Many people capable of translating documents are younger (students) or older (retired) and need real translator jobs advice to avoid being scammed.
I’d like to provide that real translator jobs advice for those wishing to offer this much-needed service. There are literally millions of small businesses that are looking for a free-lance translator. There are also millions of people capable of doing these home jobs, all they need is real translator jobs advice. Think about the Internet for a moment. Every website owner wants worldwide traffic to come to his or her website, but in reality, people only go to websites that they can read and understand. This is why the best websites come in several languages - you click the flag to get the available language of your choice. I would love to have versions of this website in other languages. Each additional major language provides access to at least 100,000,000 more visitors! Who would not want that? However, webmasters need competent, reliable translators to do the work. With real translator jobs advice like this and help to get started, people with an additional language skill can make all the money they need translating documents like sales letters, invoices and websites with no qualifications. People also can make money by writing or editing resumes on different languages. The problem for translators is the scams like asking you to pay up-front fees for registration, when they have no intention of finding you work. There are many jobs for linguists, especially for linguists whose mother tongue is English, because English-speaking peoples are notoriously unwilling to learn foreign languages. This is perfect for people of those countries who do speak a second language. If you are interested in self-employed jobs for linguists as a career, you should read on for suggestions and advice from my own experience of forty years. With the increasing volume of International business and globalisation, the demand for English linguists can only rise. You must have seen the absolutely awful Chinese translations that accompany decent Chinese products. They come about because Chinese are translating into English. You could put this right, if English is your mother tongue, but you speak Chinese too. Or any other language. There are more countries joining the European Community all the time and so every manual and document needs to be translated. And that is just in Europe! These countries sell all over the world. Don’t forget to check out our post ‘Jobs For Linguists’ where we have written about it more fully.
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If you want to work as a full-time translator for company documents, you will have to look at big pretty big companies, but there are lots of part-time jobs for smaller companies that cannot afford a full-time translator. in fact, the only real way to become a full-time translator for company affairs is by building up your reputation as a proficient translator first.
Translator For CompanyIt is obvious that being the official translator for company documents is a very responsible job, so you should bear that in mind when making your job applications. The company will probably be looking for older, very experienced translators because their business relies on the translator being accurate. The fact is that if you want to be a full-time translator for a company you will need loads of experience. So where do you do about getting that? The government is one of the best places to try, but if you can only speak the common European languages like French, German and Spanish, you will find it difficult. Unless you take a really radical, pro-active approach. Translators for serious companies (and governments) are required to only translate back into their mother tongue, so you will have access to dictionaries and other books. If you want to translate for a living, but your second language is a common one, why not do something about it? For example, if your second language is German, why not go to the Netherlands and learn Dutch or Denmark and learn Danish? The languages are very closely related so you could learn then quickly. Other examples are: Spanish and Portuguese and Spanish and Italian. By narrowing down your language skills to a focus where there is less competition, you will obviously increase your chances of getting a job. And getting that all-important first job is what puts you on the ladder to higher things like working as a translator for company documents and web sites. You have to learn how to get your foot on the ladder and that means not having so many other people's feet on the same rung as yours. Branch out and you will find that your skills are in high demand. You may say, OK, but most international business is carried out in English, and this is true, but there are other important exceptions. Local authorities in many countries are obliged to provide translations of documents to foreign nationals with a density over 3%. This opens the field right up. Marriage documents and death certificates et cetera have to be translated under these rules. I know of a Thai woman in a small town South Wales who demanded her social security document in Thai. It took a while, but she to them. Sometimes you have to think laterally when looking for a job, but thankfully for translators there are loads of opportunities worldwide. If you have your heart set on being a company translator for documents and so forth, bear in mind what I have mentioned above. The work is out there, translators for company affairs are in high demand, but it is easier not to go for the top four languages. In order to be able to offer professional translation services there are a few things that you should do by way of preparation. We will assume that you will be working from home and that you will be using a computer for communication.
First: prepare a quiet area for yourself where you can go to work and concentrate. The ideal solution is an office in a spare bedroom, but it is not necessary. You will need a desk and some shelves for your resources like dictionaries and grammar books. I also find it useful to have an encyclopaedia, in case there is a word in English that I do not understand. (The meaning of 'torque' has eluded me for 25 years). Second: prepare your computer by giving it a very thorough cleaning with good antivirus software. Get a good email client like Outlook or a decent free one like Opera. you will also need a suite of office software. Microsoft Office is good but so is Open Office and it is free. Three: you will need to think about the privacy of your clients' data, so it is a good idea to buy a removable USB hard drive, which you can use just for your professional translation services business. It is easy to take away with you too. Four: prepare yourself for action by learning how to use all these new gadgets before you need to use them in earnest. You can do this by preparing your curriculum vitae (your CV). hen you have finished it, save a copy on a memory stick and email it to yourself from an Internet Cafe. If it gets through, you have a good chance. Why? Because translation bureaus deal with businesses every day that take their Internet security very seriously, so they have to too. If there is just a whiff of a virus in your CV or your email, it will not pass the bureaus' firewalls and it will never be read. it is surprising how many people's computers fail this test. Five: use a search engine to discover the bureaus. Search on terms like: translation bureaus, translation bureaux, translation agencies and linguistic services. Then save about 20 of the ones you like the look of to a folder in your 'Favourites'. There are two basic types of application to consider: 1] specific and 2] general. 1] If you see a specific job that you want to do, it will probably have a reference number, put that and your name in the title of the email with the reference number first, because the project manager may sort on that. 2] You should aim to get your name on the books of a dozen translation agencies. When you send your CV to them put your name in the subject of the email with the word 'translator' after it. In your CV, be sure to list the languages you speak, your experience, your level of language training, such as language courses you have attended and translation specialties like legal translation, technical translation, medical translation, website translation or business translation. Traditional qualifications are not usually necessary, but they might help; being able to provide a high quality translation of a document is more important to a company. In fact, professional standards and document translation quality are what count. Translators for reputable agencies only translate back into their mother tongue, so proof that you know the grammar and syntax of your own language is useful. State what your mother language is - English, French, Italian, German or whatever, because it might not be clear especially in cases of dual nationality. For this reason, it is imperative that you do not have any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors in any communication with the agencies. Look at the agency's website and try to find out the rates of pay. If you are not happy with these do not apply or include your own rates if you like. They may file you under 'use in emergencies only' if you ask too much. Needless to say, bureaus have deadlines and need to meet these in order to provide professional translation services to their clients. This means that the bureau will require professional translation services from you. |
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