to do remotely, but you need to provide guidance on how to pick out key emails and ask the assistant to copy you before sending out any responses to reduce the risk of errors. 

Social tasks: Virtual assistants can be a good bet to handle tasks such as writing holiday cards or sending thank you notes, says Bisharat, who notes that social chores have become a very common assignment. Such tasks can become "all consuming" for business executives, she says, "but a good virtual assistant can take care of all of it." 

Travel Research: Virtual assistants are a great resource for finding hotels, booking airfares and mapping out trip itineraries both for business and pleasure, Pearson says. The assistants can take advantage of the growing number of travel research tools and review sites on the Web. They can also deal with the hassle of navigating time zones when booking or researching international travel options by phone.

Scheduling: Because many scheduling tools are available online, virtual assistants are managing the calendars of many clients, says Kramer Harrawood. Tasks include dealing with meeting invitations from others, scheduling appointments with clients and helping to plan events. "It's about being comfortable and letting go of that calendar" to a non-staff person working remotely, Kramer Harrawood says.

Chasing business: Prioritizing potential business opportunities can be challenging, but virtual assistants can help with the process. When deciding what to sell on eBay, for example, O'Brien asks his virtual assistant to look around for products that can be profitable to resell. "I give them quite a few websites to visit, and they take it from there," he says. "They look for clearance items and other types of products."

Industry knowledge prep: With limited time to keep up with industry news, some small businesses have turned to virtual assistants to keep tabs on the most important happenings. Many executives then use the industry information to update their Twitter feed or bring up interesting developments in conversation with customers and prospects. This helps "executives appear to have timely news," Pearson says.

Source: 

http://www.entrepreneur.com

http://outsourcing2vietnam.com 

7 essential skills to make a good virtual assistant

Outsourcing is the trend in all over the world. There are many kinds of outsourcing services: content writing; advertising posting; data entry, internet research; online marketing; trading promotion, software design, … But in my point of view, VA- a kind of outsourcing service is very creative and smart.

What is VA?

VA stands for Virtual Assistant. According to Wikipedia.com, the definition of Virtual Assistant is:

“A virtual assistant is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from a home office. Because virtual assistants are independent contractors rather than employees, clients are not responsible for any employee-related taxes, insurance or benefits, except in the context that those indirect expenses are included in the VA's fees. Clients also avoid the logistical problem of providing extra office space, equipment or supplies. Clients pay for 100% productive work, and can work with Virtual Assistants, individually, or in multi-VA firms to meet their exact needs. Virtual Assistants usually work for other small businesses but can also support busy executives.”

With these roles of a Virtual Assistant, many people agree that there are 7 essential skills to make a good virtual assistant.

Organizing: 

Good organizational skills are also important because you may be working on several different projects for several different clients all at the same time. You will need to be organized in order to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Time management: 

Of course, time management is not only important to a virtual assistant, but also everyone. Virtual assistants must be able to prioritize work on a daily basis, and multi-task when necessary. Plan your day according to deadlines and schedule blocks of time to complete each task. Set a timer if you need to. Recognize distractions and find ways to minimize the interruptions.

Typing:

The role as an assistant, obviously, typing is imperative.

Writing and Grammar:

As a virtual assistant you should also have good writing skills. Clients will need a wide variety of projects written for them (everything from articles to business letters and email messages). Such projects not only showcase your own professionalism but your client's as well since you are doing their writing tasks for them. Grammar is correct that will guarantee the professionalism of business emails in the eyes businessmen.

Networking:

As a virtual assistant, networking can provide the critical link to the outside world in an otherwise solitary profession. In addition to regular contact with like-minded individuals, networking is the key to acquiring new business and referrals. People like to work with people they know.

Computer skills:

Since all of your work is going to be done on your computer, you will need to have excellent computer and Internet skills. Not only will you need to know how to run the various programs, especially MS Word, Excel, Publisher, Google, Skype… that you will need to use as a virtual assistant but you will also need to know how to do basic computer maintenance as this is important because if your computer goes down, both you and your client's work will come to a halt.

Sales and Marketing:

Last but not least, as a virtual assistant, you are your own sales and marketing team. Home-based business owners must generate business by cold-calling or otherwise prospecting for new leads. If you are uncomfortable with sales, consider attending a workshop to build your confidence.

These knowledge and information that I learned when working in an outsourcing services agency, I hope it’s useful for you when starting a job as Virtual Assistant.

      Source: http://www.outsourcing2vietnam.com/blog/110-7-essential-skills-to-make-a-good-virtual-assistant.html

Why should outsource to Vietnam?

There's no doubt that outsourcing is here to stay. Companies large and small are sending out their non-essential tasks so they can focus on their core business. With the explosive advent of the Internet - and lately the mobile web - the world is becoming smaller by the minute. Geography is less and less of an issue, and the global worker is emerging as a force to be reckoned with.

Two main destinations for the outsourcing needs of the world have emerged in the last decade: Eastern Europe and South-East Asia. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and knowing which one to choose could save you a lot of headache along the way. In South-East Asia, Vietnam continues to be a top choice because of the relatively low labor and other costs and because of highly attractive government incentives and an improving legal and business environment.

1.Outsource to Vietnam for Low labor costs

Obviously one of the main resources to outsource work is to save money, so naturally you will be interested in the price quoted by the offshore provider. Vietnam’s low-cost, diligent, educated and large labor force has been a major factor in its rapid rise as a destination of choice for foreign manufacturing firms. Vietnam’s wages are believed to be among the lowest in the world.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country

*One U.S. dollar equals approximately 21,105 Vietnamese Dong (VND)

For comparison, Shenzhen has China’s highest monthly minimum wage level at RMB1,500 (US$245), while Delhi has India’s at INR8,112 (US$147) per month.

2.Outsource to Vietnam because of Good Education and Training

According to International Labor Organization (ILO), compared to many other developing countries, Vietnam has an outstanding literacy rate of 90.3% and its educational expenditure is an impressive 3.5% GDP. The government is continuing to invest in the basic education system along with targeted improvements to its professional training programs and higher institutions.

3.Outsource to Vietnam because of Government and Economy.

Arguably, the stability of a country’s government and its macroeconomics policies and conditions has the greatest impact on the foreign investment in the country.

The country is governed exclusively by the Communist Party of Vietnam whose major priority for the last nearly 40 years has been to increase economic development and transform a state-owned and directed economy to a market based economy.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Vietnam expanded 5.54 percent in the third quarter of 2013 over the same quarter of the previous year. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Vietnam is reported by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Vietnam GDP Annual Growth Rate averaged 6.55 Percent from 2000 until 2013, reaching an all-time high of 8.48 Percent in December of 2007 and a record low of 3.12 Percent in March of 2009 .

Source: Why we should outsource to Vietnam?