Overview:
88 Cups of Tea is an online platform and podcast that’s here to enlighten, entertain, and connect like-minded Storytellers. We provide year-round conversations around the life of a writer, with topics ranging from overcoming rejections and writing struggles, to querying tips and crafting characters, and more. We pride ourselves in nurturing supportive environments that aim to encourage, inspire, and motivate.
At 88 Cups of Tea, you will work with ambitious self-starters, working together to achieve our mission. We’re making our way through a growth spurt where dedication, efficiency, and a phenomenal work-ethic is expected, but we always take the time to celebrate birthdays, big wins, and cheer each other on.
During this 2-week trial period, you’ll work very closely with Yin as you work your way through old, unanswered emails to begin clearing out the inbox and familiarizing yourself with the writing style (you’ll also begin saving templates of Yin’s response style for you to customize and use for your responses on behalf of 88 Cups of Tea.) During the trial period, your goal is to reply/follow-up/answer all emails that Yin will forward to you, create and organize folders for them in Gmail, and sort them accordingly. You will jot down the hours you worked and report back. You’ll be capped at 10 hours each week at an hourly rate of your state’s minimum wage for this trial. This is also the time to see if you’d be the best fit for the team. If you are, then you’d move on to on-going work averaging about 1 hour a day of email management to answer any emails that come in by the end of that business day.
Start Time: ASAP!
Deadline to submit application: Monday, October 29th @ 1pm EST/10am PST
Role:
We’re looking for an Email Manager to monitor, maintain, and manage all 88 Cups of Tea related emails. This person will be working very closely with the founder of 88 Cups of Tea and managing her 88 Cups of Tea email inbox. You’ll stay in touch through emails and phone calls.
The Email Manager’s goal is to reach “zero inbox” (that means all emails are answered and handled) and the role is to reply/follow-up/send emails in 88 Cups of Tea’s voice and style– warm, welcoming, and professional.
+ You are applying to be on a 2-week trial where you and Yin will figure out the dynamic and workflow by you doing the work (this is the time for trial and error) to figure out the most efficient way to achieve “inbox zero”.
+ You’ll be working closely with Yin so you must be comfortable with potential phone calls with her as things are handled quicker on the phone. Emails will also be the main source of communication between you and Yin.
+ You’ll report to Yin on the run through of your day working on 88 Cups of Tea related emails– this is the best time to ask questions
+ Your main goal is to make sure all emails are answered and Yin does not have to worry about them.
+ You must be warm and professional, empathetic and uplifting to represent 88 Cups of Tea (your email responses are a reflection of Yin and 88 Cups of Tea.)
This is expected to be a flexible role in regards to your time and you can do this remotely.
Tasks and Responsibilities
+Monitor inbox and maintain emails, including (but not limited to) responding to 88 Cups of Tea related contacts like author guests, publishing houses like Penguin Randomhouse, Macmillan, Disney-Hyperion, etc.
+ Reply, follow up, arrange, and confirm interview scheduling
+ Reply and follow up with 88 Cups of Tea’s work contacts about the new featured article section on 88 Cups of Tea’s website– we are accepting submission for select authors that we’re unable to feature on the podcast
+ Make sure all details are handled in a clear and organized manner, create and sort all emails into the proper folders for Yin to review at any time
+ Scan email inbox to prioritize email and track task requests for Yin
+ It is CRITICAL to respond to business emails by the end of each day.
Knowledge & Skills
+ Must be a quick replier.
+ Strong phone and email communication skills.
+ In your emails, you must come across as warm, personable, a joy to be in communication with, respectful, and professional
+ Your writing should be clear, concise and grammatically correct. NO spelling mistakes, whatsoever.
+ Ability to manage multiple incoming requests, while ensuring they are relayed/handled on the same day, in the necessary order and in the correct manner.
+Experience with Gmail and apps that will help you manage/organize the email tasks
+Capability to set up new systems and processes in order to streamline the email tasks
The ideal candidate will:
+ Have a personal passion for 88 Cups of Tea
+ Be comfortable signing an NDA
+Be trustworthy with strong personal integrity
+ Have exceptional attention to detail.
+ Be pro-active!
+ Ideally have 1+ years experience as a virtual assistant for a business owner (not necessary if you have the extreme passion to learn, be a self-starter and a team player)
+Have exceptional ability to communicate progress on multiple projects.
+ Have an understanding of the bookish community, the publishing world, authors, etc. and what kind of content and topics would resonate with our 88 Cups of Tea community and at the same time, build positive brand awareness for 88 Cups of Tea through your role.
+ Have strong listening, creative thinking, influencing and relationship-building skills
+ Have the ability to work independently, prioritize workload, project manage, and display high-level organizational skills
+ Must have a positive, can-do attitude
+ Able to take initiative, and take ownership of assigned work projects
+ Strong time management skills
+Experience managing calendars
+Perfectionist.
+Since this is a virtual position, you must be a self-starter, self-motivated, and able to work independently with minimal oversight.
+ Be able to troubleshoot and provide creative solutions when obstacles occur
If interested, please apply by clicking on the following link: https://88cupsoftea.typeform.com/to/fFhA6o
If you do not submit a fully completed application along with your result from the test, your application will be disqualified. Yin will reach out to you to move on to the next round for an interview if you are a great fit.
