All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy - Part 1

When people work non-stop, without allowing downtime for family and friends and personal solitude, the natural rhythm of life is violated.

When people work non-stop, without allowing downtime for family and friends and personal solitude, the natural rhythm of life is violated. If you’re a person who’s competitive, a perfectionist, mission-driven, then you’ll know that these traits make it very difficult to define healthy and realistic boundaries between your translation work and your private life. Unfortunately, these traits can affect not only your life but the lives of your family and also the people you work with.

Many people have been raised knowing that the key to productivity is hard work, and yes, hard work is essential to success. Now add in laptops and smartphones, and these tendencies are compounded in driven people, so they simply work non-stop and expect everyone else to follow suit. Logically, these people know there are limits to how much work is useful, and most are aware that research suggests that working longer and harder doesn’t necessarily mean getting more work done.

What Have We Learned about Downtime?

A study published in the Harvard Business Review demonstrated that downtime can have a more positive and larger effect on both organizational and individual productivity than more hours on the job. During designated periods of this study, employees were required to take one day off during the middle of their work week (including other time-off experiments): initially, they were anxious and resisted the changes, but the results of the study were extremely positive – including improved communication, greater job satisfaction, increased learning and self-development, greater respect and trust for colleagues, and a better work-life balance. Another study showed that 94% of professional people work a minimum of 50 hours per week, with half of these working more than 65 hours per week. And all of these translation professionals monitored their smart phones at home!

Give Your Body Time to Rest

You must resist the impulse to work constantly. It won’t be easy at first, and you may even feel like you’re neglecting your responsibilities. However, over time, you’ll end up achieving more than you did previously.

We need to understand that we all have a limited reserve of energy; and willpower, focus, and the ability to deal with stressful projects all draw from this limited reserve. When these reserves are depleted through either working on too many projects or through sleep deprivation, we lose the pleasure of working on something important, we lose our creativity, and we lose the quality of our work. We can’t afford to skip rest, and the way to restore our quality of work is to take time off.

Take a Short Nap

One great way of tackling an energy deficit is to take a nap. Many experiments have shown the value of sleep, and this includes brief naps, as a way of improving memory, learning, and creative thinking. Some forward-thinking companies actually encourage their employees to take a short nap during their work day because they understand the added value to job satisfaction, productivity, and the good health of their employees.

Take Time off on a Regular Basis

The most feasible approach to achieving the greatest benefits of downtime is to take time off on a regular basis.

Being A Self-Employed Translator - Part 2

When you become a freelance translator, your job description will be somewhat limited.

You must meet (or beat) every translation deadline. 

If you want to develop a base of regular clients, then this is a must. Sometimes it’s not enough to simply meet the deadline. If there are questions you need answering or you require clarification on a certain portion of text, then, prior to the deadline and allowing plenty of time to still meet the deadline, send your queries together with the file and asked for clarification.

Our advice is that you only translate into your dominant/native language. This is very important when you’re trying to produce a translation that’s linguistically accurate and doesn’t sound like a translation. Translators should not translate into their second or third language unless, of course, there’s no other option available.

All translators should have top-notch source language comprehension skills. In fact, your source language comprehension skills will ideally be near-native. You should not be launching a translation business based on average comprehension of your source language.

Make sure you stay with subjects that you’re really familiar with. If there’s a subject in your own language that you’re really struggling to understand, then it’s going to be even worse in your source language.

Don’t become overwhelmed by taking on too much work.

We know it’s difficult to say no to a current client or a prospective client that you’d love to work for, but it’s very important that you avoid the trap of working too much, too fast, or too late. We know that any of these scenarios will result in poor quality translation work.

And finally, your customer service must be second-to-none. Every client should know that they are your top client, that they’re important to you, and that you’ll do everything within your power to solve their problem – which means to complete their translation to the very best of your ability. Because let’s face it, translators are problem solvers! Your client wants you to do something they’re not capable of doing themselves, and that is to translate their document into another language. So go above and beyond when it comes to your customer service because we know that in the business world it’s not always about price – it’s about making your customers feel important and giving them the service they believe they deserve.

Being A Self-Employed Translator - Part 1

When you’re self-employed, the entire success of your business depends on how well you do your job.

When you’re self-employed, the entire success of your business depends on how well or how badly you do your job, and we’re talking about every single aspect of your job; whereas when you work for someone else, there’s inevitably those few people within the business who work really hard while the rest sit around waiting for retirement.

An average employee in the corporate world will probably not be promoted, but they won’t be fired either; whereas a freelance translator putting in the same amount of effort will probably fail in their freelance business. Obviously, employees can’t be fired from their full-time position simply because they’re not brilliant at what they do. Also, people working for large corporations generally contribute skills beyond those that apply to their jobs; however, the expectations of freelance translators are more quantifiable and more targeted.

Employees in the Business World Often Wear Many Hats

Let’s look at the job of a teacher, for example. Any teacher will tell you that they do a lot more than simply teach their students certain subjects at school, so they’re not being judged solely on their teaching skills – they’ll also be judged on their communication skills with students, staff and parents, volunteer work, and their general ability to perform at many levels.

A Translator’s Job Description Is Limited

When you become a freelance translator, your job description will be much more limited. You’ll be required to take a source document in a foreign language and translate it into English, or perhaps proofread a document that another translator has already put into English. Obviously, translation clients enjoy working with translators who are generous with their time, friendly, flexible, and get along with other translators as well as their project managers, but if a translator is just ordinary when it comes to the process of translating, they’re much less likely to escape the consequences than an employee working in the same situation in the corporate world.

Your Clients Are Looking for the Best!

There are many really good freelance translators out there, and when clients have a choice they’re obviously going to choose the best translator they can afford. So what does it take to become a top-quality freelance translator –

You must have excellent writing skills in your target language. This is probably the most important issue when it comes to freelance translation because it’s definitely a serious handicap if you’re not a really good writer in your dominant language.

Transitioning from Employed to Self-Employed - Part 2

Doubt is a close relative of fear, and it can certainly be your enemy when it comes to your successes as a freelance translator.

Doubt

Doubt is a close relative of fear, and it can certainly be your enemy when it comes to your successes as a freelance translator. You have to learn to control your emotions and this won’t be easy if you start doubting your ability to find clients who pay on time, finding translation projects that suit your expertise, and your ability to cope with a translation workload. Fear and doubt will work against you, so to counteract these negative feelings simply start counting your blessings. It really is that easy! You wouldn’t have started on the path to self-employment if you weren’t sure that you have great translation skills. If doubt is starting to take over, make a list of your skills and keep focusing on this list. You know you can handle whatever comes your way, but perhaps at this point in time, you’re lacking confidence. This will change once you start marketing yourself and your skills and when you attract your first translation clients.

The Desire for Financial Success – Now!

Obviously, you’ve decided to become a freelance translator because you want to become financially independent, but aiming too high could cause you to stumble. If you aim too high you may not win the projects you quote on, but aiming too low can result in working long hours on low-paying projects, forcing you to take on more and more work. Ultimately, this will lead to a lack of quality in your completed translations. Try not to doubt your abilities, but by the same token you need to be realistic when stating your abilities. If you’re a newbie when it comes to translation, don’t go after projects that are beyond your skill levels: you may have the confidence, but do you have the ability? Don’t aim too high at this point, because if you do you could well miss opportunities that are perfect for you. Be clear about your special skills and match them to translation projects being offered to you.

You Can Have It All!

The above three emotions can be the stumbling blocks to your freelance translation career, but if you can master these then you’re well and truly on your way to a successful career. Of course, there will be many more challenges to come, but looking fear in the face, not doubting yourself and your abilities, and resisting the temptation to aim too high, will set you on the path to success as a freelance translator.

Transitioning from Employed to Self-Employed - Part 1

Freelance translators know only too well that some people consider their position as freelancers an inferior position when compared to full-time employment.

Freelance translators know only too well that some people consider their position as freelancers an inferior position when compared to full-time employment. Any professional freelance translator who previously held down a regular job and who’s now achieved success in the freelance world will tell you that there’s certainly nothing ‘inferior’ about freelancing. Moving from being employed to working for yourself is not for the faint of heart, but for those brave enough to face an unknown frontier head-on, the change to self-employment can be an extremely rewarding career, both financially and personally. Success as a freelancer instills an enormous sense of pride and achievement for translators who’ve made it on their own.

Freelancing Is Not a Walk in the Park!

However, for employed translators considering making the move to self-employment, be assured that achieving success as a professional freelance translator is not a walk in the park. There are so many unknowns ahead, such as stiff competition, the unpredictability of translation projects, self-marketing, how to attract clients, time management, and the question of time off: will you ever be able to take a vacation? It’s natural to wonder if you’ll be at the mercy of your clients, assuming you ever get any, and whether anyone will appreciate your expertise as a translator. So, you can see that starting out as a freelance translator can be quite stressful. The encouraging news for you is that you’re not alone – you’re not the first person to transition from employment to self-employment, and you certainly won’t be the last. Many people have been in the same situation you’re in now, successfully creating a career for themselves as a freelance translator. And it’s to these people we look for advice on the pitfalls to avoid and the positive steps we need to take in order to achieve our goals.

For some people this step into the freelance world is one of courage, while for others it’s a step they’re taking due to circumstances, but either way, if your goal is to become a successful freelance translator, we hope the following tips may help you make a smooth transition into the world of self-employment. We’re going to look at this from an emotional perspective because we know that it’s our emotions that get in the way of our ultimate success; and so if that’s true, then it must also be our emotions that help us succeed.

Fear

Walking away from the safety and security of being a full-time employee can be absolutely terrifying; the fear of not having a regular paycheck is probably the greatest challenge a new translation professional will face unless of course, you have saved enough money to get you through this start-up phase. So, in order to move on, you have to gain control of your fear, and in order to do this, you need to ensure that your expectations are not set too high. The way to take control of your fear is to have a solid plan and put it into practice, because the more effort you put into planning, the more your emotions can be controlled.

Job Hunting Tips for New Translators - Part 1

Spend as much time as possible marketing yourself to as many direct clients and translation agencies as you can find.

This post is dedicated to helping new translators get their business off the ground, because we know first-hand just how overwhelming getting started can be. We hope that the following advice will perhaps reduce stress and help you grow your translation business.

Start Marketing!

Spend as much time as possible marketing yourself to as many direct clients and translation agencies as you can find. Understand that these businesses don’t know you’re available if they don’t know you exist. There’s no right or wrong number here, but the right number would be when you’ve completely exhausted your list of contacts! What is it about you and your translation skills that makes you stand out from other translators? This information is what you need to be marketing and highlighting to potential clients. And of course, with translation, you never stop marketing yourself – ever!

Become Active at Local, National and International Levels

You have to put yourself out there, so aim to join as many associations as you can. Join your local Translator’s Association and become active in the organization; get to know both the agencies and the freelance translators. In addition, attend some of the smaller regional conferences that specialize in fields that you either work in or that you want to work in. Use social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn, and keep these sites updated on a regular basis. Become active on translation listservs, or create a blog on your website. You do have a website, right? Make sure your website is easy to find, and that the information contained on your website is up-to-date. Unless you’re an absolute newcomer to the translation you may consider writing articles for your local translation newsletters and, perhaps even if you are new to translating, an article in these newsletters would still be appropriate (maybe explaining the trials and tribulations of entering the industry, and/or asking for advice).

Read as Many Articles and Books as You Can

Have you read Judy and Dagmar Jenner’s book titled The Entrepreneurial Linguist, or Corrine McKay’s book titled How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator? There’s a lot of very valuable advice for both new and experienced translators in both these publications; and, of course, there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of posts and articles online on various different sites giving advice and answering other translators’ questions.

Upgrade to a Full Version of Your CAT Tool

If you’re using a trial version of a CAT tool, then our advice is that you upgrade to the full version. There are some really great tools out there like OmegaT and Fluency that don’t cost a lot – in fact, OmegaT is free. Then, once you’re earning more you might want to consider purchasing one of the more expensive translation tools if you believe it’s necessary. Check out sites like Proz.com because they sometimes offer group buys which make certain software, such as a MemoQ, more affordable to translators.

Be Confident in the Price You’re Charging

It’s important that you stay strong on your per-word rate. It can be quite stressful advising current clients that you’ve decided to raise your rates because you simply have no guarantee that they’ll stay with you; but if you’ve been providing your customers high-quality translations and great customer service, then you must assume that they’ll accept your new rate.