People always want to know what you do for a job, but nobody ever really cares about the specifics until they need your services. While you might say you’re a professional translator, what does that mean? Most people, for starters, think translation is the same as interpretation. So what is your language specialty?
To market your language services effectively, you need to target services for clients, using words they understand, and describing what you do in a way that appeals to both agencies and end clients. This also means, of course, that you need to have a language specialty that is useful for the average client and valuable to the agencies you work with, as well.
Do you have experience in the insurance industry? Did you used to work as a paralegal? Maybe you got your degree in engineering before deciding you really prefer the French courses you had to take to meet your foreign language requirement. With a little creativity, these diverse interests can all be part of a language specialty.
Each of these backgrounds will help you focus your language specialty in a way which is both useful and rewarding.
IF you’re just starting out and languages themselves are your passion, think a little deeper. Everyone has more than a single interest. Consider the following unrelated interests and how your language skills can fit those interests:
- Cooking – If you like to cook, maybe you would enjoy translating marketing materials, menus, and other documents from restaurants serving a certain cuisine, or just the restaurant industry in general.
- Reading – If you have a passion for books, take the types of books you find yourself reading, and combine your language skills with this passion to make a living out of what you love.
- TV/Movies – If you love watching TV or movies, consider subtitling, dubbing, or providing descriptive narration for the blind in another language. Take your passion for the movies and shows you love to speakers of other languages.
- Niche market – Whether you are passionate about a specific kind of exercise, professional photography, or wood carving, there is always a way to fit your passion with your language skills by marketing to speakers of another language.
The bottom line is to take what you love doing and play to your strengths. IF you are passionate about swimming or running, maybe you want to provide interpretation services for health clubs in cities with large numbers of second language speakers or translate sports or fitness magazines into a second language.
IF it’s professional photography or wood carving that makes you most happy, however, you might find yourself drawn to interpret at conferences and events related to these interests, or you may find plenty of opportunities to translate websites, brochures, business cards, or other materials related to your interests.
Just because your degree isn’t in an in-demand field doesn’t mean there isn’t work for a professional translator or interpreter. No matter your passion, if you have the necessary language skills to interpret or translate in that language, you will likely find others interested in the same things you are who would like you to translate or interpret for them.
Do you have tips or suggestions for others who are interested in breaking into the language industry but aren’t sure where to start? Did you come to the language industry by a non-traditional route? We’d love to know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
