Starting out as a freelance translator can feel really daunting; working for yourself means working alone and it can be hard to know where to look for jobs or even where to ask for help. This is exactly why I decided to launch my mentoring programme! In my first year of freelancing, I found it helpful to talk to other, more experienced translators who could give me tips on finding clients, organising my finances, and finding a work-life balance. However, I still had to find out many things for myself, so I have combined all my best advice for new freelance translators into a mentoring package! You can check out more details on my education page or email me at verity.roat@cantab.net to set up a meeting.
On this theme, I thought it would be helpful this week to talk about some of the Facebook Groups for Translators that I have found super useful in my first couple of years as a freelance translator. Some of them are just for fun, some are for asking queries about translations in certain language combinations, and some are for advertising jobs. I would recommend joining them if you’re a translator who’s just starting out because they will help you find like-minded professionals who can help you in your career.
Jobs and clients
If you’re looking for translation jobs or asking for feedback on potential clients, these groups will help!
The Standing Out Exchange and Standing Up Exchange
These two oddly similarly named groups are where translators can post about jobs that they may not be able to take on. You also occasionally get agency reps posting jobs too.
Speaking Dolphins
This is a group just for translators; no agencies allowed. When working with a new agency, you can ask its members for their feedback on how the agency was to work with.
Queries for French and Arabic <> English translators
If you work with either (or both) of these language combinations and are struggling with a particular phrase, these two groups can be super useful:
FR<>EN Translators
Arabic<–>English Literary Translators
General
These groups are for asking questions about being a freelance translator, socialising, asking queries about translating phrases and posting jobs.
Translation Tools
In this group, you can ask others about what tools they use for translation. From software to hardware, the members have got you covered!
Marketing for Wordsmiths
This group is all about how to market yourself as a translator. Ask for tips and ideas from other translators.
Mentoring for Translators
This group is run by Virginia Katsimipiri and includes lots of useful videos and Q&As.
Translators and Interpreters (Proz.com)
This serves as a companion to the Proz website, where you can ask other translators for their advice.
Standing Up
Standing Up is a group just for translators. You can ask other group members any questions you have about translation, working with certain agencies and more!
Fun
We all need to have fun sometimes and let our hair down. As freelancers, we can’t go to the pub with our colleagues after work, so these groups are the next best thing!
Translators with CATs and Translators with DOG Tools
Riffing off the fact that most translators use a CAT tool, these groups allow members to share cute pictures of their office pets!
Things Translators Never Say
This group is the perfect place to vent your frustrations about being a translator by finally saying what you would never say!
Foodie Translators
A place where food and drink translators can ask each other questions and just bond over a love of food.
Polyglot Memes
My favourite place on the internet for finding language memes to post on my social media.
I would highly recommend joining these groups if they appeal because they’ve all helped me in the first two years of my career. Maybe I’ll see you there!
And if you are interested in my mentoring programme, get in touch with me on verity.roat@cantab.net.
verityroatlanguagesolutions.com 