The pandemic has created an appetite for remote work among the skilled workforce. From tech to marketing, every sector is trying to accommodate candidates’ requests for remote work. As a result, many companies have started hiring talent irrespective of location or even country.

In this regard, the transcription industry is no different. Ever since the lockdowns started, the demand for skilled transcriptionists has skyrocketed. Simultaneously, however, the number of applicants has also increased!

Presented with a wide variety of options and not limited by location barriers, recruiters have raised the bar for the level of skills they expect from their transcriptionists.

As a result, left with no other choice, many candidates are looking for ways to improve their existing skillset! But one glaring question that all of them face is Where do I begin?

If you are facing the same problem, this article is for you! We will walk you through a concrete plan of action for becoming a better transcriptionist!

Ready to improve your transcription skills? Let’s begin!

Time Management

Although not exclusively associated with transcriptionists, time management skills are essential for any form of remote work.

Whether you are a developer, technical writer, or transcriptionist, your time management skills will definitely give you an edge when it comes to turning in quality work within provided deadlines. To further enhance productivity, integrating virtual office management software can streamline your tasks and help you stay organized in a remote environment.

But how can someone improve their time management skills? Is it even possible? It is!

  • Prioritize Your Tasks: Tackle less demanding tasks first using task-timer apps to keep your to-do list manageable. A long task list is a recipe for procrastination!
  • Take Breaks: Although it might sound counter-productive, taking short, frequent breaks help your brain retain focus. So in a roundabout manner, these breaks enable you to be more productive. Plus, you need to use task management tools along with time tracking tool to track your workflow effectively.
  • Organize your Workspace: You want to be as productive as if you were in an office? Make your workspace look as if it belongs in one! This simple but effective hack will make you forget where you are and focus on work more efficiently.

Listening Skills

As a transcriptionist, most of your time will revolve around listening to the source material assigned to you! As such, you need to possess excellent listening skills.

But how can you improve your listening skills?

  • Expand your Vocabulary: Learning new words helps you pronounce them better. Being able to identify the pronunciation of complex words will enhance your listening skills!
  • Understand Sentence Formation: Knowing how to form sentences will drastically augment your ability to record them while listening to the source material. One effective approach is using an AI Mock Interview to practice and refine your interview techniques, giving you a competitive edge when applying for transcription roles.

Typing Skills

A quintessential transcriptionist can keep up with the speaker by typing fast and accurately!

And although among many up-and-coming transcriptionists, this is the one skill that causes the most grief, it is also the easiest to improve! There are many free resources on the internet that can help you improve your typing accuracy and speed. Most companies use a pre-employment typing test to screen candidates before the interview process, so it is important that you are up to speed!

Just keep practicing your typing skills, and eventually, your typing will get as fast as is expected from a professional transcriptionist!

Conclusion

It will take some time for the rising trend in audio and video content creation to plateau. But the increasing demand for transcriptionists will only keep going.

As such, it would be a worthwhile investment of your time and effort to improve the skills required from a competent transcriptionist!

We hope this article was of some help to you as you improve your transcription skills to become job-ready!

If you think you have what it takes to be a transcriptionist, Wavel needs you! Join as a Transcriber at Wavel today.