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 More11 tips for new freelance translators on the hunt for their first assignments
By听Nicole Y. Adams Reblogged from听NYA Communications听blog听with permission from the author (including the image) A while ago a new colleague on a translators鈥 forum asked for advice on how to secure those all-important first assignments and set up shop as a freelance translator. I think we鈥檝e all been there when we started out and know how frustrating it can be to…
Read MoreOur 鈥淢other Tongue鈥: Keeping it Fresh in a Foreign Land
By Helen Eby Estemed friends, It seems to make much time that I don鈥檛 write to you.鈥擱am贸n, in 鈥淩am贸n Writes,鈥 an Argentine column published by the Buenos Aires Herald every two weeks, as a humorous take on Argentine Spanglish. Ram贸n had trouble saying such simple things as 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time since I鈥檝e written to you.鈥 Today, we laugh…
Read MoreHow do translators showcase their talent to translation agencies?
By听Gwenydd Jones Reblogged from The Translator’s Studio blog with permission from the author (including the image) Last week, Letraduct authored a post about one of the problems that your target customer (the translation agency) has, which is lack of time and desire to read lengthy cover letters, CVs and translation portfolios. The advice was clear: be a translator that makes…
Read MoreAdventures with Direct Clients鈥擯art One
By David Friedman I have always wanted to work with direct clients, since the early stages of my translation career. I would like to tell you the story of what has so far been my most exciting direct client adventure, to show that these kinds of things actually happen in the real world if you play your cards right. You…
Read MoreReading the small print
By听Jo Rourke Reblogged from听Silver Tongue Translations blog听with permission from the author (including the images) I鈥檓 not entirely sure what happened. I鈥檓 usually pretty pernickety on details so I don鈥檛 know how it all got past me. Nevertheless,听I am now the proud owner of an almost entirely redundant freephone business number, along with a phone and internet bill which will, over…
Read MoreThe ATA Mentoring Program through the eyes of a mentor-mentee pair
With the deadline to apply for the ATA Mentoring Program for 2015 fast approaching this week鈥擬arch 7, to be more precise鈥攚e thought this would be a great opportunity to showcase this hidden gem available to ATA members. But instead of providing a scholarly piece singing the wonders of this program, we found a mentor-mentee pair who was willing to share…
Read MoreThe Ins and Outs of Term Validation
By听Patricia Brenes Reblogged from听In My Own Terms with permission from the author (including the images) Every step in term processing during the preparation of glossaries or updating of termbases is important, but probably the one that will save you the most time is term validation. How and when it鈥檚 done is key to achieve cost-effective/efficient validation. What is term validation?…
Read MoreUniversitat Pompeu Fabra: A Day in the Life
By Carmen Salom贸n Hern谩ndez I finished my high school degree, including the International Baccalaureate Diploma in 2011 and decided to study Translation and Interpreting (T&I) because I love languages and reading, and through Latin and Greek, I learned to love translation itself. The lessons consisted mostly of epics and poetry texts. These two subjects taught me to be patient and…
Read MoreDo you know your ideal customer? Creating a customer avatar for your freelance translation business
By听Tess Whitty Reblogged from听Marketing Tips for Translators with permission from the author (including the image) The other week I interviewed Alessandra Martelli on creating a marketing personas or customer avatars, and I wanted to write a bit 听more about it here, since it is very important to know as much as possible about your ideal client. When you think about…
Read MoreGo National or Stay Local?
by Giovanna Lester in collaboration with The Savvy Newcomer Team Full disclosure: I am one of the co-founders and currently the president of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Florida (ATIF), an ATA Chapter. I am also a teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I am starting to see a pattern鈥 Joining a professional organization is an investment in…
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