A freelancer is someone who does not hold an in-house position at a company. They have the freedom and the ability to work from any location they want, and to set their own working days/hours. Never in my 10 years of experience have I held an...
A freelancer is someone who do...
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Like every professional, I use LinkedIn to make professional connections and hunt for new business opportunities. What I have recently noticed is that many translators, mostly freelancers, try to trick fellow translators that they need to outsource translation jobs to them, just so they could get...
Like every professional, I use...
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Recruiters, Human Resources Managers, and all employers for that matter need to take a step back and realize that everybody deserves a chance. To climb the ladder, you start from the bottom and work your way up. it's the ONLY way to go! In the translation industry,...
Recruiters, Human Resources Ma...
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"Once upon a time, a woodcutter asked for a job with a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an...
"Once upon a time, a woodcutte...
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I must admit, when I first graduated, and just like all my other colleagues, I used to charge per page, because when you still have no experience, you take it from those who've been there and done that before you. Charging for language services per word...
I must admit, when I first gra...
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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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Fellow translators and interpreters, 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...
Fellow translators and interpr...
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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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