The Life of an Interpreting Account Executive
This week we are joined by University of Leeds (MACITS) alumna Martina Giannarelli, who is currently working as an Interpreting Account Executive for a London-based language service provider. She will tell us a bit more about her job and her perspective of the industry.
First of all, could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you are currently doing?
After completing my MACITS course I moved to London, where I have been working as a project manager in a translation and interpreting company for the last year and a half (wow, time flies!). At first I managed the NHS interpreting part of the business, while now I focus exclusively on the private sector, managing interpreting assignments of all kinds (conferences, court trials, remote interpreting and so on).
What is the most stressful part of being an Interpreting Account Executive?
The very tight deadlines are one of the most challenging aspects of my job. It is very common to receive last-minute requests, which can make it difficult to identify interpreters who are available and, at the same time, suitable for a specific task.
Do you feel that this position has given you a better understanding of the industry? What surprised you most when you started this role, after your MA?
Definitely. The MA introduced me to and made me fall in love with the world of interpreting, while this position enabled me to develop in-depth knowledge of the actual interpreting business. Before starting working here I used to ask myself the questions every newly graduate in interpreting has "How do I start my career as an interpreter? What are the standard rates for this specific service? How do I approach clients?". Now, dealing with both clients and freelancers I am able to see the whole picture, understand the needs of both parties, mediate and advise them.
What surprised - and still surprises me - most is that so far I've had the pleasure / honour to work with interpreters I had only seen or heard of during university conferences, read of in books and articles, even some university trainers or former coursemates. As a former conference interpreting student I am always thrilled when this happens and I still cannot fully get used to it.
What do you look for from a freelancer who wants to work for your agency?
Other than excellent language skills and professionalism, which cannot be taken for granted, responsiveness is what I look for in every freelancer I work with. The market moves really fast therefore the quicker you are at checking your smartphone, the more likely you are to get work. Useful tip: please make sure you do not run out of data and always carry a portable battery charger with you, since you might miss on work if you don’t check your emails regularly.
As well as this, punctuality is paramount and I value those linguists who plan their journeys to work carefully in order to show up at their assignments in good time.
What are the most frequent types of assignment you handle?
I consider myself very privileged as I have the chance to work on a lot of different projects involving clients from different industries. From governmental institutions to legal clients, to charities, to creative companies. The type of assignment I handle more often these days though is remote interpreting for the market research sector. The assignments themselves are highly technical - mostly pharmaceutical - but they give me the chance to work with highly specialised interpreters, so… the more the merrier! The main challenges of these assignments? Needless to say, the technical jargon used by doctors and the setup (not being able to see the speakers).
Work aside, are you enjoying the hustle and bustle of London?
Life in London is great. Despite being chaotic and expensive, this city offers so many interesting activities and events to choose from! My first months here were a bit of a shock: even if I had lived in the UK before, it took me a while to adjust to the way life works here (long commutes, planning everything you do weeks in advance...), but now I enjoy keeping myself busy with painting classes, Cuban salsa events and just generally venturing out with friends and exploring new areas of this amazing city.
And, finally, what are your favourite words in Italian and English, and why?
This is such a hard question, would you belive I'd never thought about that? I think I don't have any favourite words as such, but I like the "u" sound in the English word "mutual" . As for Italian, I'll go for "fante": in my region (Liguria) it means "boy", while in standard Italian it means "infantryman" (military). Every time I use this word with people who are not from Liguria, I cannot help but laugh at their confused faces!
Thank you, Martina, for taking the time to answer our questions and for sharing your view of the industry with us!
If you want to check out what Martina is up to, you can follow her on Twitter (@m_giannarelli).
