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A New Chapter Begins After completing the Spanish-English Translation Certificate Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, I felt proud of my progress but uncertain about my next step. I worked as an in-house medical interpreter and translator at a Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital in Boston for nine years. My work taught me to listen closely, think quickly, and communicate with compassion. However, I wanted to build on that experience through medical translation. Soon after graduation, I was selected as one of five recipients of the American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation’s (AFTI) First-Time ATA Conference Attendee Scholarship. The award allowed…
Promoting Your Practice in 60 Seconds or Less: Mastering the Elevator Speech
By Lillian Clementi Reblogged from ATA Chronicle with permission So I’ve made it to the networking event—I’ve even remembered to bring some business cards—and I’m starting to peek out from behind the potted plant when a friendly stranger makes eye contact and asks, “So what do you do?” Or I’ve settled into my seat at a business gathering and suddenly the moderator…
My ATA Conference Experience
by Veronica Sardon It has been more than a year since I acted on a very unlikely hunch and reserved a room at the 2014 ATA Conference hotel in Chicago. On the face of it, it did not make a lot of sense. Almost two years into my career as a freelance translator, which I was still doing on the…
Ramadan: A month of joy, celebration and fasting
By Hicham Zerhouni For over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar, is the holiest time of year. For Muslims, it marks the month when the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). During Ramadan Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for 29 or 30 days, depending on the moon sighting of…
Minutes from The Savvy Newcomer Logbook
June 15, 2015. After a few months of letting The Savvy Newcomer ship fly the flags of other bloggers, the Captain and Crew had a team meeting to rediscover the world of original content. It had been a few months since they had connected as a team, and thanks to the valiant efforts of Mate Christaki, who had valiantly kept…
Feeling lazy? A sure-fire way not to get work
By Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from About Translation blog with permission from the author Novice translators often get advice on how to get work and how to successfully conduct their freelance business. Several leading translators, in fact, have published books aimed at less experienced colleagues (among these books, I especially recommend those by Corinne McKay, the Jenner twins and Chris Durban). However, what if…
Feeling lazy? A sure-fire way not to get work
By Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from About Translation blog with permission from the author Novice translators often get advice on how to get work and how to successfully conduct their freelance business. Several leading translators, in fact, have published books aimed at less experienced colleagues (among these books, I especially recommend those by Corinne McKay, the Jenner twins and Chris Durban). However, what if…
24 Networking Tips that Actually Work
By James Clear Reblogged from ATA Chronicle with permission The idea of networking makes many people uncomfortable—or confused. It is easy to see why. When most people think about networking, it seems insincere at best—and selfish at worst. This, of course, is the complete opposite of what networking is supposed to be—friendly, useful, and genuine. It is easy for most of us…
The Interpreter’s Voice(s) – 1
By Brian Harris Reblogged from Unprofessional Translation blog with permission from the author (including the image) The other day I was reading a comprehensive manual of interpreter training by a Spanish friend when I came upon a quotation that confirmed something I’ve long suspected. It’s from an article by the late Hildegund Bühler. She ranks the qualities of a ‘good’ interpretation. Most Expert…
8 Skills you Must Have to Succeed as a Freelance Translator—and How to Get Them
By Tess Whitty Reblogged from Marketing Tips for Translators blog with permission from the author (including the image) Having been a freelance translator for over 10 years, I can definitely say it is my dream job. I love what I do. However, when I started researching a career as a freelance translator in 2002, I did not know much about the…
15 tips on how to increase your chances when contacting translation companies
By Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from About Translation blog with permission from the author Our tiny translation company does not advertise for translators, since we do most work internally or with the help of a small group of trusted colleagues. Yet, every day I receive on average a dozen messages from translators offering their services for various language combinations. Unfortunately, most of these messages…