Part language interpreter, writing specialist, subject matter expert, researcher, and detective, translators can sometimes seem like a different breed. We come from such a variety of backgrounds, nationalities, qualifications, and cultures that each of us is uniquely qualified. There is also this idea that translators are studious, even a bit geeky, with a passion for dictionaries, proper syntax and etymology.
Despite this seemingly endless array of differences, successful professional translators share a number of common traits and qualities. First and foremost, successful translators are responsive. This means they answer their phone when it rings. It also means they answer client and other important e-mails at least within 24 hours (and our policy is to answer important e-mails within two hours).
For translation clients and buyers, there is nothing worse than a slow response or even worse, no response. Because so much of our work is conducted online and via e-mail, taking the time to answer e-mail and following up is crucial for translators who want to be successful in the translation industry. Since urgent translations often come along when we least expect, translators who aren’t responsive are also less likely to get work.
Second, successful translators focus more on problem solving and less on selling. Often translators don’t just translate your document into another language. Successful translators ultimately work to solve your language problems.
You call a translator when you can’t read the language a document is written in.
You call a translator when you want to launch a new product or marketing campaign in a new country. Or when you need to communicate with your customers in other parts of the world, and they don’t speak your language.
You call a translator when you read to understand an article a Montreal newspaper published about your company’s new machine-generated milking technology.
You call a translator when you need to translate a written testimonial from a customer in Lima, Peru, who only speaks and writes the local language of Quechua. And so on…
When you contact a translator, you want to know that the person you are entrusting with your translation will be your language partner, an ally between the language your document is written in and the language you want it translated into. You want to know that your translator will work with you to figure out the best approach. You want to know that he or she will make sure your translation is done according to your budget, deadline and specifications.
Successful translators are ruthlessly persistent researchers who won’t stop until they find what they are looking for. They may spend hours or even a day or more trying to unearth the most obscure word or term not found in any dictionary, glossary or terminology list, on any website in any form, or in any forum anywhere easily accessed by the general public. Translators are a bit like language detectives, ferreting out the hard-to-find terms that others would have long ago abandoned.
Many translators are curious by nature. Successful translators constantly search out new information and knowledge to complement their existing arsenal of uncommon facts. The book Descriptionary: a thematic dictionary, which bills itself as “The book for when you know what it is, but not what it’s called”, is a great example of sometimes obscure knowledge. It’s also one of my favourite resources for that very reason.
Most of the translators I know are lifelong learners. Successful translators continuously upgrade their professional skills and stay up-to-date with new technology, new ways of working and new ways of tackling the challenges posed by computers to produce idiomatic, faithful translations that accurately represent the original author’s work.
The life of a translator being as diverse as it is—a translator could easily go from translating a medical document about Parkinson’s research to translating a manual about parachuting techniques the next day—translators have to prepare in advance. To do so, many successful translators try to learn as much as they can, about as many subjects as they can, to give themselves the best chances of success. Translators never know when something they learn in a medical laboratory will carry over into the sporting arena (and vice versa) and successful translators ultimately know how valuable this information is for their success in the language field.
Know another top trait of successful translators that I missed? If you’re a translator, what are some of the traits you think translators have in common, regardless of geographic location or linguistic background? Share your opinion with me in the comments.
This may overlap slightly with some of your points, but I think a successful translator thinks about their customer’s needs (obviously something a machine could not do, and many translators also do not). For example, I sometimes advise my customers that certain documents or portions of documents are not worth translating, which saves them money and time (that would otherwise have been wasted) — by doing this I may lose a job, but I gain the trust of the client and a reasonable chance of future work, so it’s worth it.
That’s great advice! I think clients really appreciate it (and it really shows our commitment to integrity in the profession) when we point our things like duplicate pages and irrelevant information that doesn’t need to be translated. As you say, although this may mean a lower invoice, the ability for our clients to trust us is, in my opinion, absolutely paramount. With the many translators and translation companies around, why would you work with a translator you couldn’t trust?
I couldn’t agree more. Great article! Sometimes clients do not realize that the flawless translation in their hands involves many hours of patient and dogged research of just an elusive term or expression. The mark of a good translator is being quite proud or well satisfied with the work delivered to the client.
Superior writing skills are often what differentiates one translator from another. Time invested in research or learning new technology are wasted if the translated text doesn’t sing!
To Nelida, not only is the mark of a good translator to be proud of the work we deliver to clients, but also to make it look easier than it actually is.
To Janine, I agree and superior writing skills may be the one skill that translators MUST have in order to be successful. Excellent writing skills can only be improved with, and cannot be replaced by, all the spelling, grammar and syntax correctors in the world. (This may be the one skill some of us sometimes take for granted.)