Just estimate the month and year from the way back ones. - They were bought out

Some resume suggestions - All Thumbs

I know it is tough when you've been doing the same thing for so many years, but you have to start somewhere. I used to update my resume every year regardless of whether I was looking or not -- somehow the act of putting it out there made me feel like I had a little power.  Also it kept the data current.  Just start with rough notes and guess on the dates.  Maybe after you start working with the document it might jog your memory.  Even though they may ask for it on an application, I doubt they really expect you to remember names and numbers from 10+ years ago.  Just give it a rough guess if you can.  If you can't verify it, they probably can't either, but at least it gives a picture of your experience.  Most of my MT companies are dead and gone and absorbed by Nuance so I couldn't give good info either, but somehow I passed the background check this week!  I warned my new supervisor that there would be dead ends but she said they had a company that did it for them and she wasn't worried about it.  I think the background check is really about felonies and not real experience anyway.

Another good idea is to first type the resume out in plain text in sections and leave the formatting for the very end.  Sometimes you have to send a resume in plain text anyway so it should un-format easily.  I think clearer when I am just working with text.  When you are all done you can convert paragraphs to bullet points or make things bold or add dividing lines, etc.  Finish it and double check the accuracy first before making it pretty.

If you are sending the resume for another MT job, I would create a section called "Tools" or "Equipment" or something and list the equipment and software you already have.  Even if you don't need it, it's good to show that you have adapted in the past to other platforms.  Things like a C-phone, various foot pedals, then list your versions of Windows, Word, special software (like Express Scribe).  Note that this section is not what you know how to use but what you currently own.  This is for MT resumes only.

I think it is also helpful to add a section called "Skills" (especially for non-MT resumes) and be sure and list all the software you currently use or have used and could re-learn fairly quickly.  List the Microsoft programs first, then branch out.  Maybe you know some drawing or page layout or web publishing programs.  List your best-case typing speed or if you know 10-key by touch or have worked multi-line phones.  Also if you've ever done a blog or something similar list that too.  It doesn't have to be high-tech.

This section is where you may not realize how much we really shine as MTs.  For years we have done business remotely out of our homes, with a lot of guidelines to follow, so we have become pretty slick at using digital documents and storing that information digitally.  For years I would save every email and document they sent as an HTML or PDF file and put it in folders so I could find it again.  If you've done anything close to this you could really impress an employer with this knowledge.  Also you probably have had to scan documents and send them to the mother ship, which in itself is a modern communication skill.  Let your ideas flow and list them all.  Take a look at the big picture when you're done and then see if anything overlaps, but get it all down on paper first.

So now we get to the section "Job Experience."  I too have done slightly different variations of the same thing for several different companies and individuals, so I chose to summarize the duties of a transcriptionist first in one very clear paragraph and then bullet-list the various companies and dates below that.  I wrote it in layman's terms so an employer can see what we do and see how it applies to their needs.  If you don't explain what we do, their eyes will glaze over and they will disregard that huge block of your job experience.  Instead, all those years of MT will show how your skills are sharp.

Here is an example that I sent for the job I am starting next week.  I put the two questions (What is MT… and What skills…) in bold to make it read like the person viewing your resume was the one asking the questions.

"Medical Transcriptionist (2004 to present) -- Worked remotely (internet based) for several national medical transcription companies for the past 10 years. What is medical transcription? Transcribing physician-dictated medical reports for hospitals and clinics. What skills are required? This is a highly disciplined, self-directed profession that requires 100% accuracy (spelling, grammar, document flow and formatting), ability to listen carefully and follow specialized instructions, and conduct thorough research of unfamiliar terms. Also requires daily administrative skills (communication via phone and email, scanning documents, writing reports, statistical tracking, keeping reference information up to date and easily accessible in digital format [HTML and PDF])."

(Bullet-list past employers here and dates.)

Most importantly, do not sell yourself short!  We are so much more valuable to an employer than you may imagine.  We are self-starters, we know how to find the answers to almost anything, we work independently, we think for ourselves, and we fix our own problems.  I think that gives us a bit of an advantage when we hit the ground running in a new job.  Good luck everyone with your job search -- remember to get out there and shine!

THANK YOU ...sm - confused

Very good resume advice here - Fatigued Fingers

Excellent advice! - needing a new job

Thanks - All Thumbs

I will be the assistant to the city clerk in my town.  I had some technical writing and documentation experience but that was 10+ years ago before MT. Kind of challenging to tie all that together but with a little thought it worked.  I had been part-time about 30/hrs week with Nuance but this is full time and full benefits, which make it all worth while.  I think I will actually have more time off with established vacation and sick leave than I have ever had with Nuance. I was always made to feel guilty about taking time off and hence I rarely escaped work.  It's been about 7 years since I took longer than a 3-day weekend. Now I can look forward to road trips with my kids next summer and spending holidays with them.  Something I've never done before.  My TSM warned me back in January when we were first acquired that things were changing and I needed to plan my exit eventually. She knows me and knows how I hate all the strict rules.  She has kind of turned the other way on some things even though I am one of her top performers and my numbers are awesome.  (I just hate being on a schedule and when I get bored my mind wanders when I'm at home by myself.  I always make up the work but it's later in the evening.)  But she warned me that she couldn't protect me any more so I needed to escape when the opportunity presented itself.  So, here I am, and just in time I would say.  But I have had all year to think myself into a new job and reprogram my comfort level, which really did take this long, and now I'm ready.

I really feel for you guys.  The bottom line is that Nuance and most of those other companies are taking advantage of you because you work at home and they know you will sacrifice good pay or benefits to be able to do that, and you agree to take it because you figure you save money by not leaving the house.  I read an article (now a couple years ago) by a former MT blogger who presented it this way -- In a regular in-person interview the employer would not ask you how far you have to drive or if you have kids or not and pay you accordingly based on your needs, would they?  In other words, they wouldn't pay the person who has higher needs and a family more than the person who lives around the corner and lives cheaply by himself (for the same job).  So how can they justify paying you less because you work at home and have less travel, food, and clothing expenses?  It should be the same no matter where you work.

When I read that article something clicked and I knew I was on my way out.  At the same time I think I was battling a bit of depression, and sitting at home alone all day is not a good way to help that.  We are programmed to be social animals, and without that I think we do sink into a hole that gets harder to climb out of as time goes on.   A lot of you have school events, churches, and family to keep you busy but I don't, so a change was really needed.  Please, please keep talking to yourself and even if you stay at Nuance remember that this is not normal and that you do have choices.  Do some fantasizing and imagine yourself doing other jobs and eventually it won't seem so scary.  Raise your comfort level and break out of the rut.

On a silly note, I was asked some of those relationship questions in the interview (difficult coworkers, etc.) and I was a deer in headlights!  I told them I hadn't had coworkers in 10 years but sometimes I had to reprimand my dog and cat.  We all got a good laugh out of it.  I did tell them some points I had learned in an article on the subject, so I didn't seem like I wasn't prepared.  I thought it was funny that I aced the technical questions but sweated those darn relationship questions.

I will miss the work but not all this punishment that comes along with it.  Best wishes everyone!!!  -Thumbs

So helpful! - Thanks

Thank you Thumbs, I wish you all - the best.