Empowering single parents: Crystal’s journey with Virtual Gurus

Meet Crystal

Meet Crystal, a single mother who left her career working in the hospital after struggling to manage shift-work hours. She went back to school full-time to pursue a career in Digital Marketing while raising her two children. Despite graduating with honours, Crystal found it challenging to find a job in any industry. Nobody wanted to hire a single parent who lacked flexibility in her working hours and might need more time off than the average employee.

I’ve never worked somewhere that I can show up as my authentic self each day. It’s so refreshing to be able to come to work as you are.

 

Crystal J.
Social Media and Marketing Assistant, Virtual Gurus

The Search

Facing imminent eviction from her home, relying on the food bank, and struggling to keep the electricity on left Crystal  with crippling anxiety. She worried about how she could support her children as time went on and her job search remained unsuccessful. The attempt to find remote work was difficult, and she came across many illegitimate companies, nearly falling into the trap of a scam.

A friend suggested Virtual Gurus as a place for her to explore career options that would be more flexible and inclusive of her family structure. With nothing left to lose, Crystal applied to Virtual Gurus, hoping to find a career where she could take care of her children, avoid exorbitant daycare costs, and still provide for her family financially.

The Experience:

After applying to Virtual Gurus, Crystal immediately received a healthy client load and finally found a career that gave her the flexibility she needed to care for her children. She worked with clients spread across various industries, which helped her develop an extensive skill set and learn how to work with people with different working styles.  “Having the flexibility to care for my children, coupled with the support I received from the Virtual Gurus community advanced my career in ways I never imagined possible,” says Crystal.

Since Crystal lived within the same city as Virtual Gurus headquarters, she attended several in-person events they hosted in celebration of their virtual assistants and the great work they were doing. From these in-person events, and her online interactions with the VG team, Crystal began to develop strong relationships with the team and her fellow virtual assistant community.

Crystal learned plenty of skills while working as a virtual assistant, such as how to stay self-motivated, meet deadlines and keep herself accountable. Her skills and experience soared under the support of Virtual Gurus and her clients.

The Impact

After a year and a half of working as a VA with Virtual Gurus, a position opened up with the internal management team. Since Crystal loved the values and support she’d received while working as a virtual assistant, she took the chance and applied for the internal position.

Two years later, Crystal has supported clients as a Client Success Manager, Senior Client Success Manager, Team Lead of Client Success, and most recently has been promoted to the Marketing team as Content Manager. Over the span of 3.5 years, she’s developed long-lasting friendships, her anxiety has decreased, and her work-life balance has provided her the space she needs to properly care for her children as a single parent.  “I’ve never worked somewhere that I can show up as my authentic self each day,” Crystal says. “It’s so refreshing to be able to come to work as you are.”

Crystal is eternally grateful for everything Virtual Gurus has done for her career growth and her mental wellness. Working as a virtual assistant with Virtual Gurus showed her opportunity paths she might have otherwise missed, and it’s been instrumental in the pursuit of her personal goals. Crystal hopes that her story will inspire others who face similar challenges to take a chance and apply to Virtual Gurus to find their own success story.