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.
This post was originally published on听KGH Interpretation. It is reposted with permission.听 In 2022 I facilitated a session of the Language Access Caf茅 at the NCIHC Annual Membership Meeting and was asked to speak about interpreter self-care. Prior to the meeting, I decided to do an informal survey of medical interpreters asking them some questions about their mental health. I wanted to have a little bit of data that would clue me in on some of the issues interpreters were facing. While most of the results I shared during the AMM focused on stressors and supports, I also briefly shared…
Read MoreMoney Talk
By Giovanna Lester听 Being self-employed is not for everyone. As self-employed professionals we must keep abreast of market conditions 鈥 pricing, demand, terminology changes, and technological developments, for example 鈥 and make sure we take full advantage of those that have a direct impact on our jobs. Also, we are our own secretaries, marketing directors, human resource department, and more.…
Read MoreHelen’s Adventures in Translation, Chapter 2: Preparing to Launch
By the fall of 2010 I had done a lot of groundwork for launching: I had acquired enough credentials to be credible so that potential clients could trust me. I had the resources I needed. I had spent a few thousand dollars on dictionaries, plus another few thousand on training, a laptop and a smartphone with all the bells and…
Read MoreATA Business Practices: Red Flags For Avoiding Scams
Translators, like other business owners, are susceptible to scams.听 Although the internet makes it easier for scammers to find a target, it also helps potential victims to identify scams before it鈥檚 too late.听 See the article below for 4 red flags that should raise the suspicions of translators looking for new clients. Red Flags to Look Out For Before accepting…
Read MoreATA Business Practices: Workflow Management
What do we do during two weeks of enforced vacation, when the offices that usually send us work are on vacation? What do we do when we receive an email on Friday evening asking us to have a translation ready for Monday? Balancing work and life as a freelancer includes these challenges. The holidays are a good time to think…
Read MoreThe Top Three Things I Wish Somebody Told Me When I First Started As a Freelance Translator
By Pilar Saslow I earned a degree in translation and interpretation from a university in Peru a long time ago (I won鈥檛 share how long). I was naive enough to think my degree totally prepared me to enter the workforce. I had a rude awakening when I moved to the United States where the business of translation was handled very…
Read MoreATA Business Practices: Appropriate Prices for Services
Each month the ATA Business Practices Education Committee contributes a column entitled 鈥淏usiness Smarts鈥 to The ATA Chronicle that discusses various management practices and business-related questions submitted by translators and interpreters. You can find this column online at www.atanet.org; in fact, this article was taken from the column at http://www.atanet.org/business_practices/smarts_2008_may.php.听 It addresses many factors involved in answering one of the…
Read MoreConference Wrap-Up
By Helen Eby & Jamie Hartz The 54th annual 兔子先生 conference was held this year in downtown San Antonio, Texas, just a short walk from the Alamo and the beautiful Riverwalk. The conference was a huge success on several fronts: it drew over 1,400 attendees from all over the world, and it was the first year that featured…
Read MoreBuilding Your Presence Offline
By Daniela Guanipa I am a big proponent of making communications more effective, handling matters electronically as much as possible, and I really enjoy the enormous benefits of being able to connect with people anywhere in the world, from the comfort of my computer or any other electronic device. However, in this era of Internet, emails, and social media, it…
Read MoreFrom ATA’s Divisions: The Portuguese Division
By听Mirna Soares Member of the PLD Leadership Council It took me many years to join a community of translators. When I started, I was unaware of best business practices, I missed all the interesting conferences and I never got any specialized feedback. Everything seemed to happen very slowly. Looking back, I realize I could have taken some shortcuts. I wasted…
Read MoreFinding your First Translation Clients
By Corinne McKay Reblogged from Thoughts On Translation with permission from the author I receive a lot of inquiries from people who would like to become translators, and most of these e-mails have something to do with finding those first few elusive translation clients. If you ask 100 translators how they got started in the business, you鈥檒l probably get at…
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