Work-Experience Contract

While you are studying it is advisable to do some work experience in companies in order to gain experience and in order to stand out from other candidates when you are applying for your first job. You can secure work experience in a variety of ways:

• Working at an NGO that needs your translation services.
• Applying for work experience at the employment agency at university.
• Placement at European Union institutions or other international organizations
  • http://europa.eu/youth/working/traineeships/index_eu_es.html
  • http://www.europarl.es/eurojoven/practicas.html
• Placements at European companies with grants from the government.
  • http://www.becasargo.net/
  • http://www.becasfaro.net/home.php
•  Other grants are available for students who have finished their degree or post-graduate studies.
  • http://www.micinn.es/universidades/convocatorias/index.html

Further information about grants in the training section.

Employment Contracts

In order to secure a contract of employment you can look for employment at:

• Employment agency at your university
• Employment agency belonging to a translators’ association
• Translation Agencies. Using the Internet you can find lists of translation agencies where you can find the e-mail addresses and send your C.V. Here you can regularly check the translation job vacancies depending on the language pairings and experience.
• Publishing companies or other multinational companies. Using the Internet you can use different search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Altavista in order to check the companies that need a professional translator. Send your profile or cover letter and C.V. to the Human Resources Department to be considered.
• Advertisements for job vacancies using pages such as Infojobs, or for more specialised translation use sites such as Translator-Jobs or in this portal in the section calles Jobbalú.
• Add you curriculum to translators’ directories because many translators use them for finding a translator. One of the most popular is ProZ, or you can add you curriculum to the directory that your translation association offers.
• Ask colleagues who are over-worked

Practical advice

• When presenting yourself to a company, write a well-presented, one-page cover letter offering your services. Explain what you offer and why you can be useful to the company. Outline your best skills: knowledge of the sector, experience, competitive rates, fast worker, good quality, linguistic advice, etc.
• If you do not yet have a business card, this is a good time to get one, as well as a logo and a commercial letter. Send a card with your letters because recipient may sometimes throw the letter away but the keep the card in their card holder. If you have a web page do not forget to mention it on your business cards and on your curriculum vitae.
• Create your own web page. Nowadays it is one of the best options, because we live in the telecommunications and Internet age. When you can offer your services on a web page it shows professionalism and inspires confidence in the client. Furthermore, you must not forget that a web page is a door that is open 24 hours a day, leading you to possible job vacancies all over the world. If you require a trustworthy company which offers quality, try: http://www.brico-web.com/
• Try to have your telephone on always and check your e-mails every day.
• Make a list of contacts with information regarding clients and some references. Always keep a good relationship with them. Maybe the company where you started or the client who generally only sends translations now and again will become one of your greatest sources of income.
• You should realise that during the first few years you may not be able to be too selective. Accept work that you think that you are able to do, whether you fancy doing it or not.
• Do not agree to a deadline or rate without seeing the kind of translation that you are required to do and without judging its difficulty.