Hello MT's.

I am writing today in hope that you can give me some encouragement that I will actually get a job someday. I am a recent honors graduate of what I understand is a good online school. I have been looking for a job for about 2 months now. I have noticed a lot of companies want experience. The ones that don't ask for experience have either timed quick tests or moderately difficult transcription. I have tested for several companies online and not passed and I'm not sure how. I am a little slow because I'm new at this. Is this being counted against me? If I take timed test that should take 10 minutes and it takes me 11 have I failed? I am thinking of purchasing Stedman's spellchecker just to help with tests. Is this a bad idea? I just don't know what to do. I am at a total loss. I have no way to practice typing reports because I am done with school. Aren't there any companies that hire new graduates and help them along? I am losing hope.

Hi DonnaDee,

It is very frustrating out there for newbies. Does your school have any kind of affiliation with any companies? I'm heard that the good online schools do. You might want to ask. Have any of your fellow graduates gotten jobs? Maybe you can find out where they are working?

I would suggest that you network with other MTs. This is so important. People will get to know you and might give you a chance. I know it's hard in the cyberspace world to network, but perhaps there are some MTs in your area who you could ask for advice?

I don't know about how the tests work for these places as I have not taken an on-line test. I would suggest taking every test you can--you will learn from them.

Getting a medical spellchecker is a good idea, but if you are hired by a company they will probably have a built-in spellchecker in the software they use, so you might not ever use it again. Maybe try eBay and see if there are any used ones--try searching for medical transcription.

There are newbies who get jobs--I don't know how many resumes they send out but some eventually get work.

Good luck!

Thank you for your response kkb. I will look into all of your suggestions. I'm taking a test for a company right now. Hopefully it will go well.

i think acusis.com has a good test/application process. try them. if not, i have been using google and found a few websites that just list companies that hire transcriptionists. apply to them anyway even if they say they need experience. the worst they can do is say no. best case scenerio you get it. you never know. just dont say you have experience you dont to get it(: