How to Become a Professional Transcriptionist for Newbies: Right Experience and Training Materials

Professional transcriptionists all started somewhere and this is a reality that a lot of beginners fail to recognize. Transcription jobs can be highly competitive especially for newbies without an impressive track record to show prospective clients.

There are two ways for transcriptionists or even any professionals to follow in order to advance in their chosen careers. These particular courses of action can accelerate the transcriptionist in their careers, whether they are newbies or beginners, to already working transcriptionists looking for advancement.

Both experience and training are very important. However, what some people don’t realize is that there is a correct way to gather experience in order to further your transcriptionist career and be viable for better and better jobs.

How to gather transcriptionist experience:

• Do repeated projects

Doing projects again and again for the same client shows other potential clients that since other clients trust you, you could be a perfect fit for their project. Not a lot of transcriptionists are able to retain clients but when the opportunity presents itself, take it as a “resume” and “credibility” booster despite whatever the pay maybe.

There are certain experiences that help boost your career but do not really pay that well in comparison to others. Sometimes, it is better to take these opportunities, especially if you are still a beginner and a newbie in the industry.

• Do a decent variety of projects

Getting a wide array of clients, especially from different industries and also from different locations, shows your flexibility in adjusting to the new workload. This shows that you do not shy away from something new and are quickly adaptable to change.

Getting newer clients will be relatively easier once they see that you have been able to adjust to different industries and even different accents.

• Make sure to always update your resume and promotional materials

Every relevant experience must be added to your transcriptionist resume. If you do not have years of experience, you can substitute this by adding specific milestones like your top words-per-minute count or even how much workload you are able to take on.

Other important milestones like important transcription jobs should also be included in your transcriptionist resume. Of course, make sure you are allowed to mention those projects.

Aside from positioning yourself through getting the right experiences, getting the right training is also very important. Although the transcriptionist career is mostly based on developing skills through doing the work itself, there are certain techniques by top transcriptionists that really help out beginners and newbies when trying to advance in that path.

Transcriptionist jobs, although most of the time freelance, still require a level of seniority in the field, and what some transcriptionists cannot present through the length of their work, they do so by picking out the right transcriptionist jobs that can boost their career.

Training materials, although hard to find for transcriptionists, still do exist around the internet and can be utilized in order to grow and advance, landing bigger and better-paying clients or basically optimizing how much you can earn.

Here are the free training materials for transcriptionists available online:

1. Free courses on Udemy

There are existing courses on Udemy that help newbies and beginners by providing them with the right training materials and giving them direction regarding what skills are needed or how to navigate the complexities of this freelance work.

A structured learning course helps simplify the process for beginners and helps them become better and better as a transcriptionist.

2. Learning from YouTube

There are a number of channels on YouTube that offer free advice from transcriptionists that have been working in the industry for a couple of years already. This advice also comes with the evolving industry and how to navigate and make the best out of it.

YouTube videos are also very easy to access and some of them even show the tools they use in order to do their transcriptionist job with much efficiency.

3. Looking for a Facebook Support Group

Facebook support groups for transcriptionists are usually the best way to advance in the profession. Getting acquainted with more and more transcriptionists both newbies and professionals is a great way to advance as a transcriptionist as well.

The good thing about communities is that they help those beginners see the bigger picture in order to have a clearer idea of where the career will take them and how to make the most out of it.

4. Reading Articles

There are several articles online that teach how to become a professional transcriptionist. These articles can be very specific so it is important to narrow down what precisely needs to be searched in order to read the right article.

Different publishings, although not always accurate, can help provide new ideas for newbie transcriptionists and help accelerate the process from being a beginner transcriptionist to a professional.

5. Reddit and Quora

Following threads or questions on Quora and Reddit are the best way to get answers for specific questions regarding the technicality or even general questions that talk about how to become a better transcriptionist.

There is no perfect assurance, however, that your query will be answered, but there is still a huge chance that someone out there will be able to impart professional advice.

Becoming a professional transcriptionist takes the right experience as well as proper training. Not all training can be found by external sources. Sometimes, the best way to improve as a transcriptionist is to practice your way from a newbie to a professional updating your methodology to more efficient and accurate practices along the way.

The better transcriptionist you become, the more transcriptionist jobs will be made available to you. Training and experience go hand in hand which is why newbies have to be equally curious as well as willing to practice and work on their skills in order to become a better transcriptionist.

Follow our blog for more useful tips and guidelines to become a professional transcriptionist.