Finding Work with Translation Agencies: 5 Tips for Beginning Translators
Because we all haven’t regressed into one common language (national pride or something like that) there are still all kinds of languages being spoken all over the world. If you have always had a proclivity for languages other than your birth language or if multiple languages were spoken in your home growing up, and you are fluent in more than one tongue, you may wish to seek work as a translator. However before you sign on with any of the translation agencies there are a few things you should consider doing to not only enhance your marketability but to hit the ground running with these groups.
More Obscure the Better: If you’re hoping to find work with translation agencies the general rule is the more obscure the language you’re learning, the better. For example, in America speaking Spanish and English fluently is a pretty impressive thing; however finding work with translation agencies for English to Spanish translator is not something that’s going to happen all that readily. However if you’re from a place like Luxembourg, you likely have a varied command of multiple languages. Not only is Luxembourgish the official language but also German and French are. Many people from Luxembourg also speak English, Dutch, Latin, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Turkish among others. If this is you then you likely will have a great deal of marketability with translation agencies.
Move to a Big City: Another thing you should do when looking for in-person work with translation agencies is move to a big city. Washington DC, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago are major hubs of commerce, trade, and diplomacy with many languages moving across these borders all the time. The gibberish needs to come to some kind of simpatico or nothing will get done. In doing so, it is advisable to use the best portable translator so wherever you are, you can easily translate one language to another.
Move to a Rural Country: Another way to find work with translation agencies is to move as far away from everyone as possible. That is, find an economy which has all the attractive resources which big money wants and then get in with the locals. If you’d been in Japan or China during the 1970’s and 1980’s, learning the language and embracing the culture, then you could be sitting on top of the empire right now.
Learn Terminology: Another way to endear yourself with translation agencies; without having to move half way around the world is to have an affinity with the terminology of the industries you’re hoping to be contracted out for. Automotive, biotech, business, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, world diplomacy, medicine, entertainment, and sports are some of the biggest reasons people need to communicate across languages. If you are able to have a command of the terminology of these different enterprises you are that much more likely to be viewed favorably by translation agencies.
Female: Cute/Male: Booming/Authorities: Finally when you’re trying to get work with a translation agency you have to have a persona. For females it’s got to be “clear” and “cute;” for males it should be “clear” and “authoritative.” These are merely tangential observations but the underlying facts of it are hard to dispute. If you’re not going to be pleasing to the ear and you don’t sound like you know what you’re talking about then no one will want to listen to you.
If you actually speak the languages then these 5 clues can cue you in on a better career with a translation agency.
