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.
Many language professionals start out doing their work 鈥渙n the side鈥 of whatever else they are doing in life. When people find out you are bilingual, you may be asked to do some volunteer interpreting to help out a friend, family member, or someone in need, or you may agree or be expected to do the occasional translation鈥攁nd maybe even get paid for it. Volunteering and doing small side jobs are great ways to gain experience and improve your skills as a translator or interpreter. But in order to be a professional鈥攚hether you plan on doing this work part-time or…
Read MorePromoting Your Practice in 60 Seconds or Less: Mastering the Elevator Speech
By听Lillian Clementi Reblogged from听ATA Chronicle with permission So I鈥檝e made it to the networking event鈥擨鈥檝e even remembered to bring some business cards鈥攁nd I鈥檓 starting to peek out from behind the potted plant when a friendly stranger makes eye contact and asks, 鈥淪o what do you do?鈥 Or I鈥檝e settled into my seat at a business gathering and suddenly the moderator…
Read MoreMy 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…
Read MoreRamadan: A month of joy, celebration and fasting
By听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…
Read MoreMinutes 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…
Read MoreFeeling lazy? A sure-fire way not to get work
By听Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from听About Translation听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…
Read MoreFeeling lazy? A sure-fire way not to get work
By听Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from听About Translation听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…
Read More24 Networking Tips that Actually Work
By听James Clear Reblogged from听ATA Chronicle with permission The idea of networking makes many people uncomfortable鈥攐r confused. It is easy to see why. When most people think about networking, it seems insincere at best鈥攁nd selfish at worst. This, of course, is the complete opposite of what networking is supposed to be鈥攆riendly, useful, and genuine. It is easy for most of us…
Read MoreThe Interpreter鈥檚 Voice(s) – 1
By听Brian Harris Reblogged from听Unprofessional Translation听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 B眉hler. She ranks the qualities of a ‘good’ interpretation. Most Expert…
Read More8 Skills you Must Have to Succeed as a Freelance Translator鈥攁nd How to Get Them
By听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…
Read More15 tips on how to increase your chances when contacting translation companies
By听Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from听About Translation blog听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…
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