We have two main goals at AssistU — to train fabulous VAs, and to support them in making amazing things happen for their clients.

One of the ways we support them in serving clients wonderfully is by offering two levels of professional certification that are the highest in the industry, the CPVA (Certified Professional Virtual Assistant) and CMVA (Certified Master Virtual Assistant).

The CPVA designation is the first level of certification available to AssistU trained Virtual Assistants, and was created to honor VAs who:

1. Had first made the huge investment to their professional growth by going through and graduating from the Virtual Training Program at AssistU (about 250 hours of training and study).

2. Who went on to have initial practical experiences working in relationships with clients, and building their businesses.

3. Who then wanted to make a bigger investment in their growth, and spent eight weeks working in a closely supervised client simulation which serves as the certification exam. The exam is experiential and knowledge-based; we certify based on what people know and can do — not simply based on what they know and can regurgitate to us on a written exam.

There are close to 50 things that a Virtual Assistant is being asked to demonstrate mastery of when she enters the client simulation.

Most of the skills we're evaluating are considered "soft skills." That's because we know that our VAs are already well-versed in the hard skills they need to perform well; they wouldn't have been admitted to AssistU for our training program unless that were the case.

The soft skills we teach are the skills they need to be successful, and to work with clients successfully regardless of the actual tasks that will be done. These are skills that will make them vastly valuable to clients, their lives and work.

Only those who demonstrate mastery of those skills earn the coveted CPVA designation.

The CMVA designation is the second level of certification offered. It is a Master's level certification, and the highest certification offered in the Virtual Assistance industry. It's available only to AssistU CPVAs, and was created to honor VAs who:

1. Had first demonstrated the mastery of over 50 core competencies by earning their CPVA certification.

2. Who then wanted to make a huge commitment to their profession by demonstrating that they've grown professionally to a Master's level.

• Integrity and accountability
  
• Communication skills
  
• Relationship skills
  
• Emotional maturity, and
  
• Technology skills

Among the things a CMVA must be able to demonstrate are:

• That s/he has certain advanced technology in place to serve you more effectively
  
• That s/he has a minimum of 1,500 documented hours of service to clients
  
• That s/he can outline the effectiveness of their work together and the outcomes achieved
  
• That those clients were delighted beyond measure with the service received
  
• That s/he is up to the task of working with clients at a level of Mastery that sets him/her apart from other VAs

...and more — all to allow us to evaluate the VA's ability to provide superior service to clients.

The CMVA designation is earned by completing an extensive package of information about the applicant's practice as it pertains to the requirements of the certification. The applicant's submission will then be reviewed by a Certification Review Board. That review is followed by an oral interview in which the applicant is asked to defend advanced case studies — much in the way a Ph.D. candidate defends a thesis.

Our standards are incredibly high. Only those who demonstrate they have achieved and can maintain the highest professional standards earn the illustrious CMVA designation.

We're seeing an increased number of clients who only want to work with VAs who have made the commitment to their profession and to honing their craft — those who have earned their CPVA and/or their CMVA.

And those VAs are only found at AssistU.