MotaWord Translators Answer Your Burning Questions!

Translator Interview

Since 2014, MotaWord has been a simple, seamless, and reliable source for translation services. The success of the platform comes from the combination of the efforts of experienced human translators through the use of a cloud-based translation platform. If you are interested in how our collaborative translation platform works, you can read more here.

To share the experiences of our community's over 10,000 skilled and experienced translators with a broader audience, we asked them 5 questions that may be of interest to you and shed light on the world of translation.

Here are the questions and their responses:

What are some side jobs that you do as a translator?

• Pet sitting, sporadic legal work, boudoir photo shoots
• Content writing, affiliate marketing management
• Photographer and a graphic designer

What are some tools you use for self-development, networking, and jobs?

• LinkedIn
• WhatsApp groups of like-minded professionals, language learning sites, and newsletters from CSA Research, Slator, and AngelList
• Wordfast- Accademia della Crusca website
• ProZ

How do you know if a job posting/platform is a scam?

• If I get suspicious, I check it on ProZ Blue Board.
• The most obvious giveaway is spelling and formatting errors.
• Gut feeling. If it sounds too good to be true, it's usually a scam.

What are the top 5 things on your desk while you're translating?

• My pen, a diary on which I manually record my daily schedule and client list (so that I can refer back to it even in the next decade, if necessary), my phones, stand-by laptop, and water bottle
• Water bottle, a USB charger, a visual of my next vacation, an organizer, a photo of my family
• Perhaps you should ask about my open tabs, haha. What I cannot do without is the obvious laptop and extra monitor, water, paper, and a pen.

What is your #1 tip for new translators?

• Do a lot of translation practice, and collaborate with other translators by comparing your renditions.
• Read a lot and never stop learning.
• Be yourself - have faith in your own beliefs and do not be swayed all the time by consensus.
• Takes time and patience to build a good portfolio, but be sure to prepare a comprehensive but easy-to-read resume and have a compelling cover letter. Build a simple website where you can showcase yourself, your experiences, as well as samples of your work. Sign up at ProZ, get yourself a LinkedIn profile and start sending the cover letter and resumes to as many companies as you can find.
• Learn marketing skills.