Top Ten Traits of Good Translators

（Edited by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese or Chinese to English translation services）
How to Perform Nearly Perfectly in the Unlikely Event That You Are Not Already Doing So
(in the eyes of an agency coordinator)
1. Format your résumé such that pertinent points can be easily noticed. Your native language, language pairs, and years of experience as a translator ought to be immediately visible to any reader flipping through a stack of résumés. List your subject matter specializations or representative types of projects.

2. Have your fax on at all times. Maybe not literally, although that certainly is appropriate. The point is to be accessible. If you are not immediately available by phone during business hours, then you should be checking your fax, e-mail, and/or voice messages frequently throughout the day. Many times it is not possible to wait even a couple of hours to hear from a translator about availability for a specific job.

3. Keep up with the industry. Be the expert on linguistics, resources in content areas, and the tools of the trade (software). Know where to look for answers. Let the industry change around you only if that is the result of your business decision to more narrowly define your niche in the market!

4. Say “no” when necessary. Decline a project if you are truly reluctant to do it. If you can’t handle a project for whatever reason, say so (and give the reason—that helps your client learn more about what you do best). There nearly always is another workable solution for the party trying to talk you into accepting a job.

5. Say “yes” to a nuisance job every now and then. On the other hand (referring back to number 4), go ahead and say “yes” every now and then when your reluctance to accept a project is because it’s one of those jobs that’s of the unpleasant-but-someone’s-got-to-do-it variety. The client to whom you occasionally say “yes” will not want to totally alienate you by sending you only nuisance jobs.

6. Give advance notice of looming disaster. Disasters nearly always seem to be related to delivery schedules. If you know that you will have to miss a due date for any reason, it’s better to warn your client sooner rather than later. It’s helpful if you can provide a reason for the disaster that will be useful in explaining the delay.

7. Miss only one deadline per job. Sometimes a project seems fated to suffer unavoidable setbacks from the moment it first crosses someone’s mind. There probably isn’t anything you can do to stop the cycle of madness on such a project. Even so, credibility (your client’s and your own) deteriorates rapidly if Plan B has to be followed by Plan C and worse. Do everything you can to prevent having to arrange more than one extension.

8. Turn in jobs early! If you happen to complete a project early, go ahead and deliver it. Your client learns more about how quickly you can work (and also knows that you might be available
for more work).

9. Express your preferences. Help your client get to know what suits you best by offering information about your preferences—what you enjoy most; what dictionaries you have; how you prefer to receive work, get messages, etc.; if you’d rather volunteer for a root canal than translate a certain subject; if you always or never work on weekends; if you routinely work through the night so please don’t call before noon…anything! You’ll have a better chance of getting more of what you want in a manner you prefer.

10. Teach your client. If you find yourself mentally listing all the things you wish your client knew, go ahead and offer some education. Translator coordinators particularly welcome your expertise on matters that will help them fine-tune their skills in providing accurate information about language, word count, and content. Also, your clients who are not the end users like to pass along helpful information to their own clients. The people that generate the demand for translations sometimes have no practical knowledge of what transpires between order and delivery. In many cases, it’s the translators who can best initiate a flow of useful information to
help remedy this situation. Just one more tip…

11. Bring up problems. A mutually beneficial business relationship requires an ongoing investment of time and energy by both parties. One of the aspects with the most potential for reward in any good relationship is dealing with problems in a professional manner. If you value the business relationship, it’s worth bringing up and resolving problems, and your client should do the same with you.
*This version has been amended to include eleven traits.

This article was first presented at the Tenth Annual International Japanese/English Translation Conference in May 1999; subsequently presented at an Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association (AATIA) meeting; and published in the AATIA Letter, the American Translators Association Chronicle, the Capitol Translator, and the newsletter of the El Paso Interpreters and Translators Association.

By Patricia Bown, Translator Coordinator, Ralph McElroy Translation Company, Austin, Texas
Ralph McElroy Translation Company
910 West Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone 800-531-9977
512-472-6753
Fax 512-472-4591
www.mcelroytranslation.com

Where to find "work at home"jobs?

（Edited by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese or Chinese to English translation services）
In recent years, more companies have warmed up to the idea "work at home"or "telecommuting" and we’ll see an increase in these types of jobs being advertised. Three sites with good listings are :
http://www.jobsandmoms.com/,
www.teleworkrecruiting.com
www.tjobs.com

People can also make a reasonable living from project work which can be done at home. Here are sites where you can find listings for project assignments:
CyberTemp.com
eLance.com
eWork Exchange
Guru.com
HireAbility.Com
Workaholics For Hire

Cash in on Newsletter Writing and Publishing: How to Land Corporate Newsletter Clients

（Edited by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese or Chinese to English translation services）

Do you ever wonder who writes and publishes those small newsletters you see around town? They 're the 4- or 8-page briefs that are distributed at the grocery store, the gym, your child's school, and many other businesses in town. If you belong to any online communities, you're probably familiar with the numerous electronic newsletters available, too. Basically, if you leave your house at all or surf the Web for a minute or two, you've glanced at your fair share of these brief, newsy pamphlets. What you may not know is that many businesses would love to have their own newsletters for use as marketing or to distribute information, yet they don't know who to hire to write and publish theirs. Freelance writers are the perfect people for the job! And, convincing a business to spend a nominal fee for this service is easy, because it's often cheaper than buying newspaper, magazine and television advertisements.

Whether you're a technical writer, a freelance news reporter, a fiction writer, or a poet, you've got the skills to make money as a newsletter writer and editor. Add a little desktop publishing experience to the mix and you may even decide to make newsletter production a your full-time, freelance gig. If you're organized, diligent, and creative, it's time to consider adding this type of writing to your resume.

The first step, of course, would be researching your market. You probably already have some of these newsletters coming to your mailbox each month. You will also find them sitting on counters of businesses throughout town. You can see how other companies are pitching their wares via newsletters, which will give you content ideas for your future clients.

Speaking of clients, you already have several potential clients in your address book. From your family doctor to your accountant to your local beauty parlor, almost every business can benefit from sending out a warm and informative greeting to their existing clients and potential new clients. These PR nudges, when blended with quality editorial that helps their customers, can bring in more repeat and new customers than an ad in the local newspaper.

Your next endeavor would be to create some template newsletters and to arrange meetings with your community contacts. You can then build on those relationship and get referrals for even more clients.

How to Spot a Risky Freelance Job

（Edited by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese or Chinese to English translation services）

Any business might occasionally take on contracts that it later regrets having accepted. Other companies may offer too-good-to-be-true terms in the hopes of obtaining free labor. Avoiding these risky "opportunities" is a challenge, especially for the freelancer. The following warning signs should make you think twice about pursuing a particular freelance assignment.


THE CLIENT
Withholds Contact Information A client's reluctance to provide an address and phone number tends to frustrate an effective working relationship. It may also cast a shadow on a client's motives and make it impossible to find the client who hasn't paid their bill.

Requires an "Audition" When a client requires a professional to "audition" for a project, this suggests lack of regard for your professionalism, and might be a pretense for obtaining your work for free. Some firms have required editors to "audition" by editing different chapters of a book (or pages of a website). Each editor was assigned a different chapter or page. Once the firm had enough editor auditions, the entire book was already edited - at no cost to the firm. And, of course, nobody was ever hired as a result of the "auditions."


Ignoring Your Qualifications If the client seems indifferent to your qualifications, this is another indicator of lack of respect, or that the client may plan to use your work in some sinister way.

Business Doesn't Have Obvious Profit Potential Does the client have a dubious profit-making enterprise? Often, the work a client is requesting may be for business purposes. But if it's a type of business you can't conceive as being profitable, you might justifiably wonder whether the client will have trouble paying you.
No Contract Any firm that agrees to hire someone but refuses to provide a contract should be avoided.


THE ASSIGNMENT
Sketchy Project Clients who have limited experience working with freelancers might be unaccustomed to carefully defining what they want, or they may only provide part of the project's information when obtaining a quote, hoping to get more work out of you later for no extra money. You may then be expected to realign your work with a moving target, without raising your fee to compensate for the churn. Get everything in writing. Any deviation from the project should require an immediate increase in your fees.

Unrealistic Deadline Whenever a client requests you drop everything else to work on his project, or when he provides an unrealistic deadline, you should proceed with caution. Some unsavory characters demand the work almost immediately, hoping to get the finished product before you realize you're being scammed.
"It's a really easy job!"Such a remark may be a ploy to get you to accept a paltry rate. Even if the comment was made in earnest, you'll need to set it aside in forming your own assessment.


Work to Be Submitted to a Third Party / Intermediary Some clients may want your output to be "refined" by a third party. This could work in principle, provided the client ensures that everyone shares a common vision for the work. However, a client who lacks such a vision may be trying to compensate by hiring two brains instead of one. This undermines your control over the quality of the final product, while still leaving you accountable to the client.

YOUR COMPENSATION
Payment Amount Ridiculously Low The client's financial constraints don't make your work any less valuable. You are a professional, a fact sadly under appreciated by many who would seek your services. Don't work for less than your desired hourly rate.

ayment Amount Unreasonable High If the offered pay seems unreasonably generous, the client may be ostensibly offering a high figure just to lure you in. Once you've bitten, you may be hit with a flurry of conditions and, again, you may never get paid.

Unreasonable Hourly Rate If the offered hourly rate implies a larger total fee than the client might expect, it may indicate that he doesn't understand the entire project (or, again, that he's trying to lure you in with the promise of a large paycheck that may never materialize). The client may later balk at the final cost. To avoid any misunderstanding, ascertain the client's expectations regarding your fee, and get it in writing.

Payment Only "After Delivery" of Final Product You should withhold delivery of the final product until the final installment of your fee is received (and the check clears the bank).

Pay Contingent on Future Sale or Publication Never let your future paycheck depend on someone else's ability to sell/publish the work. The prospects for such a sale are more remote than many people realize. If you accept such a job, you're not likely to ever be paid.

How To Work At Home As a Freelancer

（Edited by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese or Chinese to English translation services）

A freelancer, or contract service provider, is someone who works on a contract or freelance basis. As a freelancer you are acting as a specialist, or expert, in your field. This is not to say you need dozens of awards hanging on your wall, you just need to be proficient and knowledgeable in the duties you perform.

Freelancers are in high demand by employers for many reasons -when a project deadline must be met, when the company lacks adequate expertise or experiences sudden and explosive growth, and so on. Many times an employer simply cannot justify the additional expense associated with hiring another employee. Since you are not an employee of the company, you keep 100% of the money you earn and are responsible for your own taxes. On the whole, you don't have to be licensed, insured, or have a business of your own. You just have to be a person that can do the project.
Truly, this is self-employment at its best!

The type of projects available for freelancers include accounting, translation services, language consulting, creative writing, Web design, programming, technical and business writing, data entry, Internet and off-line research, and everything in between. Believe me, there are all kinds of projects out there (including some really extravagant and offbeat stuff).

To help you get familiar with the process of finding freelance work, let's talk about some concepts you should be familiar with.
First, when you take on a project you are promising to complete the specified assignment within certain parameters... the time it will take you do the project, the pay you expect for completing the project, etc.

For you to get hired to do a project you must "bid" on it. The term "bidding" can be misleading... you are not paying any money to get the job, rather you are offering the employer a price you will accept to complete the project.

Let's say you find a company seeking someone to write a series of press releases for their new product line. You bid the project at $75 per press release with three revisions allowed each. The company will likely have several bids to look at, and will choose the service provider they deem most suitable.

So how does the company determine the best candidate for the job?
The lowest bid doesn't necessarily get the job. The company only partly bases their decision on the bid. They especially want to know whether or not you are qualified for the job.
Your qualifications are determined by your resume, or portfolio. Keep in mind that many companies hire for services on a continual basis, therefore your skills and experience level should accurately represent your abilities in order to secure future projects with the company.

Is there a catch, you ask?
There is no real catch. What you will notice are the dynamics of a marketplace with supply and demand features. That is, lower skilled projects tend to be more competitive, as do specialized projects where the market is flooded with experts.
How do you compete when there's a large pool of bidders?

Be the best competitor on the block, that's how. Get additional training if you need to upgrade your skills, or take an internship to enhance your experience level.
Actually, you want to be the best competitor on several blocks. Bid as many projects as you reasonably can within your area of expertise. Never lay dormant - search for projects and bid, search and bid, search and bid...

Now then, for you to get started as a freelancer here are the necessary steps:
Register at sites that list projects. It's free to register in most cases and makes you a member of the site. Register at several sites to increase your chances of getting projects. Many freelancers work several projects at the same time. Just be careful not to take on more than you can handle.

Not only must you register, you must submit your skill set at the project site. Your resume must be in tip-top shape. It must be current and an accurate representation of your experience and skills.

If you're not comfortable writing a resume you should consider hiring a professional to do it for you. You don't get a second chance to make a great first impression.
Now just search the listings for projects you feel qualified for. When you find one... bid on it!

To go a step further, set up your website as a showcase of your talents. Direct prospective clients to your site and give them a tour of the *benefits* only you can give them. Further extend your reach into the worldwide community by advertising your services both offline and online. Go global!

So what are you waiting for? If you've been searching and searching for a home-based job and you're feeling frustrated with the whole thing... this could be the perfect way for you to start working from home.