My brother sent me this story via Whatsapp a few days ago and I found it pretty interesting so I had to share it: During a robbery in Guangzhou, China, the bank robber shouted to everyone in the bank: "Don't move. The money belongs to the...
My brother sent me this story ...
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I have addressed this issue so many times (here, here and here to name a few) to the point that I am now being frequently attacked by some colleagues for advocating fair translation rates. We all know it's a free market, and every translator has the right...
I have addressed this issue so...
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Translators, please stop giving first time clients your rates and then stating that they are negotiable! This is the most unprofessional thing to do and it sets things totally on the wrong foot. This is not the way to establish a healthy business relationship. If a...
Translators, please stop givin...
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I’m well-known for refusing to take free tests. The last time I blogged about this subject, all hell broke loose. In our highly competitive market, I can understand why. However, and while there could be exceptions with regards to some language services (such as translation and...
I’m well-known for refusing ...
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This blog post was long overdue. In fact, I don't even know why it took me so long to write it. During the 8 years since establishing my business in 2008, and up until this very last moment, I have had hundreds of resumes emailed to me from aspiring...
This blog post was long overdu...
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When you're a fresh grad, you get fooled easily. Why? Simply because you have no experience, and you think that whatever is uttered by your idols is God sent, and therefore you must abide by it religiously. To tell you the truth, I never really liked...
When you're a fresh grad, you ...
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Excuse me while I go FacePalm, really hard. The difference between translators in Lebanon and translators abroad, is that the latter have the utmost respect and value for their profession. They lift each other up, stand by each other, and fight for each others' rights. The...
Excuse me while I go FacePalm,...
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After a long day of translations, I got a call from one of my friends and business associates and he handed the phone over to his client, for whom I had just finished translating 3 legal documents after she agreed on the price the day...
After a long day of translatio...
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Let me start by stating the facts: 1- Lebanon is a highly proficient trilingual country. 2- Many translators graduate each year to find themselves struggling to make a good buck in their field of work. 3- This results in charging awful rates to make a living, or simply...
Let me start by stating the fa...
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My biggest pet peeve strikes again: another ad campaign featuring unforgivable grammar mistakes. L'Oréal Professionnel has a sponsored post on IG (Instagram Ad): a teasing video, probably about a new hair product (my guess). The caption of the video reads as follows: Why repair something if it...
My biggest pet peeve strikes a...
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Double standards. Double standards everywhere. Translators don’t mind making their colleagues wait months before paying them, but they have a problem waiting to get paid. Translators who say they respect their highly professional colleagues, pretending they learned a lesson or 2 from their experience. But when it’s...
Double standards. Double stand...
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Being a freelancer means meeting endless types of clients on a daily basis. Some are a breath of fresh air and so amazing to work with, while others give you a hard time, and working with them is really not my idea of a healthy...
Being a freelancer means meeti...
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I can’t stress enough the freedom that comes with being your own boss, but with that also comes the imperativeness of making your own business decisions and being responsible for them and their consequences. More people are tending to work on a freelance basis nowadays. This...
I can’t stress enough the fr...
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In translation as in everything in life, bad things happen. I don’t know why it took me this much time to blog about this experience I had over 2 years ago. I worked for a client a couple of years back and then he was nowhere to...
In translation as in everythin...
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