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In short, how do you get started as a conference interpreter? It's essentially a team job, and you're not going to be selling teams to clients when you're just starting in the profession. So, what are your recommendations for young, inexperienced interpreters who've just graduated from interpreting school? |
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Hello Silvia, I recommend you what I did:
Good luck! 2
Good list Conrado, For anyone starting in Paris you could add "Join, or go and introduce yourself to, a Secretariat"* *Interpreter groups with a joint secretarial office for coordinating and managing recruitment.
(19 May '12, 10:27)
Andy
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Linda makes a very important point. Pro bono work gets you rapidly seen by a lot of audiences - many of which happen to contain people who might want to use interpreters later on. I'm doing a 2-day simultaneous job at the end of this month (May 2012), hired by someone who was in the audience when I was working consecutive, pro bono, at a small literature festival here in Beijing. As a trainer I try and funnel graduates (and sometimes more experienced colleagues) into pro bono jobs. I have a couple of regular streams of these - the literature festival, an arts centre in Beijing (which has built-in sim booths!), and an annual sustainable development / NGO meet. When the above jobs are in sim, I can give people experience working with people they don't know - more experienced colleagues, or graduates from different schools, or even earlier graduates from the same school whom they haven't worked with yet. Plus they're all about fun stuff. As I write these words, someone's in the arts centre doing a gig about Lady Gaga and her fashion sense. |
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I'd like to recommend this article by Chris de Fortis ("our man for further training"). Thanks to Andy Gillies for posting it: http://interpreters.free.fr/startingwork/GETTING%20STARTED.pdf Here are some of the points covered in his article:
pour info: Chris a redigé son article en français et anglais. Alors pour ceux qui sont plus à l'aise dans langue de Molière... http://interpreters.free.fr/startingwork/gettingstartedDEFORTIS.htm
(19 May '12, 10:23)
Andy
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The above link did not seem to work any more, but the article may be found here: http://interpreters.free.fr/startingwork/gettingstartedDEFORTIS2012.pdf
(13 Oct '12, 15:33)
AlmuteL
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Quite a few young interpreters start by working pro bono for charities, NGOs etc. This is often the first experience of working 'live'. And since the teams are often recruited by experienced interpreters who are themselves a part of the team, the young interpreters can learn from them and gradually become 'known' and recruited for paid work.
Young interpreters should contact as many experienced interpreters, consultant interpreters, agencies or institutions as they can find in their chosen place of work. A day here, a day there is how it starts. |
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One interesting option is to apply for pre-candidature with AIIC: http://www.aiic.net/ViewPage.cfm/page208.htm |
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It is also possible to contact the regional secretary of the AIIC region you live in or visit the website of your AIIC region (in AIIC-speech a "region" is a country or group of countries!) and try to find out whether there is anyone particularly looking after junior interpreters. In Germany we have one colleague who is actively looking after graduates and newcomers. He visits universities where CI is taught, organises special events for young interpreters and is always willing to give appropriate advice. http://www.aiic.de/nachwuchs.php On November 9th, 2012 we are organising the very first Interpreters-for-Interpreters Workshop just for students in their final year, graduates and junior interpreters. On the same day there will also be an evening event where young interpreters can meet and speak to senior interpreters. It will take place in Freiburg (South of Germany, close to the French and Swiss border) and we will offer interpretation into English during the afternoon workshop. You may still apply for the workshop - however, there is a waiting list for the evening event. 1
Our workshop was a real success with 89 participants !!!! You can find some photographs on the AIIC Facebook website "Interpreting the world". 9 young interpreters took it in turns to provide simultaneous interpretation for two participants who could not speak German :-). We will try to organise the next workshop for budding and junior interpreters on November 8th, 2013 in Frankfurt (Germany).
(11 Nov '12, 08:25)
AlmuteL
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I would also advise young interpreters to sit accreditation tests with international organisations employing interpreters. For that you may need to travel to the place where the test is held - but it may turn out an excellent investment if you pass. Naturally sitting an accreditation test requires advance preparation, a suitable language combination and potentially willingness to relocate, if you pass. You need to ponder carefully whether for you it is better to wait a bit after finishing your degree, get some practical experience and only then sit an accreditation test or whether you wish to sit a test at the first possible instance after getting your interpreting diploma. |
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Hi Silvia, You raise a good point. Want to join forces? :) I have another question related to this topic. Can any practising interpreters confirm that it is OK to contact them out of the blue and let them know of your existence? This piece of advice seems to abound, but it seems a bit thorny to me. The private market is notoriously competitive (if I'm not mistaken) and I'm wary of treading on people's toes. Thanks very much! ...I've been sent my share, I always read cover letter/email and cv's with interest, file them in a retrievable form and always acknowledge them. This being said, I would not recommend this as your only strategy - I don't think I've ever offered anyone a contract on the strenght of such contact alone. PS: oftentimes I notice language problems in such emails/cv's: if you only ask for a native speaker's help once, do it for your cv (and if you're writing it in your mother tongue put in your very best effort) a language professional can ill afford mistakes or even unfelicitous choices when trying to make the right impression...
(23 May '12, 10:34)
msr
I personally would be more inclined to agree on a telephone appointment once I receive an e-mail from a young colleague from which I get the impression it was NOT sent out as bulk mail to hundreds of colleagues. I tend not to read mails that do not even address me by name. The best approach, I think, is to ask one's university tutors for senior colleagues in the market they know are open-minded. If university teachers contact me and announce that there will be a promising graduate who might contact me, it is even better.
(13 Oct '12, 15:08)
AlmuteL
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