Finding Translation Jobs Thread poster: Vlad Kotenko
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Vlad Kotenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:26
Ukrainian to English
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I have been contacting translation agencies in different countries, offering my services, but there are almost no replies, so that it is difficult for me to get started. Perhaps simply writing to various agencies and waiting for replies is not the best method.
Can you give some advice on how to get started, on what exactly has to be done in my situation? I do not have a degree in translation or in a particular specialty and therefore do not have much to offer.
| | | | | Start by completing your profile | Sep 28, 2021 |
I do not have a degree in translation or in a particular specialty and therefore do not have much to offer.
As of today, there are 62800+ English-Russian translators registered on ProZ.com. Many of them are more or less active, and, unlike yourself, they have something to offer besides an empty profile page.
ProZ is an excellent platform for finding new clients. However, as is the case with any other industry, it takes some time and effort. The best starting point for you? Just complete your profile.
| | | | Barbara Carrara 
Italy
Local time: 23:26
Member (2008)
English to Italian
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| Any updates on your previous (similar) threads? | Sep 28, 2021 |
Vlad,
Last May, you started this thread,
https://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/351097-finding_translation_work_without_education_in_translation.html
which, from what I understand (thanks, GT), you duplicated in the Russian forum.
In July, back you came seeking advice on how t... See more Vlad,
Last May, you started this thread,
https://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/351097-finding_translation_work_without_education_in_translation.html
which, from what I understand (thanks, GT), you duplicated in the Russian forum.
In July, back you came seeking advice on how to apply to translation agencies,
https://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/352183-proper_way_of_contacting_translation_agencies.html
This also appeared in the Russian forum.
I'd be curious to know whether you have followed any of the suggestions and tips other ProZians posted in the above at all.
And what did the agencies who did reply to your application say?
BTW, what happened to that EN-RU test you took in August, with a little search help from the ProZ community, https://www.proz.com/forum/translation_feedback_area/352825-translation_of_a_sentence_from_the_field_of_music_arts.html ?
I see that you've been discussing this (or another one, I am not sure) in the Russian forum.
Care to share any updates?
Thanks. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Vlad Kotenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:26
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Finding Jobs | Sep 28, 2021 |
As of today, there are 62800+ English-Russian translators registered on ProZ.com. Many of them are more or less active, and, unlike yourself, they have something to offer besides an empty profile page.
ProZ is an excellent platform for finding new clients. However, as is the case with any other industry, it takes some time and effort.
Vlad, Last May, you started this thread, https://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/351097-finding_translation_work_without_education_in_translation.html which, from what I understand (thanks, GT), you duplicated in the Russian forum. In July, back you came seeking advice on how to apply to translation agencies, https://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/352183-proper_way_of_contacting_translation_agencies.html This also appeared in the Russian forum. I'd be curious to know whether you have followed any of the suggestions and tips other ProZians posted in the above at all. And what did the agencies who did reply to your application say? BTW, what happened to that EN-RU test you took in August, with a little search help from the ProZ community, https://www.proz.com/forum/translation_feedback_area/352825-translation_of_a_sentence_from_the_field_of_music_arts.html ? I see that you've been discussing this (or another one, I am not sure) in the Russian forum. Care to share any updates? Thanks.
I have followed various suggestions and continue learning on how to seek translations jobs, which takes time. Therefore, questions have to be asked when the success rate is low. Since I work in another field, translation is not my full-time occupation. So it takes longer to find translation jobs.
The agencies which have replied have given some translation tests. I have completed the test which you mention and sent it back to the agency, awaiting a reply, which has not come yet. I have also sent completed tests to another agency which has replied, and the manager told me that the quality of my translation is satisfactory and that she would apply to me when there are translation jobs.
I do not have many things to write on my resume. Therefore, it is not easy to find jobs. Perhaps I should contact low-paying agencies in countries like Russia and India which may be willing to give jobs and thus provide me with an opportunity to get started gradually. Will the chances of finding work and gaining experience be higher if I do this?
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I see from your previous posts that you are interested in translating works of history. If so, you might try your hand at literary magazines, which often accept translations of memoirs, biographies, and other history-related material. Some examples of magazines like this can be found on the followin... See more I see from your previous posts that you are interested in translating works of history. If so, you might try your hand at literary magazines, which often accept translations of memoirs, biographies, and other history-related material. Some examples of magazines like this can be found on the following page of my website:
http://arabicandmore.com/books/25-literary-markets-for-creative-writers-translators/
More general magazines can also work for this type of material, but I have only mentioned literary magazines here since this is what I am currently focused on for a project I am doing.
Good luck with your work! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Emily Gilby
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:26
Member (2018)
French to English
+ ...
Since I work in another field, translation is not my full-time occupation.
What field do you currently work in Vlad? Can you add this to your specialisms to make you stand out a bit more? Clients/agencies usually want to see that you have experience in the subject when you are applying for a job.
While I was still working in another field (pharmaceuticals), I volunteered for a couple of charity organisations to gain translation experience that I could add to my CV. Charities (at least in my experience) tend to be quite flexible with deadlines etc. so it's possible to fit them around a full-time job.
I don't think I would have been anywhere near as successful when deciding to become a full-time translator if I hadn't sought this experience beforehand or if I hadn't started off by applying for work in the pharmaceutical/medical sector.
Play to the strengths you already have and go from there
| | | | Vlad Kotenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:26
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | How to Find Jobs | Sep 29, 2021 |
Arabic & More wrote: I see from your previous posts that you are interested in translating works of history. If so, you might try your hand at literary magazines, which often accept translations of memoirs, biographies, and other history-related material. Some examples of magazines like this can be found on the following page of my website: http://arabicandmore.com/books/25-literary-markets-for-creative-writers-translators/ More general magazines can also work for this type of material, but I have only mentioned literary magazines here since this is what I am currently focused on for a project I am doing. Good luck with your work!
Thank you. If there are opportunities to translate magazines, to what companies/ agencies should I apply? Will they be willing to give jobs to a translator who does not have formal education in translation and much experience?
Emily Gilby wrote:
What field do you currently work in Vlad? Can you add this to your specialisms to make you stand out a bit more? Clients/agencies usually want to see that you have experience in the subject when you are applying for a job.
I work in the field of religion and Biblical history. I have briefly mentioned “history” and “religion” among my areas of expertise on the resume. But experience in these areas is not on demand in the translation market. Therefore, I do not have much to offer and have to try various fields in which I am not experienced.
Emily Gilby wrote:
While I was still working in another field (pharmaceuticals), I volunteered for a couple of charity organisations to gain translation experience that I could add to my CV. Charities (at least in my experience) tend to be quite flexible with deadlines etc. so it's possible to fit them around a full-time job.
I have done some volunteer translations in the medical field for a Russian volunteer translation group. Therefore, I have specified “medicine” in the “Experience” section of my resume.
My resume is very brief. So it is not easy to convince agencies to give translation jobs. They often require a formal education in translation or in a specialized field.
I may have to continue asking for advice on what exactly I should do if my efforts are not successful.
The following is my resume. I may not have anything else to add to it and need to know how to find jobs despite this obstacle.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P-IT7O26ar3QNoLenjC29R6az_4RbDGN/view?usp=sharing
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Vlad Kotenko wrote:
Thank you. If there are opportunities to translate magazines, to what companies/ agencies should I apply? Will they be willing to give jobs to a translator who does not have formal education in translation and much experience?
There are several different types of magazine translation opportunities that you may wish to explore, but I don't want to complicate things so I will mostly only focus on one type here. You don't need to have formal education or experience, but you do need to be a good writer in most cases. Some magazines will work with you to edit your work, but some will not, so you may or may not find it necessary to obtain the help of a professional editor before submitting your work.
Basically, find something in your language that you think would be appropriate for publication in a magazine, and then see if you can obtain the English-language rights to translation.
Sometimes that will mean asking the author directly, and sometimes it will mean asking the publisher of the work (if it is something that has already been published in a book or magazine, for example).
This is much easier than it sounds, as people are often extremely happy and pleased when their work is translated to another language.
Once you have obtained the rights, translate the work to English and then submit it for consideration to the magazine or publication of your choice.
Before you start this process, however, you should become familiar with several magazines or websites that publish the type of work you wish to submit. Reading these publications will help you understand the type of work they publish, what style the articles are written in, and other things of importance that will help you find the best fit for your work. It will also be important to read any guidelines for writers or translators.
Look at Guernica, for example (one of the publications listed on my website):
http://arabicandmore.com/books/literary-market-guernica/
First, I would spend some time reading the publication:
https://www.guernicamag.com/
As you will notice, they have several different sections devoted to various topics, including a section for personal essays:
https://www.guernicamag.com/format/lives/
If I felt I had anything to contribute here, I would then find out the procedures for submitting an article or essay, which is something that the guidelines explain in detail here:
https://www.guernicamag.com/about/submissions/
Submitting your work is no guarantee of publication, however, so you would ideally have a large number of submissions out with different publications to increase your chances of being published.
This can be a relatively long process, but it can also be a really nice way to build up your translation portfolio as you gain more experience...and it is also ideal for someone who is translating "on the side" since you can work at your own pace and only choose to work on the things that interest you the most.
Of course, there is no obligation to translate into English. You can also translate into the other direction, provided that you are able to connect with the appropriate publications in your language and get paid for your work.
There are also publications such as Russian Life that specifically seek out freelance translators for more general work, so this may be a good place to look:
https://russianlife.com/
https://russianlife.com/contact/jobs-available/
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Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
| Dear Vlad... | Sep 30, 2021 |
I'm really sorry to say this, but your CV needs a lot of work. Try to be concrete and specific about your work experiences, education, volunteer jobs, skills, etc. Also try to garnish your CV a bit, but not too much. As companies might use scanning software to shortlist candidates, so a heavily formatted CV could end up being a page of pure gibberish.
You might also want to use a professional looking email address. Don't use random letters and numbers for your address, use full name instead. Don't use GMail, use Outlook or other work-oriented email providers instead.
[Edited at 2021-09-30 02:13 GMT]
| | | | Vlad Kotenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:26
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Increasing Experience | Sep 30, 2021 |
@Arabic & More
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on how to increase one’s experience.
Submitting your work is no guarantee of publication, however, so you would ideally have a large number of submissions out with different publications to increase your chances of being published.
This can be a relatively long process
Yes, I can see that this will be a long process, and the success rate will be low and unpredictable. Another way to gain translation experience and to have something to specify on one’s resume is to do volunteer translation, as I did in the past to gain some experience.
There are also publications such as Russian Life that specifically seek out freelance translators for more general work, so this may be a good place to look
Thank you for the information. Yes, direct clients like this publication company are another source of translation jobs, although they do not specialize in seeking and giving jobs to translators, which means that jobs will be given rarely, especially if there are many translators on the companies’ lists.
Novian Cahyadi wrote:
Try to be concrete and specific about your work experiences, education, volunteer jobs, skills, etc.
I have now realized that I should have been more specific, giving more details about what exactly had been translated and on what subjects. I will try to follow this suggestion.
You might also want to use a professional looking email address. Don't use random letters and numbers for your address, use full name instead. Don't use GMail, use Outlook or other work-oriented email providers instead.
What can be done if it is inconvenient to change one’s email address (which is linked to various systems on the Internet and which has been used for a number of years)?
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 17:26
German to English
| Get a second email address | Sep 30, 2021 |
Vlad Kotenko wrote:
What can be done if it is inconvenient to change one’s email address (which is linked to various systems on the Internet and which has been used for a number of years)?
There's no reason you can't have a second (or third) email address for business/entertainment purposes. As far as I know, most email clients can handle multiple accounts.
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