Winning Résumés and the Winner of the Résumé Critique

Oops! In the midst of Play It Again week, we forgot to draw a winner of the free résumé critique giveaway, so I'm catching up now! And for the rest of you, I wanted to share this awesome example of tailoring your résumé toward transcription.

First, the winner. Random.org tells me that Melissa is the winner! Melissa, if you e-mail us with your résumé, we'll get that back to you within 48 hours with our comments.

Keep reading, though, because I was so excited when we came across this résumé during one of our résumé critiques that I asked Wendy if I could share it with you all. Although she's been out of the workforce for several years (and we offered her suggestions on how to position her résumé for potential contracts regardless of that gap), she highlighted the skills from her previous experience to emphasize her skills as a transcriptionist:

Public Relations, Company Name
*Telecommuting position with minimal supervision

*Transcription work with prospective members via cell phone

State Certified Sign Language Interpreter, Independent Contractor
*Secured employment opportunities as a freelance interpreter for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

*Interpreted in various professional and collegiate settings

State Certified Sign Language Interpreter, School System
*Utilized the ability to listen, mentally process, and reproduce spoken information into another format in both a prompt and thorough manner

*Interpreted for a variety of clients with a vast array of accents, dialects, and speaking styles in a broad spectrum of settings


Notice that in the first two, she highlights her ability to telecommute, work with little supervision, be professional and work as an independent contractor. In this case, she did have a small amount of transcription experience that she could highlight as well, but I really think this résumé would appeal to transcription companies even without that.

What really stood out to me was the third job listing, in which she took her skills as a sign language interpreter and directly tied them to transcription. Someone with the exact same résumé who may not have thought of those associations would be missing out on an opportunity to grab the reader's attention.

While you may not think your previous experience relates to transcription, chances are with some thoughtfulness and creativity you can come up with your own examples. Your entire résumé doesn't have to look at this if the connections aren't as apparent, but you should always tailor your résumé to the position you're trying to obtain.

If you are interested in having us review your résumé and offer tips about how you can more effectively target it for a career in transcription, we offer résumé critiques for $15 each. Order now!