Career advice for transcription professionals. Wide-ranging content including resume-writing, interviewing, career advancement, work from home jobs, and much, much more.

How To Find Your Best Fit In A Transcription Job

/8 Comments/in , /by Tracy Theodoroff

When it comes to work-from-home transcription jobs, what makes a good fit for one person might be, well, a terrible fit for YOU. This is why it’s so important to do your homework before accepting a job offer or new contract from just any transcription company.

You need to consider (and first be aware of) a number of important factors before committing yourself to a new online transcription job.

So let’s take a look at six important questions to consider when looking for that perfect transcription job.

 

1) Can you select the orders you transcribe?

Some transcriptionists prefer to have work assigned to them, while others prefer to have a queue system where they can choose work, 24/7. And still, other transcriptionists like being alerted when work becomes available so they can grab it on a first-come, first-served basis.

I’m sure you probably have your own preferences for file assignment, and the same goes for transcription companies. Every company seems to have a different approach to work distribution. Some will assign you files, providing you with little choice or flexibility. Other companies might allow you to choose the files you transcribe.

What’s your preference? Figure out what approach you prefer and use this as one of your decision-making criteria as you assess your freelance transcription job options.

 

2) What’s the required turnaround time?

If the thought of being chained to your desk, scrambling to complete quick-turnaround orders gives you cold sweats, you’ll want to find a transcription job that accommodates longer turnaround times. I’ve seen all kinds of deadlines out there, from as short as two hours (think emergency room STAT) to days or even weeks (lengthy files or courtroom proceedings).

So, find out how much time will you have to complete files. At Allegis, you have anywhere from 4-24 hours to complete orders.

And don’t forget about time zones and how they will factor into your deadline. If your transcript is due in New York at 6:00 a.m., but that means 3:00 a.m. for you in California, you’re probably going to want to cross the finish line much earlier.

 

3) What’s the minimum work requirement?

Some online transcription jobs have production requirements and others don’t. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the minimum requirements in a new position. This is especially important when juggling more than one transcription contract.

No one likes to turn down work opportunities, but overcommitting sets you up for failure. And don’t say “yes” just to be nice. You’ll end up stressed and your employers will be frustrated. Remember that life rarely goes as planned.

For example, committing to two contracts where the combined workload is an estimated 40 hours on paper is probably pushing it. Certain transcription orders will take you longer to complete, you’ll get sick, your laundry room will flood—basically, life will throw the unexpected at you. Build in a little wiggle room. Doing so will help keep you sane.

Talk to transcription companies and see what they recommend. They should have insight into what work arrangements are optimal. They can also tell you where they’ve seen transcriptionists experience issues and how to avoid those circumstances.

Just be realistic when assessing how much work you can take on. You don’t have anyone looking over your shoulder in a freelance transcription job—which is nice, but it also requires an extra level of discipline and planning.

 

4) How much support do you need?

Let’s be honest, some of us like to have easy, regular access to support staff. Others operate just fine on their own with very little assistance. Some of this independence comes from experience, but personal preference certainly factors in as well.

But aside from personal preference and your experience level, no one likes hard-to-reach support staff, especially when it can deadlock your productivity.

So consider how much support you’ll need. Find out how accessible help is if you’re working odd hours and run into trouble. Is there after-hours support? Technical support? Ask other transcriptionists at the company, dig around in online forums, and inquire about the experiences others have had.

Having the support you need is crucial to your success in a work-from-home transcription job.

 

5) How often do you get paid?

I think we can all agree we enjoy being paid reliably and in a timely manner.

First, before you even check on how often you’re paid, make sure a company PAYS. Yes, unfortunately there are transcription companies out there that don’t always pay their transcriptionists. Luckily you can (usually) find out which companies have poor reputations by checking several of the online transcription forums. Check with your friends in the industry too.

Now that you have reasonable assurance that you’ll be paid, find out what a company’s payment process and frequency is. What’s the invoicing process and frequency look like? How long does it take to receive payment on an invoice? If you have to wait 30 days to receive payment on work you completed two weeks ago, that might be pushing it.

 

6) How much (and how) do you get paid?

Even if a new position meets all the other criteria here, if the pay rate doesn’t meet your expectations then it might be a deal breaker.

Figuring out what you’ll make often isn’t as straightforward as you might imagine. Companies can pay by the line, audio minute, work order, page, and the list goes on. For example, trying to compare a job opportunity that pays by the line versus a company paying by the page, isn’t an easy task. You’ll need to do a few conversions in order to do a comparison that makes sense.

One way you can compare two different payment methods is by converting them into average hourly pay rates. This is another area where transcription companies often can help. They should be able to tell you average hourly earnings based on a figure like WPM (even though much more factors into earnings than your typing speed). For example, a transcriptionist who types 75 WPM might make $13.50 an hour on average. Again, it’s a rough conversion, but it can be a good start in comparing pay rates when the payment methods are different.

And keep in mind that transcript format varies from company to company. It can’t hurt to request sample transcripts so you can compare each side-by-side. You might find that a template’s formatting makes a difference in the average word count per page. For example, one question you might as is if a company require double or single-spacing between speakers. Find out formatting details if you can.

 

Additional considerations

And finally, beyond the six factors we looked at here, don’t forget to consider things like the type of transcription (insurance, general, medical, legal, etc.), the company’s reputation, the subject matter of the work, and the audio quality. But these six questions are a great place to start if you’re not sure what factors to consider that will you help you find the perfect fit in your next transcription job.

 

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Tips for Managing Your Money While Freelancing

/1 Comment/in , /by Karla Ellison

Freelancing can be a dream come true or one of the most hair-raising experiences you’ll ever have. On one hand you are your own boss, you make your own schedule, your income is limited only by your own efforts, and you get more tax deductions. On the other hand, everything is on you when you are a freelancer. You have to get all the work done, no teams, partners, or significant others to share the load.

When you are freelancing doing things like writing or transcription jobs, you have to do all the administrative work yourself as well as your billable work, including billing for goods and services, paying any invoices, collecting on invoices so you get paid for your work, and pounding the pavement for new business. Sales and marketing and social media promotion take a big bite out of a freelancer’s week. Time management takes on a whole new significance when time really is money because you are looking for more clients while trying to keep current clients satisfied with quality work and excellent services.

It can be a difficult balancing act to produce profitable goods and/or services, keep a positive cash flow, and stay happy and productive while doing it. So what’s an industrious freelancer to do? Consider the following tips for managing your money while freelancing, so you have more money coming in than going out and can better focus on increasing your income.

Build a Nest Egg

When you’re a freelancer, you don’t get the 401(k) with employer match, or stock options, so savings take on a new urgency. Start out by building up an emergency savings fund of three to six month’s living expenses. Build this up and put it aside and don’t touch it unless something happens and you really need it. It’s also a good idea to save funds for special contingencies, such as vet emergencies (or euthanasia and burial) and car repairs. Retirement planning and funding is just as important when you’re freelancing as when you work for an employer. Roth or traditional Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) are important retirement planning vehicles. The goal should be to put 15 to 20 percent of your income away for retirement in accounts like a Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP IRA or Solo 401(k)).

Track Your Spending

When your income is not always consistent, tracking how and when it gets spent is important to keeping more of it in your pocket. Keeping track of your spending is as easy as pulling out your smart phone and logging expenses in an app. Free online tools, such as Mint.com, YouNeedaBudget.com, and GnuCash.com help you quickly and easily set up a budget and keep track of what goes in and what comes out of your bank account. If you use your smartphone for texting, surfing the web, and playing games, it’s time to put it to work on more than fun and diversion. Use it to track your money and to learn how to tame your freelance finances with resources like Mint.com’s “Financial Management for Freelancers.”

Take Advantage of Tax Deductions

When you’re freelancing, unless you are already independently wealthy, have a rich uncle, or are sitting on a tidy trust fund, tax time is time to keep more of your income with tax deductions. Freelancers can take advantages of tax deductions that others can’t. Take a look at the following and see if you are taking all the tax deductions your freelance life entitles you to take using Schedule C, Form 1040.

  • Home Office

Just because you work at home with a desk and a chair doesn’t mean you can take the home office deduction. You have to meet the IRS requirements to qualify. Those requirements are exclusivity, using your office only for business; regularity, using your home office on a regular basis; and precedence, using your home office most of the time to conduct your most important business activities. There are two ways to claim the home office deduction, with the simplified method that gives you $5 per square foot of home space used for business for up to 300 square feet, or using the standard method to calculate your deduction with Form 8829. Here’s where you use your receipts for all those “home officey” things you bought like printer ink, wireless printer, dedicated phone line, and business cards.

  • Insurance

Yes, you can deduct business insurance when you are a freelancer. The portion of your home you use for your home office and a portion of the accompanying renter’s or homeowner’s insurance that you spend on it can be claimed in your home office deduction. Not an expert in insurance needs of freelancers? Not to worry. Talk to your friendly local insurance agent about insurance options like adding on to a home or tenant policy, an in-home business policy, or a business owner’s policy.

  • Other Freelancing Deductions

You may not even realize all the freelancing costs and expenses that you can deduct from your income at the end of the year to lower your tax liability. Don’t forget about costs for things like domain and web hosting, telephone and Internet, advertising, office supplies, and business meals. Using apps like Expensify or Bench to upload and itemize your meal receipts is as simple as snapping a photo of your receipt.

Time Management Tips for Freelancers

/3 Comments/in , , /by Tyler Marshall

Time is money, and when you work from home, time is almost as good as gold. Time to be productive and stay focused. Time to get all your household to-dos done. Time to pay attention to loved ones. Time to get your administrative work done. And time for downtime; remember, those hours where you don’t have to worry about deadlines, clients, past-due invoices, or work, commonly known as nights and weekends. When you’re freelancing, the temptation to work late and start early is always there and time management quickly becomes crucial for creating and maintaining a balanced life, with room for both  work and play.

Working from home can be a very satisfying and rewarding endeavor. It can also be overwhelming. When you need to get a handle on your time to work profitably and productively, you need more than a hope and a prayer. What you need is a plan.

There are different distractions and challenges for those who work from home. Rather than meetings, deadline-driven project work, the boss’s demands, and competitive co-workers, domestic concerns tend to creep in. I know I’ve struggled with this before. It’s great to be working from home and avoiding a long commute, BUT the dog has to be walked, friends stop by unexpectedly, lunch breaks turn into a two-hour Netflix binges… the point is, working from home creates many, many more opportunities for distraction. When you’re a freelancer, other people aren’t around to keep you on your toes like there are at the office.

So where to start? How do you gain control of your time and make sure distractions don’t ruin your productivity?

 

Set a Work Schedule

Have you ever stayed up until the wee hours of the morning working? Have you set your alarm and your programmable coffee pot three hours before everyone else in the house wakes up to squeeze in extra work time? Have you locked yourself in a room for three days straight for a big push either when you got behind or had extra work to do?

Stop right now and decide what your ideal work schedule is. Most employers have schedule policies and set up their work environments by shifts to get the most productivity from their workforce. You can do the same when you’re freelancing. Do you want to work first, second, or third shift? Is the standard nine-to-five work day a good fit for what you do or would another schedule be a better fit? Give yourself a set schedule, including breaks and lunch hour, just like an employer would. Make sure you build in enough time for family, fun, and sleep. Give yourself a set schedule and get control of your work week.

 

Get App Happy

Need to get better at time management? There’s an app for that. Or rather, there are a TON of apps for that. Take a look at these, pick the one you like best, and start using it:

  • RescueTime – Monitor how you spend your time so you can see how you’re spending your time, block out chunks of time for specific activities, and get a handle on how you work at home so you don’t lose one more minute.
  • TimeBloc – This app helps you block your day into multiple events and is designed to streamline your time blocking experience.
  • Focus Booster – Track time for profitable tasks with Focus Booster’s user-friendly dashboards, set timers for breaks, and get total at-a-glance visibility of your time with easy reports.
  • Focus Keeper – Helps you keep your productivity high, avoiding burnout using the timer. Work with time, not against it!
  • Emergent Task Planner – Just can’t give up the pen and paper for electronic time management? Don’t worry. Emergent Task Planner lets you write down your tasks and activities so you don’t forget anything and can block off segments of time for work.

 

Noise Helps

Think of all the things that distract you when you work at home. Unless you have constructed a completely sound-proof room for working in, you’re at the mercy of concentration-breaking noise like the phone ringing, the doorbell, television, people talking in other parts of the house, and any other activities outside of your work space. These can all make you take much longer to complete work than if you didn’t hear them and get interrupted. When you need to focus on the task at hand, noise-cancelling headphones or white noise can be great ways to help you tune out background noise and tune in to your work.

 

Get Out of the House

Sometimes freelancing from home just doesn’t work. You might be stuck in some bad habits, such as breaking for your favorite talk show or stopping every time your kids have a question. If you find yourself losing too much time every day, pack up your laptop or tablet and head out to your local library or coffee shop for some quality work time. A change of scenery can be a real refresher, new source of creativity, and good focusing tool. It gives you a break from the distractions at home and lets you re-focus all of your attention on the work.

Some work requires more focused attention without surrounding noise and interruptions. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, background music may actually be a good thing and help your creativity. But for transcriptionists,  music might be the enemy because there’s a significant amount of listening and focused attention required, and music could make it more difficult to hear the audio you’re transcribing.

 

Useful Books

Books are also a great source of inspiration and ideas for increasing your productivity. Read a couple of these top-selling books on the topic to get started:

  • “15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management” by Kevin Kruse
  • “ Scrum – The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” by Jeff Sutherland
  • “The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy” by Chris Bailey

 

Freelancing is a wonderful thing, but it comes with unique challenges, particularly around time management. You and you alone are responsible for starting on time, getting work done, putting in the hours, and getting paid. That makes time management all the more important for those who work at home. Don’t waste any more time. Put these time management tips into practice right now and see how much more productive you are this week. Start with a list of your biggest time-wasters and go after them with some or all of the tips described above and see what a difference it makes.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: What All Transcriptionists Need to Know

/1 Comment/in , /by Allegis

Is transcription a “high risk” profession? Most would say no, of course not. Yet, this kind of work carries a considerable—and often overlooked—health risk.  Anyone who types on a keyboard for many hours each day, over a long period, is at risk for (if not already suffering with) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

In fact, CTS is a surprisingly common problem—perhaps more common than you might imagine. It is among the most common conditions that afflict the nerves of the hand. A 2014 study by American Family Physician estimated that from 3% to 6% of adults in the general population suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The numbers are higher among women, with almost 5% of women being afflicted and only about 3% of men.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

CTS is a chronic condition in the wrists, hands, and fingers which is characterized by these common symptoms:

  • Numbness in the hands or fingers
  • Tingling sensation in the hands or fingers
  • Weakness and the tendency to lose your grip on or drop objects
  • Pain in the hands that often worsens at night

What causes CTS?

It’s important to understand what causes CTS so you can avoid developing it in the first place. Unwanted downtime due to an injury is the last thing you want in an online transcription job where every hour counts.

Pressure on the “median nerve” in your hand causes CTS symptoms. This nerve travels from your forearm to your hand by passing through an opening in your wrist joint called the “carpal tunnel.” Your median nerve shares this space with several tendons and ligaments that control the movement of your hand. There isn’t much room in the carpal tunnel and anything that crowds the space, such as any swelling of the tendons, will place pressure on the median nerve. It is this pressure on the nerve that produces the symptoms of CTS.

These symptoms often occur at night, while your hands are at rest.  Symptoms are often felt in the forefinger and/or thumb. One telling sign of CTS is if you feel pain in all your fingers except for your little finger because a different nerve controls the sensation in that finger. When you move or shake your hand, you might feel relief of the symptoms, but in CTS, this is only temporary, as the movement stimulates and “wakes up” the nerve. If this occurs, take it as a sign that you may indeed have CTS.

If you don’t address your CTS, the symptoms can continue to worsen and become chronic. CTS is a nerve-related affliction, so it is important to note that there are always some preceding issues; something that puts pressure on the nerve in the first place. Before having CTS, you may have pain or inflammation that comes from fatigue, another illness, or simply wear and tear from all the typing you do. Your discomfort may not be CTS, but you should take it as a sign to see your doctor.

What can happen if CTS goes untreated?

The good news is that CTS can be treated. However, if you don’t address CTS, it can cause permanent damage to the median nerve.  This could result in permanent loss of some function in your hand and threaten your ability to produce an income as a freelance transcriptionist.

In acute cases, there are surgical procedures that can help, but at a minimum, this option will keep you out of work for a significant period.

I don’t have any symptoms. Am I still at risk?

Your biggest potential risk factor, of course, is your job as a transcriptionist! If you do a large volume of typing, this puts you at risk for even simple afflictions like tendonitis, which is a swelling of the forearm tendons from fatigue. This swelling, as described above, can lead to CTS.

But there are additional risk factors as well. If any of these pertain to you as a freelance transcriptionist, your risk could be greater than the general population:

  • Previous wrist injury (e.g. fracture or dislocation)
  • Gender/age: females 40 to 60 years of age
  • Conditions causing fluid retention (such as pregnancy)
  • Inflammatory conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis)
  • Other illnesses such as thyroid disorders and kidney failure

What steps should you take to prevent CTS?

There are several “best practices” you can follow to minimize your risk. Much of what we recommend relates to having proper posture and position while you type, so make sure to read our “geared up for transcription” blogs to learn about equipment that helps you get (and stay) in the healthiest position for typing.

Follow these tips to prevent and/or minimize the risk of CTS:

  • Maintain proper posture and arm position. Good posture keeps your shoulders relaxed, which helps to keep muscles and tendons in your arms relaxed.
  • Keep your wrists at a neutral angle. When typing, your wrists should be bent at no more than a 4-degree angle.
  • When holding objects, use your whole hand (not just your fingers). In other words, don’t work your fingers too hard.
  • Do stretching exercises for your hands and wrists. WebMD has some good ones here.
  • Keep your hands warm—lower temperature can contribute to stiffness of the muscles and tendons.
  • If possible, switch hands for repetitive hand movements.
  • Mind your general health: Exercise and eat right.

What should I do if I have symptoms?

Having some symptoms does not mean you have CTS.  Although, in general, most of the symptoms we discussed are the result of stress or fatigue. It’s a good idea to follow these simple steps to provide relief from any pain or numbness you may be experiencing.

  • Take frequent breaks
  • Ice your wrists for 10 to 15 minutes, and do it several times a day if you can.
  • Try taking non-steroidal, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce any swelling.
  • Wear a wrist splint at night and while sleeping to minimize movement.

Note: None of the steps described above should be considered as an alternative to seeking the advice of a physician. If you are experiencing chronic discomfort and symptoms are getting worse, you should consult your doctor.

As a final note, while we hope this information is helpful to the online transcriptionist community, at the same time it is our sincere wish that you never need to use it. Stay healthy!

We would love your feedback: Do you suffer from CTS? And if not, do you take steps to avoid it? What other challenges do you encounter in your freelance transcription job?

From Typist to Transcriptionist: Can You Make the Transition?

/1 Comment/in /by Allegis

See if Your Typing Skills Can Translate into a Successful Career in Transcription

Are you a lightning-fast typist looking to break into transcription? If so, you have probably already noted many of the potential benefits of working as a transcriptionist. After all, most jobs that include heavy typing are office jobs with fixed hours, more than likely a daily commute, and often very limited income potential.  Transcribing is different. Let’s look at some of the advantages of working as a freelance transcriptionist:

  1. Ability to control your income: Compensation for most transcriptionists is production-based, not hourly. So, if you are accurate and fast, you may be able to boost your income.
  2. Work-from-home: The majority of transcriptionists work-from-home, avoiding the stress of a commute, office politics, and in many cases, alleviating the need for extraneous expenses like day care service.
  3. Flexible hours and schedule: A career in transcription means that you can (to a large extent) work when you want and as much as you want. Companies often have minimum production requirements, but how you structure your time is generally up to you.

So, if you’re currently in a position where you perform administrative work that involves heavy typing, and you are routinely producing at 75 words per minute or more, you can be assured of two things:

  1. You are a gifted individual – very few people can type that fast.
  2. Your typing makes you more productive than the average worker, but it’s not equating to a bigger paycheck.

Therefore, you might be justified in wondering if you can do better. You probably can. But the journey from typist to transcriptionist is not an easy, straight path. Creating your career in transcription is about adapting your typing skills to transcription, and it can be a slow process. Along the way, many people have endured doubts and frustration, failed tests, and repeated rejections. Yet, for most who persevere, they often look back and realize all the hard work was worth it. They had what it took to succeed all along, but just had to learn a few new skills to augment their existing talent.

Here is what you need to know and how to prepare for the journey.

Breaking The Sound (Voice) Barrier

Transcription is simple enough at its core: You type out what you hear. You turn spoken words into text. But the average person talks at about 150 words per minute.  If someone is speaking clearly and audibly, assuming they don’t have an accent, a vocal tic of some kind, or even perhaps a cold, will routinely talk too fast for even a very fast typist to keep up. It’s not unusual for some people (we call them fast talkers) to speak at 200 wpm and above!

The challenges don’t end there. Depending on the type of transcription you do, you may encounter groups of people talking over each other and interrupting. You may have to deal with background noise, heavy accents, or emotionally charged speech (such as people laughing or crying). The list is endless.

So, you typically will not be able to type fast enough to keep up with the conversation, In fact, most transcriptionists will need 45-60 minutes to transcribe 15 minutes of audio.  This means you will need to modulate the playback speed, pause and resume the playback intermittently, as well as repeat segments that are difficult to hear or understand.  This has great potential to slow you down, so you need to find a rhythm between your typing pace and the playback pace. Finding this rhythm will allow you to reach your full potential (and income level).

Listening at a Whole New Level

Just as the above challenges require you to synchronize the playback of the file to your typing speed, you must also improve your listening skills. Hearing it right the first time saves you time and boosts your efficiency. Many successful transcriptionists report an increase in the sensitivity of their hearing when listening to human speech over time. For example, verbatim transcriptionists train themselves to listen to verbal tics (all the “umms” and “uhs” which they have to transcribe).  They often find that they experience everyday conversation differently as a result. Whereas the average person will fail to notice many of these sounds, transcriptionists might notice them more.

It is up to science to speculate as to what is happening here, but it has been established that repeated activities often create or strengthen neural pathways in the brain. So perhaps it’s not a stretch to say that this process is a necessary step in “brain training” to tune your listening ability and become a confident and skilled transcriptionist.

Turbo-Typing

Fast is good. You are probably already a fast typist if you are considering a career in transcription. But you need to be more than fast.  You need to be fast and efficient. Efficiency is what maximizes your productivity, and productivity determines your income. Transcriptionists employ all sorts of tricks to speed up the process, including:

  • Auto-correct: You can customize auto-correct to replace certain characters with full words or phrases, thus giving yourself specialized keyboard shortcuts.
  • Macros: can help automate repetitive tasks while transcribing. In short, a macro is a recording of a sequence of actions. Many transcriptionists use macros to input speaker tokens or a combination of word replacement and formatting.

It’s important to expand your typing ability and keyboard skills to include the above strategies.  In addition to that, you will need to develop and hone additional skills such as researching, proofing, and understanding dialects.  At the end of the day, it is not about how fast you type, but how much you produce.

Finding Your “Flow State”

Transcriptionists are at their most efficient when they can be 100% focused.  Some transcriptionists will tell you that they are at their best when they are not conscious of their typing…that it just flows automatically from their fingers as they listen. Since you will most likely work at home as a freelance transcriptionist, it is vital that your home environment lends itself to this type of work. If you have a family living at home, you probably want to carve out a dedicated home office space where you can work uninterrupted. You also may need to set down rules and barriers for other members of the household to ensure that you can have significant blocks of time to work without distractions.

The Blessing (and Curse) of Self-Employment

Most transcriptionists are contract workers, which means that they are technically self-employed. And that’s important, because it means some of the time you put into your job will be managing the extra stuff that comes with self-employment, such as:

  • Your tax returns may be more complicated. Contract or “1099” workers get paid the full amount for their work, with no taxes taken out. But this does not mean that Uncle Sam doesn’t still get his cut! You will be responsible for reporting (and paying any applicable taxes on) this income. So that means you need to plan (and save!) appropriately.
  • Good News: The IT department is always reachable. Bad news: You are the IT department (although most companies, including Allegis, provide a degree of IT setup assistance). Maintaining your computer, your internet connection, and other vital gear becomes very important. All transcription jobs have deadlines that you must meet, so any downtime can be very detrimental. If you are tech-savvy and comfortable with troubleshooting tech issues, you should be fine.

You Will Need Specific Equipment

Depending on your fondness for tech, this may be a fun aspect of transcription or an unpleasant obstacle.  Here are some of the vital tools for speed, efficiency, and comfort. For more detailed advice, browse our “tools for transcriptionist” blog entries to prepare for a career in transcription.

  • Computer with high-quality monitor (high resolution monitors reduce eyestrain).
  • Supportive, comfortable chair, to promote good posture and avoid back and shoulder problems.
  • High-quality keyboard and tray to maintain proper wrist/hand position and consistent key response.
  • Foot pedal, for pause/resume/rewind, to allow your hands to remain in primary typing position at all times.

It should be clear by now that being a fast typist is a relatively small (albeit important) aspect of becoming a successful transcriptionist. And the transition is not a simple (or even natural) one. But if all of the above sounds like an interesting challenge, then it could be a sign that you should take the plunge.

10 Tips For Landing A Freelance Transcription Job

/14 Comments/in , /by Tyler Marshall

Freelance transcription jobs can provide a great deal of freedom (you can work from home!) and economic opportunity. That is IF you’re a skilled transcriber and if you know how to market yourself effectively.

Wherever you’re at in your transcription career, we’ve compiled our top 10 tips for landing your next work-from-home transcription job. Enjoy!

 

Review Social and Professional Profiles Before Applying

This should be obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people get this wrong. Transcription companies use LinkedIn for recruiting, which means—you guessed it—they’ll be checking your social profiles.

You need to have a profile picture that looks professional. It doesn’t need to be a professional headshot, just professional in attire, setting, and pose. I use a picture of myself in a suit, overlooking Portland Oregon’s skyline. Profile pictures are something recruiters expect. It’s okay to be quirky, but here’s where your friends and family can be a big help. Get their opinion on everything from your headshot to the information you include in your profile; they’ll notice things you may have missed.

Other social media tips are:

– Take a look at your other social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) too. It’s always a good idea to keep them clean, professional, and beyond reproach. It’s also a good idea to lock down your privacy settings. Remember that with Facebook, even if you use their strongest privacy settings, your profile and cover picture are still visible to everyone.

– In general, be very careful what you say online. Digital never dies. It’s never a good idea to trash a vendor you previously transcribed for. It’s okay to warn your peers of vendors with poor business practices or unfair treatment, but do so in as professional a manner as possible.

Now that your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts are up-to-date, reviewed by others, and free of embarrassing photos, you’re now ready to start engaging with transcription companies online.

 

Actually HAVE a Social Media Presence

My previous point brings me to this one. While not an absolute must, if you’re going to stand out to potential transcription employers, you need to have an online, social presence. It’s not just for kids anymore.

I know that for me, joining Twitter was like pulling teeth. I rolled my eyes at the thought of “tweeting.” Over the past several months I’ve made an effort to learn the platform, and there’s a whole host of valuable information I was missing out on.

Allegis recently started blogging and ramping up our social media presence—and you better believe it catches our attention when we get Facebook “likes” and comments on our blog. I can tell you from personal experience that companies care when you engage on social media; take advantage of the free platforms at your disposal.

 

Be Honest with Yourself. Are You Truly A Good Fit?

You are interviewing potential employers just as much as they are interviewing you. Be honest with yourself when reviewing transcription job descriptions.

I know this is an area I’ve struggled with before. I’ve let worry get the best of me and taken the first job that I could find. Can you guess how that worked out? Not too well.

Plenty of work-from-home transcription jobs exist for hard-working, freelance transcriptionists. I know that at Allegis, we’re receiving more work than ever before. This will translate into a great deal of hiring this year (Want to transcribe for us? See our open positions here!)

If a contract requires online transcribing work that’s brutal for you to work through, (maybe you hate transcribing police reports and the gory details are just too much) you won’t be happy. Your productivity will suffer, and before you know it, you’ll be hunting for another job.

I use the “gut check” method when applying for work positions. After reading through a job posting, if I feel uneasy about applying, I don’t. Find a gig where you can do your best work.

 

Tailor Your Resume to The Transcription Job You Want

I know it can feel limiting to only talk about your online transcription experience when you previously ran an eBay business, did consulting work, or worked as an insurance adjuster. I have news for you, when it comes to your resume, you’re going to have to let go of that way of thinking. By including too much information, you’re hurting yourself.

Several years ago I applied for a job in sales and another in accounting. I have relevant experience in both fields, but the resumes I created for my interviews in each area looked very different.

Focus on elaborating on work experience related to the work-from-home transcription position you’re applying for. Then, selectively include other, relevant information. For instance, if you were a professional copywriter for five years before transcribing, that’s a detail you should include because there’s significant skill overlap.

 

Pay Attention to the Transcription Company’s Needs

Find out why the transcription company is looking for freelancers. The answer isn’t always as obvious as you might think. For example, if Allegis has a surge of jobs and needs contractors to put in as many hours as possible, it’s probably not a good idea to send us a message asking if you can work ten hours a week.

Often you won’t have any idea why a company is hiring. But if you do know the impetus behind a hiring burst, you might be able to better position yourself as a candidate. Do some sleuthing before firing off an email. See if you can find out what the driving force is for hiring. If you learn that a transcription vendor needs to quickly increase headcount, emphasize your ability to get up to speed quickly without requiring supervision.

When you’re researching a transcription position, try and also get a sense of what factors the company cares about. Alexis, Allegis’s Resources Director, cares more about your availability (desired number of hours each week), typing speed, amount of insurance transcription experience, and the type of transcription experience that you have.

 

Pay Attention to Detail and Be Self-Sufficient

Attention to detail and self-sufficiency are crucial skills in the general transcription field—particularly within insurance transcription, which is strict verbatim.

Working remotely from home necessitates a strong ability to problem solve independently. I can tell you from experience that there’s nothing worse than receiving an email from an applicant, asking questions that we clearly address in our online application materials.

This is not to say that you should never ask questions throughout the application process. Sometimes questions are warranted, and if you’ve thoroughly reviewed all application materials and questions remain, then ask. A well-thought-out question can demonstrate your attention to detail.

Self-sufficiency also applies to filling out applications and submitting materials. Allegis’s Resources Director suggests, “Just as when you are transcribing, use the internet and other resources during the application process to make sure every detail is in place, such as commas and proper name spelling.”

The takeaway here is to demonstrate careful attention to detail and operate independently. Show us you have these skills and you’ll have our attention.

 

Save Your Application Data

This is more of a housekeeping item, but get to know the applicant tracking system you’ll be using to submit your transcription job application.

Some systems automatically save your data as you fill out your information, others allow you to manually save each page, and still others require you to complete the entire application (usually within a set time period) before saving. It’s not rocket science, but again, take the time to familiarize yourself with the system you’ll be using.

Luckily we have a relatively user-friendly system in place. I’ve had to deal with some nightmare online job application systems that had me tearing my hair out after I lost an hour’s worth of effort. I’ve learned that when in doubt, hit “save.”

Also, another tip here, careful with the “submit” button. Make sure you don’t accidentally submit an application. Every application system has a different design, and I’ve come close to accidentally submitting an incomplete application (and I know several people who’ve made this embarrassing mistake).

 

Understand Any Financial Investments You’ll Need to Make

As a freelance transcriptionist, you might have to make financial investments beyond a foot pedal, headphones, and computer.

For instance, you’ll want to ask about any software licensing costs. Transcription management systems can be expensive and often licensed on a per user basis. It depends on the company, but you’ll find some that cover the licensing costs, others that have you pay the licensing fees, and still others require you stay with them for a set period before covering the licensing cost.

Also, it’s quite common for a contractor to require you to cover the cost of a background check. Companies requiring this typically have large clients (insurers for example) who insist on the checks.

 

Be Positive

When completing that online transcription job application, answer questions in a positive, upbeat manner. Certain words convey negativity, which is exactly the opposite of what you want your prospective employer to feel.

For example, if asked what you like least about work, don’t use words like “hate,” “couldn’t stand,” or “despised” even if that is how you truly felt. Keep those thoughts to yourself. Start your answer by mirroring what the question asks, such as “What is your greatest flaw …” and keep the language as positive as possible.

Positive people perform better in life and they’re more enjoyable to be around. Reflect a positive outlook on life in your resume. Get negative, and risk having your application quickly placed to the side.

Need to work on your outlook? Check out The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. I love this book and it’s left a lasting impact on my life. Happiness is crucial to your success in every area of life. Attitude matters to prospective employers and your attitude carries through in how you fill out your application, in your resume, and in your emails with potential employers.

 

Match and Proofread Your Application and Resume

Make sure the information on your freelance transcription job application and resume match. Again, this might be basic to some, but I think it’s worth including as a reminder.

For instance, don’t introduce confusion into the process by submitting dates, names, titles, employers, or skills that vary from your resume and application. For example, if you say you worked at Happy Tx Inc. from 2011-2013, your application better not say 2010-2013. Do some cross-checking as you go.

This should also be a no-brainer, but it’s easy to forget to proofread before submitting your information. I know I’ve forgotten previously. Just as you should proofread your resume to eliminate spelling, grammar, and information errors, you should also proofread your application before submitting it. After you’ve entered all the information and followed all directions, go back to the beginning of your application and read through it, reviewing it for accuracy and clear content before submitting it.

 

You Can Land Your Perfect Freelance Transcription Job!

If you’ve made it this far, you likely care about setting yourself for a successful career in transcription and scoring your next work-from-home, online transcription job!

Part of having a successful career is being prepared to transition smoothly when taking on new contracts with new vendors, as necessary. Have your resume ready, a lively online presence, and your skills tuned up. Jobs are out there, especially for motivated individuals like yourself.

So get out there and use the internet to engage with potential employers and evaluate where you fit best. Good luck!

 

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Psst! We’re hiring. If you’re an awesome transcriptionist looking for something new, click below to see our open positions.

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Allegis Medical Transcriptions

/4 Comments/in , /by Tyler Marshall


At what rates are legal, general and medical transcription changing?

Discover your safest option with career-growth potential

If you are an experienced transcriptionist, you may wonder what the future holds for your occupation. After all, new speech recognition technology is changing the industry.

In fact, “the speech recognition market is expected to grow from USD 3.73 billion in 2015 to reach USD 9.97 billion by 2022,” per the recent, Speech & Voice Recognition Market by Technology, Application, Vertical and Geography – Global Forecast to 2022.

The report also states that, “the growing adoption of automated and smart applications in consumer and healthcare industries is the major contributor for the growth of the speech recognition market.”

With this in mind, how will this technology affect your career as a transcriptionist?

Well, we took a look at the status of the medical, legal and general transcription genres, and here’s what we discovered…

Medical Transcription

With a big transition to computerized medical records (based on the 2009 request by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department), speech recognition software makes it easier for medical professionals to dictate information and create electronic records.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting a 3% decline in the job outlook from 2014-2024. So, not terrible, but they are predicting a sligh decline.

The data also states that, “the growing volume of healthcare services is expected to continue to increase demand for transcription services. However, employment is projected to decline because of increased productivity stemming from technological advances and outsourcing.”

But even though the use of speech recognition technology is growing, it has its drawbacks.

Specifically, it takes time to learn how to use the technology, and the software often makes mistakes due to background noise, heavy accents, system flaws, user-error, and more. Going unchecked, these mistakes have even been attributed to medical malpractice lawsuits per various, news stories and reports.

Because of this, doctors not only have to spend time dictating, but they also need to proofread and edit results to create an error-free document that can be filed as an electronic medical record. This means that human intervention is still a necessity to ensure that final documentation is accurate.

In fact, ExploreHealthCareers.org indicates that speech recognition technology today is primarily in use at health care facilities as, “a productivity enhancement tool for transcriptionists, medical transcription services and health care facilities.” And, “most industry experts agree integrating the technology with an informed knowledge worker will continue to be the best documentation solution for health care.”

With this data in mind, medical transcriptionists are still needed to review documentation for accuracy, but technology is already playing a major role in driving the slight decline we see in medical transcription employment.

 

Legal Transcription

Like the medical profession, use of speech recognition technology is increasing in the legal industry too.

“Embracing voice technology in the legal industry is slowly becoming a trend,” per a recent article in Law Technology Today. “Implementing technological innovation as a means of creating more efficiency continues to be a top trend for law firms.”

And according to the Altman Weil Flash Survey, 2014 Law Firms in Transition, “32% of respondents chose technology innovation as the force most likely to lead change.”As the number of lawsuits and lawyers increases in the U.S., there will be a greater need for legal transcription.

As the number of lawsuits and lawyers increases in the U.S., there will be a greater need for legal transcription.

The question is, how much of the latest technology will be used over human beings?

Yes, the booming technology trend in the legal industry is starting to change the world of legal transcription. However, it will take many years for the technology to be 100% accurate and completely replace human interaction.

You may want to look into legal transcription if you have an interest in preparing legal documents related to motions, testimony, court proceedings, and more. And unlike medical transcription, you don’t need a formal certification to become a legal transcriptionist. However, you will need transcription skills and experience along with knowledge of legal terminology. Some form of previous legal experience is also very helpful.

Now, if you have no interest in working in the legal industry, and want to look at a more in-demand genre of transcription, you may want to check out…

 

General Transcription

As a general transcriptionist, there is no limit to the type of jobs available, as this genre is not restricted to a particular business or industry. You can transcribe interviews, meeting notes, insurance claims, and other projects varying in length and detail. Many general transcription companies are actually seeing work volumes increase.

At Allegis, for example, speech recognition hasn’t had much of an impact because the majority of the transcription the company performs involves multiple speakers. The company still experiences seasonal fluctuations in work volume, but the general trend is very positive.

To be successful, it’s essential to put in the time to learn how to do transcription well. In addition to developing your typing skills with practice and the proper form, you’ll also need to have top proficiency in English grammar and spelling.

Once you hone your skills and gain experience, your chances of getting in with a solid and respected general transcription company increase. Top companies are more likely to pay you well for your efforts. Plus, you can even find companies that let you choose assignments.

 

What Does The Future of Transcription Hold for You?

As speech recognition technology continues to improve and increase in popularity, it will change the transcription industry. Yes, there are medical and legal transcription jobs available, but the employment outlook in these industries is in modest decline due to technological advancements.

In contrast, general transcription offers a positive alternative since it is not limited to a specific industry. With the right skills and experience, you can work for a top transcription company that has an increasing demand for general transcribing jobs in numerous industries worldwide. This can mean more opportunity, enjoyment and job security for you now and in the future.

 

What type of transcription is right for you?

If you’d like to learn more about the transcribing jobs we have to offer, please click here!

Allegis Transcription Jobs

/9 Comments/in , /by Tyler Marshall


How To Find The Best Online Transcription Job

If you want to work from home and take advantage of online transcription jobs that are available, you’re not alone. In fact, 2016 data from GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com indicates that, “3.7 million employees (2.8% of the workforce) now work from home at least half the time.” And, GlassDoor indicates that transcriptionists make an “average salary of $30,940” per year, depending on their hours, clients, type of work, skills, and more.

You already have great typing skills and experience, but how can you have an edge over all the competition? Well, we have some tips for you.

 

3 Steps to Find the Best Online Transcription Jobs and Work from Home

  1. Talk to Your Peers.

If you really want to find high-quality work as a transcriptionist, talk to others who are doing what you want to do. Go on any of the numerous online transcription forums like Transcription Haven or Transcription Essentials and start communicating with other transcriptionists.

Look at reviews, feedback, and comments regarding various companies. Ask questions about testing procedures, on-time payments, things to look out for, benefits, and more. Then create a shortlist of companies you’d like to take a closer look at.

  1. Research Transcription Companies.

Once you know which companies you’d like to pursue, start conducting more in-depth research. Look at Better Business Bureau reports to see if complaints have been filed against the company. Read through any employee reviews you can find; sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and LinkedIn are great places to start. And search for news articles on the vendors under consideration (Google News is great). What you’re trying to do at this point is uncover red flags.

And keep in mind that money isn’t everything. As a work-from-home transcriptionist you might not see your employer or coworkers in person, but you still want be a part of a company you can trust and that aligns with your values. It’s important to know you’ll be paid as promised and you’ll be treated with the respect you deserve as a transcription professional.

  1. Put Your New Knowledge to Work.

Now that you have a good understanding of the companies you’d like to apply to (and have a clear understanding of their requirements and needs), it’s time to fill out applications and go through the necessary tests. These tests often include grammar assessments and transcribing a sample audio file.

The next step is often a phone interview, so it’s never a bad idea to go through a mock interview. Have a family member or friend pretend to interview you. You can find many great resources online with common interview questions. Having someone else there to critique and coach you is invaluable, as others can often spot areas for improvement that you might miss practicing on your own.

And if you don’t get accepted the first time around, don’t give up. Companies with high standards often accept less than 10% of the total applicants, so being turned down doesn’t mean you’re a failure.

 

Finding a Great Online Transcription Job Isn’t Easy, But It’s Worth It

Being a transcriber who works out of the home has many benefits and can give you the income and freedom you want. But, you need to be willing to put in the time and effort to get there.

To gain a competitive edge, take the time to conduct research and find out as much as you can about a business from other transcriptionists and by digging up information online. Then use this data to cater your application to each, particular company. And if you need to work on any of your transcription skills, don’t forget to do so (e.g. You’re used to transcribing dictated files but are applying for a position with lots of multi-speaker files). This way you can make a good first-impression.

And while it may be a challenge to pass the tests at the best transcription companies, don’t get discouraged. Learn from your mistakes, practice and keep trying. It will be well worth the effort when you finally get that acceptance letter!

 

What steps will you take today to find the best online transcription job for yourself?

To learn how to earn around $13.00 to $17.00 per hour from Allegis for quality work, click here for more information about our hiring process and to review open positions.

Allegis’s QA Manager Discusses What It Takes to Succeed as a Transcriptionist

/3 Comments/in , /by Tyler Marshall

Recently, we sat down with Michael Yolen, our very own QA Manager, and discussed everything that has to do with transcription.

Michael started his career as a medical transcriptionist. Since he wanted to travel, the idea of a totally portable career seemed like an excellent choice to him. He then moved on to being a proofer (editor) doing pre-delivery Quality Assurance (QA), and finally, into Quality Assurance and coaching. Coaching fit well with his background in teaching and his commitment to helping others.

Currently, in his role at Allegis, he oversees our Quality Development Program. His position involves managing our Quality Development coaches and QA Specialists. Essentially, he oversees the progress of all our incoming transcriptionists as well as the overall quality of transcription at Allegis.

In the following interview, Michael looks back on his 16 years in the industry and shares what makes a great transcriptionist, how to acquire crucial skills, the areas in which transcriptionists often struggle, and what to expect when getting started as an Independent Contractor (IC) at Allegis.

Q: In your opinion, what makes a great transcriptionist in terms of traits, attitudes, and aptitudes?

That’s an interesting question, and it’s something that I spend a lot of time thinking about. It would be great if we could actually pinpoint an exact set of requirements that guarantees someone will do well. You get people applying who have all different kinds of backgrounds. On paper, when I just look at a resume, for example, I might think this person would be perfect, and then they really struggle. Or somebody else may have no experience whatsoever, and they’re fantastic. Transcription is really difficult. It’s not unskilled; being a fast, accurate typist is a necessary skill, but it’s not sufficient—by itself, it’s not going to mean someone will make a good transcriptionist at all.

As a transcriptionist, you also need to have a good ear. It helps if you’re familiar with different accents, both foreign and from other regions of the country. You need to be a critical thinker. You need to understand when something actually makes sense in context. You can’t just keep typing. Some people are good typists, but they’ll just keep typing no matter what they’re hearing, and they don’t stop and ask, “Whoa, does this make any sense? They couldn’t have possibly said this.”

You also need good grammar and research skills, and you need to be comfortable using resources, have computer skills, know how to get around in Word, how to use auto-correct or text expanders, or at least be willing to learn these things. You must enjoy learning. You need good time management and organizational skills. You need a good, quiet place to work!

I would say on top of all of this, which is your base of the pyramid, the people who succeed are the ones who really want to do it. They’re not people who just need it to make an extra $100 a week. Those people, really, are not successful because it’s not a simple or easy job. There is a learning curve, and transcriptionists need to commit to it to do well.

Q: You’ve talked about several important skills that someone new to transcription should have. Is it possible to acquire those skills along the way, or do I just need to show up, day one, having all that knowledge?

It’s not so much knowledge as a skill set. You wouldn’t have to have any information about auto-corrects or text expanders, for example, because we could point you in the right direction there, and that’s just helping you with production. But the rest of it you kind of need right off the bat. Those are skills you could have acquired by just being the kind of person who likes to research things on his or her own time, such as reading news articles, books about history or grammar, or even mystery novels.

You may be one of those people who have these skills without ever having transcribed. You can be a total beginner and either have a good ear for accents or enjoy watching TV shows with people from other countries—anything like that would really be helpful. If you live in a little town somewhere, let’s say, in the middle of the country, and only see people and listen to people from that town, it’s going to be more difficult for you. I’ve actually seen that happen. You may not have ever heard anybody speak with a Pakistani accent, let’s say. You can learn it, but you’d have to want to put in that extra time, and it can become a stumbling block.

Q: In what areas do you see transcriptionists struggle?

The main struggle is getting new transcriptionists up to production speed. First, they want to make sure they have all of their skills down, they know how to do research, they know what their company’s formatting standards are, and then they have to try and get faster to make money. It seems that people who, when they are released from coaching, if they really concentrate right away and put the time in, their production goes right up. However, some people just fizzle out.

It may have to do with how many hours they commit to, but the people who are going to be successful seem to be the ones who manage to put the time in and get their production up fairly quickly. They want to make money, which means they need to get their production up, and then that will make them happy and successful. The longer it takes them, I think the more frustrated they become.

Q: For someone who’s going to do well, how quickly do you see them get up to production speed?

You can actually do it in a couple of weeks. I certainly think that as a personal goal, if you were starting this job, you would give yourself, say, two weeks to make your minimum pages. Otherwise, the longer you give yourself, the more frustrated you’re going to get. How much more than the minimum you do depends on how much money you want to make, so start by setting specific weekly goals for yourself right away.

Q: What can an Independent Contractor expect when going through Allegis’s Quality Development Program?

The coaching stage runs for about two weeks. We have a pretty flexible coaching program, but the beginners tend to take the whole two weeks. Everyone gets their own coach, who will meet with and encourage them, and the coach will also be the person who assesses their work through assigned files.

As an IC, you will meet at least twice with your coach, but probably more than that depending on what you need. There’s a lot of back-and-forth in terms of the coach talking to you and seeing that maybe you’re brand new to this kind of transcription, but you’ve done some other types of transcription. Maybe you’re more confident and can work more quickly, or maybe you’re less confident and need more coaching. It really depends on the person. We try to tailor it as much as possible to the individual. You certainly would have your coach available by phone or email. We use Zoom for video conferencing and for sharing screens to go over feedback together. After you pass a minimum number of files, you are released to work on our regular queue.

To recap, after two weeks you become a part of the regular workforce, and then, after two additional weeks—and this is true for both beginning and experienced transcriptionists—you would get a regular QA assessment just to touch base and see how you’re doing. Most people do fine on this, and then everyone gets a QA assessment every quarter.

Q: Any other tips you have for someone considering a career in transcription?

I can only think of two things. One is to really brush up on your MS Word skills. Make sure that you’re good at using that program. The other tip is to go online and work with practice audios. You have many great options available to you online. I think even Express Scribe has some on their site. Try it out and see if you like it. You can even listen to interviews on YouTube and try to transcribe those just to get a sense of what transcribing is like.

 

Angela Shorter Finds More than a Work-from-Home Transcription Job at Allegis

/7 Comments/in , /by Tyler Marshall

Freelance transcriptionist enjoys fulfilling career, flexibility and family time

A busy mother of two boys, age 11 and 6, was looking for a work-from-home transcription job to fit her hectic schedule. Along with homeschooling, taking her sons to baseball games, karate lessons, theater rehearsals, and more, she also had a host of household responsibilities to manage on a daily basis. Plus, she wanted to earn money in a field she was passionate about.

Sound familiar?

Well, meet Angela Shorter, a busy wife and mother who found true career happiness with Allegis Transcription. We caught up with Angela via phone (working from home in her pajamas at 2:45 p.m.!), and here’s what she had to say…

The Early, Freelance Transcriptionist Days Were Rough!

Angela started as a freelance transcriptionist in 2007 in the medical field. However, she was not a fan of the terminology used in that industry and lacked passion for her work. “I’m all about finding your passion because if we’re not passionate about what we’re doing, we’re not going to have the desire to keep doing it,” she says.

Because of this, Angela stopped doing transcription and took a few years off to spend time with her young children and successfully move her family to a new home in Loganville, Georgia. Once they were settled, she decided to try transcription again and began pursuing opportunities at companies outside of the medical field. This is when she discovered the world of general transcription where she could “relate more to the material.”

Angela also researched numerous companies via online forums and chat rooms specifically for transcriptionists. And after hearing good things about Allegis Transcription and their tier system on Transcription Haven and other sites, she decided to apply to the company. However, on her first try, she was rejected. “In my heart, it felt like complete rejection, and I was so upset,” she states.

Rejection Leads to Transcribing Success.

For Angela, this rejection gave her the determination to improve her skills. “I’m stubborn, and I don’t like the word ‘no,’” she exclaims. “I don’t like the fact that there’s a possibility that I can’t do something or the feeling as if I’ve failed and I knew I wanted to be with Allegis!”

Because of this drive, Angela continued to hone her skills while working at other, freelance transcription jobs, which involved transcribing everything from company earnings calls to focus groups. Many of the audio files were in the two-to four-hour range.

She liked her general transcription work, which became increasingly enjoyable as her level of experience grew. “In the transcription field, the more experience you have, the easier it’s going to be to flow into the format, transcription styles, expectations, and guidelines that you have to meet for each company,” she says.

After about a year, Angela found that she needed shorter audio-jobs that would work better with her hectic schedule so she applied at Allegis again. And this time, she was accepted! “It was like a weight had been lifted from me because our life is chaotic, but I still want to be able to work,” she says. Now, when her husband gets home from his job, Angela says they are able to “fill in the gaps for each other.” The shorter audio files, which are fifteen minutes long on average, are easier to work into her day.

Angela’s Work-from-Home Transcription Job Offers Numerous Benefits.

This control over her workload was a priority for Angela. “I did not decide to do transcription for the money,” she states. “I did it because of the flexibility to be able to be at home and reap the rewards of being with my children. I only have a short time in the lives of both of them before they are grown and moving on, and I want to make sure that I am here. That aspect of it means more to me than the monetary aspect.”

And Angela has even used her transcription work at Allegis as a teaching tool for her children. With the flexibility she has in choosing assignments, her family travels “wherever they feel they want to go.” And, she uses this opportunity to homeschool her children in different locations, taking her work with her. In fact, she recounts one job where she was transcribing detailed information about street names, and the next week, she was actually with her boys in Florida driving down that same road!

On another occasion, Angela’s grandfather passed away, and she was able to jump in the car and drive up to Virginia at the last minute with her mother. And when her mother was driving, Angela was transcribing in the passenger seat with her foot pedal and laptop!

“When we were driving up to Virginia, the whole time I was thinking, ‘this is where I need to be,’ and my transcription work provides that kind of flexibility to even be able to work while I am on the road,” she says.

Transcriber Gives Insights on Working for Allegis Transcription.

While Angela experiences a lot of flexibility, educational opportunities, and other benefits from Allegis, she also has the opportunity to make a good income.

“With the Allegis pay structure, I am very goal-oriented and break out how many days I want to work during the week and make it happen,” she states. “I figure out what I need at the end of each week, monetary wise, and what I need to complete to make it happen.” In fact, Angela gets up at 4:00 a.m. (with her husband who drives to Atlanta for work) during the week and starts working on her transcripts. “That’s my quiet time, and nine times out of ten, that’s when I choose to work.”

As a freelance transcriptionist, Angela enjoys numerous benefits. But, she also tells us about some challenges too. These include dealing with recordings where: people are talking over one another, there is a lot of swearing or background noise, the voices are difficult to understand, or the audio quality is poor. Plus, she mentions that occasionally, you can get an upsetting audio that describes an unfortunate auto accident, injury or situation.

At the same time, Angela says that she hears some interesting, strange and humorous stories on the audios too. For example, on one occasion, she listened to an older woman, “let the interviewer have it” when he repeatedly asked her the same questions trying to evoke a different response. “It was hilarious, and my kids were asking me why I was laughing so hard,” says Angela.

Persistence Pays Off.

With all of the aspects involved in her transcription work, Angela enjoys it and recommends Allegis to other, high achievers. But, she offers some advice. “The Allegis training process is difficult, and this is not a business for everyone,” she states. “In order to succeed in this, you have to have a passion for it and be determined, persistent and coachable.”

Angela also notes that it took her about six months working for Allegis to begin feeling comfortable with the verbatim transcription. “It’s not just about typing, it’s the training and doing better than you did yesterday so that you can meet higher goals,” she says.

And for those thinking about pursuing a career in transcription, Angela recommends that people get the necessary skills, practice, research reputable companies, and start testing. She says, “You’re truly never going to know if you like it unless you do it. The reason I do what I do is because I love it!”

As an independent contractor, Angela is thankful for where she is. “Not only can I take it with me, but I can work at home, I can homeschool my children, I can be where they need to be, and I can help financially at the same time.”

We’d like to thank Angela and congratulate her on her success.

 

Now, how about you? Are you ready to find out more about work-from-home transcription jobs at Allegis?

Check out our available positions and the testing process here:

 

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