The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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@Linguist_CIOL AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 29 OPINION & COMMENT Why making a niche out of the things you're passionate about will translate to more – and better paid – work When I started translating about 20 years ago, I decided to specialise in technical translation because I thought that's where the money was, ignoring the fact that I had two left hands and no interest in technical matters. As a result, I struggled to complete my assignments and found the work increasingly strenuous and depressing. Completely washed out, I began to think that translation wasn't for me and decided to go back to my other passion: horses and dogs. While taking courses in canine and equine behaviour and massage therapy, something rather surprising happened: I was asked to translate and write texts related to dogs and horses. Quite enjoying this new field of translation and interpreting, I took courses in veterinary and medical translation to broaden my knowledge, and I have now turned my passion into a successful business. When you do what you love, potential clients pick up on your enthusiasm. It is a question of personal marketing: you have to know the value of a product or service before you can decide on a target group or marketing strategy. To put it simply: know who you are and what unique thing you can bring to your clients. For me, this turned out to be horses and dogs. I now find myself interpreting in my wellies at a horse show one day and translating a medical file the next. So how do you find your 'uniqueness' as a linguist? I have developed seven simple tips to help professionals on that path to rediscovery: 1 Find the one thing you feel passionate about. Imagine you are on a train and the people behind you are talking about something – you are willing to miss your stop to keep listening. What is the subject? 2 Start adopting a linguistic approach to it. Take an online course on the subject in both source and target language, or do a seminar in each country. When you meet specialists who share your passion, new assignments are never far away. 3 Communicate your specialisation on your website and business cards, and in relevant publications. Create a unique company name and logo, reflecting your background in languages as well as your specialisation. 4 Attend seminars related to your specialisation and do lots of networking. 5 Things may not always work out the way we want them to; learn to see mistakes as helpful cues to bring us back on track. 6 Be patient. A new direction may take a few months – or even years – to achieve. 7 Most of us will never be able to specialise in just one area, so maintaining your old clients and expertise may be unavoidable. However, the work will be less strenuous as you will know that there are better things around the corner. Doing what you love Anita van Adelsbergen MCIL CL is owner of Ciao Chow Translations and runs workshops on 'finding your linguistic niche'; www.ciaochow.nl. TL ANITA VAN ADELSBERGEN © SHUTTERSTOCK