20 Filipino VA Interview Questions That Actually Work (2026)

Why Interview Questions Matter More Than Résumés

Filipino VA résumés look remarkably similar. Most candidates have overlapping tool lists, comparable BPO backgrounds, and similar-looking years of experience. The résumé gives you a shortlist — the interview gives you the hire.

This guide covers the 20 most useful interview questions we've seen employers use to separate strong Filipino VAs from mediocre ones. Group by category, pick 6–10 that map to the role, and use them across your top 3–5 candidates for consistency.

Category 1: Fit and Motivation (5–7 minutes)

1. What kind of work energizes you and what drains you?
   Strong candidates answer with specifics. Weak candidates give generic "I love helping people" answers. This question surfaces real role fit in under 60 seconds.
2. Walk me through your typical working day at your most recent role.
   You're looking for structure, ownership, and proactive behavior. Candidates who describe predictable routines and self-managed priorities are ready for remote work.
3. Why are you leaving (or did you leave) your last role?
   Listen for professional framing. Red flags: long explanations blaming managers, vague "I wanted something new" with no specifics, or sudden gaps they don't explain.

Category 2: Skills and Tools (10–12 minutes)

4. Walk me through your experience with [specific tool — Gorgias, Shopify, Helium 10, etc.].
   Don't settle for "yes I've used it." Ask for specific workflows they owned. "Tell me exactly how you processed refunds in Gorgias for a Shopify store."
5. What's a process you improved at your last role?
   This separates executors from operators. A VA who can describe a process they redesigned — even a small one — will continue improving at your company.
6. How do you approach a task you've never done before?
   Strong answers involve documentation searches, Loom replays, asking specific questions, or testing approaches before committing. Weak answers wait for instructions.
7. Describe a time you made a mistake. How did you handle it?
   Look for ownership without over-apologizing, clear explanation of the root cause, and concrete steps taken to prevent recurrence.

Category 3: Communication (5–7 minutes)

8. How do you prefer to receive feedback?
   Candidates who have thought about this give you a usable answer. Those who haven't give you a vague "I'm open to any feedback." The former are easier to manage.
9. How do you handle disagreement with a manager?
   Strong candidates describe raising the issue directly but respectfully. Watch for avoidance ("I always do what my manager says") or excessive pushback patterns.
10. Tell me about a time you had to explain something technical to a non-technical person.
    This surfaces their ability to adapt communication style — a core skill for VA work.

Category 4: Ownership and Judgment (10 minutes)

11. A customer asks for a refund outside our normal window. What do you do?
    Strong candidates articulate a decision framework (check history, weigh cost of refund vs lifetime value, escalate if unusual). Weak candidates default to "I'd ask you."
12. You have 3 urgent tasks and can only finish 2 today. How do you choose?
    Look for explicit prioritization logic — impact on customer, revenue, team dependencies. Not just "I'd ask my manager."
13. What's one decision you made last week that your manager didn't pre-approve?
    Strong candidates have examples. Weak ones will stall. This single question reveals whether they're autonomous or dependent.
14. If you noticed our process was inefficient, how would you raise it?
    You want candidates who surface issues constructively and propose solutions — not complainers or silent executors.

Category 5: Work Environment and Reliability (5 minutes)

15. Describe your home office setup.
    Quiet room, reliable internet (ask for speed — "my internet is 100Mbps fiber" is specific; "I have good internet" is not), backup power. Philippine power interruptions are real.
16. What's your backup plan if your internet fails during a shift?
    Strong candidates have mobile hotspot as primary backup plus a co-working space or family home as secondary. Weak candidates haven't considered it.
17. How many hours per week are you available, and what hours specifically?
    Get specifics in both timezones. "9am–1pm EST Monday through Friday" is useful; "flexible full-time" is not.

Category 6: Closing (5 minutes)

18. Where do you want your career to be in 2 years?
    Candidates with career clarity stay longer. Watch for answers that mention continued professional growth in the direction of your role.
19. What are your rate expectations?
    Published ranges on the job post filter most mismatch early. Confirm their number at the end of the interview so there are no surprises in the offer stage.
20. Do you have any questions for me?
    The best candidates have thoughtful questions about your team, product, or how success is measured. The absence of questions is a yellow flag — it suggests passive engagement.

How to Run the Interview

• Schedule 45 minutes on Zoom. Video is important — it tells you about professionalism, eye contact, and home office setup.
• Test English in context. You've already seen written English in the application. The interview tests spoken English, which matters for any role with live communication.
• Ask for a paid test task. For any role above $6/hr, a paid 1–2 hour test task ($15–$30) dramatically reduces bad hires. Use a real problem you have.
• Run the same interview across candidates. Consistency lets you compare answers, not just feelings.

Red Flags to Watch For

• Inability to give a specific example when asked.
• Overuse of generic responses ("I'm a hard worker, I love learning").
• Blaming previous employers without self-reflection.
• Unexplained gaps in the employment history.
• Reluctance to commit to specific working hours.
• Asking about salary before demonstrating understanding of the role.
• No questions at the end of the interview.

The Bottom Line

Strong interview process is the single highest-ROI investment in remote hiring. A 60-minute structured interview + a 2-hour paid test task saves you from a bad hire that would cost 40+ hours to untangle.

Start by posting your role on WorkFil — free, no subscription — and use this question framework across your shortlist. For the broader hiring process, see our complete Filipino VA hiring guide.