What a Job! The Work of a Word Formatting Specialist

I’ve worked as a Formatting Specialist for Transcription City for two years now. I provide Excel formatting, Word formatting, and PowerPoint designing services, but this is my blog to talk about what a typical Word formatting job for me includes, and how I structure my time so I can still fit in my other document formatting jobs.
Step 1: I log onto my PC and check for any new Word document formatting work that’s come in. Often times, this include correcting errors that have occurred when converting documents from PDF to Word format, or fixing complicated formatting problems. First, I’ll download the files I have to work with and then I’ll read through the client’s email instructions to confirm exactly what formatting services they require and whether I have everything I need.
Step 2: Next, I’ll begin work on formatting documents. Often, if I think the client’s document may suit an alternate format better, I will email them and ask if they would prefer some parts of their document to be split. For example, if I can see an invoice is written up in Word, I will import the table to Excel, format correctly and ask the client if they would like a hyperlink inserted in the document to take them to a sheet or for the spreadsheet to be embedded into the document. This is usually a better option than using formulas in Word tables which can be trickier to work with. Or perhaps there is a lot of design work in the document, and it seems they are going to be presenting or circulating the work, so it may be better created in a Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft PowerPoint format. It’s stage two when I will contact the client with any ideas on the best way to go, or to have answered any important questions or queries to be sure that they are getting a timely and efficient formatting service.
Step 3: Once the above has been done, it’s step 3 when I will check to confirm that everything is consistent and make any additions as necessary, by copy typing any missed parts of text. At this stage, I’ll also view the document from ‘print preview’ and fix any alignment issues or inconsistencies with bullet points, numbered lists, spacing and accessibility, etc.
Step 4: After basic formatting is complete on overall text, I will work on any possible design elements that need to be incorporated into the client’s documents. For example, if company logos need to be used, I will use the company website or provided images to make sure headers, footers, or overall design incorporates the company style. Also, if no company style for documents has been defined as yet by the client, I will research and check the company details and website to make the decision on what will work best for them. Logo and design work can be done using Adobe Photoshop, PowerPoint and Publisher programmes, amongst other programmes.
Step 5: Next I’ll make sure the document is easy to read, and any hyperlinks or embedded images or files are all correct and functioning. This is also the stage where I will add a Contents page, and update the style and page numbers to be correct.
Step 6: Once the document is laid out correctly and all contents, hyperlinks, etc, are working, I will check once more to confirm that everything is formatted correctly, and read back over the client’s email instructions for formatting the document, to check that everything has been done. Then I’ll send the work over to Transcription City, with a log of changes made and time spent.
If you would like to know more about our document formatting services, transcription services or any of our other virtual assistant services, feel free to contact us at any time. We have a team of specialists, who are always around and happy to help.