Menu

Advertisements

Articles for Translators and Translation Companies

---

How to Market Your Language Services

Get the List of 5,400+ Translation Agencies Now!
No Recurring Membership Fees!

3 Interviewing Secrets for Obtaining Your New Job
With an understanding of these three insider interviewing secrets and the preparation that goes along with them, you will have the ability in your next interview to engage in a conversation and paint a picture in the interviewer's mind of exactly how you are the best qualified candidate to meet their needs and help them solve their problems - ultimately winning the job offer…
Read the full article…

7 Steps to Preparing a Door-Opening, Job-Winning Resume
If you are currently in the job market or expect that you may be in the not-too-distant future, you are almost certainly aware that the job market is fierce. Now, more than ever, you MUST find a way to stand out from your competition Your resume - your first introduction to those with the power to hire you - doesn't merely have to be good, it has to be incredible. Here are seven steps to help you write a job-winning resume…
Read the full article…

21 Tips to Speed Up Your Job Search Even In a Recession
Even as the economy slows and the job market becomes increasingly competitive, there are many who are incredibly successful in conducting fast, effective job searches. Even in a recession and rising unemployment you CAN build your career and secure a job that is personally, professionally, and financially rewarding. Here are 21 tips that you can put into action today to speed your own job search and drive it to a fast, successful conclusion…
Read the full article…

Selling Your Services to Government
Looking for new markets for your small businesses’ goods or services? Consider selling to the federal government. The U.S. government is the world’s largest buyer of goods and services — from spacecraft and advanced scientific research to paper clips and landscaping services. Military and civilian purchases total more than $425 billion a year…
Read the full article…

How To Negotiate Your Salary & Get Paid What You Are Worth
Understanding the process of salary negotiations and following these five simple steps can pay you back many times over with higher compensation in your next position. Know your value and be able to clearly articulate the returns that an employer can expect from hiring you. Never forget that as an employee you are investment…
Read the full article…

10 Resume-Writing Mistakes to Avoid
Is your resume generating disappointing results? Have you been sending your resume for positions that you know you are qualified for, but the phone remains silent? If so, you might want to check it and revise it against these ten common errors…
Read the full article…

The Foundation of a Fast, Successful Job Search: Organizing
Keeping accurate, up-to-date records of your job search activities, logs of contacts you have made, and step-by-step, calendared plans of the activities you must complete in order to reach your job search goals will pay you back for your effort multiple times over through a faster and more successful job search. By creating a plan and system for your job search, you will always know where to focus your attention and what you should be doing next…
Read the full article…

10 Killer Job Interview questions and Answers
There is no way you can accurately predict the questions that will be asked in an interview, but you can be ready and prepared by thinking about the factors that might concern an interviewer or employer before the interview…
Read the full article…

How to Create a Compelling, Branded Elevator Pitch for Your Job Search
A powerful elevator pitch is essential in your job search. With precision-like focus, an effective elevator pitch will immediately convey to the listener who you are as a professional, and will do it in a way that addresses not only your unique value proposition, but in a manner that addresses the concerns of your listener. You will use your elevator pitch frequently, in networking situations and during interviews…
Read the full article…

Networking Made Easy: Tips for a Fast, Successful Job Search
Networking is an essential job search activity required to access the 80% of all jobs found in the unpublished, hidden job market. Here are some tips to make networking easy for everyone…
Read the full article…

How To Revive A Stalled Job Search With High-Payoff Activities
Has your job search come to a halt? Implement these 5 high-payoff job search activities to jump start your job search and get back to work fast…
Read the full article…

50 Questions to Help You Specify Your Accomplishments in Your CV
It is absolutely essential that your resume immediately capture the attention of your reader. But how do you do that? When your resume is sitting on a desk with hundreds of other resumes, how do you ensure that your resume rises to the top, making the cut to be placed in the "keeper" file rather than the circular file? This article tells you how and provides tips on writing an accomplishment-focused resume…
Read the full article…

The Crucial First Step In Resume Writing: Establishing Your Focus
What is the essential first step you must take to ensure your resume generates results? You must establish and clearly convey your job target and focus. This article explains how to clearly define your job target and provides resume writing tips to ensure that your focus is immediately obvious to the recipients of your resume…
Read the full article…

Your 2008 Job Search Checklist
Do you have a job search planned in 2008? If you do, and if you are looking forward to your next job search with dread, you are definitely not alone! Job searching can be incredibly stressful. But, with some planning, genuine effort, and sincere commitment, you can minimize that stress and land a new job - one that is personally, professionally, and financially rewarding - faster than you may have thought possible…
Read the full article…

How to Incorporate Your Personal Brand In Your Job Search
What are the benefits of personal branding in relation to your career and how do you incorporate your personal brand into your resume cover letters and other career marketing documents? Read this article to find out and to learn five ways to conduct a branded job search…
Read the full article…

How To Write Your Resume and Market Yourself for an International Assignment
Do you dream about working abroad? Do your short or long-term career goals include an international assignment? Maybe you want to practice your ability to speak multiple languages. Perhaps you completed coursework or a degree in international business…
Read the full article…

Resume Writing Solutions for Your Challenging Career History
Professional tips and tricks that will help you transform your problematic work history into a job-winning resume. If you have a less-than-perfect employment background for your job target, this article will help you overcome it in your resume, to quickly get you back to work in the job you want…
Read the full article…

How To Stand Out At A Trade Show
Think of the last time you were on the midway at a state fair. Every booth was brightly colored, full of interesting things to see, do, and win. Hawkers yelled: "Step right up!", "Three tries for a dollar!", "Win a stuffed bunny for the lovely lady!" Lights flashed, kids ran around, and everyone seemed to be talking at once…
Read the full article…

How to totally screw up your Resume and lose job interviews
So, you're about to start making or updating your resume so you can go find your dream job (or hey maybe, just ANY job...in credit crunch 2008 that might be the best you can do for now). I know that it can seem impossibly difficult but it's not that hard at all. However, it IS very easy to make a mess of it - And messed up resumes and CVs get "round filed" real fast (thrown in the bin) and round filed = no job interview…
Read the full article…

Accessing the Hidden Job Market
Most job seekers rely on the open job market which includes job posting boards and help wanted advertisements in local newspapers to source job leads. While it appears on the surface that these search vehicles have an abundant number of job leads, the reality is that very few people secure their positions through these methods of search. Only about 5-10% of people in search find their jobs using these two methods combined…
Read the full article…

Hire an Agent?
I worked as a professional translator (and enjoyed it very much) before moving into IT in a salaried position, but am now planning a return to translation and want to position myself properly. You've often emphasized the importance of networking. Since I am not that good at networking, I'm thinking of employing a person to help me. Is this a good idea? If so, what profile should I be looking for?…
Read the full article…

Why don’t I get a reply to my job applications?
As with almost every type of business, Computer technology and the Internet has fundamentally changed recruitment. If you thought your CV always gets read when you apply for a position, think again. It is common for hundreds of CVs or resumes to be received for a typical position advertised in the Times or FT…
Read the full article…

55 Tips For Postcard Marketing Success
Direct mail postcard marketing is one of the most versatile forms of marketing available. With its versatility, postcard marketing can serve small businesses and large companies alike…
Read the full article…

Promote Your Translation Services Through the ODP
As you may know, having a professional website is very good and important for a freelance translator as well as for an agency. But what can you do with your website without promoting it. There are many ways of promotion, such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but I’d like to dwell on a web directory called DMOZ (ODP – Open Directory Project)…
Read the full article…

Translators Are Natural Marketers, but They Don’t Know It!
Here is something you probably never even suspected: as a translator, you are also a language (or words) expert, and marketing is essentially a way of using language (or words) to persuade people to take action and because of this, the transition from translator to marketer should be nice and smooth and easy for you…
Read the full article…

Sample CV
Are you ready to create or update your CV?
Here is a sample format with some idea on structure and content…
Read the full article…

Freelance Translators - How to Easily Beat the "Feast and Famine" Syndrome
It is a well known fact that translators in general and more particularly freelance translators are the most reluctant marketers of all professional service providers. Freelancers often don't realize they are running a business and as such they must embark on permanent, never-ending marketing activities, like any other business owner…
Read the full article…

Are you an apple, orange or a fruit basket?
Mary Jones is a program manager at a global telecommunications firm that spends over (US) $10 million annually on localization. Her company has some additional localization needs, and Mary has been asked to get quotes from a number of localization vendors…
Read the full article…

Investing in existing clients pays off
Did you know that the cost of acquiring a new client is five to seven times greater than the cost of retaining an existing one? While it clearly makes good commercial sense to look after clients well, sales activities are more often focused on winning new business and client care is not always given the attention that it deserves…
Read the full article…

Guerrilla Marketing for Translation Agencies (and freelancers too!)
Marketing can be evidenced in every action your company does. The way your receptionist answers the phone, the way your lobby looks, your stationery, your business card, the clothing you choose for a sales meeting, the format you use for presenting an estimate to a potential client are all part of your marketing (or lack thereof!) Everyday you influence the perception people have of your company, your services and your abilities by many messages you send – some of them intentional, some unintentional…
Read the full article…

Selling to the Bottom Line
If you've ever wondered why more people don't respond to your sales attempts and marketing messages, here's the first place to look - are you selling something that people are willing to spend money on?…
Read the full article…

12 Job Application Tips For Copywriters
I recently advertised for freelance copywriters to work for my copywriting business and received some 200 applications. I've done quite a bit of recruiting in the past, so, from the outset, I knew exactly what sort of expertise I was after. I also knew I'd be inundated with applications, and that the applicants would come from all sorts of backgrounds with varying levels of copywriting expertise…
Read the full article…

What You are Marketing is Yourself
Marketing a service business is not the same as marketing a product. The strongest asset you have in marketing your business is actually yourself. Allowing your customers to get to know you will build their trust. You deserve to be the star of your own promotional materials…
Read the full article…

Budget Marketing Can Work
There is an old Chinese saying that “Good wine needs no bush.” This wise proverb also appears in writing in the epilogue of Shakespeare’s As You Like it. But, alas, the idea that good things sell themselves is not true in the 21st century translation localization industry…
Read the full article…

To Attract Attention, You have to Show Off
Well-known people became well-known because they showcased themselves. They shared stories and ideas about the work they had been doing... There are a host of very dignified and appropriate ways to let a wider audience know how good you are without ever saying so…
Read the full article…

Making Time for Marketing
There are many ways to include marketing activities in your busy life, instead of wishing you had more time for marketing. Make marketing a part of the time you are already spending…
Read the full article…

What Do You Mean I Am A Product?! (Career Marketing 101)
Job search seems to have many hurdles to overcome – resume, interview technique, appearance, and networking are challenges that job seekers face. These hurdles are surmountable with a strong job search plan and dedicated execution…
Read the full article…

Writing Cover Letters That Sizzle
Anything being sent to a decision-maker should sell you, not just state facts. When conducting a job search, your cover letter and resume are in a pile for the decision-maker to review, one by one, along with a vast number of other documents submitted by other hopeful individuals…
Read the full article…

Inside The Mind Of A Telecommuting Employer!
I recently had an employer advertise her job in my newsletter and it got me wondering what employers are thinking when the applicants start flooding in. After speaking with her I was able to get some really valuable feedback and I wanted to share that with you…
Read the full article…

Being visible on a budget
Once upon a time a company introduced a new product. They didn’t want their competition to know, so they didn’t advertise or even send out a news release. Sales of the new product were disappointing. The manufacturer was unhappy. What went wrong?…
Read the full article…

Prepare your way to Copywriting Success
Before you even start writing your copy, you must get to know your target market inside out. First of all we will look at general things you need to know about your reader and then will look at pin pointing specifics about your target audience…
Read the full article…

Turn Your Email Sign-Off Into Results: Seven-Step Checklist for Success
In this article, we'll be taking a look at how just a few simple changes to your email signature can make a BIG difference to your business.
Let's explore…
Read the full article…

Ten tips for writing good sales copy
Writing an ad? The tips below -- and the important warning that follows -- will help you to get the very best response…
Read the full article…

How to Build An Empire With Business Cards
Most business owners don't realize the importance of using a simple business card to generate tons of customers. It simply does not matter what kind of business you are in, you have to utilize this primitive business technique in order to grow your business fast…
Read the full article…

Web Site Promotion: Writing Articles To Promote Your Website
You may already know how effective writing articles for web promotion can be. If not, don't dismiss it as trivial or overdone. The fact is, web site promotion using well written targeted articles WORKS! Educating your prospect to the benefits of using your product makes them an even better prospect…
Read the full article…

Home Business Advertising Is Not An Expense
Do you cringe at the thought of spending more and more money to advertise your home business, product or service each month? If you can change the way you look at advertising costs and change the way you advertise, your home business will grow beyond your wildest dreams…
Read the full article…

Attract Clients With Your Business Card
Let's say you attend a business function. You meet a top tier prospect, and give her your card. Twenty other people do the same thing. So what will make your card stand out from the collected stack?…
Read the full article…

The 7 myths of marketing a service business
When you spend time and money randomly on marketing, then it probably is an expense because you're not generating a return on the resources invested in it. Many people make the mistake of emulating the marketing tactics of large companies (such as image advertising) that just don't produce good returns for small businesses…
Read the full article…

An inexpensive way to market your business
An on-going challenge your business probably faces is ensuring clients continue using your product or service. In other words, you want repeat business.
There are few businesses without any competition, so there's a constant struggle to keep existing clients while bringing new clients on-board…
Read the full article…

Alleviate Your Internet Marketing Stress
Do you have a detailed plan in place to market your home-based Internet business? How about a strategy that will work for your budget? Do you know where to start? If not, read on. This article is an Internet marketing resource that you will find invaluable. It is a free Internet marketing guide…
Read the full article…

A translator’s CV – a translator’s best friend (Part 2)
Many persons writing a CV for the first time will fall into the simple trap of continuing from the section on their personal details – as covered in Part 1 - and proceed to give details of their education.
This is particularly the case of those coming out of language school, college or university and whose actual outside-of-classroom experience is a bit thin on the ground…
Read the full article…

A translator’s CV – a translator’s best friend (Part 1)
Whether you use the French résumé or the older Latin curriculum vitae, now fashionably abbreviated to CV, there is one tool in the translator’s backpack which is indispensable nowadays, and that tool is the professional summary of your background, education and experience…
Read the full article…

Creating your business information material – your own brochure
To succeed as a freelance translator you need to advertise and present some information about yourself and the services you are offering. Imagine some client emails you and asks about your qualifications. What an advantage if you have a precompiled document with this information ready to send out …
Read the full article…

Your website: Your virtual business card
To make one thing clear way ahead, without a website you will not survive on this market. And while you are at it, make sure the website is user-friendly because you will need to make changes once in a while and if only to promote some new services. A website should list all the services you are about to offer as well as all your contact details. In the US pictures of yourself and your colleagues are seen as a sign of trustworthiness and reliability, in Europe this notion is not so widely spread, mainly because we are a little shy when it comes to posting pictures of ourselves on the net …
Read the full article…

Lab Report on a Marketing Campaign for Freelance Translation Services
Article sums up my experiment in attempting to divulge my freelance translation services over the web. I hope it will be useful for translators in a similar situation, as well as translation agencies who are permanently seeking freelancers worldwide. It was written right after the campaign itself, before any concrete objectives were attained, so I'm not claiming any effectiveness. The intent is to provide both freelance translators and translation agencies with a few ideas to tinker with…
Read the full article…

How to write a good covering letter in English
The job market today is becoming more and more demanding. A good CV with good qualifications is no longer enough to impress an employer. The covering letter is a vital part of your application. Here, the employer can tell straight away from the presentation and style of writing whether the candidate will be suitable for the job. The covering letter is the perfect opportunity to make your application stand out from the many that employers receive on a daily basis.
Read the full article…

How to write a good CV in English?
Nowadays, employers tend to receive thousands of applications for a job as soon as it is advertised on the job market. Therefore it is vital that your letter should stand out from the thousands of CVs and letters that people are going to send.
Read the full article…

Best Face Forward: In Person Marketing Skills for T&I Professionals
After you've mailed your resume to a thousand agencies, sent out brochures detailing your services, or paid dearly for a display advertisement, how else can you market your services? Consider meeting potential clients in person. After all, some of the greatest business relationships in the world were initiated person-to-person. Here are a few steps to finding your most desirable clients in person, while making a great first impression.
Read the full article…

Being Unique is a Good Thing... Isn't It?
New entrepreneurs frequently hear the advice to "be unique" in their marketing. The basic idea is a valuable one - to get attention in a crowded marketplace, you must stand out in some way. Distinguishing your product or service from the competition can make your marketing more effective. Crafting a novel marketing message can attract the notice of more potential customers…
Read the full article…

Marketing Your Translation Services: Test Translations-To Do or Not to Do?
When an agency sends you a test translation, you spend your valuable time at your own peril. It's up to you to decide whether to do the test or to ignore it. Only a very small percentage of tests will give you an actual workload…
Read the full article…

Submit your article!

Read more articles - Free!

Need translation jobs? Click here!

Translation agencies are welcome to register here - Free!

Freelance translators are welcome to register here - Free!

Subscribe to TranslationDirectory.com newsletter - Free!

Take part in TranslationDirectory.com poll - your voice counts!