“la parole exportée”

My previous post on a new way I’m looking at for designing a translation/conference interpreting resume has attracted so many visitors recently, that I want to stop for a minute and give an update to those who are interested in its making.

photo credit: CJ Sorg

What am I trying to achieve?

Thanks to a client who has given me a list of contacts, I am trying to produce a powerful tool to attract these contacts’ attention by e-mail, other than the plain: ‘I am writing to you at so-and-so’s recommendation, and I would like you to read my resume….’

But I don’t want to use the e-mail itself as the tool. I take it that these people are very busy, and I need to arise their curiosity, but not by making them read two pages of boring stuff, that they will not read in its entirety. Of course, I’m the best! So I want to give them the choice to click on a link that makes some kind of lasting impression on them, that they can decide to read fully now or save for later, discard or retain, but preferably retain and forward to an interested party.

Why am I doing it?

I haven’t had to supply a resume in many years, except as a perfunctory way to prove that translation was indeed my job, not a sideline as is so often the case. This means that the last time I had to come up with a ‘real’ resume was about 4 years ago, and it was the first time in many many years.

Most of my marketing, whether for translation or conference interpreting, is usually of the viral kind, and I don’t have to do anything about it. Because I am not a translation agency, I don’t have to endlessly market my services to complete strangers. One client will have a colleague in the same company or field, who happens to need a translator, and that’s how they reach me. It might be because they are not happy with their current vendor, or because they have no clue on how to find a good translator, so they rely on their colleagues’ opinions. At one point, I had four different entry-points within one company, and I am still on their ‘preferred vendors’ list, although that does not generate an endless string of projects.

Furthermore, the status of professionals like me in France means that we are not normally allowed (understand: we cannot deduct as expenses) advertising costs. This is enough to stop anyone from using that usually costly channel, and this is why we usually end up having lame and/or boring resumes. That’s the reason why I don’t have a proper website yet, I want to ‘do it well’.

Incidentally, the good point about designing a resume later in your working life is that you have enough experience that enables you to sift through it in order to come up with the most essential and hopefully interesting points. I read one resume posted on a website recently by an apparently very young translator, and I realized how you can kill your own image by overdoing it. Unfortunately, as a seasoned professional, I would not feel inclined to outsource jobs to that person, because the resume is simply not credible. If I did, I would have to be extremely cautious, or extremely lucky.

So: what about the When and the How?

I’m still working on it when my workload permits, but not rushing it means that I am gathering very interesting feedback and insights from exchanging with visitors. Some of this is taking me way beyond the famous comfort zone, yet I’m willing to explore and experiment.

As the saying goes… watch this space!

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from Behance Magazine’s Glossary:

“Without compromising your passion and integrity, professionalism will enable you to be respected, better understood, develop partnerships, and raise funds to further your work.”

So there’s hope after all, for those of us who practice their chosen mission with passion…

However irritating the French may appear to the rest of the world at times, one of the few things that are really appreciated in some remote countries, Japan, for instance, is French pop singers.

Here is an example of a song that traveled worldwide, to strike a lighter note on this day of francophonie, when official speeches are better left at the door.

In 1965, an obscure 18-year-old, France Gall, won the Eurovision contest with a song written by the great Serge Gainsbourg. It can’t have been too strenuous for him, but it was an instant success. I remember how my friends and I would spend every recess singing (well… shouting) this with youthful enthusiasm.

The first video clip is a copy of the original recording.

A recent Japanese version, by Ishikawa Rika. She is so sweet, putting all her energy into pronouncing those terribly difficult words, yet with such a smile:

photo credit: openDemocracy

As a citizen of Europe, I am convinced that every effort made to bring together our diverse identities deserves to be mentioned, and this is often made possible through language learning and/or translations.

Cafebabel.com is an online European magazine, a network of blogs that discuss topics related to life in Europe. The Paris blog has, for instance, a post on France and Europe. Some of you may be aware that the second half of 2008 will be dominated by the French E.U. Presidency. Don’t expect to miss it, as the French government is already actively (how else?) preparing for it.

You may prefer to read and listen to this article here, or read this one, entitled Cars and the City: The end of an era? published in 5 different languages.

Seven different languages are catered for so far: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Catalan and Polish, but not all posts are available in the seven languages.

photo credit: Beatrice M

Finally, if you want to read about our famous croissants (not invented in France, by the way), or get a recipe to make them for breakfast, follow this link.

Enjoy!