GMR Transcription Technical Writer Interview Questions
& Process

I applied online and then got an email with instructions and a 12-page style guide. They sent audio that was intentionally bad quality to see if I could handle it, which I wouldn't recommend for beginners or even experienced people. The style guide felt aggressive and like a waste of time. The 16-minute audio was impossible to get through. Then I heard they want you to do 2 hours of audio for free after being hired, and you might still get let go if you're not a good fit. So I looked elsewhere and found a much better company. Also, GMR doesn't share their pay scale, but an old article said it's between $.45-$1.75 a minute.

I found GMR through an online search and liked what I saw on their website, so I applied online and sent in my resume. They sent me an audio file to transcribe as a test, which I had about two to three days to complete and send back. About a week after I submitted the transcript, they made me an offer. The whole thing was really quick and simple.

Standard application process. Filled out a form for general info, then had to submit a test transcript. The audio was around 15-16 minutes long. It was poor quality audio, but this was noted in the email GMR sent, so that was not a surprise. Did not receive an offer due to my test transcript results. I was somewhat expecting this due to the poor quality of the audio and the fact that I am a beginner transcriptionist. I definitely appreciate that they sent an email notifying me of this because I have found that many transcription companies never bother to send you an email saying whether or not they will hire you. The reason why I am giving a negative rating for my experience is that I sent an email to GMR asking specific questions about transcribing the audio file that the style guide they provided did not answer. I never received a response on this which is a bad sign. If I ever wanted to reapply those questions may come up again, and I could make the same mistakes without knowing it. If hired, they also require you to work for free for two hours on a probationary basis. While I understand the need for quality control, expecting people to work for free at any point is a poor practice and unprofessional. I think GMR should split the normal rate of pay between the probationary transcriptionist, and whoever is doing the quality checks for the transcripts. This way, both are compensated for their time.