Instead of a teacher presenting content, group members hold each other accountable for achieving specific goals. Every meeting follows a defined outline, which helps to share time fairly and ensures equal speaking time for all attendees.

Apply by February 28!

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Learn more about ATA’s School Outreach Program

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I was reading one of Kevin Lossner鈥檚 blog posts from 2010, titled 鈥溾��. He gives 12 pieces of advice鈥攁 twelve-step program, as he calls it鈥攆or those getting started in the translation business. All of it is great advice and I think everyone should follow it, newbie or not; however, there is one point on which I鈥檇 like to expand to impress upon any new translator coming across this blog how important it is to follow.

鈥淔ind a mentor. This one is not optional. Most twelve-step programs involve a sponsor, usually one who has struggled with the same issues in the past. In our movement we offer more latitude: you don鈥檛 have to seek out a recovering monkey as your mentor. You can also work under the watchful eye of someone who got things right the first or second time.鈥�

When I did my traineeship at the European Commission鈥檚 Translation Service fourteen years ago I had a mentor. 鈥淭he Godfather鈥�, they called him (I still laugh at this). All trainees had a godfather. Mine was a walking encyclopedia, a Greek translator from Alexandria, Egypt, who taught me a lot; though it would be fair to say that most Greek translators in the technical/scientific translation unit of the DGT (Directorate-General for Translation) went out of their way to teach me translation methods as applied in the EU. Business practices I learned on my own and from other freelancers later on; it is difficult to learn the tricks of the trade and how to handle your own projects, do your own marketing, and interact with clients from non-freelancers.

Finding a mentor 鈥渋s not optional,鈥� says Kevin Lossner. It really shouldn鈥檛 be. Having a mentor will make your life so much easier. It will save you time and mistakes. Sure, after hours of looking for good online FR-EN dictionaries you may come across Termium and proudly celebrate your discovery when you realize what a gem it is; or you can skip to celebrating a FR-EN job well done after your mentor saved you those hours by telling you from the start 鈥淢ake sure to use Termium, it鈥檚 an excellent resource, here鈥檚 the link.鈥� Or he can save you the embarrassment (and perhaps the legal trouble) of finding out that Google Translate is not reliable and could not care less about the confidentiality of the document you need to translate by explaining to you how it is being developed and how it works. (I am assuming that all seasoned translators know about the dangers of using Google Translate. If not, please read on this topic, e.g. article .)

What should you not expect to learn from a mentor? How to translate! You should already know how to do that. Comparative stylistics and translation techniques should be well engraved on your brain by now. Expect to learn things you鈥檙e not exposed to in your translation studies. Use your traineeship to learn how to run your own business.

So what should you learn from a mentor?

Research

How to do research on the topic of the text you鈥檙e translating, what resources to use. Resources include paper and/or online dictionaries in your language pair(s) and field(s), online encyclopedias (Wikipedia is the most popular one but please use it with caution鈥攕ome colleagues and I had a blast with some outrageous errors in several Greek Wikipedia articles, and then didn鈥檛 know whether to laugh or cry at the Greek entries machine-translated from the English ones.

Your mentor will tell you which resources are reliable, which ones should be used with caution, and which ones should be avoided), journals with articles in your field(s), websites on the subject matter of your texts (could be a section of the Airbus website if you鈥檙e translating about airplanes, or the online of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute if you鈥檙e translating the medical records of cancer patients and need to know more about cancer).

Proofreading

I wrote previously that you shouldn鈥檛 expect to learn how to translate because you should already know that before starting your traineeship. Proofreading, on the other hand, is a different story. How many of us who formally studied translation were taught how to proofread a text? How many learned how to edit a translation? And how many of us learned in our studies the difference between proofreading and editing?

Sure, we knew how to use the Track Changes feature in Word, but were we shown what to change and what not to touch, what constitutes an error and what is simply a matter of personal preference and style? Were we taught how to charge for proofreading and editing and how to determine our rate? These are all things that your mentor can help you with.

CAT tools

There are several: MemoQ, OmegaT, Wordfast, SDL Trados, among others. Should you use any of these? Which one is more user-friendly? Would the tool of your choice work on your MAC? Are the more expensive ones better? How do you answer to a client that might ask for a discount due to repeated terms as calculated by the CAT tool? These are questions your mentor can help you answer.

See which tool he uses, if any. Watch him use it. Get your hands on it (don鈥檛 get nervous if your mentor is standing right over your head while you use it; many of us are very picky about what goes into our translation memories), or perhaps you can just use a trial version. How about voice-recognition software? Perhaps you鈥檝e heard of Dragon Naturally Speaking. Is it available in your language? If your mentor uses it, take a shot at it and see whether it increases your productivity or not.

Project lifecycle

A good mentor will give you exposure to the entire lifecycle of a project, including a translation request, a PO (purchase order), acceptance or rejection of a project in the beginning, and delivery of a project in the end. Look at a request with your mentor: sometimes (quite often, actually) requests are incomplete and make it impossible to judge whether we can take on the project or not.

Sometimes a client will ask me if I can translate a text of X thousand words by such and such date, without telling me the subject field and sometimes without even telling me the language pair! Your mentor will tell you what to look for in a request before you jump into accepting it. He will also tell you when to say no. Look at some POs. What information do they contain? Does the client need the translator to sign an NDA? What is an NDA? Should you always sign it?

E-mails

All projects involve some correspondence between the translator and the client. Sometimes communication takes place over the phone but most often it is done by e-mail. The speed and convenience of e-mail communication does not mean that your e-mails can be sloppy. Shadow your mentor when she replies to a client: watch how she addresses the client, how careful she is with punctuation, what register she uses (which of course may vary from one client to the next, but not by much, a client is a client, and even if you鈥檝e worked with him for a while and are on friendly terms, you wouldn鈥檛 use the same register as with your nephew), how she re-reads her e-mail before hitting Send to make sure it is linguistically and semantically correct, knowing the bad impression a message with errors written by a language professional would make. I鈥檓 stating the obvious, I know, but unfortunately I鈥檝e seen too many e-mails full of spelling and grammar errors, even some e-mails starting with 鈥淗ey there,鈥︹��, to omit this point.

Invoices

At the end of a project or at the end of the month you鈥檒l have to send an invoice in order to get paid for your work. It is surprising how many posts we see in online forums by new translators asking how to write an invoice. I don鈥檛 know why so many university translation programs don鈥檛 dedicate a lesson or two to this. Ask your mentor to show you a couple of old invoices. Make a note of the information they include. Ask her to let you write the next invoice. Ask her also to tell you about different payment methods.

Project-management tools

By this I don鈥檛 mean any complex software that a full-time PM might use. But whether you like project management or not, you鈥檒l have to manage your own projects, so you鈥檒l have to find a way to organize your work. There is software you can buy or you may opt for an Excel file or plain old paper and pencil. I use a weekly planner鈥攚hich is always open in front of me鈥攖o write project names and deadlines, and an Excel sheet to write all my project details such as client, project number and/or PO number, project name, number of words, rate, total price, assignment date, and delivery date.

These details come in very handy when it鈥檚 time to write invoices, that way I don鈥檛 have to look for this information in POs and e-mails. After I send my invoice for a project I write the date on that sheet, as well as the payment due date. After I receive payment, I mark the date of payment and move that project (that Excel line) to another sheet of the Excel file. You may use one or a combination of these and/or other tools. See what your mentor uses and ask for her advice on how to organize your first projects.

Translation portals

You don鈥檛 have to ask your mentor which translation portal/site to join (I wouldn鈥檛 recommend them, except for Stridonium if you work with German and qualify to join) but do ask her to tell you everything she knows about them (hopefully she will know about them), including which ones to avoid鈥攐r at least which sections of them to avoid. You may have heard of ProZ.com, translatorscafe.com, peopleperhour.com (this last one is not just for translators but for freelancers in general, and I would stay away from it unless you want to work for a month to make enough to buy a sandwich).

ProZ.com used to be a great resource for the first few years after it was launched鈥攚hich happened to coincide with my first years in the business and I cannot deny that it helped me immensely. Unfortunately it has changed focus from serving the interests of translators to serving the interests of big translation companies that seek lower prices and treat translation as a commodity. So this site should be used with caution, if used at all. I would avoid the jobs section like the plague. The forum archives can be very useful, though for any new questions you might want to ask, I would opt for translators鈥� groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. Ask your mentor to recommend some translators鈥� groups; they can be general or language-specific or domain-specific.

For example, I am a member of the following groups on LinkedIn: International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters, Applied Linguistics, Polyglot-Multilingual Professionals, Aviation Network, International Aviation Professionals, Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing, Boston Interpreters, IMIA 鈥� International Medical Interpreters Association, and Translation & Localization Professionals Worldwide, among others; and the following groups/pages on Facebook: International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters, Certified Medical and Healthcare Interpreters UNITE!, The League of Extraordinary Translators, South Florida Business Owners Networking Group, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Interpreting and translation forum, ESA 鈥� European Space Agency, Translation Journal, Interpreting the World, etc.

Of course some of these may not apply to you (I have aerospace engineering background and translate for aircraft manufacturers, hence the aviation-related groups); your mentor, who is working in the same language pair(s) and probably also in the same field(s) will be the best person to recommend the most helpful groups for you.

Associations

It is a very good idea to join a professional association. Look into local associations (e.g. NETA if you live in New England in the USA, Soci茅t茅 fran莽aise des traducteurs (SFT) if you live in France, etc.) and domain-specific ones (e.g. IMIA if you are a medical interpreter and/or translator). Ask your mentor which associations she is a member of, what she has gained from her membership, what the mission of those associations is and how they are contributing to the profession.

Where to find a mentor

There are plenty of translators鈥� groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. I mentioned some above but there are many others. Join some. Actually join many; later on you can unsubscribe from the ones you don鈥檛 find interesting or useful. Browse some old discussions, learn from them, start participating, make connections. Introduce yourself, say that you鈥檙e a new translator and that you鈥檙e looking for a mentor. Try to find a mentor that lives in your area so that you can work at her office (even if it is a home office and even if you do so only once or twice a week) and so that you can practice all the points mentioned above, i.e. shadowing her while she e-mails a client to accept/reject a project, see in person how she uses a CAT tool so you can learn quickly, have her watch you write an invoice, etc. If that is not possible, you can still take advantage of a traineeship by finding a mentor willing to spend some time explaining things to you over the phone, by e-mail, skype, etc., guiding you as you take your first steps as a freelance translator.

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Author bio

Maria Karra is an aerospace engineer and technical translator. After years of testing spacecraft instruments, she discovered that translation was more fun, so she established her technical translation business and never looked back. Maria was born in Greece and spent the better part of her life in Boston, Massachusetts. Having lived and worked in France, Belgium, and the USA, she now calls Miami, Florida her home. Feel free to connect with her on .

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Beginners

Starting out in a new profession can be a bewildering experience. You have more questions than answers and everyone around you appears to know so much more. At that stage, it can be hard to know what to ask. 鈥淗ow do I get my foot in the door?鈥� may be a burning question on your mind as a new freelancer, but it is not specific enough for a fruitful mentoring relationship. The Savvy Newcomer program provides information for members who are new to ATA and the profession. Its community and shared discussions are a great starting point. You may actually discover that many questions have already been answered in detail, and The Savvy Newcomer team can help you find this information. You can start by visiting the page to see some links that have proven helpful at this career stage.

Mid-career

Once you鈥檝e learned the ropes and established your business, there will be new questions on your mind. You may want to explore specializations, advanced marketing, or software products. Several options are available at that stage:

Apply to be a mentee in the Mentoring Program

ATA members with a few years of experience may apply to work one-on-one with a seasoned ATA member who will meet with them monthly to explore specific concerns. Applicants are encouraged to define actionable goals in order to be paired with an experienced colleague who has a proven record of achieving these goals. Past examples of such goals include time management, deepening knowledge in a field of specialization, financial planning, staying organized, etc. Further information can be found on the Mentoring Program webpage and applications may be submitted until March 6, 2020.

New Masterminds Program

The Mentoring Committee is also working on a new, peer-to-peer offer for ATA members with 2-5 years of professional experience. The independent groups will choose a defined topic, such as 鈥淢arketing for freelance translators.鈥� The committee is currently developing the ground rules for such groups and will offer training and guidance for establishing and running Mastermind groups in the summer/fall of 2020.

Advanced career

ATA members who have been working in the industry for several decades may encounter completely new professional situations. How can they keep learning, stay current on new developments, and open up new income streams? At that stage, the following options may be open:

Apply to be a mentor in the Mentoring Program

Experienced translators and interpreters have reported that sharing their knowledge and experience as a mentor is beneficial in several ways. Not only are mentors helping junior colleagues learn more about the business of translation, but they also can learn about new professional challenges and innovative programs. Certified mentors receive CE points for their active involvement. Further information for mentors can be found on the Mentoring Program webpage聽as well.

Advanced Mastermind Groups

The new Masterminds program (see above), which is designed to facilitate intensive discussions and goal-setting among peers, will also be of interest to ATA members with fully matured businesses. The new groups will be a place to explore questions such as 鈥渨ork opportunities for highly experienced translators鈥� or 鈥済etting ready to retire.鈥� Further information on the program will be available in the summer/fall of 2020.

About the authors

Susanne van Eyl is a past chair of ATA鈥檚 Mentoring Committee and has been a driving force in designing the program in its current format. She has benefited from the program both as a mentor and a mentee. Dorothee Racette is a past president of ATA and has been a mentor in the program since 2013.

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Why I joined the ATA Mentoring Program

My full-time, in-house translation experiences in Luxembourg and Houston were wonderful opportunities for me to hone my French and Spanish translation skills and work alongside very detailed and incredibly knowledgeable colleagues. As I recently made the switch to working for myself, I felt a bit like a fish out of water. I was confident the ATA Mentoring Program would be a wonderful opportunity for me to learn from a generous member’s experience and wisdom. I needed a trusted resource to bounce ideas off of, and I was really looking forward to receiving solid, personal advice from someone who had been in my shoes before, building her own T&I business.

There was so much to learn about expanding my horizons beyond Houston, working with clients around the world, juggling a larger number of clients with very different work procedures and expectations, attracting and satisfying private clients, and getting my foot in the door at agencies far, far away.

My mentor

I was so thankful and humbled when the committee wrote to introduce me to my mentor, past ATA President Dorothee Racette. From our first conversation, it was clear (and no surprise considering her accomplishments) that when Dorothee signs up for something, she delivers. We got started immediately and there has been no lull from her since.

Dorothee is an ATA-Certified Translator and productivity coach. She knows the industry inside and out and is warm, easy to talk to, and has a lot of insight to share. The experience of learning beside Dorothee has been far better than I could have imagined when I sent my application in last February.

How does it work?

Dorothee’s tested method, which originated from her training as a coach, is something I can hands down recommend to other mentor/mentee pairs in future years. From the get-go, Dorothee explained her expectations of me, inquired about my immediate and long-term goals for our time together, created a schedule we could follow, and started a file in Google Docs we could share. We talk on the phone every two weeks for about 30-45 minutes about a particular, pre-designated topic. Should something come up between sessions, I am free to e-mail her, but I find we are able to cover a lot in those structured calls. The shared Google Docs file is where we keep track of the topic for our next call and any assignments I am expected to do. It’s also where I list the questions I have for our next call. She is then able to use this document to prepare for our chat.

A few topics we have covered so far this year are: how I can follow in her footsteps in developing a medical specialization, what I can learn from her path to ATA leadership, how I can more effectively use the power of dictation software, my preparation for and debriefing of my first ATA Conference, as well as specific, detailed questions about working with agency and private clients, setting goals for the next year, and more. Whenever I think of a new topic, I can just open Google Drive and write it down, and then come back to it for future calls. It has been a great tool to keep us on task, and to make sure I don’t miss the opportunity to get Dorothee’s expert opinion on something I might otherwise forget.

Dorothee’s advice for new mentor/mentee pairs is to set a regular schedule and to confirm the next conversation at the end of each call. She has found that the “call me when you need me approach” can be ineffective because either the mentee may be too shy to intrude on the mentor’s time, or the mentee may call too often at inopportune times.

Results

Under Dorothee’s mentorship, I have better focused my marketing efforts and brought on a number of new clients who I truly enjoy working with and feel appreciate the value of my work. Dorothee has given me a judgement-free space to learn the ins and outs of working for myself, thinking long-term, and respecting myself and my skill set, all of which have helped me grow my business.

Applying

This year’s Mentoring Program will run from April 2019 through March 2020. Applications must be received by March 4th, and applicants will be notified of their results by April 15th. Any and all ATA members are welcome to apply. Whether you have a long-term goal you’d like guidance on, are trying to develop a new specialization, even after years in the industry, or you find yourself in a transitional phase of your career, there isn’t one mold you need to fit into. What you need for success is commitment, dedication, clear goals, and follow-through.

One handy tip from Mentoring Committee Chair, Kyle Vraa, is that it is more helpful if applicants talk more about what they want to accomplish in the future than what they have done in the past. He recommends keeping discussion of the past to 25% of the essay, while devoting the rest of the essay to future goals. The Mentoring Committee selects participants through a competitive application process. Most mentoring pairs work in different languages, although that is not always the case. Kyle explains that factors such as your field of specialization (or intended new field of specialization), professional goals, and interpersonal compatibility are taken into account when matching pairs.

The ATA Mentoring Program webpage has a lot of information that can help you decide if the program is right for you, along with detailed instructions on how to apply.

Thank you

An incredible thank you is in order for the ATA member mentors and the Mentoring Committee members who so graciously offer their time to volunteer and help other members. This program would not be possible without your dedication and willingness to speak openly about your experiences. Thank you to everyone who has made this program possible.

Author bio

Jessica Hartstein is an ATA-Certified Translator (Spanish>English, French>English) and a Texas Master Licensed Court Interpreter (Spanish-English). She holds an MA in Conference Interpreting and Translation Studies from the University of Leeds and graduated Cum Laude with a BA from Rice University. Prior to working freelance, she held full-time, in-house translation positions at a marketing firm in Luxembourg and an oil and gas engineering company in Houston. Jessica specializes in legal, medical, asylum, and oil and gas translation and interpreting projects. She has been fortunate to have lived abroad in Spain, China, Japan, England, and Luxembourg. E-mail: jessica@jessicahartstein.com, Website:

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