How Filipino VAs Get Hired: Profile, Portfolio & Cover Letter Guide

Why Your Profile Is the Only Thing That Matters

International employers scanning VA profiles spend 10–20 seconds per profile on the first pass. That's it. Your headline, profile photo, and first two sentences either get you shortlisted or get you skipped.

Most Filipino VA profiles are generic. Same headline template, same "hardworking and dedicated" adjectives, same vague skill list. The ones that get hired look completely different — specific, measurable, focused on outcomes.

This is a complete rewrite guide: profile, portfolio, cover letter, and photo. By the end you'll know exactly how to restructure your profile to get 5–10× more interview requests.

Part 1: The Headline

The Bad Template

"Experienced Virtual Assistant | Hardworking and Dedicated | Fast Learner"

Every third profile says some version of this. It communicates nothing. The employer scrolls past.

The Formula That Works

[Specialization] | [Key Tool 1, Key Tool 2] | [Years of Experience] | [Result or Credential]

Examples:

"Shopify Customer Service VA | Gorgias, Klaviyo | 4 Years | 95% CSAT"
"Filipino Bookkeeper | QuickBooks ProAdvisor + Xero Advisor | 6 Years"
"Amazon PPC & Listings VA | Helium 10 Certified | 3 Years | $2M+ Revenue Managed"
"Executive Assistant | C-Suite Support | Notion + Calendly | 5 Years"
"Real Estate VA | Follow Up Boss Specialist | 300+ Leads/Week | 2 Years"

Notice: specific role, specific tools, years of experience, and (where possible) a measurable result or credential. Every word earns its place.

Part 2: The Profile Summary

The Bad Summary

"Hi! I'm a hardworking virtual assistant with experience in many areas including customer service, data entry, and social media. I am a fast learner, detail-oriented, and can work with minimal supervision. I am looking for a full-time remote role where I can contribute my skills and grow with the company. Thank you for considering my profile."

This tells the employer nothing they can't get from every other candidate.

The Summary That Works

Structure: 3 paragraphs, each with a specific job:

Paragraph 1 — What you do and for whom. One sentence. Then one sentence about the specific value you create.

Example: "I'm a Shopify customer service VA who has worked with two US beauty brands for the last 4 years. I handle 60–80 Gorgias tickets per day, maintain 95%+ CSAT, and recovered $22k in abandoned cart revenue last year through better escalation routing."

Paragraph 2 — Your tool stack and credentials. List specific tools and certifications. No adjectives.

Example: "Expert in Gorgias, Shopify, Klaviyo, Loop Returns, Recharge, Canva, and Slack. HubSpot Inbound Certified. I can build custom Gorgias macros and Klaviyo segments without hand-holding."

Paragraph 3 — What you're looking for and how to contact you.

Example: "I'm looking for a long-term role (1+ year) with a single brand, 20–40 hours/week. Available 9 pm–5 am Philippine time for US Eastern coverage. Feel free to message me or request a test task — I'm happy to work a paid trial project to show quality."

Part 3: The Profile Photo

Profiles with professional headshots get 5–10× more views than profiles with casual photos or no photo. This is the single highest-ROI change most Filipino VAs can make.

Rules:

Plain wall or soft office background. Not your bedroom. Not your living room.
Neutral expression or genuine smile — no forced poses.
Head and shoulders framing. You should take up 50–70% of the frame vertically.
Good lighting from the front (window or lamp).
Clothing: a plain collared shirt or blouse. Not a band T-shirt. Not a selfie in pajamas.
High resolution (1000×1000 px minimum). Don't use a blurry phone photo.

Cost to do this right: 30 minutes and a friend with a decent phone camera. The ROI over your VA career: tens of thousands of dollars.

Part 4: The Tools and Skills Section

List tools, not adjectives.

Bad: "Tech-savvy, organized, good communicator, detail-oriented, fast learner."

Good: "Tools: Gorgias (expert), Klaviyo (expert), Shopify admin (advanced), Canva (advanced), HubSpot (intermediate), Slack (expert), Notion (advanced), Loom (advanced), ChatGPT + Claude (expert)."

Group tools by category if you have many: Support, E-commerce, Marketing, Productivity. Indicate your skill level honestly — expert vs advanced vs intermediate.

Why this matters: employers search by tool name. If you say "I use customer service software," you don't show up for "Gorgias" searches.

Part 5: Portfolio and Evidence

Most VA profiles don't include any portfolio. The ones that do convert 3–5× more interviews.

What to include:

Screenshots of work (with client info redacted). A Gorgias ticket response. A Klaviyo flow view. A Shopify product listing. A Canva graphic. An Excel/Sheets report.
Process documents you've created. An SOP you wrote. A workflow diagram. A training deck.
Measured results. "Increased Klaviyo revenue from $8k/mo to $14k/mo in 6 months." "Reduced first-response time on Gorgias from 8hrs to 90min."
Testimonials from past employers. Ask for a 2–3 sentence reference. Include names and roles (with permission).
Certifications. HubSpot, Klaviyo Partner, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Xero Advisor, Meta Blueprint, etc. See our VA certifications guide for which ones are worth getting.

Building a portfolio from scratch? Offer to do 2–3 unpaid or low-fee projects for small local businesses in exchange for a written testimonial and permission to share the work. Takes a month; pays dividends forever.

Part 6: The Cover Letter / Application Message

The generic application message: "Hi, I saw your post and I'm interested in the role. I have 3 years of experience and I'm available to start immediately. Please check my profile for more details."

This gets ignored. Every application looks like this.

Use this 4-sentence formula instead:

Reference something specific about their business. "I saw your brand on Instagram — love the sustainability positioning in your new fall collection."
State the fit. "You need a Klaviyo VA with Shopify experience. I've been doing exactly this for Glow Essentials for the past 3 years."
Offer evidence. "You can see my Klaviyo flow screenshots in my portfolio. Happy to send more if useful."
Suggest a next step. "I'd welcome a 20-minute chat or a paid test task — whichever is faster for you."

Under 100 words, highly specific, easy to respond to. This converts at 10–15% vs the 1–2% typical for generic messages.

Part 7: What to Leave Off

Remove from your profile and cover letter:

Family situation, religious affiliation, marital status. Not relevant, may trigger implicit bias.
Age or birthdate. Not relevant in most markets.
High school and early college details. Only include university-level or professional education.
Reasons for leaving past jobs. If asked, answer in interview — don't volunteer in profile.
"I need this job because..." — appeals to sympathy. Employers hire on fit, not need.
Excessive emojis in professional text. A single flag emoji (🇵🇭) in your headline is fine. Strings of sparkles and hearts reduce perceived professionalism.

Part 8: Where to Host Your Profile

WorkFil (Recommended)

Create your free WorkFil profile. 100% free for Filipino workers, no placement fee, AI-generated quality scoring that surfaces strong profiles to employers.

OnlineJobs.ph

Largest Filipino VA database. Profile is free; your visibility depends on how many employers are paying for subscriptions that month.

Build a professional LinkedIn profile targeting your specialization. Post 2–3 times a month about your niche (Klaviyo tips, Gorgias workflows, Shopify observations). This creates an inbound channel that bypasses cold applications entirely over time.

Upwork

Better for short-term project work than ongoing VA roles. If you're new to remote work, Upwork is a reasonable place to build 2–3 reviews, then graduate to direct-hire platforms.

The 7-Day Profile Rewrite Plan

Day 1: Write your new headline using the formula.
Day 2: Rewrite your summary in 3 focused paragraphs.
Day 3: Take a new professional photo (or ask a friend).
Day 4: Audit your tools/skills list. Cut adjectives, add tool names with skill levels.
Day 5: Collect portfolio materials: screenshots, SOPs, metrics.
Day 6: Write your cover letter template using the 4-sentence formula.
Day 7: Update your profile on every platform simultaneously.

The Bottom Line

Every Filipino VA who's been in the market more than a year has a profile that was written quickly and has never been rewritten. Rewriting it well is a one-time investment that compounds over every application for the next 2–3 years.

Start today. Update your WorkFil profile using this framework, then apply to 3 matching roles using the cover letter formula. You'll feel the difference in response rate within a week.