An executive virtual assistant you hire directly

What an offshore executive assistant handles in your week

Partners and directors often spend hours each week on email, scheduling and follow-ups that someone else could run. An offshore executive assistant takes that load across the whole week:

• Each morning: triage the inbox, draft replies and flag the few emails that need your decision.
• Before meetings: resolve diary clashes, send agendas and prepare briefing notes from your files.
• After meetings: capture actions, chase them with your team and clients, and close the loop.
• Through the week: book travel, process expenses for approval and turn your notes into proposals or presentations.

The role works well in accounting firms, law firms and marketing agencies, where senior people’s time is what the business sells.

What stays with you

• Decisions and sign-off on anything sent in your name that you have not delegated
• Confidential matters you choose to keep to yourself
• Payments and financial authorisations beyond agreed limits

Write three short lists before your assistant starts: what they handle alone, what they draft for you, and what they always escalate.

How we test executive assistants

Searches for a remote executive assistant often lead to agencies that share one assistant across several clients. We recruit one person for you. Each search typically starts with 1,000+ candidates from job advertising, direct headhunting and referrals through vetted local networks in the Philippines. Of that starting pool, about 40% pass CV and quality screening, 20% the video screen, 10% the practical assessment and 5% the structured interview. Around 2% reach finalist review, and you receive a shortlist of 3–4, usually within about 2 weeks.

The practical assessment could include an inbox of sample emails and three meeting requests that clash, where the candidate prioritises, resolves the conflicts and drafts replies. When you interview, give a finalist a real scheduling problem from your last month. Look for sound judgement about what matters, accuracy with times and names, and writing you would send under your own name.

The cost of an assistant through an agency

With a managed agency, you pay a fee every month on top of your assistant’s salary, for as long as they support you. Staff Domain, for example, publishes $1,099 per person per month, about $13,188 a year, plus $1,200 per hire (checked October 2026). Keep the same assistant for four years and that is about $53,952 in fees.

With Tarino you pay a one-time fee, and your executive virtual assistant keeps their full salary because you pay them directly. Compare agency fees with a one-time fee, or see the markup on your own salary figure.

Making the handover stick

An executive assistant is worth more each month they learn your priorities, so the first weeks matter. Share your diary rules, your top clients and how you like briefing notes laid out. Plan leave cover around the Philippines public holidays for 2026. If the work is broader business admin rather than your own week, a virtual assistant may fit better. More than 95% of Tarino placements are still in the role at 6 months, so the handover you invest in now keeps paying back. See the five screening stages.