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MHA123
New Member
50 Posts |
 Posted - 04/14/2008 : 02:42:07
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Hallo everyone,
I´m pretty new in the industry and would like to get some advice about becoming a professional translator. Here a little more about myself:
I finished university some months ago with a major in foreign languages, started to work as a freelancer and tried to hook up with some agencies.
I joined translatorpub a while ago and already found some interesting jobs, but is there anything else I could do? What is your experience - or the other way around - how did you start in this business? |
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Stefan
Moderator
240 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2008 : 06:06:53
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Hallo MHA123,
you already did the right things... you have a translator degree, started to contact potential clients and joined TranslatorPub. Like I can see from your posting, you already started bidding and that is essential. As more you quote as more potential clients will become aware of you.
Another positive aspect would be to get your profile uptodate and put your CV, references, etc. on it. Clients usually check for those information, you can show them your expertise and this will convince them of why they should pick you as a translator.
A happy client will always come back with new jobs ;-). If you have any other questions, please feel free to let us know. Also - when you find some time in a couple of weeks let us know how you are doing in the translation industry.
Good luck to you and have success in bidding. |
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MHA123
New Member
50 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2008 : 01:27:25
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Hallo Stefan,
thx for your reply and all the information provided within your post. You know you should create something like an Expat Place where translators can submit glossaries or write articles to make aware of them. I would love to submit several essays I have written to make myself aware to more clients. Do you plan something like that?
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Stefan
Moderator
240 Posts |
Posted - 04/16/2008 : 22:28:29
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| Hallo - yes we do ;-) You should by now have received our update mail where we informed all members about this stage. I hope all of you will participate in that to make this place even more valuable to all of us. |
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glt42816
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2009 : 06:16:43
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It's all very well to boast your own personal abilities and virtues in job applications - indeed, this is nothing short of recommendable if they are explicitly relevant to the work in question. But if you're applying for translation jobs as a freelance translator, never forget a certain list of things, including:
- Rates (be this your standard rate or a rate set for an individual project or body of work as detailed in an advert. (Think carefully about what currency you impart in your rates as well.)
- If you're going to be doing a lot of business online then having an account with Paypal or Moneybookers will make things easier and help you to work more efficiently. It's free, by the way. There's always bank transfer / BACS and Western Union, as well.
- If possible, your turnaround time i.e. how long it WOULD to take you to translate a certain amount. This might be measured in hours, days or even weeks depending on the length of the project.
- Offer to submit examples of relevant work, if you have any. If you have no samples of past professional work available, even translating material pertaining to the subject matter in your free time would surely be indicative of your own dedication. I imagine your library could help.
- Translation software you're familiar with (Trados, WordFast etc.). You can download free samples if you search for them on Google; and SDL International sell all the latest versions.
I hope this helps.
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heykalemba
Starting Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2017 : 05:23:44
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A great place to start your career as a translator is this Guide on How to Become a Professional Translator: http://www.columbustranslations.co.uk/language-translator. I have put a lot of work into it but I would still love to try and improve on it. That's why please feel free to share and comment and if you'd like to suggest your favourite resources, let me know in the comments below the article so I can add them as and when they come in. Many thanks. Any questions, let me know.
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Becoming a successful translator
