Language focus | 02.07.2013

Languages Careers Fair at The University of Manchester

On Friday 7th June, Alan White, The Translation People’s Business Development Manager, gave a presentation to students at the Languages Careers Fair of The University of Manchester on how to succeed as a translator (both working in-house in agencies and on a freelance basis). The Translation People is acutely aware of the importance of taking part in this kind of activity and providing advice to students in order to ensure that there is a future pool of skilled translators to support the sector. The presentation focused on the main issues affecting the industry, as well as guidance on how translators should present themselves to employers.

Alan White presenting at the Manchester University Careers Fair’

Amongst the topics covered were building up and maintaining a good understanding of specialist terminology, flexibility, an understanding of commercial issues and the importance of maintaining professionalism on social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn, which are excellent ways of networking and finding new clients.

Over the next months, The Translation People will be continuing its collaboration with the University of Manchester, which this year broke into the top 50 of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, with a view to bridging the gap between academia and industry. Courses at the University of Manchester include time spent abroad, which is key for language development, and the University also offers students the use of its language centre, in which students can access many different types of language resources. The University offers a number of language degrees, such as the course in translation and intercultural studies in translation and interpreting studies.

Alan White commented, ‘It was great to see so many students in attendance, and so much interest in our industry. These students will be amongst the backbone of our translators in the years to come, so it’s very encouraging to see how keen they are to develop their skills and learn about the industry.’

Mouna Mannaa, who co-ordinated the event for the University of Manchester said: ‘Alan provided the students with an insight on how they need to present themselves and their CVs to translation agencies. He also gave them a general overview of the translation market and what translation agencies would expect from their translators. I really appreciate Alan’s visit because the students felt his tips were priceless”.

 


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