Here we have an interview with Shekinah way back in June 2013.  I am not sure at this time if GlobalQuest BPO Specialists, Inc. still has transcription services.

Shekinah is senior medical transcriptionist (MT )at GlobalQuest BPO Specialists, Inc. at that time. The company is located at Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines. She stated that she did not dream of becoming a transcriptionist when asked how she started becoming a transcriptionist. But based on her friends’ experience, she sees that what she really want is a job wherein she would be able to use her journalistic skills, as well as flexibility (work in an office setting if she wants to, and she can work at home if she wants to without affecting team productivity despite location). It has been some four years at that time in 2013 since she had been working as a transcriptionist.
If given a chance, she explained that she also would like to try working at home because she had already tried working in an office. She thinks she is ready for a change of environment. What is more, her family needs her now more than ever. The chance that she is able to see her family always and that will make her near her home and still be able to work with the team is achievable while doing work at home.
Shekinah still prefers Medical Transcription over General (Business, podcasts, interviews), or Legal Transcription.
For Shekinah, it is the motivation and the determination to help out in the team – the trait or quality to become an effective or productive transcriptionist. It is because if that is what motivates a transcriptionist, he will do what he can to produce.
Her advice to aspiring transcriptionist: “Well, I should say that it is good to dream of rendering quality services – high productivity and high accuracy ratings. But let us remember also that we get memorable to our clients and our teammates not just for what we produce and the quality of our produce but HOW we produce it. Getting straight, anything that is produced through foul means, no matter how “good” the intention may be – to increase productivity, to ensure a high accuracy – will still produce foulness not only on our works but also in our name as well.”

Same as the other professional jobs, transcribing is also one of the critical works, as it requires high quality of skills and modern equipment to reach the expected excellent results.  It includes various types of equipment and skills in order to come up with fast and accurate transcription.  As we are already living in a high-technology world, recordings are in the form of different digital formats, which makes it much easier to send files, process them in a variety of transcription software.

In the technical aspect, one of the important tools in transcribing is reliable computer software. There is much useful transcription software available over the internet that can be compatible with one’s computer system. Some cost few pennies but there are some, which are free of charge but are limited in functions and features. Either way, what would matter would be the convenience at the time of processing the recordings because normally, it can take from two to six times the duration of the audio to produce fast and accurate transcripts. This large range depends on the type of material, clarity of the audio, how fast people talk, the number of speakers, and comprehensibility of the speakers. Next would be an acquisition of foot pedal for faster pause-and-play functions accompanied by, nonetheless speedy typing skills. An average of 60 to 80 wpm would be effective enough for fast and accurate transcripts. Lastly, a quiet and less distractive place must also be secured. Not all people can work in a noisy working environment so it would contribute much on whether or not the transcripts can be done accurately fast.

Transcribers follow certain guidelines as the tool in transcribing, especially when it is dealing with general transcription, where audio materials involve speeches, lectures, meetings, dialogues and the like. These recordings must be converted into text correctly, and these cover the proper spelling, capitalization, contractions, numbers, abbreviations, acronyms, and punctuations. In the case of medical, legal, and business transcription, familiarization with its definite terms are also critical, or simply put, thorough knowledge must be ready on hand.

Annotators or transcribers should transcribe contractions only when a contraction is actually, what the speaker utters. Transcriptionists should be careful to transcribe exactly what the speaker says, not what they anticipate to hear. Transcribers use word segmentation, word spelling, and standard orthography, except where clearly identified. When in doubt about the spelling of a word or name, conferring with a standard reference would be appropriate, like a paper dictionary, online, or other dependable reference material. All number-related phrases are written out as complete words. Transcriptionists use hyphenation for numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine only.

Acronyms that are usually written as a single expression but pronounced as a series of individual letters should be written in all capital letters, with each individual letter having its spaces. Transcribers should make use of standard punctuation for ease of transcription and reading command. Punctuation is written as it commonly appears in ordinary writing, with no added spaces on punctuation marks. Punctuation is limited to periods, question marks, commas, and exclamation marks at the end of a sentence, where exclamation marks are used for especially vigorous speech.

Finally, with all of these significant key points, attitude towards the job is still on the top of expertise. Consistency, reliability, responsibility, and being knowledgeable and informative make holistic approach to a successful transcription.