Webinar: Pricing Strategies for Translators and Interpreters

In 2010, the American Translators Association started offering webinars, and they've proven to be hugely successful. Judy is honored to present yet another webinar for the ATA. It's all about pricing strategies for both translators and interpreters around the world. For more details, please visit the ATA's webinar page. The one-hour webinar will be held on February 29, 2012 at 12 noon Eastern. The cost is $35 for ATA members and $50 for non-members.


Here is the presentation abstract:

Pricing is a controversial and complex subject, and it’s one that all linguists need to think about very seriously. In order to make a good living in the profession that we love, it’s essential to figure out how to price our services. It's not about the price someone tells you to charge, but rather what do you want to make and how do you get there.

The webinar will cover:

• How much do you want to make?
• Moral/ethical obligations?
• Brief overview of supply, demand and price
• The peanuts/monkeys phenomenon
• Alternatives to very low prices for newcomers to the profession
• The business case for no free translation tests
• Surcharges (weekend, 24-hour turnaround, PDF, etc.)
• Dealing with adversity
• Adjustments for inflation

In compliance with U.S. anti-trust law, no specific price recommendations will be made during the webinar. 

Language Access Position: Barton Memorial Hospital (South Lake Tahoe, CA)

We just received this job posting from a friend of ours -- it's a 3/5 position and you'd have a very nice boss (trust us). The job is at Barton Memorial Hospital in gorgeous South Lake Tahoe, CA. To apply, please start here and click on "employment search" and then select the "professional" option. The job title is Language Access Services Assistant.

Read on for more information:

LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES ASSISTANT
Department:	LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES
Schedule:	Part Time
Shift:	Variable
Hours:	Variable days and schedule, 8-hour shifts

POSITION OVERVIEW

• Assists coordination with Language Access Services (LAS), including in-house Medical Interpreters, Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) interpreters, telephonic interpreting, remote video interpreting, and written translation system-wide.Assists organization with continuing education of LAS staff; coaches, mentors and develops the skills of LAS staff. 
• Provides training to providers and staff, including new employees, on the procedure for requesting interpreters and written translation, as well as on methods for working effectively with an interpreter.
• Follows National Council on Interpreting in HealthCare (NCIHC) Code of Ethics and California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA) standards; ensures services are consistent with the standards of BMH and JCAHO and other regulatory bodies.
• Assists and monitors the interpreter productivity and tracking system.
• Serves as back up for interpreters/translators when necessary.
• Works collaboratively with other Barton University administrative staff and other stakeholders to coordinate the content and scheduling of LAS courses, services and programs; utilizes support services and operates within budget parameters.
• Reports to the Director of Education/LAS Coordinator. 

 MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• High School Degree or equivalent. Bachelor’s degree in nursing, business, education, social work, sociology or related field preferred
• Computer literate: Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint.
• Bilingual, bicultural, 40 hour medical interpreting course certificate preferred. National Certification for Medical Interpreter highly recommended or ability to obtain within one year.
• Sufficient computer skills as are required to complete an online application and the pre-employment/annual Net Learning requirements
• In compliance with patient safety standards, must be able to effectively communicate in English; Bilingual abilities preferre

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of the position without compromising services.
• Prolonged, extensive or considerable standing/walking/sitting
• Considerable reaching, stooping, bending, kneeling, crouching
• Must be able to lift a minimum of 25 lbs.
• Routine Office/Administrative conditions
• Contact with patients and guests under a wide variety of circumstances
• Potential for exposure to the risk of infections and bloodborne and contagious diseases
• Subject to varying and unpredictable situations, including the handling of emergency or crisis situations
• Subject to pressure due to irregular hours, frequent interruptions and stressful situations due to multiple demands 
• (1) High School Diploma or equivalent
• Minimum 2+ Years Relevant Experience Required

$100 in Google Adwords

We honestly don't know why Google keeps on sending us so many free certificates for $100 in Google AdWords for new users, but we will take them. As usual, we will raffle off the certificate to a colleague (freelancers only, please) who answers one question correctly. We will e-mail the access code to the winning person so he or she can get started with Google AdWords. The certificate expires March 31, 2012.

Here's the question: where was this picture taken? Hint: it was taken in the continental U.S. Give us the state/city/area, and you will win the prize!

Jobs: Review and Translation Coordinator at Kiva

Please read on for a translation job opening in San Francisco, which we received from our friends at Kiva. 

Kiva is currently recruiting for a Review and Translation Coordinator to support our volunteer translation program. We are looking for a Native or near-native English speaker with fluency in French, Russian or Spanish. Knowledge of more than one Kiva language (French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish) is a plus. The ideal candidate would have 2+ years of professional translation experience and/or a certificate or degree in translation. The full job description is below.

Please pass this along to anyone you think might be qualified/interested. Applicants should email their cover letter and resume to jobs@kiva.org with “Review and Translation Coordinator” in the subject line by Feb. 27, 2012.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Review and Translation Coordinator

Position: Review and Translation Coordinator
Location: San Francisco, CA – SOMA
Job Type: Full time with salary plus benefits.
Contact:  jobs@kiva.org

The Company
Called the "hottest non-profit on the planet" by FORTUNE magazine and a Top 50 Website by TIME, Kiva (www.kiva.org) is the world's first person-to-person lending marketplace for the poor. In just 5 years, Kiva has raised $250 million from 600k lenders to 600k borrowers in 60 countries. Kiva combines the culture and approach of an internet start-up with an intense focus on alleviating global poverty. Kiva is poised to take its initial success to a whole new level - targeting $1 billion in loans by 2015 and expansion into new areas (e.g. student loans, climate change, etc.). Headquartered in San Francisco, Kiva's team has 100 smart, passionate, and fun employees and 500+ volunteers. 

The Job Description

The Review and Translation Coordinator helps manage the preparation of loan content for the Kiva website, working with a large team of skilled volunteers to deliver translated and verified loan profiles for funding by Kiva lenders. The Review and Translation Coordinator is responsible for directly managing the volunteer Team Leaders of several teams of translators; coordinating the screening, testing, and onboarding of new volunteers; supporting established procedures for volunteer recognition and community development; and handling various other tasks to support overall program effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Loan review and Team Leader management
• Monitor unreviewed loan volume and motivate teams to translate/review required volume
• Manage review for new and special case Kiva Field Partners
• Manage up to 10 Loan Review Team Leaders (corresponds to team of  250+ volunteers)
• Support Team Leader responses to volunteer queries on loan policy, Kiva processes, translation techniques, terminology, and volunteer involvement
• Lead initial Team Leader trainings, along with other Review & Translation Program staff
• Manage format for quarterly conference calls and lead quarterly one-on-one calls with Team Leaders
• Provide technical support for Kiva systems to Team Leaders
• Participate in planning for volunteer and Team Leader coverage for the holiday season

• Translator  recruitment, testing, and onboarding
• Develop recruitment network that can be leveraged to increase flow of volunteers for specific language needs
• Screen translator applications and manage recruitment and screening messages in Kiva systems
• Manage language test evaluation process personally or with external test evaluators
• Manage onboarding process for translation volunteers, including accepted, rejected, and wait listed applicants

• Volunteer support,  linguistic standards, and community engagement
• Develop volunteer resources and provide technical support for Kiva’s review and translation systems

o   Monitor industry practices in linguistic technology, crowdsourcing, and translation and advise on program scaling

• Plan and coordinate volunteer recognition events, work parties, and trainings

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Native or near-native English speaker with fluency in French, Russian, or Spanish
• 2+ years professional translation experience and/or a certificate or degree in translation
• Experience in project management, preferably in the translation or localization industry
• Excellent people skills with friendly and motivational communication style
• Adept with new technologies
• Creative problem-solver who is interested in innovation and enjoys a high-growth environment

Preferred

• Knowledge of more than one Kiva language (Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese)
• Established network within translation / localization industry
• Experience managing volunteers or remote teams

Compensation & Benefits

·         Generous benefits, including health insurance and 401(k) plan with company match

·         Flexible work environment, but must live in Bay Area and work out of San Francisco office

• Knowing that you're helping to change the world for the better

If interested

• Email cover letter and resume to jobs@kiva.org with “Review and Translation Coordinator” in the subject line by Feb. 27, 2012.
• Please do not contact Kiva directly with any questions or follow-up inquiries. We regret that we can only respond to candidates whom we would like to interview.

Receiving Gifts: Input Needed

A few weeks ago, Judy did an escort interpreting assignment for one of her favorite clients, and we'd love to get our readers' and colleagues' opinion on a small, but important issue. Here's her story.

Our charming clients, the owners of a company that imports building materials from China to Argentina, were in town to attend a large trade show in Vegas. They met with many of their suppliers, all of them Chinese, who were delighted to see them (our client, let's call him Mr. Building, is a very good customer of these Chinese companies). Mr. Building and his very nice wife do not speak much English, which is where I come in as a Spanish<->English escort interpreter. We mainly go to vendors' booths to talk about price, and the conversations can get quite heated. As you might imagine, the Chinese vendors are not fluent in English, so many times, I wish we had a Chinese->English interpreter, but I digress.

Mr.Building and I have developed a solid working relationship throughout the years, and this is the third trade show in a row at which we have worked together. Many of the vendors are the same every year as well. Mr. Building highly values one of his main suppliers, and it's usually one of the first booths we visit. Once I met up with Mr. and Mrs. Building, they made sure to tell me that they'd already visited their favorite vendor, but had agreed to come back with their interpreter (me) so they could start talking business. Ms. Building also told me that the vendor wanted to give me a gift. Insisting that it was not necessary to give the interpreter a gift was met with much resistance -- my clients insisted that their client insisted on giving me a gift.

Now, I am not very familiar with Chinese culture, and I wasn't sure about gift-receiving etiquette in the Chinese culture. Should I open the gift right there and then or take it home and then comment on it the next day? I wasn't sure, and the gift was presented to me as we were leaving the booth, which was full of people. It was evident from both the bag and the box what it was -- a gorgeous, long pearl necklace -- and all I managed to do was an awkward little bow. The vendor also had to rush to the next meeting, so luckily I didn't have to fret about whether or not I should open the gift. However, should I have stayed and opened it in her presence? What would you have done? 

I did end up going back with my clients the next day -- just to say hello to the vendor, as I was hoping we would. My solution: I wore the beautiful necklace, which the vendor noticed immediately. I told her how much I liked it and made sure to thank her again. I could tell she was very happy I was wearing it.

Dear readers: how would you have handled this situation? Is there any particular way the Chinese expect foreigners to behave when receiving gifts? We'd love to learn from anyone who wants to share their input by leaving a comment. 

Temporary Translation Position (German and Dutch) in Seattle: Expedia

Through one of the ATA listservs, we heard about this six-week job with Expedia in Seattle. Read on for more information.

German or Dutch Language Translators Needed

Position:
Support the Paid Search Online Marketing Channel at Expedia! We are looking for localization specialists for German and Dutch that could translate thousands of destination names, landmarks, airports, and train stations. The project impacts multi-million dollars to the bottom line and we want you to be part of this!

Requirements:
- Localization experience
- Microsoft Excel knowledge
- Native Speaker or PhD Graduate in Language Specialty
- Familiarity with destination names worldwide in native language
- Hard working individual
- Specialize in one of the following languages:
o Dutch
o German
Details:
- Competitive pay
- Timeframe: 6 weeks
- Short-term project
- Location: Bellevue, WA


Company:
Expedia delivers consumers everything they need for researching, planning, and purchasing a whole trip. The company provides direct access to one of the broadest selections of travel products and services through its North American Web site, localized versions throughout Europe, and extensive partnerships in Asia. Expedia serves many different consumer segments — from families booking a summer vacation to individuals arranging a quick weekend getaway. www.Expedia.com

To Apply:
Please send your résumé to apply for this position.

Jobs: Latino Online Media Job in Seattle

A good friend of ours, who works in online media in Seattle, just sent us this job posting. We don't have more information but what's listed below, but it sure does look like a fantastic opportunity. This is a full-time position in gorgeous Seattle, Washington.

If you are interested, please e-mail your résumé and contact information to Greg and put "Latino Online Media Job in Seattle" in the subject line. 

Here is the job posting:

Are you a Spanish speaker with a passion for search? Are you on top of current events and popular culture? Can you turn ordinary words into short sparkling headlines? If so, then you may be the person we need.

Major search engine/media portal is looking for a Spanish language editor to join our team working on homepage as well as other projects.  In this role, you will write engaging text, crafting an editorial calendar, researching dynamic photography, and work closely with a variety of partners to ensure the highest quality experience for our customers.

You must be able to handle multiple editorial and programming responsibilities concurrently, and work well under regular deadline pressure in a constantly evolving environment. Some weekend hours are required in this position.  Also desirable:  Some knowledge of basic HTML and content management systems.

Job duties

·        Select visually appealing images and write short, engaging text that entices users to click through to great results.

·        Edit photos using advanced Photoshop techniques to enhance the image where necessary.

·        Work closely with the US homepage team and other project editors to ensure high-quality, relevant content is surfaced. 

·        Maintain an editorial calendar of events relevant to the Latino audience.

·        Edit content written by others.

·        Participate in creative editorial reviews.

·        Contribute to other projects as needed.

In this role, you need to have

·        Strong editorial experience working as an editor or writer in a daily Web publishing environment

·        Excellent writing skills including headline and caption writing with flawless spelling and grammar in Spanish

·        A strong background in online research and experience making valid evaluations of quality either as a reviewer or editor. 

·        Ability to convey features and functions in concise meaningful words

·        Thorough understanding of online editorial best practices and priorities

·        Ability to use online content management systems and web tracking and reporting tools

·        Great interpersonal skills; strong partner management experience

·        A sense of humor

And you need to be

·        Proactive, organized, easily able to multitask and comfortable making decisions in a fast-paced environment

·        Detail-oriented, with great follow-through

·        Committed to consistently delivering quality work

·        Comfortable working in a collaborative team environment or, as needs dictate, in an independent, autonomous role

Middlebury College Questions: Answered

One of our colleagues, Prof. Karin Hanta, recently contacted us to see if we would be willing to participate in an interview project in her translation studies class at prestigious liberal arts school Middlebury College in Vermont. Of course, we were happy to do so, and decided to post our answers here for the benefit of other students who might have similar questions. Here's our Q&A with Middlebury freshman Greta Olivares, who grew up bilingually -- just like we did.

Question: How did you get into translation?

Growing up bilingually, we always thought we would work with languages. When we were 12, we decided, while riding the school bus in Mexico City, that we would once own a company called "Jenner+Jenner Cross-Cultural Consulting." Turns out we own a company very similar to that now. We started translating in college.  Judy was the editor of a bilingual newspaper for high school students with a circulation of 30,000, where she translated extensively. Dagy started our European company in 2002. At the same time, Judy received an offer to run the Spanish translation department at a large travel website, and took the job to get through the first year of entrepreneurship. The job was so great that she ended up staying much longer than we both wanted, but we've finally been able to run our business full-time together since 2008. From 2002 until 2008, Dagy worked  full-time, while Judy worked on our business part-time.

Question: How did you chose your other languages (English and French)? How are you able to maintain an equal mastery over all of them?

The languages chose us. English was the third language that was being taught in our school, the German School Alexander von Humboldt in Mexico City, and we were lucky enough to spend many summers in the US when we were teenagers. In additon, our mom has a graduate degree in English literature, and our dad did a lot of business in the US, so English was a natural fit. As for French, when Dagy decided to pursue a degree in languages, she wanted to challenge herself and chose to add a fourth language. She spent a semester in Tours, France, and makes frequent trips to France to keep her language skills current. Judy does not speak a word of French (well, maybe two or three). We keep our language skill fresh by traveling and reading extensively. Travel is probably our main business expense, and we immersed ourselves in the Spanish language again last year by working from South America (Chile and Argentina) for more than a month. Dagy spends at least a month in the US every  year working on her American idioms, and Judy speaks German during her annual trips to Austria. When we speak to each other, we mainly speak Spanish, but mix in some German and English -- sometimes in the same sentence. It's our twin language! We read at least 50 books a year in our three (or four) languages, listen to satellite radio in all our languages and speak our languages as much as we can. Judy lives in the American Southwest, so she speaks a lot of Spanish during the normal course of her day. And for the record: while Dagy's French is very good, it's not at the same level as her other three languages. 

Question: What is a normal translation process for you?

We both acquire clients at roughly the same rate and tackle every translation project as a team. We have a pretty well-developed five-step quality assurance process, and we don't deliver any project, even if it's just a paragraph, without having put it through the QA process. We communicate well throughout the translation process and have many lively discussions about tricky linguistic issues. 

Question: Do you find that one is better for one part of the translation process it and the other is better for another part?

While we are identical twins, there are a few differences. Dagy is the better researcher and has more patience with terminology lists. Judy is better at client acquisition, since she's more outgoing and truly enjoys meeting with people. Dagy is better at writing short e-mails to clients and is a master at managing our client relationships. Dagy is also better at looking out for our business interests, while Judy has a tendency to say "yes" to more things. Dagy is the faster translator, and Judy has a bit more patience when it comes to dealing with challenging customers, which are few and far in between.

Question: Which of the services that you offer do you enjoy the most?

Whew, you had to ask a difficult question. We are translators at heart, but we are really enjoying interpreting -- conference interpreting for Dagy and court and escort interpreting for Judy. We also have a lot of fun with our copywriting projects, and we really love the fact that no day is ever the same.

Iraqi Interpreters: Petition

A few weeks ago, we started following Linda Wesson of Clovis, CA on Twitter. Her tweets all centered around one thing: the difficulties of Iraqi interpreters. We are always interested in anything related to interpreters, and we requested more information from Linda. After doing some research, we feel that there are many layers to this that we haven't fully understood yet, but Linda has started a petition to get protection for Iraqi interpreters who are receiving death threats for their role in the conflict. The Americans have largely left, but their interpreters are in a very vulnerable position. At this point, we are still mulling over this issue, but wanted to share the details with our colleagues around the world. 

We had been taught that war-time interpreters, who risk their lives to do their jobs, wear masks to keep their identities a secret and to protect their lives after the conflict is over. Apparently, this wasn't done in Iraq. We'd love to learn more about why that happened, but have not been able to find more information. Allegedly, the US had promised visas (so-called "Special Immigrant Visas") to Iraqi interpreters (and other contractors) who are experiencing ongoing serious threat because of their collaboration with the American government. The reality now is that interpreters have to wait for years to get their visas processed while their lives are in danger. There are many things wrong with this equation, but this is a very complex issue, and clearly, we don't know enough. Many people risk their lives in war zones, and we presume these brave interpreters did so voluntarily, and if they were promised immigrant visas, then the US should certainly follow through on that promise. It appears that the process is taking much longer than expected, which is really turning into a life/death issue for  many interpreters. Linda has started a petition that you may sign here if you are so inclined. Linda has no connection to the world of T&I -- she is just passionate about this particular issue and is working very hard to spread the word. Have a look at her blog here. 

The Los Angeles Times has published an article about the struggles Iraqi interpreters face. You can read it here. In addition, Human Rights First wrote about this last year. 

So you think you had a tough day interpreting in court or at a challenging conference? Take it with a grain of salt: at least you are not receiving death threats.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, dear colleagues!

Jobs: Senior Spanish Content Editor

While this job is not in translation per se, we think it would be a great position for one of our Spanish-speaking colleagues. The job description is eerily similar to Judy's previous job at a travel website (although her position included heading the translation team), and it sounds quite interesting. If you are a native Spanish speaker, have extensive online writing experience and are a whiz at working with content management systems, then this six-month position might be a fit for you. It can either be in New York City or Miami.

We have no connection to the poster of this position -- actually, the company name is hidden -- but we heard about this position from a friend of Judy's and wanted to share it with our readers. For more information, please click here.