LIVE Q&A FOR FREELANCERS w Adrian Probst from @Freelanceverse (Plus an Earthquake!)
Freelance Translator Tips2024-04-24
freelance translation#freelance translator#freelance translation tips#become a freelance translator#become a translator#Working as a translator#translation#work as a freelance translator#Freelanceverse
30 views|4 months ago
💫 Short Summary
The video features a live Q&A session between freelance translator Adrien and agency owner Robert discussing insights on working in the translation industry. They highlight cost-sharing for translation tools, the importance of clear processes, specializing in specific fields, quality assurance, and client communication. Emphasis is placed on building relationships, maintaining a diverse client base, and tailoring CVs to job requirements. The use of AI tools like Chat GPT is discussed, with a focus on niche markets, expertise, and adding value to remain competitive. Prioritizing passion and aligning career choices with personal interests for long-term success is emphasized.
✨ Highlights
📊 Transcript
✦
Discussion between freelance translator Adrien and agency owner Robert on their backgrounds and experiences in the translation industry.
01:30Robert runs boutique agency Lugano Translations, while Adrien focuses on freelance translation work.
Insights on working as a freelance translator and being an agency owner are shared during the session.
Viewer questions are addressed, and collective experiences in the field are discussed.
Valuable perspectives for freelancers and agency owners in the translation industry are offered.
✦
Cost-sharing and access to tools for freelancers.
05:24Purchasing together or using free trials can help freelancers save costs on translation tools.
Some translation jobs provide licenses, reducing initial expenses for translators.
Tools are essential expenses for freelance translators and are tax-deductible.
Different approaches to handling CAT tools based on job requirements; collaboration and sharing resources can improve efficiency.
✦
Importance of clear processes and structure in businesses for boutique agencies.
08:01Lugano Translation agency mentioned with focus on marketing strategies.
Networking in legal and financial sectors to attract new clients.
Reliance on word of mouth for client acquisition.
Significance of building and maintaining relationships for business growth.
✦
Tips for freelance translators.
12:22Limit language combinations to a manageable number and specialize in specific fields to appear reliable and professional.
Focus on a few language combinations that you are proficient in rather than covering a wide range.
Specialize in fields like medical, legal, or financial translation to establish expertise and credibility.
Starting broad is common, but finding a niche where you excel is key to success.
✦
Importance of language expertise and quality assurance in agency work.
15:57Trusted translators and editors are essential for accurate translations.
Transparency and communication are crucial for maintaining high-quality work.
Quality assurance can be relaxed as trust and successful collaboration are built over time.
✦
Challenges in the translation industry and transitioning from solopreneur to agency owner.
19:11Warning about potential scams in the industry due to lack of regulation.
Benefits and drawbacks of working as a solopreneur versus running an agency, with a focus on administrative and project management tasks.
Decision to grow into an agency driven by curiosity and potential earnings, as shown in a video.
Casual conversation about earthquakes and personal experiences.
✦
Benefits of Freelancing as a Translation Coordinator.
22:56Importance of understanding work relationships and utilizing software tools like monday.com and Proimos.
Personal preference for Excel despite other options available.
Highlighting low overhead costs and ease of entry into the field.
Emphasis on finding what works best for individual tracking and organization needs.
✦
Clarify job offer type to determine employment status and benefits eligibility.
25:14Working with multiple clients can prevent being classified as a fake employee or freelancer.
Maintain a diverse client base to avoid legal issues.
Having an online presence on platforms like LinkedIn can demonstrate seriousness about the role.
Building relationships before seeking collaborations can lead to long-term partnerships and job opportunities.
✦
Tips for successful CV outreach in freelance work.
28:31Tailor your CV to the specific job by highlighting relevant experience and portfolio, rather than listing all past experiences.
LinkedIn is emphasized over a CV, with a focus on viewing client interactions as business negotiations rather than job interviews.
Success in freelance work is dependent on emphasizing a service provider mentality and providing value to clients.
✦
Importance of staying updated with AI tools in freelance translation.
31:56Course created around 10 years ago due to lack of information in the field.
Emphasizes the use of tools like Chat GPT for translations, but highlights confidentiality and liability concerns.
Recommends using actual machine translation tools for incorporating technology into the translation process.
✦
Impact of AI Translation Tools on Human Translators.
36:42AI translation tools like Chat GPT have not replaced human translators but have led to significant growth in the localization industry.
This growth has resulted in price pressure and increased demands on translators to focus on niche markets, expertise, and adding value to remain competitive.
Clients prefer human translators for accuracy and reliability, recognizing the limitations of AI tools.
To effectively incorporate AI tools, transparency, confidentiality, and paid subscriptions for data security are essential.
✦
Importance of transparency in client communication when using machine translation (MT) services.
38:55Being transparent about when MT is suitable, such as for standardized text, builds trust with clients.
Not offering desktop publishing (DTP) services or editing non-editable PDFs is discussed.
Suggestions for using OCR tools for extracting text are provided.
The need for editable formats for translation and clear communication with clients regarding formatting requirements is highlighted.
✦
Importance of specializing in less common languages or niche areas in the Translation and Subtitling Industry.
43:31High demand also means high supply, resulting in intense competition within the industry.
Emphasizes the value of having a few loyal clients in a specialized field for a successful career.
Challenges the traditional approach of following trends and encourages prioritizing strengths and unique offerings.
Suggests that being in demand should not be the sole focus for success in the industry.
✦
Importance of pursuing a career based on passion, expertise, and experience.
46:28Following one's passion leads to greater chances of success and reaching the top.
The speaker shared personal experiences of starting in a high-demand field but transitioning to something they truly enjoyed.
Emphasis on aligning career choices with personal interests and strengths for long-term fulfillment and success.
00:00and welcome back to the freelance ver I
00:02am here joined by Robert hello Robert
00:05hello thanks for having me I've seen
00:08Marco and T already in the comments so
00:10please let me know just write anything
00:13WR audio okay stream okay so we can
00:16start uh this is very exciting there are
00:19a couple of Firsts happening here um as
00:23you know usually it's 6 p.m. on my
00:24channel so it's the first time ever in
00:26like four years that it's not 6 p.m.
00:29that is because I'm doing a live live
00:31stream with another Creator which is
00:33another first Robert is based in Taiwan
00:37is it right yes yeah so that's why you
00:40know the time difference we are doing it
00:42a bit earlier today uh that's the I
00:46haven't seen any comments yet so I hope
00:48anyone can hear us uh but we want to do
00:50a Q&A I as you guys know I do these q&as
00:53like every every other time every other
00:57two months I do them live stream so I
00:59thought it would be fun to bring someone
01:01else in uh especially in this case I
01:04think it it could be interesting because
01:06he is a agency owner so he's not he used
01:10to be a freelance translator Robin
01:13answered something very nice so we are
01:15live that's good to know and now he's an
01:17agency owner H so we can you know answer
01:20the questions from both an active
01:22freelancer and an active agency owners
01:24side uh we both prepared a few questions
01:28for the people that don't know you uh
01:30Robert could you quickly say who you are
01:32introduce yourself a bit further sure
01:35I'm uh Robert Gart I am uh I started off
01:38as a freelance translator as Adrien
01:40mentioned uh an Italian to English
01:42freelance translator and um and now I
01:45run a boutique agency Lugano
01:46translations and uh we um so uh for the
01:51purposes of this Q&A I think it'll be
01:53interesting because for a living I work
01:56with freelance translators I hire
01:57freelance translators and that's what I
01:59do
02:00um while Adrien is a freelance
02:03translator and so we can hopefully give
02:05a perspective answer questions from the
02:07point of view of you know of someone
02:10working as a freelance translator and
02:11someone who hires them and um so yeah I
02:15thought it was a very interesting idea
02:17and I think this will be an interesting
02:19discussion yeah exactly YouTube rolled
02:21out this feature not too long ago it was
02:23somewhere next last year it's only
02:25available on mobile that's why you see
02:27the view like this a bit unusual but I
02:29think it's quite cool uh we can both
02:31share this live stream and there are
02:33still a couple of things that I will
02:34need to report to them but it's it's
02:36working quite stable uh so Robin
02:39Humphrey asked is there a theme for
02:41today the theme is really whatever you
02:43want it to be so if you ask a questions
02:46we will try our best to answer obviously
02:48we don't know everything I mean we can
02:50just share our experience but
02:53collectively we have quite a few years
02:55of experience now and I hope we can give
02:58an answer to you guys and robbing
03:00straight up with the first question so
03:02we can jump into it cool I have a I have
03:05a potential agency client who has work
03:08but they want me to get my own license
03:10for trados is this normal I really don't
03:13like trados besides I think that's a
03:15perfect question for you Robert to kick
03:17things off as an agency owner yourself H
03:21yeah that's a pain um it does happen uh
03:24but um there's several ways around it uh
03:29if um and you can see also how flexible
03:31the agency is like if you can share it
03:33with anyone else who works with the
03:34agency or sometimes you can share it
03:37with other freelance translators um I
03:40haven't kept up with the latest versions
03:41of tros but I'm sure you can you can
03:43keep doing stuff like that and I know um
03:45pros.com uh on the um I think on the
03:48community forums they have people who uh
03:51you know post that they want to uh
03:53purchase tratos and so they can um uh
03:56you know and so you can share the cost
03:58and share access to it and stuff like
03:59that so there are ways around it but it
04:02does happen um that uh that they ask you
04:06to you know provide your own license
04:08um uh you can also ask uh to for them uh
04:13what type of files they need because if
04:16you use Omega T um a lot of the same
04:19files Omega T is a free um cat tool by
04:22the way and a lot of the files they are
04:24compatible with tral so if this is for a
04:26job that's not very big um you can just
04:29say that you can uh you know you can
04:31work on the file via Omega T and uh and
04:34you'll be able to give them the you know
04:36TMX file or whatever it is and um so um
04:40so yeah that's that's what I would say I
04:43don't know yeah but uh Adrian you're
04:45probably more up to date with what's
04:46going on uh from a freelancer point of
04:49view there yeah I always had this
04:51question at the beginning because it's
04:52you know if you invest in like the let's
04:54say the three big ones that's extremely
04:57much money right for someone starting
04:59out so
05:00I I was also a bit hesitant to which one
05:02to go for when should I buy a
05:05license um luckily they all have trial
05:08periods so you can really try them all
05:10out for for an extended period of time
05:13uh if you you know stack them after each
05:15other you basically have a free license
05:17of any cut tool
05:18for quite some time like a few months so
05:21that's what I did in the beginning and
05:24then as Robert said like people can
05:25grant you licenses as well my first jobs
05:27that I did in tros I did for agency and
05:30I didn't have to buy the license because
05:32they would just share a onetime license
05:34for one job uh but now I mean I it's
05:39also you know one of your only business
05:42expenses really that you have as a
05:44freelance translator right you have to
05:45buy a a machine a computer and you have
05:48to buy a few tools to translate
05:50everything else is optional so in a way
05:53it's very low overhead costs anyway so I
05:55see these tools as my primary working
05:57tools so they're 100% tax deductible and
06:01for me it's a given that I have I I own
06:04licenses for I think three cut tools now
06:07and I still use ones that are free of
06:09charge as well uh it's happens very very
06:13rarely that I translate or do anything
06:15language related not in some kind of
06:18tool right so that just in like word or
06:20so that happens very rarely how do you
06:23handle it with with your Freelancers do
06:25you have requirements I I do not and uh
06:28I let them know and some of them have
06:30cat tools some of them don't and uh by
06:33and large it's usually fine with me my
06:35end clients uh don't you know don't deal
06:37with cat tools and so for the jobs I
06:39have I let them pick it hasn't come up
06:42yet um but I think it's also by nature
06:44of the translations I do um you know
06:46legal and financial because I know for
06:48other ones they're probably like really
06:50required but um but yeah you bring up a
06:53good point also the the fact yeah if
06:55it's if it's a small job you can
06:57probably use a free trial as well and
06:59kind of just get away with it there and
07:00if it's a big enough job it's probably
07:02worth the investment you know if um if
07:04it lands you that job so yeah that's
07:06true as
07:07well Robin follows up with so why impose
07:10CHS on me it's but I would assume when I
07:12hear that Robin that it's a a big agency
07:15a big LSPs and in that case it's just
07:17processes right they don't want to deal
07:19with a ref freelancer working on with
07:21something else so they just have their
07:22structure and they don't really they're
07:25not dependent on you right they go to
07:27someone else that uses tros if not so
07:29they just want to have clear processes
07:31and it makes sense in a way if you're a
07:33big
07:34company that yeah that's why you should
07:36look for the boutique agencies exactly
07:39we have and Robin asks if you could
07:41please repeat your the name of your
07:43agency Robert it's Lugano translation
07:46right yes Lugano like the city in
07:48Switzerland Lugano translation City in
07:50Switzerland yes we are both Swiss by the
07:52way so that's with with some different
07:54language backgrounds but in a way both
07:57from the same place
07:59a good friend of mine asks Robert what
08:01are your main tools techniques to
08:03attract new clients by the way we plan
08:06to be live for about 40 minutes so
08:08that's why I'm heading to the next
08:10question now I want to answer as much as
08:13possible uh so do can you tell us some
08:15about your marketing Robert uh yes I
08:18can't sorry we just got an earthquake
08:20here so it's a bit uh what oh but yeah
08:24yeah we we we're getting this it doesn't
08:26seem that big so um yeah uh but yeah it
08:29throws me off a bit sorry um anyway the
08:32um uh sorry the question was what do I
08:36use for marketing right yeah okay so the
08:39um for marketing it's uh yeah that's a
08:43good question um uh it's always kind of
08:46what I spend a lot of my time doing when
08:49i'm not you know doing the admin or PM
08:50of of jobs of um the jobs I already have
08:54and the clients I already work with then
08:56it's um you know it's all marketing and
08:59uh most of it is actually it's similar
09:03to um I guess what you guys would do
09:06because it's on LinkedIn and uh and word
09:09of mouth and stuff like that uh but I
09:11would say one of the main diff if you're
09:13looking from the point of view of an
09:15agency um the main difference is it's
09:17only with end clients and so I
09:19concentrate a lot of the networking not
09:22in the translation world but in the
09:24legal world or in the financial world
09:26and um and so this is attending
09:28conferences you know networking being
09:30part of associations uh that are you
09:32know Bankers associations Chambers of
09:35Commerce and stuff like that um and uh
09:38yeah so it's a lot of uh a lot of stuff
09:41like that um yeah most locally or do you
09:46do you Market
09:48internationally internationally a lot
09:50internationally um yeah and in fact it's
09:53uh I I I do some stuff locally but most
09:55of my clients are still in Europe uh
09:57still in Switzerland and Italy and uh
10:00and places like that um and so I'm a
10:02member of the chambers over there even
10:05though I'm over here um and uh so yeah
10:09it can get complicated as well um but I
10:12would say to this point and I don't know
10:15if this is just the nature of the thing
10:16or maybe I'm not that good at marketing
10:18but most of my new clients still come
10:19from Word of Mouth um from you know past
10:22clients that people I've dealt with
10:23before people I know stuff like that and
10:25uh so I really cultivate the
10:27relationships I already have yeah yeah I
10:29mean knowing Marco he would say that
10:31that's the top tier marketing if you get
10:33clients through work of M that's that's
10:36not bad marketing that means you're
10:38doing something right that's good to
10:40know yeah um well and that and that's
10:43the thing ultimately I know you know
10:45exactly we do a good job and and people
10:47are happy and so I know that works well
10:49um I would like to get better at doing
10:51stuff you know Marketing Online and uh
10:53and whatnot but uh for now that's that's
10:56how it's going quite quite organically
10:58let's say okay nice we have 14 people in
11:02here it's amazing also let me know where
11:03you guys are watching from that's always
11:05interesting uh why I was asked I
11:08recently worked on a project but the
11:10company didn't provide me with tros so I
11:12had to download the free trial yeah but
11:15that's fine you know you can always use
11:16that that's it also kind of shows you
11:20whether you like the tool or not whether
11:21you want to invest in it for any tool I
11:23would always use the free trial if it's
11:25if it's around right so yeah it's a good
11:29way to
11:30start we also have a few questions
11:33prepared in case there is none in the
11:35live chat and at the moment I don't see
11:36any new comments so I'm just going to
11:38pick one up from the last Q&A from
11:41Stefan he asks is it always positive to
11:44offer translations for many languages or
11:47can it look less reliable and is this
11:50the same if you specialize in many
11:52fields how many language combinations
11:54should I
11:55have interesting question uh I can maybe
12:00start from my point of
12:02view um it can definitely look if you're
12:06marketing as a freelance translator and
12:08not as an agency it can look unreliable
12:11and unprofessional if you offer 10 15
12:14language combinations right because
12:15that's just not feasible so the someone
12:18who understands the market will
12:20immediately know that you are not
12:22offering this by yourself so either you
12:25are hiring other people and which means
12:28you're kind of turning into an agency
12:29and people are not buying from you and
12:31you should be transparent about that or
12:34I mean it even happens unfortunately
12:36that people just offer any language
12:38combination and just Chuck it into
12:40Google translate and deliver like that
12:43so I would be careful like if you really
12:45want to be the expert in a specific
12:47field and language I would limit your
12:49language combinations to your best ones
12:52so for most people it's one two or three
12:55uh for me it's two um I don't know how
12:58this looks for you Robert when you're
13:00hiring Freelancers do you focus on how
13:02many combinations they have uh yes I do
13:06absolutely and I I focus on the
13:08combinations and the specializations as
13:10well um because it is uh yeah I mean
13:15it's a bad sign to me if you have uh you
13:18know too many languages and if the
13:19languages are unrelated you know if you
13:21have to like say romance languages and
13:24one and the the important thing is the
13:26target language you know the target
13:27language is to your native tongue
13:29obviously and so but if you have two
13:30romance languages into um you know one
13:34other language that's fine that's normal
13:36if you start having eight languages that
13:37have no relation to each other into six
13:40different languages you know stuff like
13:41that then yeah um so uh and and the same
13:44is true for specializations if you're
13:46you know if you're medical uh uh Legal
13:50Financial and everything all in one then
13:52then I assume you're nothing and um so I
13:56do believe uh usually what I recommend
13:58is when you're first starting out it's a
13:59bit difficult like you're going to be a
14:01bit broad um and I get that you're
14:03trying to see what works and and what
14:05sticks um but you should always have in
14:07mind to Niche um whenever you can and
14:10pretty much as much as you can I think
14:13you know once if you can find your Niche
14:14where you're really good at and you can
14:16do an you know astounding job and you
14:19know I tell people like if you can
14:21become the best in the world at your
14:23particular Niche then you'll be fine
14:25even if it seems like too targeted um
14:27because people will be seeking you out
14:30and um anyway uh so yeah that's usually
14:32what I recommend to over time try to
14:35narrow it down okay
14:38nice Tamir is watching from Palestine
14:41wow okay I hope you are safe
14:43everything's okay uh my question to
14:46Robert is as an agency owner when you
14:49have work in languages that you don't
14:51know that's such a good question by the
14:53way when you have work in languages that
14:55you don't know how do you make sure the
14:57quality is good before delivering it I
14:59always wondered that like how can you
15:01deliver Chinese translation and be sure
15:03that it's good
15:05quality yeah so this so and and this is
15:07interesting because people uh ask me
15:09about you know when they're setting up
15:11an agency and uh and whatnot and I
15:13always tell them when you're first
15:15starting off especially if you're kind
15:16of a solar preneur if you're um you know
15:19starting off small is to don't is to
15:21stick to your own uh language
15:23combination because everyone feels like
15:26well my own language combination I can
15:27do the translation myself I'm no no it's
15:29hard enough to hire other translators do
15:31all the admin project management so do
15:33it at least in the language you know
15:34because that adds a whole other level
15:36and and rightly so that whole other
15:38level is um it uh very uh yeah like with
15:43Chinese or something like that it it can
15:44be a lot of work and um ultimately what
15:47you do is you find translators and
15:49editors that you trust and that can work
15:51well with each other because I obviously
15:53can't review something that's you know
15:55translated into like uh yeah Chinese uh
15:58Korean you know my level isn't there but
16:01um if I have a translator and an editor
16:04who's paid to find mistakes in the
16:05translation but you know obviously
16:07doesn't just find them just to get paid
16:09like you really need to kind of work
16:10with both sides and um and and that's
16:14why you know a good translator and
16:16editor they're worth their weight in
16:17gold for me for someone who runs a
16:19boutique agency like me and um and yeah
16:22you know and that's what you shoot to
16:23have because then uh when you have them
16:25and they can work well together then I
16:28can sleep busy at night knowing that um
16:30you know that a good job has been done
16:33and uh so so yeah that's that yeah it's
16:37a it's it's trust right so you have a
16:39few people that you trust and then you
16:41make sure that they check the
16:43translation like if you work with a new
16:44Chinese translator you probably have
16:47quality assurance in place with other
16:49people to to check their first jobs I
16:51would assume right yeah so the way it is
16:53now now yeah especially if they're new
16:55it's 100% QA 100% quality assurance um
16:58for every translation and uh you know
17:01and over time if things work well you
17:02can kind of you know uh relax that a bit
17:05but yeah absolutely yeah I think it's
17:08really important there to be transparent
17:10as well because like I'm not an agency
17:13but I do hire sometimes other
17:15translators to to you know to
17:17collaborate with to to prove read to
17:19translate for me and it has happened
17:21once that I was uh experimenting let's
17:25say or just trying out a new translator
17:27and uh the quality was horrible so I
17:30went back to them and I said look that
17:31this doesn't work this is not what we
17:33agreed discussed and then the person
17:35answering me suddenly said oh yeah uh
17:38the pm here I will get this to the
17:40translator and you know I had no idea
17:42that I'm actually talking to a PM or to
17:45an agency like this was never discussed
17:47oh wow yeah just they were just
17:50displaying themselves as a professional
17:51German translator native to Germany and
17:54it was obvious to me that that has not
17:56been done by a native German yeah uh I
17:59mean in the I mean I didn't pay it in
18:02the end we found a different agreement
18:04but just make sure out there that you
18:06don't get scammed it's very
18:08unfortunately unregulated industry that
18:10is very prone to
18:12scammers it is yeah which yeah it's good
18:15and bad you know it's good because you
18:16don't have to jump through hoops or go
18:19through specific you know they're no
18:21Gatekeepers let's say um and uh so if
18:24you can if you're good at what you do
18:25you can advance but it's also bad
18:27because there's a lot of yeah scammers
18:29and bad people out there but
18:31yeah so Tamir is saying thanks for
18:34worrying thanks for asking the situation
18:36is difficult but I'm safe okay that's
18:38the most important good um Marina is
18:41watching from Argentina she's an English
18:43Spanish translator thanks for doing this
18:45live guys thanks for being here
18:48Marina what
18:50time in Argentina if no early in the
18:54morning yeah yeah also let us know where
18:57in Argentina you are was just there last
18:59year oh really yeah I oh I lived there
19:04when I was very young I don't remember
19:06though I lived in bu you did okay yeah I
19:08did you all over the world huh that's
19:11crazy by the way if you're wondering the
19:13earthquake that happened during our call
19:15was a
19:164.4 so not that bad that's just normal
19:19occurrence there you're just so casual
19:21about it no I wasn't casually it was um
19:25since since the big one we had two weeks
19:27ago there've been every once every three
19:29four days there's kind of an Aftershock
19:32but yeah wow I've never experienced that
19:35that must be so weird it still weaves me
19:37out yeah um so I I don't know if you
19:41have more questions otherwise I can also
19:42get to the ones that I have we missed a
19:45quite an interesting funny one from
19:47Marco I want to ask you okay Robert why
19:49did you decide to grow into an agency
19:51when life as a solopreneur is so much
19:53more
19:55enjoyable no kidding no kidding and
19:59oh and and I can go on because I get
20:01this existent existential crisis every
20:03now and then I I don't do any more
20:05translations myself except one job for
20:08one client that sort of got
20:09grandfathered in and every like six
20:11months they have a report anyway so I do
20:13that and whenever I do that I'm always
20:15asking myself I'm like why don't I just
20:16go back to doing translation because and
20:19that's the thing with an agency it's you
20:22end up not dealing with translations at
20:24all it's all admin project management
20:26stuff like that and that's all I do all
20:28day marketing you know which I should be
20:31doing more but um the the short answer
20:35otherwise I'll go on for too long is um
20:37that I kind of wanted to see where how
20:40far I could take it and I I did a video
20:43on my channel I know um where I did um I
20:46showed the calculation I made basically
20:48if I work X number of hours even if I
20:50charge this much and you know work every
20:53day every working day let's say versus
20:56if I'm an agency and um and you know I I
20:59work in more different languages even if
21:02I assign it and have a translator editer
21:04blah blah blah like there's more upside
21:06potential and I kind of wanted to see
21:09how far I could take that um what I did
21:13not take into account
21:14was um yeah how much more stressful it
21:17is to achieve that like it's uh and life
21:20was a lot more enjoyable as a translator
21:23um I don't it's I I like my Niche now
21:26that I have as an agency as well because
21:28I can still do it remotely and I still
21:30do it remotely even though I probably
21:32will be getting a lot better more
21:34clients if we were back in Europe right
21:36now but um I uh you know that's that's
21:42where I am now and so you know the good
21:44point right yeah and I mean the cool
21:47thing is that you can
21:48always go back to it and do whatever I
21:51mean it's you're not fixed into doing
21:53that now right so that's yeah exactly
21:56and um and yeah and I am very temped did
21:58many times remembering yeah how it was
22:03at uden or a uden asks or says hello I'm
22:07from the Philippines an English Filipino
22:09translator currently working on an
22:11editing project while watching this live
22:13stream so cool thanks for tuning that's
22:15that's cool because I was wondering how
22:17the time zone would affect the viewers
22:19because no one ever like knows that I do
22:22anything at 11:00 a.m. in the morning
22:24but now we get other people from the
22:26Philippines that probably otherwise
22:28couldn't be here in this live Q&A so
22:30it's very nice that you have it on the
22:32side and we still we're only at 20
22:34minutes so we'll still be here for a
22:36while
22:38cool next door yeah oh yeah yeah true
22:42ESP Amigos well I work for a good
22:46company that hired me to proofread their
22:48products for Spanish learning and they
22:51want that I become a project coordinator
22:53now you know some softwares or tools to
22:56help me
22:58okay so I would need a bit more
23:00information there so are you hired as a
23:02freelancer or are you hired as an
23:04employee first of all would they want
23:06you to do project coordination as a
23:09freelancer if so that can be a viable
23:12way to go down on but it's can be I know
23:15a few people who do it or have attempted
23:17to do it and it can be very difficult if
23:19you're not employed by this company
23:22because then it gets into a very gray
23:24gray zone right are they just hiring you
23:27as a freelance for doing actual in-house
23:30work in order to you know save money on
23:33the obvious social contributions Etc so
23:35I would be careful there like what is
23:38the actual work relationship if you want
23:40to do that if you want to become a
23:41freelance uh translation coordinator you
23:44can do that people do that for example I
23:46think Kelsey freck is a prime example
23:48who is doing that very well um there are
23:52softwares to that help you with that I
23:54know monday.com is a good PM Tool uh
23:57there's also proimos and uh the bureau
24:00Works in
24:03um uh tool also has a a PM aspect to it
24:07I'm not using any of them I tried a few
24:09in the end I always go back to my Exel
24:12that is not professional at all but it
24:14just works for me so you need to figure
24:16out what works for you to track your
24:18your um
24:20work my Excel has become quite elaborate
24:23now it has a lot of functions in it so
24:25it feels like a tool but in the end it's
24:27just an Excel sheet so that's again goes
24:29back to what I said in the beginning to
24:31do this job you really don't have a lot
24:33of overhead costs which is amazing it's
24:36a great way uh to start because the
24:39barrier of Entry is so
24:42low yeah and and the only thing I would
24:45add to that you're absolutely right the
24:46only thing I would add is yeah make sure
24:48if they're hiring you um well first of
24:51all congratulations because it sounds
24:52like yeah it's a promotion but yeah I
24:54would make sure if it um if it's
24:56freelance like you're still to work with
24:59other companies and you know and if so
25:01do that or if it's supposed to be
25:03full-time and they're your only client
25:05then you're an employee and you know you
25:07want to make sure that they're not
25:08hiring you as an employee without any
25:11benefits like without giving you you
25:12know medical and blah blah blah stuff
25:14like that because um so you do want to
25:16check up on it and uh you know and
25:19because if they hire you as an employee
25:21then you can check what software tools
25:22they have and you know and see if they
25:24can provide them for you as well um so
25:27yeah just uh you know make sure all
25:29that's sort of clear with them also
25:32check the laws I don't know if you're in
25:34Spain but uh if you are I'm quite sure
25:37that there is a similar law as we have
25:39here in Belgium where you're not allowed
25:41to work as a majority of your client
25:44cannot just be one single client if you
25:46know what I mean because otherwise it's
25:47you are a fake employee right or a fake
25:49freelancer so for me my biggest client
25:52can be 45% of my revenue and that's
25:55important to keep in mind otherwise
25:57you're are obliged to be
25:59employed
26:01yeah um Marco loved your answer Robert
26:03about being honest about your doubts
26:07sometimes yeah it's uh it
26:11happens and why watching us from Saro
26:16wow amazing oh wow never but that sounds
26:19cool NE awesome I think we are caught up
26:23so if you want to bring up one of your
26:24questions feel free yes uh yeah wait let
26:28me W them up again yeah so I have a
26:31couple questions uh uh let's see from y
26:35v73 LS um I would like to know what your
26:39tips are for a good CV in
26:422024 is uh the first question uh so um
26:46so from my point of view from you know
26:48when I look at CVS and when I'm hiring
26:50people obviously I look through CVS uh I
26:53I don't think much has changed in 2024 I
26:56know we have the AI stuff and everything
26:57going on
26:58um I don't uh the main thing that's for
27:02me is I look at the CV and then I check
27:05I check you out on LinkedIn and and
27:07wherever else Pros you know.com
27:09something like that so I think ideally
27:11you have their CV you have your online
27:14profile you know LinkedIn pretty much or
27:17and anywhere else and that way I can see
27:19that you that you're serious about
27:20translation and uh you know and that uh
27:23you're in all these locations it just
27:25makes my life easier um other than than
27:28that uh for 2024 I don't think there's
27:31anything specific to this year I don't
27:34know how do you
27:35feel yeah I I don't know anything to be
27:39honest about CVS I don't have a CV I
27:41don't I never send out CVS LinkedIn is
27:45my CV I usually when I talk to people um
27:48or when it gets to the point where we
27:50might have a collaboration we already
27:52know each other from previous talks I
27:54mentioned this many times on the channel
27:56my Approach is is um usually like
28:00thinking more long term like it's very
28:02rare that I see a company or an agency
28:05and I just apply to be working with them
28:08I I try to establish a connection first
28:11and then down the line maybe it develops
28:14into work uh of course that's a very
28:16luxury position to be in because I don't
28:19um currently I don't need to look for
28:21more work so everything I do in in
28:23Outreach is for potential future work
28:26that I could then replace some that I
28:28have now with and so the only times that
28:31I did CV Outreach was in the beginning
28:34and uh I followed uh someone on Facebook
28:38back then it was a Facebook group that
28:39kind of showed a template of a
28:41translator CV that's the only thing you
28:43have to keep in mind is that it's not a
28:45CV like in the traditional sense
28:47necessarily right where you uh where you
28:50list all your experience going back to
28:52primary school because that's that's not
28:55really relevant I don't know if when
28:57you're looking at this CV and someone
28:58has I mean it might be relevant if it's
29:01other experience in the field that
29:03you're translating in right if if
29:05someone is is uh has experience in
29:08Salesforce and you're looking for
29:10someone Salesforce translation then it's
29:12relevant of course but other than that
29:15you don't really need to include your
29:16your experiences going very far
29:19back uh rather focus on on like
29:22portfolio you know have a nice portfolio
29:24where you can link to have a nice flyer
29:27u m
29:28brochures marketing material in my
29:31opinion is much better than a
29:33CV yeah and and the only thing I'd add
29:36to that yeah is in terms of CV a CV as a
29:39freelancer it is very different from the
29:42CV as an employee or you know what what
29:44you usually learn in school because yeah
29:47uh it has a different Focus you're there
29:48to so you can handle the job at hand
29:50you're not there to see if you fit the
29:52company culture can grow with the
29:53company and be a good coworker and this
29:55that and the other and so um so it does
29:58serve a very different and I I go into
30:00more detail like my course and stuff
30:01like that so I won't do too much but
30:04yeah the main thing is make sure every
30:06single thing in your CV does pertain to
30:08the job at hand quite frankly um yeah
30:11you know stuff like if you taught
30:13snowboarding 10 years ago doesn't matter
30:15like you know you can leave that stuff
30:16out don't worry about gaps in your
30:18resume that doesn't uh matter nearly as
30:21much but uh like Adrien said your
30:23portfolio and and frankly LinkedIn I I I
30:26I agree being on LinkedIn is probably
30:28more important than any CV and uh just
30:30having all your information up to date
30:32there so um and that's uh that's yeah in
30:362014 it's yeah same as and I always try
30:40to tell people I see now a comment from
30:43Tamir who kind of goes into the same
30:45area he's saying how do you prepare for
30:47an interview with a client and that's
30:50that's what I try to always say to
30:52people like don't don't look at yourself
30:55as someone who is looking for a job and
30:57who is a applying to a job and having an
30:59interview right that's that's already
31:01the wrong balance because you're already
31:03putting yourself much lower than the
31:05client you're looking at them as an
31:07employer right you want to be the
31:09service provider you want to provide a
31:11service and not not apply for a job so
31:14that's already like when I see how do
31:16you prepare for an interview with a
31:18client that's a that's a should be a
31:21business negotiation not an interview
31:23right so there there should be a shift
31:26in mindset you need to put yourself on
31:27on the same level that's that and that's
31:30yeah and that's a very good mentality
31:32for um you know end client mentality
31:35rather than a translation agency
31:36mentality you will and I think and um
31:40but yeah absolutely because you provide
31:41a benefit to them so
31:43yeah you briefly mentioned your course
31:45do you quickly want to tell the viewers
31:48what it is it's down in the description
31:49as well if you want to look into it yes
31:52uh um yeah and I know I always forget to
31:55mention it it's I I do have a course out
31:56it's called how to be a success
31:58freelance translator and um and yeah I
32:00think Adrian link to it down below and
32:02it's uh it's the course I first created
32:05it I uh close to maybe 10 years ago
32:08because there was nothing no information
32:09available and it and it was annoying and
32:12uh you know and obviously since then
32:13I've been updating from the point of
32:15view as an agency you know seeing what's
32:17needed to be hired and stuff like that
32:19and um and so uh so yeah it's an online
32:23self-paced course that uh that you can
32:26feel free to check out it's on the
32:29link down below I ass yeah it is yeah
32:32exactly yeah well I don't know what down
32:35below is in the live stream so I I don't
32:37know where it is it's somewhere
32:39somewhere but this will also be a video
32:42so if you're watching this later on
32:44could join us live then it's definitely
32:45down below yeah and I'm gonna put this
32:48on my channel uh as well in the near
32:51future so yeah it'll be there yeah the
32:53idea was initially that I hoped YouTube
32:56would have figured it out that we could
32:58both be live and share this on both
33:00channels but it's not there yet maybe
33:02one day it will be there yet I would I
33:04would assume that would be the whole
33:06point of a coife right but at the moment
33:09it's only here
33:11yeah um I have another question if uh if
33:15that's okay um yeah sure uh this is also
33:19actually from yv 73 LS um what do you
33:23what do you think translators are
33:25missing out about chat GPT yeah I'm I'm
33:28surprised it took this long to get to
33:30chat GPT um there is much information
33:34about why it won't take our place in the
33:35market so I think it could be very nice
33:36to know how to incorporate that tool too
33:39um
33:40so uh I'm not sure what you mean about
33:44incorporate that Tool uh in terms of
33:46handling translations or not um so Chad
33:50GPT it's um I think it's good to be
33:54familiar with everything going on
33:55whether you know with all this AI and
33:58stuff like that you do need to keep in
34:00mind stuff with chat GPT a it has a very
34:04typical style I can absolutely tell when
34:07stuff has been translated using chat GPT
34:10um and in fact people use it now I get
34:1315 to 20 like cold emails a day probably
34:17and um I can tell when they're written
34:19by chat GPT because people love to do
34:21that too it uses the same expressions
34:23and stuff like that but having said and
34:25also keep in mind chat GPT is not
34:27confidential anything you put in there
34:28will end up on a database somewhere so
34:30if you're working on something
34:31confidential um you know you need to
34:33worry about that plus companies worry
34:34about it in terms of liability because
34:37if chat GPT messes something up then um
34:40you know they chat GPT cannot be held
34:42liable and so yeah it raises a bunch of
34:44issues uh depending on what you're
34:45working on for clients um but uh I do
34:48think it's good to uh you know play
34:50around with it and see what it's capable
34:52of because um you know it can it's a
34:55tool and uh so it can be helpful I mean
34:58uh yeah it's very Broad in general but I
35:02it's a nice it's a nice assistant right
35:04like we had the virtual assistant for a
35:06long time it's just a on another level
35:09at that point but I would not use it for
35:11translation rather if you want to
35:13incorporate um technology into your
35:16translation process then rather look at
35:19actual like machine translation tools
35:21right uh right rather than CH GPT
35:24because they are focused on the actual
35:27TK at hand that's why I always find it a
35:30bit funny that when J GPT came out there
35:32was this huge uproar in the industry
35:34whereas it it has nothing against the
35:37actual Mt tools that that we are
35:39already facing since 2017 right um and
35:44actually Marco asked kind of a a
35:46question relating to that he said 10
35:47years ago everyone thought translators
35:49will be replaced by Mt but in reality
35:52business has probably increased for you
35:54guys in those 10
35:55years now there is a
35:58yeah there is in the business the the
36:01localization industry has definitely
36:03increased increased like fivefold
36:05probably but that doesn't necessarily
36:07mean that it has increased for
36:09translators because in with that you get
36:12a lot of uh price pressure a lot of um
36:15just uh demand that is
36:20unreasonably met by people working for
36:22peanuts literally so it's a positive a
36:26positive growth of the industry doesn't
36:28necessarily reflect something good for
36:30the individual right uh but there is
36:33definitely ways that you can incorporate
36:36uh tools into your daily life to become
36:38more efficient while still promoting
36:41proficiency professionalism in the
36:42industry as well yeah and and just to
36:46add to that and I think in a way like
36:48he's right because before chat GPT it
36:50was Google translate before that and
36:52they're being translated before that
36:53people there was a Skype Translate and
36:55there was always some type of like AI
36:57that was going to make translation
36:58Obsolete and uh and yet it's still here
37:01um I think you're right about in terms
37:03of the fragmented market and um not to
37:06get too much into it but I really feel
37:09like this is what chat GPT and things
37:12like it do is it sort of separates the
37:14market in that you're you're going to
37:16have people doing stuff for really cheap
37:17because they probably use chat GPT and
37:19they you know whatever they turn out
37:21they turn out and you know there's some
37:23big agencies that'll keep doing that and
37:25uh and yeah that'll that'll happen but
37:26at the same time
37:28you do have people who want good
37:29translators in their niche market and
37:31know what they're doing I deal with end
37:33clients and literally 100% of the end
37:37clients that I deal with uh law firms
37:39Banks you know uh corporations literally
37:42100% of them you know know that chat GPT
37:45is not perfect like that it makes
37:46mistakes that they cannot rely on on it
37:48and you know so when people say oh they
37:50don't want translators anymore because
37:51they all use chat GT they know not to
37:53use it but they also know that
37:55translators if you know these
37:57translators like can waste their time
38:00and money uh by um by basically spitting
38:03out stuff that also needs to be
38:05corrected and so um so I think being
38:08able to Niche yourself I keep saying
38:10that but yeah being able to do that and
38:12uh really be really good at what you do
38:14and add value um you know that's where
38:17uh the growth and the money is going to
38:19be and uh and so I do think it's good to
38:23you know keep that as a goal for the
38:25long term
38:27and if you want to uh incorporate Mt
38:30into your daily workflow I would say
38:32focus on two main things one is
38:34transparency and one is
38:36confidentiality you can do the latter by
38:39buying a tool buying a software and
38:41actually paying for the subscription
38:43because then at least you have the
38:44encryption behind it of course you're
38:46still providing a company with data I
38:49mean there's a whole yeah that that's
38:51another question they can say as much as
38:53they want that they will not look at it
38:55you are giving your client data away
38:57yeah uh and transparency is really
38:59important because I as a buyer I would
39:02not want post editing if I'm not buying
39:05post editing right so I'm very
39:06transparent with my client if I see a
39:08use case that is very very like ideal
39:12for Mt then I will just tell my client
39:14look for this case it makes sense to do
39:17posted thing because this is a
39:18standardized text there is no creative
39:20writing um it's it's very straight to
39:23the point it's basically literal
39:25translation word for word uh I will do
39:28this post editing what you then do is
39:30you you show transparency you show like
39:33okay this guy actually cares about our
39:35bottom line so we can save a bit on this
39:38job and then in the next job that is
39:40probably going to be more creative they
39:42trust you more with your judgment
39:43because you can show them that you're
39:45willing to say when it actually makes
39:47sense to use Mt that's my Approach
39:50obviously that doesn't work when you're
39:51starting out and working with big
39:53agencies uh all these advice are for
39:56more down the line of
39:59course yeah I agree 100% I also want to
40:02make a correction actually my thing
40:04wasn't up to date the earthquake that
40:06happened during the thing was a
40:095.3 what that's really big yeah so
40:13that's so I I feel Justified and
40:16feeling yeah scared so now I'm gonna I'm
40:19gonna title this video earthquake life
40:22on
40:24there that it flustered me a bit
40:28okay well glad you're okay we are at 40
40:32minutes so maybe we can take one more
40:34question let me just check the comments
40:36UK is saying he's watching from turkey
40:38or she I don't know very nice
40:41hello
40:43uh this above I didn't miss anything
40:46hopefully if I missed anything I'm
40:48sorry
40:49um Chase Smith speaking of tools do
40:53either if you do either of you know a
40:56good tool to accurate reproduce
40:58formatting of non-editable
41:01PDFs I do this manually by word but it's
41:04very time
41:06consuming ah so you mean making word
41:09making PDFs
41:11editable um yeah maybe yeah desktop
41:14publishing kind of yeah exactly that's
41:17that's a whole another service right I
41:19don't have an answer to that I don't
41:20know if you offer this Robert no and in
41:23fact I uh when I was a translator I I
41:25kind of specifically said that I'm you
41:27know I don't offer dtp services
41:30unfortunately and so um so yeah you know
41:33uh what I ended up doing for some people
41:35who needed yeah financial statements and
41:37stuff is just do it on Excel and kind of
41:38copy and paste it into word um but uh
41:42but no sorry I I know very little even
41:45even now about yeah whenever I have
41:48uneditable text I always go back to the
41:51client and say you I need either I need
41:53an editable format or I can do a
41:55translation but they will I will just
41:57add comments in the PDF you know with
42:00the with the comment function and just
42:02add it there like that but I've never
42:04done duplicate or a transcript or
42:06something right and if if it means about
42:09parsing out the text from like an image
42:12PDF or something like that then you can
42:13use an what's called an OCR on optical
42:16character recognition tool um the one I
42:19use is online .netks
42:27kind of detects the text you pick which
42:29language and and the the one online.net
42:32is quite good I find um okay I think
42:35that's okay yeah and Robin just answered
42:39you as well J Smith so maybe check his
42:43answer okay maybe you have a last one
42:46that we can yeah I I have a couple I
42:49didn't get to yeah let me do the last
42:51one
42:52um uh here um what is
42:57high in demand in Translation and
42:59subtitling Industry in
43:012024 um now and and I I I'm picking this
43:05one because uh I think it's the wrong
43:08question and I get this a lot people ask
43:10me what what's high in demand in terms
43:12of specialization or even language
43:14combination and stuff like that and I
43:16think um the problem with high in demand
43:18is that it's high in Supply as well and
43:20so if you're set starting out there
43:23they're going to be a million and a half
43:24other people uh trying to do the same
43:26thing but but if you have something
43:27that's a bit more rare um you know then
43:31it can be like you know if you do like
43:33say German and English they're quite
43:35popular and you know so you can find
43:37clients but you also have other German
43:38to English translators if you're just
43:39entering the market now you you know
43:41you'll have Adrian probes to you know
43:43and uh and he's he's your competition
43:45and you don't want that but if uh if you
43:47have like German to um I don't know you
43:50know Lithuanian or uh or you know even
43:53something like Portuguese you might say
43:55well it's not a big enough market
43:57except um you know that way right away
44:00you can be well known in that industry
44:02and and the same goes for
44:03specializations I think looking for
44:05what's high in demand is sort of the
44:06wrong way to look at it um and yeah
44:09maybe at the beginning you kind of you
44:10know because you're you're kind of
44:11seeing what sticks but I think you want
44:14to focus on what you can be good at and
44:17in fact if it's not high in demand all
44:19the better you know all you need is you
44:21know three four five regular clients and
44:24you're earning a great living you know
44:26um
44:27and uh with with what you do and so you
44:29don't need a place where there are you
44:31know 2,000 different clients uh and and
44:34but you have all the competition for
44:35them that that's my opinion I don't know
44:38what what what you absolutely yeah
44:40that's a good answer yeah I I didn't
44:42think of it from this angle but you're
44:44absolutely right I once made a video
44:46about the highest paid language
44:48combinations in in the industry and I
44:51just gathered information from other
44:52articles you know and from experience
44:54and I made a top 10 list but then I very
44:57specifically said that it doesn't M it's
45:00it's not at all a negative thing if your
45:02language is not in this list right it
45:04can actually be a positive thing right
45:06because like it if if if your language
45:10is very much in demand no it was in
45:12demand not highest paid sorry it was in
45:14demand but let's say probably Spanish
45:17and Arabic I would say are probably one
45:20of the top in demand but that doesn't
45:22mean that the market is not really
45:24stable in that area right where
45:27Icelandic is not in demand at all but if
45:29you can be even just one of the top
45:33Icelandic translators you can charge a
45:34lot of money so in demand is is indeed
45:37not the right approach to go uh that's
45:40that's also something that people ask
45:42themselves like when they think about
45:44what what university subject to study
45:46for example a lot of people would just
45:48go into you know what is currently in
45:51demand or just go for business because
45:53it's it's a good it's a good way to go
45:55because it's always in demand but then
45:57what if you hate it right you don't want
45:59to spend uh hours like we we spend so
46:03much time working in our life so you
46:04don't want to spend all these hours into
46:06something that you don't really enjoy uh
46:09of course you can always you know pivot
46:11your specialization later on I never
46:13started out as a sports translator it
46:15just happened naturally I kind of made
46:18the same mistake I went for it in the
46:20beginning because I thought that's
46:22that's currently in demand but then if
46:24there are so many people that are better
46:26than you out there if you're just going
46:28after In Demand right you need to go
46:30after your experience your expertise and
46:32your passion and then it's much easier
46:34to get to the
46:36top yeah when and and I forgot to
46:39mention sorry the question was by Vivian
46:42uh
46:43vh4 MD probably not the answer that she
46:47wanted but yeah sorry but uh yeah that's
46:51um hopefully it helps still yeah okay
46:55perfect I think we're coming to an end
46:57thank you so much Robert for
46:59joining um May yeah you you said you
47:02will also upload it to your channel
47:03right so people can yeah exactly and and
47:08yeah thank you for having me and sorry
47:10and thank you for accommodating for the
47:11time schedule uh hopefully it was uh
47:14okay yeah yeah had a nice viewership it
47:17was no problem and now I'm off for the
47:19end of for the rest of the day so that's
47:21nice yeah oh you're going back back back
47:24to the motherland aren't you exactly am
47:27the train in a few hours excellent yeah
47:31okay thanks everyone for for watching
47:34nice that you were here nice that you
47:36made time great clife thanks for great
47:38info thanks guys have a great day Robert
47:40I've already emailed you okay oh wow
47:44cool yeah okay this was amazing yeah it
47:48was awesome thanks for having
47:51me take care everyone have a nice day
47:54and I see you next week bye byee bye SA
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