The freelance interpreter and translator 2.0

I’m sitting in a big auditorium surrounded by my fellow course mates. The end of our master’s course is approaching and, together with exam panic, the uncertainty of our professional future is starting to loom on us. Looking for any advice and suggestions we can gather, we are attending a seminar given by a very experienced interpreter and translator, dearly hoping the session will make all of our worries disappear.

However, right from the beginning I can sense this will get me nowhere. As for many “old guard” interpreters, the differences between our curriculums is striking: on their part, a sometimes very limited language combination, a highly specialised sector of expertise, and above all, qualifications often barely related to interpreting. For our part, as many B and C languages we can fit into our brains, BAs in languages and an MA almost in our pocket. Then comes the magic sentence, the one us millennials are so used to and tired of listening to: “You know, back in the days, your phone would not stop ringing, you had to turn down clients and worked 9-5 every day. Now they pay peanuts and sometimes it’s not even worth going out to the assignment!” We know, we get it. Back in the days, everything was fantastic, you didn’t have to struggle to find work, it was work that looked for you. Back in the days, rates were higher. Back in the days, institutions were mass-hiring and an in-house position was far easier to find.

So, here we go again: we are looking for practical, hands-on suggestions from someone that has been in the industry for decades, with an amazing career and reputation, but all we can get is a nostalgic look at when our profession was starting to affirm itself on the market.

I leave the room with a couple more anecdotes of the good old days, a little discouraged. Once again the past generation appears not to have a clue about what we are dealing with in terms of the future and career prospects. Walking home, I come to the conclusion that “freelancing” definitely means something different to me than to them. In the past 25 years or so basically everything has changed: the way we communicate, the way we work, the way we move and the way we think. Our market has changed too, and we are the generation left to deal with the consequences. The “old guard” is safe and sound, supported by their experience, their network, and their long-term clients. But, to be honest, can you blame them? They clearly worked hard to get where they are, maybe they didn’t struggle so much to break into the job market, as they themselves admit after all.

As I said, our market has changed. A newcomer to the field has to deal with agencies on one side, and the world wide web on the other. I will not enter the highly debated dilemma “to agency or not to agency?” today, as I would like to focus my analysis on what the internet can offer, but also can dangerously disguise.

The advent of the internet has forced interpreters and translators to be much more than that. As clients, and therefore jobs, have moved to the online world, the modern freelancer needs to follow them suit: so, they have to turn themselves into bloggers, marketing specialists, web designers and developers, and, most of all social media gurus as well – apparently Twitter is the place to be. In the digital era, the new interpreter and translator is born - version 2.0. They are fully proficient in social media and equipped with marketing skills that would make the Apple ad campaign team turn green with envy.

The battle is fought with pompous websites, connected to trendy blogs, connected to translation-exclusive Twitter profiles and polished LinkedIn pages. You can find jobs on Facebook groups, the modern equivalent of a networking meeting, only better, not to mention online job boards (Proz anyone?) and applications. Like it or not, the internet is now our best ally to get clients, make a first impression, and pay the bills.

I admit I am happy to play the game, blogging away and quote retweeting interesting content. Creating my website was a fun experience, which actually made me think a lot about how I want to approach the market and how I want to portray myself as a professional.

However, beware! It’s all fun and games until you actually find yourself spending more time on social media and blogging about your take on MT development, than actively looking for new clients or jobs. Another dark side of internet is the FOMO you could fall pray to, constantly checking if a new job or update has been posted somewhere.

There is a part of me that wishes I could concentrate more on the actual profession, without the feeling I might be missing out on opportunities if my online social persona does not look all polished and up to date. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in, where everything is online – jobs, clients and colleagues included.

So arm yourself with a PC - or Mac (we don’t discriminate), tablet, smartphone, iWatch, literally anything that can bring you online and embrace translation 2.0, where appearing seems more important than being, or translating.