Updating and improving CV Thread poster: Anna Parish
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Anna Parish 
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:56
English to Russian
Hello
I decided to update and improve my CV today as I am still not satisfied with mine. Couldn't find enough detailed advice for freelance translator CVs on Proz. Also tried to look at other people's CVs for some inspiration but still have a major question. I read that a freelancer should list recent projects they worked on on their CV as it's their portfolio. And it makes sense as good names would make you look more desirable. Yet, all the CVs I looked at don't seem to do that. Mo... See more Hello
I decided to update and improve my CV today as I am still not satisfied with mine. Couldn't find enough detailed advice for freelance translator CVs on Proz. Also tried to look at other people's CVs for some inspiration but still have a major question. I read that a freelancer should list recent projects they worked on on their CV as it's their portfolio. And it makes sense as good names would make you look more desirable. Yet, all the CVs I looked at don't seem to do that. Most people put very little information about their clients. Is it for a reason? Would you be worried that somebody would try to steal your clients if you put their names, or name the projects you worked on openly on your CV? At the moment on my CV I just describe projects without naming any names, but I wonder whether I shoul change it? What is your opinion on this?
Also, if you have any other tips for a good freelancer CV or know any good resources to look at or any good articles, it would be great if you could share them!
Many thanks
Anna ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 09:56
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| It's a matter of ethics, really | Feb 10, 2013 |
Anna Parish wrote:
Couldn't find enough detailed advice for freelance translator CVs on Proz.
There's a Wiki article here: http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Creating_an_effective_CV_/_resume
It doesn't cover everything as I was hoping others would contribute, or that I'd have time to update it later, but it should be useful to anyone writing a freelance translator CV.
I read that a freelancer should list recent projects they worked on on their CV as it's their portfolio.
Very important. What potential clients need to know, above our qualifications etc., is what we've actually already done at least once, and so can presumably do for them.
Most people put very little information about their clients. Is it for a reason? Would you be worried that somebody would try to steal your clients
It's always a possibility, Anna - and that would probably be enough to stop me doing it. But the main reason is client confidentiality. Does a lawyer advertise whose divorce s/he's settled, who s/he's managed to help avoid a possible prison sentence? I have relatively few clients who have asked me to expressly sign an NDA, but I consider myself bound by an ethical NDA anyway. As an example, I lost a very small job just yesterday: somebody wanted me to rewrite their CV, but only if I'd send him samples of other CVs I'd revised. There are a few people here on ProZ.com who I imagine would be a little upset if I'd given him their CV. So I lost the job, but kept my professional standards intact. Some people would have acted differently (in fact, I've no doubt he found someone who would). There's nothing illegal about putting client information on your CV, when not expressly covered by an NDA.
| | | | | Agree on this with Sheila | Feb 10, 2013 |
Anna, I suggest that you mention some of the projects (2—5) you had worked on in the past, but obviously without putting up any names and conact information of the client in your CV.
For instance: "Translation of XYZ software (XX,000 words)". You can also list some CAT-tools relevant to such project (if applicable).
Here's what I have on my CV:
1. Services;
2. Source language(s);
3. Target language(s);
4. Expertise;
5. Rates;
... See more Anna, I suggest that you mention some of the projects (2—5) you had worked on in the past, but obviously without putting up any names and conact information of the client in your CV.
For instance: "Translation of XYZ software (XX,000 words)". You can also list some CAT-tools relevant to such project (if applicable).
Here's what I have on my CV:
1. Services;
2. Source language(s);
3. Target language(s);
4. Expertise;
5. Rates;
6. CAT-tools;
7. Capacity;
8. Supported file formats;
9. Experience;
10. Education;
11. Membership;
Though this list is quite long, my CV fits in one PDF page — brief but clear. If you have a personal website up and running, you may put it into your CV so that your prospects could read more on your background (including info about past projects).
Hope this helps.
Maksym Mirzabaiev
[Edited at 2013-02-10 16:32 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | clairetransl (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:56
French to English
+ ...
Thanks so much Sheila and Maksym - really useful advice!
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Anna Parish
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:56
English to Russian
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks a lot for all this information. | Feb 10, 2013 |
Yes, this is very useful indeed, thanks a lot for your advice!
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 11:56
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
| Internet Search | Feb 12, 2013 |
I know it sounds very basic but if you search the Internet for either CV or resume, there is more information than any one of us could handle. As you probably know, the English call it a CV, and the American call it a resume. The differences are subtle in my opinion. Reading a lot of good CV/resume examples helps to build an excellent CV/resume. An obvious limitation is the time you have, of course. Good luck!
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 09:56
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| There are CVs and CVs | Feb 12, 2013 |
ATIL KAYHAN wrote:
if you search the Internet for either CV or resume, there is more information than any one of us could handle.
Exactly! And 80% of it is substandard. Out of the 20% that is reasonable or good, 95% (these figures are guesses ) are CVs of people looking for salaried jobs, so however good they are at getting their owners a job, they're totally useless for a freelance translator. I'm sure none of us want to stress the importance of all our salaried jobs, in reverse chronological order back to when we left full-time education, with our languages stuck in a little section on page two and no mention of what we can actually provide for our clients. Well, that's what you'll get by looking at salaried job CVs. You could waste a hell of a lot of time that way.
| | | | | Find some public domain information for your portfolio | Feb 13, 2013 |
I have a section of a checklist for a leasing contract in my portfolio, which covers quite a lot of the terminology, but naturally does not give details of any particular contract.
A client did in fact pay me to translate it, as there did not seem to be an English version of it, but the Danish one was on several sites. But it would not be covered by the NDA.
I also have a small section of a medical record, but it is in fact a jigsaw of several, and only contains element... See more I have a section of a checklist for a leasing contract in my portfolio, which covers quite a lot of the terminology, but naturally does not give details of any particular contract.
A client did in fact pay me to translate it, as there did not seem to be an English version of it, but the Danish one was on several sites. But it would not be covered by the NDA.
I also have a small section of a medical record, but it is in fact a jigsaw of several, and only contains elements like 'patient awake, alert and oriented', which are very common.
I need to update my own profile and CV, but at the moment clients are keeping me too busy!
If you translate anything that is going to be made publicly available, ask the client for permission to use a sample.
(Museums, anything in the tourist industry, some of which may be highly technical in fact!) ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 10:56
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Don't name names | Feb 13, 2013 |
Anna Parish wrote:
I read that a freelancer should list recent projects they worked on on their CV as it's their portfolio. And it makes sense as good names would make you look more desirable. Yet, all the CVs I looked at don't seem to do that.
Well, a portfolio and a CV/résumé are two distinctly different things. A portfolio is typically a binder that the potential client can leaf through. I don't know of many translators who would have portfolio binders anyway, because a portfolio must be visually pleasing to convince, and it is very difficult to make a translation stand out from other translations visually.
I would not consider it good advice to put a list of previous clients on a CV/résumé.
Firstly, that type of information gets dated fairly quickly, and you don't know for how long the client will hold on to your CV/résumé before pulling it out of the filing cabinet because they have a job for you. Also, by the time the client reads your CV/résumé, that other client of yours may have gotten a bad name and you may not wish to be associated with them any longer.
Secondly, you should not have any information on your CV/résumé that might put people off (even if it is just emotionally). So if you do decide to mention old clients, make sure that they are neutral in the sense that no-one is likely to be offended by the fact that you had worked for them. You'd be surprised at what things people can be prejudiced about. For example, if you worked for Coca-Cola, the Pepsi drinking PM might toss out your CV/résume -- I'm not kidding.
Thirdly, the name of the company you worked for says nothing about the type of work that you did for them, nor the circumstances under which you did the work. If you must mention previous work on a CV/résumé, write what kind of work you did, or what kind of project it was, and what problems there were (if any) and what solutions you came up with, etc. And you know, once you start writing those details, you don't even need to mention the company's name anymore.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that mentioning a well-known company's name will have any benefit. If the company is large enough to be well-known nationally or internationally, then odds are that their translation department will be so big that your contribution would have been minimal anyway. And if the company is small enough for your contribution to have been realistic, then they are likely small and not well-known. So either way, you don't win.
Finally, you can't name specific names without clients' permission (confidentiality and privacy), and you can't mention clients whose translations are not publically available yet (confidentiality). Also, if a client who previously loved you stops loving you, then you can't continue to associate yourself with them by mentioning them in your CV/résumé (privacy).
The only names that you can mention in a CV/résumé should be the names of previous clients who have specifically given you permission to have their names mentioned in your CV/résumé and who would not mind giving a good impression about you whenever anyone calls them to ask about you. Two or three such names would suffice. When I did that, I used the names of three local translation agencies that I had worked for.
Samuel
[Edited at 2013-02-13 11:26 GMT]
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