How to Become a Better Translator

Whether you are just starting your career as a translator or have 10 years of experience, it's important to continue to develop yourself professionally in order to progress in the industry. There are two ways of approaching this: you can develop your translation skills and/or you can refine your approach to work. Both are equally important, so let's take a look at each.

Developing Your Skills

Practice makes perfect, but sometimes practicing the wrong things is a waste of time and resources, so you need to focus on the right areas.

> Practice in your field

Allocate a set amount of time per week to read texts in the target language. Legal, medical and scientific terminology can change, so stay up to date.

> Don't just skim-read

Try to finding errors or improvements in text that you read online. If you're doing this you're honing your skills and improving your eye for detail.

> Keep reading general texts

This is the area where most translators practice: reading novels, newspapers etc is easy and enjoyable, just remember to venture beyond this repertoire too.

Refining Your Approach to Work

Changing how you approach jobs can make all the difference to your confidence and how employers view you too.

> Don't overextend yourself

If a job is beyond your current capabilities, turn it down. You'll do more harm than good by overextending yourself on overly technical work. Similarly tough timelines can be an enemy too. Your quality of work can suffer as a result, and employers respect people that are organized enough to know when to say no.

> Don't blindly accept jobs

Knowing what you are working on is essential, as the complexity of a job isn't revealed until you first see it. Maybe the text is handwritten or very technical in nature. Check it first.

> Agree on the rate before beginning

This goes without saying, but all too often newcomers overlook this advice.

These basic pointers require very little effort but they can make you a much better translator in the long run. Why not share this article someone new to the industry?