Why don’t transcription companies give new people a chance?
We often hear from new typists who are trying to find a job as a transcriptionist that it is very hard to get hired without experience.
Often services will not hire inexperienced transcriptionists because it takes so long for people to learn the ropes and come up to speed. A common misconception I hear when talking with people wanting to get into the transcription industry is that transcription sounds the same as “typing” and that they are fast typists, so they should be pretty good at transcription as well. Over the years, we have learnt that there is quite a bit more to being a good transcription contractor than typing speed.
Transcription requires, for example, listening to hours of focus group discussions that are poorly recorded, identifying who is speaking, inserting time codes, and googling the spelling of uncommon terms and acronyms. Projects take patience, extreme attention to detail, as well as typing speed. It takes a real investment of time. Transcription jobs working from home involve listening to voice recordings and converting them to word documents. The source could be a lecture, a conference call, a podcast, or simply someone taking notes and wanting them transcribed. With the right skills transcription work from home can be a flexible and rewarding entry-level opportunity to begin a work from home career.
It takes time to get used to transcription equipment such as foot pedals and software – and build up both physical and mental stamina to type recordings for hours a day. Ok. So how do you make a start getting into then? The trick is to build this stamina slowly and gain experience and skills BEFORE applying to a transcription service. The proof is very much in the pudding with this work. And if you haven’t made any pudding. There is not a lot of proof. To put it plainly. You have to show you can do the work.
READ OUR GUIDE: How do I get a job as a work-from-home transcriptionist?
How do you find a transcription job when you are just starting out? How do you build experience? Well, here is a four-step approach to landing your first jobs.
1.Complete a Transcription Training Course. Although you probably don’t want to hear this … but… doing a course should be looked at as a first step. A medical transcription course will provide the basics all transcriptionists need to know.
2.Get Transcription Experience. One of the biggest hurdles with anything is to make a start. Once you complete a course the next step will be to get as many hours of transcribing under your belt as possible. This should be seen as your apprenticeship. What I suggest is starting off bidding for and working on small contracts. Although often paying below minimum sites like freelancer, or Fiverr provide great insight and varied opportunities to flex your typing muscles.
3.Build a Work History. Build your client base and reputation. Get references from clients. Start with simple dictation, move to interviews then to groups. Start going for larger and different jobs.
4.Become the low-risk/high-performing Contractor. Finally, start approaching companies and sell yourself as a “low-risk asset”. Nothing is more attractive to a transcription service than a person looking for work who is already doing the same job successfully somewhere else. Prove that you can do the job and are successfully doing the job in your cover letter to an employee. Give examples that refer to clients.