Crash Course: How to Find Work as a Translator – Your CV

Diego Cresceri's (CEO at Creative Words) LinkedIn post inspired me to write this article, which was long overdue.

It's the first of a series that we'll very creatively call: 'Crash Course: How to Find Work as a Translator' and will touch upon anything from how to structure your CV, where to find clients, and the mistakes you should avoid.

Hello, my name is ????

If you've never seen my face before – Hello! I've been in the translation industry for nearly a decade now, but things weren't always easy.

I literally started from the bottom: my very first job was washing dishes at a restaurant when I was 16. (Which might be perfect for someone who loves washing dishes, but that definitely wasn't my calling!)

Today, I run 2 niche translation companies and work with some of the top names in the digital, marketing and B2B SaaS space and action sports industry.

Without further ado, let's dive straight into it.

Who do you want to work with and why?

You were probably expecting me to start with a chapter on how to structure your CV. Sorry! There is one fundamental step you need to take first.

You need to decide who you want to work with and why.

When I say 'who', I mean: what subjects you enjoy translating and are pretty good at; what kind of clients you'd prefer to work with (agencies? direct?) and why. And also, is there a market for it? What's its current situation, and is there longevity in it?

Let's be clear: If you're starting out, I know all too well you can't be picky.

Maybe you've just graduated and can still count on your parents' help, but maybe you're a parent and need to feed your child. Or 3 cats, like me ????♀?. And you have bills to pay.

So I won't be sitting here from the comfort of my laptop and +10 years industry experience, and blame you for not choosing a niche from the get-go.

However, you should strive to narrow your focus from the beginning, so you can draft more compelling resume(s), presentation emails (why do we still call them cover letters?) and more.

(Also, writing that you specialize in 32 fields on your Proz and LinkedIn profiles will 100% kill your credibility.)

How to structure your CV

Once you have an idea of what subjects you'd like to translate, it's time to draft your CV.

I believe it's important to choose a few areas to focus on so you can then create a few versions of your CV, and clearly state who you are, what you do and why.

These days, very few agencies and companies will look for a jack-of-all-trades, especially with machine translation improving at light speed. Also, (good) agencies prefer to assign projects to translators who have at least an idea of the field they're translating, rather than coming across as desperate and bidding on whatever comes their way.

The same goes for direct clients. They want to know they're putting their business in the hands of someone who understands them.

But let's look at it on a practical level.

If you've been in the business for some time and know what areas you focus on – let's say marketing – you could rephrase your CV headline from this:

To this:

This is an oversimplification, but you can already see a difference: Which headline are you more drawn to?

Remember: recruiters and HR managers – or anyone who receives a CV – take 3 seconds on average before they decide if they want to keep reading. Help them make that decision.

?? Photo: You might want to include your photo or not depending on where you are from, or based on the best practices of the countries you'll be sending your CV to.

? What you shouldn't include

Generally, there are some elements you shouldn't put on your CV. They take up a lot of space and don't really add any value to the conversation:

Your marital status, your full address, if you have a driving license... even if you know how to use Microsoft Office (in 2023, that should be a given).

? What you should include

Make it extremely easy for them to get in touch with you: email address, phone number(s), website.

Languages

Write your language pairs loud and clear in your headline or somewhere at the top, so the receiver doesn't have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find out what you translate in and out of. For example:

Don't add the standard list of spoken languages with grades in terms of fluency, ability to read, etc. No one needs to find out whether you're fluent in a language you're translating from and into – it should be a given.

However, do specify your native/target language(s) and your source languages too.

Summary / Personal statement

This is the bit of text that usually appears under your name and headline and it usually consists of a few lines.

Here, you can write something along the lines of (random example):

"I've been translating [type of content] for [type of companies / agencies / clients] for [amount of months / years] [language pairs]. My clients love working with me because I know the field inside out, never miss a deadline and I'm not afraid to ask questions."

You can also add something you're especially proud of, like:

"One of my proudest moment as a [specialist] translator was when on my clients [achieved X result thanks to my work]."

If you have zero experience, you can actually own it and come up with something like:

"I'm a [your degree] graduate and have recently gotten my foot in to the world of professional translation. What I don't have in years of experience, I compensate with [insert results you can bring to the table]. I'm really passionate about [X and X], [insert why this would mean working with you is a bonus]."

Again, here it's key to have a few areas you're actively pursuing so you can tailor your summary specifically for those.

Two things to keep in mind here:

1. Find your (competitive) edge and use it to stand out.

This might be hard to do, especially if you're starting out. You can start by asking your friends, university colleagues, and ex-professors what they particularly liked or appreciated about your way of approaching things, and take it from there.

2. No one cares about you.

I'm sorry to break it to you, but it's true. People only care about what you can do for them (at least, until you've actually formed a relationship).

Strive to keep your intro about them as much as you can, and as little as possible about yourself.

(This is marketing and copywriting 101. You'll find plenty of examples, ideas and exercises on Google.)

Work experience

We all had to start somewhere, like me with my job washing dishes.

However, a potential client in the translation industry couldn't care less whether you babysat through high school or worked as a sommelier 5 years ago (unless you now specialize in translating for the food & drink industry).

In other words, don't include positions that have nothing to do with translation just to fill the blanks.

If you don't have any experience whatsoever, it's time to get creative:

? Volunteer (for example, sign up with Translators without Borders or find any other cause that's dear to your heart and see if you can help);

? Find public content under Creative Commons that you can freely translate and add to your portfolio (more on that in the coming articles);

? Swap services on platforms like Timerepublik or ask in Facebook groups; etc.

You get the gist.

If you do have experience, do not include a full list of all the projects you've ever worked on since 2002 until today. Your CV will overwhelmingly span over 12 pages and I guarantee you that no one is going the get past the first or maybe second line.

What you can / should do instead: group your projects per field or, if it makes sense (e.g. you have limited experience, if you can use names, etc.) per agency / client name.

Remember to list your positions from the most recent one backwards.

Education

Education is key, because it gives you credibility.

Especially if you're just starting out, try to make your profile stand out by highlighting the subjects you mastered throughout your education. This doesn't only apply to university degrees, but any sort of CPD.

Remember to list your education and CPD from the latest one backwards.

Tools

It's 2023. You're expected to know how to use basic tools like email and Microsoft Office, so leave that bit of (useless) information out and use the space for something else instead.

If you're planning to reach out to agencies, you obviously want to list what CAT tools you can use or are proficient in. But also (and especially with direct clients) SEO tools or any other software that is relevant to what you do and how you can help your (potential) clients.

Interests and hobbies

Once again, don't include things that have zero correlation to your work as a translator. You're using up precious space and potentially people's time, which is never a good idea.

For example, in my case, I'm an avid rock climber, snowboarder and (wannabe) kitesurfer, which is very relevant for my clients in the action sports industry.

But I wouldn't include that info on my CV for a martech SaaS company.

Extra info: daily output, availability, social media links

Specifying your output and availability isn't really necessary, as you can state this information in your presentation email.

However, if you are just starting out and don't have much content to put on your CV, you can use the space strategically and add it somewhere on the page.

Social media links are also important, as they give you credibility and can help your potential clients cross-check that you are who you say you are.

Layout, format and length

These days, a good layout can really help you stand out.

And there is no excuse not to put some work into it: with a tool like Canva you can pick from 100s of ready-made templates and just edit the copy. Another great tool is FlowCV, where you also get expert tips.

Or you can also hire someone to craft it for you.

Lastly, don't send your CV in Word .doc format (unless specified by your contact or project description). Send a PDF instead.

Conclusion

If you follow the steps above, you should come up with a good looking CV, packed with the right info, and stand out in an ocean of resumes.

Next week, I'll cover another hot topic: presentation emails (aka cover letters), Click on the FOLLOW button here to stay updated.

If you have any questions or comments on this article, leave them below! ????

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