The Savvy Newcomer aims to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content on a weekly basis. We strive to provide you with the answers to the many questions you face as a new or aspiring translator or interpreter.
Starting your career as a freelance translator or interpreter is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. Beyond your linguistic skills, you’re stepping into the world of independent contracting: contracts, marketing, professional development, taxes, technology, and more. It’s not always intuitive at first, but the good news is that you can build a successful business with a strong foundation. Here’s a guide from A to Z covering the essentials every new freelance translator and interpreter should know: A – Agreements Never begin work without a signed agreement. Contracts clarify deadlines, rates, payment terms, confidentiality, and expectations, and they protect both…
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As professional translators and interpreters, we are always striving to provide high-quality services to our clients, be that translation, interpretation, revision work, etc. Yet what does high-quality work look like as a language professional? How can it be measured and how do we know if we are providing quality work? Drs. Geoffrey Koby and Isabel Lacruz tackled this massive subject…
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COVID-19 has changed the way we connect. For public health reasons, networking events are no longer taking place in person. Since February 2020, people around the world have been recasting their connections. What used to be in person is now done remotely if possible. What are we noticing? I have been attending meetings with my local Chamber of Commerce, which…
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This post originally appeared on Translating is an Art blog and it is republished with permission. I find that a lot of people only use CAT tools for repetitive texts. And that is of course what they were originally developed for. Modern CAT tools, however, have so many other useful features that it’s worth considering using them for non-repetitive texts…
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This post originally appeared on Copyblogger I don’t know about you, but when I started freelancing as a writer, I made a ton of mistakes. And by “a ton,” I mean everything I did was pretty much a disaster. Thankfully, you can fix mistakes. And contrary to popular belief, making mistakes is a good thing — provided you learn from…
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Oftentimes, clients will have questions as to the style choices that language professionals make. Perhaps the target document may not appear the way they see it in English, or perhaps it does not coincide with other documents they have seen written in the target language. In order to alleviate some of the stress in this process, this style guide was…
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Reblogged with permission I often receive emails from aspiring translators who are switching from a career in the fields of science or healthcare and are seeking advice from someone with the same language combination who made a similar change, albeit several decades ago. This blog post is an expanded version of my response, in the hope that it will save…
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From time to time we at The Savvy Newcomer receive questions from our readers that make for great blog post topics. This is one of them! Here’s a question from one of our readers who’s just starting to pursue an interest in languages and wants to know how to get started. Q: Is there any advice you could give for…
Read MoreHow to Create an Ideal T&I Client Profile to Market Your Services
This post was originally published on Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo’s blog. It is reposted with permission. It is incredibly important to know your ideal client if your marketing efforts are going to be effective. After all, we want to work with our ideal clients, and not just anyone who crosses our paths, right? I mentioned recently in a webinar that I…
Read MoreThe Secret Sauce for Building Cohesive Teams
Though it may seem paradoxical since many of us work independently, teamwork is a critical component of a freelance translator or interpreter’s professional life. Introverts and extroverts alike need collaboration and interaction in order to thrive, and oftentimes quality necessitates working together to resolve questions and agree on solutions. Whether you’re volunteering on a committee, working with a team of…
Read MoreFreelance Beginner Tips: The Pitfalls to Avoid
Reblogged from Hongkiat, with permission If you’re still unsure whether or not to pursue freelancing, chances are you’ve contemplated what life is like as a full-time freelancer. You’ve probably heard of the many splendid perks of freelancing, but you’re still dying to know if it’s really all sunny and greener “on the other side”. Like most professions, freelancing has its…
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