Very often, what an employer is looking for in a transcriptionist is the same thing the transcriptionist is looking for in an employer.

As an MT, you want reliability. You need to know that there will be work available for you to transcribe. Employers are looking for that same reliability. They need to know that you will be available to do the work when you said you would.

The transcriptionist wants to be valued and the employer wants to have people of value.

How do you make yourself invaluable to your transcription service? The most valued employee or contractor is the one who is reliable, flexible, quality conscious and doesn't shrink from a challenge.

• Produce quality work. Keep your QA score at least 98% consistently.

• Lessen your need for assistance. An MT who meets or exceeds production quotas with consistently excellent quality is actually not all that desirable if she/he needs constant handholding. Be confident in your abilities. Do your own research instead of relying on QA to do it for you.

• Be available. Keep to your agreed-upon schedule but also be available for extra work during high volume times. Let it be known that you can be relied on to pitch in if other MTs are on vacation, sick, or otherwise unavailable.

• Accept criticism graciously. QA sometimes doesn't have the time to be nice. You will often get very cut and dry feedback and not a lot of praise. Don't take that to mean they don't think you are worth praising. They just may not have the time to express it.

• Learn from feedback. Instead of taking offense at criticism, use it to improve. If you don't understand a correction, ask for clarification and be willing to accept the possibility that you are wrong.

• Be friendly and upbeat but don't get overly personal. In most cases, your boss is not necessarily your friend. He or she doesn't need to know everything about your life unless it is having a direct impact on your work availability. Feel free to exchange pleasantries such as, "have a good weekend," but don't detail your youngest child's adventures in potty training.

• Don't make excuses. It doesn't really matter if you are going through a divorce, have a sullen teenager who is making you old before your time or are taking care of an elderly parent. None of these things should have any effect on the quality of your work. If you must work during stressful times or while ill, take extra care to make sure your work is up to your usual high standard.

• Do not cherry pick. Accept whatever work comes your way and do it to the best of your ability. If it's an unfamiliar specialty or a difficult dictator, consider it a learning opportunity.

• Be flexible. Allow for the possibility of multiple accounts, change in format or a change in platform. Accept change and embrace it. Change is a fact of MT life.

Taking these actions to become more valuable to your service has an added bonus or two. Your boss will not only be happier with you and possibly reward you with higher pay or better accounts but you will become happier in your own work. You will learn new things, feel more valued and more confident in your own abilities and, maybe, start to enjoy work just a little bit more than before.