One of the ways we support them in serving you better is by offering two levels of professional certification that are the highest in the industry.

The Certified Professional Virtual Assistant (CPVA) designation is the first level of certification available to AssistU trained Virtual Assistants.

It 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 core hard skills they need; they wouldn’t have been accepted for our mentoring program unless that were the case.

The soft skills we teach are the skills they need to be successful and to work with you successfully regardless of the actual tasks that you need to have done. These are skills that will make them vastly valuable to you, even as they are handling your tasks. These are the skills that allow them to really collaborate with you, and make valuable contributions to your life and work.

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

The Certified Master Virtual Assistant (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.

There are a number of factors in several categories that are considered for the CMVA designation, including but not limited to:

• 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.

Feel free to visit our Member Verification page where you can verify our current AssistU community members who are graduates, CPVAs, and CMVAs.

“Play by the rules, but be ferocious.”
– Phil Knight, Founder, Nike