For aspiring VAs and freelancers in the Philippines
Learn what UK and US clients really look for, from someone who has been the client. Then win the work, and keep it.
Would yours get skipped? Take the free 30-second check
The Shortlisted VA way
Everything is taught from the client's side of the desk: how the person paying reads, decides and hires.
Think like the client.
See your application the way a UK or US business owner sees it, and learn what makes them trust a stranger fast.
Proof before your first client.
Portfolio pieces from realistic briefs, a client-ready CV and a profile that matches it.
Get read, not skipped.
Applications, messages and interview answers written for the person paying, in the English UK and US clients actually use.
Win it. Keep it. Raise your rate.
Win the client, start properly, and send the updates that make you hard to replace. Then raise your rate, one client at a time.
Courses and guides
One path, taught by Wez from the hiring side. Start with the foundation, then add what you need next.
Video course
The foundation for every kind of VA. Choose your direction, prove your skill, and win and keep your first UK or US client.
Not on sale yet
Go deeper on one step
Already know where you're stuck? Fix that one thing.
Applying and hearing nothing back?
Video course
CVs, cover letters, LinkedIn and applications for foreign and remote employers, taught from the hirer’s side of the desk.
Not on sale yet
Got an interview coming up?
Book, workbook and trainer
50 real VA interview questions, what the client is really asking, and answers that get the job. 22 of them Wez asked himself.
Not on sale yet
Coming later · Sold separately
Ten toolkit courses are planned, one for each kind of VA, teaching the software step by step, the way you will use it for a real client. Each one builds on The Client's Side. They are still being planned, with no dates or prices yet.
Why good people get skipped
A UK client posts one advert and gets a pile of applications. They read each one for a few seconds, looking for a reason to say no. Here is the same VA, writing two ways.
Dear Sir/Madam, Good day!2
I am interested in the job you posted. I am hardworking, honest and a fast learner3. I have no experience but I am willing to learn4.
Kindly consider my application, attached is my CV. Hoping for your positive response. Thank you and God bless!!
Juan
Hi Sarah,2
You mentioned your inbox gets away from you while you are out on jobs. I built a sample inbox system for a small business like yours, here is a two-minute video of it.3
I can work 8am to 2pm UK time and start this Monday. Would a ten-minute call on Thursday suit you?4
Maria
The difference isn't your English or your experience. It's whether you write for the person paying.
Free, 30 seconds
Think of the last application you sent. Answer six quick questions, the same six things a client checks.
Picture this
Imagine working for yourself from home, for businesses in the UK and the US. You set your price, you choose your clients, and your mornings belong to your family.
No manager watching the clock. You choose your clients, your services and the way you work.
You decide what an hour of your time is worth, and you raise it as your skills and reviews grow.
Breakfast together, the school run, every birthday and every game. Time you used to lose to a commute.
Your province, your parents' house, a weekend by the beach. If there is good Wi-Fi, there is work.
Your mornings are free before UK clients log on, and many clients care about results, not when you are online.
Paid in pounds and dollars, which can mean more than many local office jobs pay. See the real rates below.
A day in the life
Choose your direction
Almost every UK or US client is hiring for one of these. You choose one, prove you can do it, and win the client.
The owner's right hand: the inbox, the diary and the small jobs that eat their day.
Best first jobA laptop, free tools and careful work. A client can see quickly whether you're good.
Executive assistant to one owner, the role clients keep for years.
I sort your inbox every morning and reply to routine emails using your templates. You start every UK morning with an inbox you can read in five minutes, and anything urgent flagged by 10am.
An inbox system with labels and saved replies for a sample business, and a week of bookings with confirmation emails.
Choose your direction in lesson 2The friendly voice of the business, keeping customers happy so the owner never has to.
Best first jobA laptop, free tools and careful work. A client can see quickly whether you're good.
Support lead for an online shop, then running a small support team.
I answer your customer emails within the hour, Monday to Friday mornings, so nobody waits until lunchtime for a reply.
Ten saved replies for a UK online shop, in British English, and a short help page built from a pile of customer emails.
Choose your direction in lesson 2Finding the businesses your client wants to sell to, and the right person at each one.
Best first jobA laptop, free tools and careful work. A client can see quickly whether you're good.
Lead generation specialist, then running outreach or sales support for a growing business.
I build lists of businesses that fit your ideal customer, with the owner's or manager's name and an email I've checked on their own website. You get a list your team can start calling the same day.
A checked list of 50 UK businesses with the right contact at each, and a three-email outreach sequence.
Choose your direction in lesson 2Keeping a business visible online, every week, in its own voice.
Good first jobA good eye and some confidence with Canva.
Social media manager with several monthly clients.
I plan, write and schedule three posts a week on Instagram and Facebook from your photos, and reply to comments within a day. Your pages stay busy without you thinking about them.
A two-week content calendar with captions for a local UK tradesperson, and six Canva posts from a sample brief.
Choose your direction in lesson 2Running the back room of an online shop, so the owner can focus on selling.
Good first jobClients often use one platform, like Shopify, and want you to know it.
Store manager for one or more online shops.
I upload your new products with clear titles, photos and descriptions written for your buyers, and keep the stock numbers right every day. Nothing sells that you haven't got.
Five product listings rewritten to sell, and a stock and reorder tracker in Google Sheets.
Choose your direction in lesson 2Picking up the phone so the owner only talks to people ready to buy.
Good first jobA strong internet line, a quiet room, and a voice that's comfortable on the phone all day.
Appointment setter, then closer or sales team lead, often with commission on top.
I call your list from your script, book the people who say yes straight into your diary, and log every call. You open your calendar to booked appointments, not a list of numbers.
A call script with objection replies for a UK service business, and a recorded practice call with its CRM notes.
Choose your direction in lesson 2Where this can take you
Typical hourly rates UK and US clients pay Filipino VAs, full time. Every client you keep moves you up a step.
$5 to $6 /hr
₱55,000 to ₱67,000 a month$880 to $1,056 a month
$6.50 to $8 /hr
₱72,000 to ₱89,000 a month$1,144 to $1,408 a month
$8.50 to $11.50+ /hr
₱94,000 to ₱128,000+ a month$1,496 to $2,024+ a month
₱166,000 to ₱277,000+ a month$2,640 to $4,400+ a month
How fast you climb depends on your hours, your skills and your clients.Pesos at ₱63.02 to the dollar, the European Central Bank reference rate for 6 November 2026.
Why Shortlisted VA
There are plenty of VA courses in the Philippines. Here is how a typical one compares, point by point.
Your teacher
A British entrepreneur based in the Philippines, who has owned and run several UK limited companies and sat on the hiring side again and again: recruiting, interviewing and training Filipino VAs, editors and teachers for his own businesses.
So when he tells you what a UK or US client is looking for, it isn't theory. He has read the applications, run the interviews and onboarded the people who got the job.
Worried about the accent?
Every lesson has English and Taglish captions, and you can pause and rewatch as often as you like. Your clients will be British and American, so learning from a British voice is practice for the real thing.
Real rooms, real people
Coworking spaces and communities of aspiring VAs keep asking Wez to run his workshops on working online. Only so many people fit in one room, so the courses bring those workshops to you, wherever you live.
“Thank you, Sir, for generously sharing your insights and guiding our aspiring Virtual Assistants and fellow VAs who joined us. Your willingness to share your knowledge and inspire others means so much to everyone who wants to grow and succeed in the virtual assistance industry.”
Members only
Every student gets the private Shortlisted VA Discord, shared by everyone who joins any of the courses. Students only, never open to the public.
Not a student yet? WFH Opportunities For You is free: hand-checked jobs, 3,000+ VAs.
Sent my first three applications using the lesson 4 template!
Nice one. Mine got a reply this morning, call on Thursday.
Brilliant, both of you. Jun, post your interview questions in #help and we will prep them.
Your 7-day promise
The Client's Side comes with a 7-day money-back promise. Reply to your receipt before lesson 2 opens and the money goes straight back.
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Free help
What clients think of your application, spotting fake adverts, choosing your first service, and CV and interview tips.
Questions
No. The Client's Side is built for people starting from zero. You build proof of your skill, two portfolio pieces, a CV and a matching profile, before you ever have a client.
If you can read this page, yes. The lessons are in English with English and Taglish captions, and you can pause and rewatch as often as you like. Your clients will be British and American, so learning from a British voice is practice for the real thing.
Wez Westwood, a British business owner in the Philippines who has recruited, interviewed and trained Filipino VAs for his own company. Everything is taught from the side of the person who hires.
It will make you a much stronger applicant. No course can promise you a client, and you should be wary of any that does.
No. UK and US clients don't ask for one. They hire on proof, and the courses help you build it: portfolio pieces, a client-ready CV and applications written for the person paying.
The lessons are recorded, so you watch when it suits you and pause and rewatch as often as you like. The Client's Side also includes a live Q&A.
Yes. Watch in the evening or at the weekend and keep up one lesson a week.
A laptop or computer, a stable internet connection and a free Google account. The videos play on a phone, but the tasks are easier on a computer.
GCash, Maya, QR Ph or card, through PayMongo's secure checkout. Your card and wallet details never reach us.
The Client's Side has a 7-day money-back promise: watch lesson 1, and if it isn't for you, reply to your receipt before lesson 2 opens and you get your money back.
Your next application
Start with the foundation every UK and US client is looking for.
