Man v Machine: Positives and Negatives of Machine Translation

So you find yourself in France and you just hailed a cab. Great! However you have one major problem, you don’t speak a word of French! But have no fear, Google Translate is here!

You’ve heard the warnings many times before, do not use machine translation. But there are some situations when Machine Translation has definite advantages:

• When time is a factor: When you need to say something in a different language and you need to say it now, then machine translation can save the day. Maybe you just want to order your steak well done, either way Google translate is the best solution for quick everyday translations
• Okay, who wants to spend money? For an average person (as opposed to an organization), Google Translate can suffice. When you don’t run the risk of destroying your brand or even offending people, Google Translate can provide you the services you need.

However…

There are many times when Google Translate is absolutely not efficient. Here are a few examples of disadvantages of using Machine Translation:

• When accuracy is a factor. While machine translation might be able to provide you with a general sense of the original meaning, there is still a chance that it can completely alter the meaning and you could end up offending someone. Furthermore as an organization you could end up with a massive PR crisis on your hands.
• In addition to meaning, machine translation often does not pick up on context and ambiguity. You could end up saying something that has nothing to do with what you were originally trying to convey.
• If you need to translate a highly specialized text, you will need to hire a professional translator. Machine translation often can not pick up on jargon that is specific to your industry.
• Machine translation might be efficient for simple, basic sentences. However, if you have a complex sentence that conveys multiple ideas, your purpose might get lost in translation.
• When you enter a common phrase or cliché into a computer aided translator, it might return the literal translation which can end up being quite confusing. Human translators can provide you with an equivalent cliché in the target language.

Therefore, the disadvantages of machine translation certainly outweigh the advantages. So unless you’re lost in another country or trying to order food, hiring a translator is always worth the investment.

The Ultimate Time Management Guide for Translators

So, you’ve been awake all night trying to meet your deadlines. You just ran out of coffee. You haven’t showered or eaten in days and you can’t seem to find your cat. You are officially stressed. If this sounds all too familiar, take a deep breath, you have come to the right place.

Where do I begin?

The first place to begin is to take the time out to plan! If you haven’t already created a to-do list, then do it! By writing down all your tasks on one list, you can take a step back and look at the big picture. After creating your to-do list, you should read through it and decide which tasks are most important and which ones need to get done first. The next step would be to make a tentative schedule for the week.

What are the benefits of sticking to a schedule?

By sticking to a schedule, you are ensuring that you will be in your office by a certain time. Without having a schedule, it is possible to sleep all through the morning since you never set a specific time to be in. Another benefit to sticking to your schedule is not missing lunch. I’m sure you’ve had days where you were trying to meet a deadline and you find yourself at three in the afternoon and you still have not eaten a thing. When you create a schedule you can arrange an approximate time for a lunch break.

It is also awfully important to schedule a time to leave the office. Yes, we know that you are a hard worker, but your work day needs to end at some point. It is very important to maintain a work-life balance. You must take care of yourself and maintain an adequate level of health. You don’t want to end up stressed and sick because your work will suffer, and it ends up being a loss for everyone.

Will I be able to take on more tasks?

Yes and no. When you manage your time more efficiently, this might allow you to have more time to work on projects, but sometimes you need to allocate this time to projects you already have taken on, in order to do a good job. You need to realize that it is more than okay to say no sometimes. If you do not have the time or capacity to do a project, then you should not agree to do it.

Now that you can efficiently manage your time, you can create better quality translations, therefore improving your credibility as a professional translator!

Creating Value | The Importance of Creating Value (in translation and in life)

In a recent post, we wrote about some steps you can take to streamline your networking skills and offered the advice that you can create opportunities for yourself by creating value for others. Humans are egotistic creatures and today’s consumers are only worried about three things: “me, myself, and I.” I’m sure you’re familiar with the story of Henry Ford and the first Model-T cars. Ford’s famous slogan “The customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black,” epitomized business in the early 1900’s.

Create Value and drive customer satisfaction with these tips

Unfortunately for Ford, that wasn’t the way to deal with consumers then, and it certainly isn’t the way in the 21st century.

If you’re asking yourself: How does this apply to me? I’m just a freelancer, not a business owner (get your stuff together, thebigword), hang on – give us a chance to explain. High-profile freelancers have long acknowledged that freelancing is a type of small business; thus, freelancers must behave as small business owners. Creating value for your consumer (whether an LSP or a direct client) is a huge part of this… But what do we mean by “creating value?”

How to Create Value for Your Consumer

Creating value simply means providing your consumer with a benefit that outweighs the cash payment you receive for your service. If you write a book about financial wealth, for example, and someone uses it and goes on to become a millionaire, you created wealth for that individual. But it doesn’t have to be something so out of the ordinary as helping someone make millions. Here are some ways Translators can create value for their clients:

Hone in on Your Product Positioning to Add Value

There are hundreds of thousands of translators out there, what makes you special? Do you have the fastest turn-around? Do you specialize in a certain industry? Did a priest predict you were destined for translation greatness? Find the unique benefit that your service provides, that differentiates yourself from your competitors. This is true for freelancers, as well as large brands: Bounty, for example, is the quicker picker-upper: guaranteed to pick up spills using half the amount of paper towels; BMW is the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ – guaranteed to get you where you need to go using twice the appropriate amount of gas. Your product position should ideally answer the question “why should I use your service.” Hone in on your product position.

You Must Become a Problem-Solver

Good problem-solvers are valuable to their clients.

PM’s are going to screw up (not ours, of course); it’s a fact of life. More truthfully, deadlines will be missed, communication lines will get tied up, and client preferences will change last minute. You can either use screw-ups as an opportunity to rant on your favorite social media outlet (guilty), or you can use times like these to cement yourself as a problem solver in the eyes of your client. My favorite quote happened to come from the mouth of a near-retirement college professor: “No matter the line of work, you get paid to solve problems: If you solve small problems, you get paid small money; if you solve big problems, you get the big money.”  Go make the big money.

What’s their ROI?

Maximize Return on Investment by Creating Value

This applies to working with direct clients; though it can be helpful when working with agencies, as well. Your clients care about one thing when it comes to translation: How much is it going to take away from the bottom line? You must be able to show clients the return they will get on their translating investment. Find out how they define success in their translation endeavors, and adjust your definition of success accordingly. The first step is to understand how they measure ROI. The simple act of asking “How do you measure ROI on a translation job” might be enough to elevate you from supplier to partner status. Work with clients to ensure a high return on investment.

Specialize

People trust specialized experts. The advertising translator is an expert; the medical translator is an expert; the legal translator is an expert. The advertising-medical-legal translator is not an expert. Don’t try to do all of these things; although you may find yourself more work, it will likely be at a lower rate. The Jack-of-all-trades is not valued – the expert is.

Overview on Creating Value

You may have noticed all of these tips have one thing in common. They are all centered on your consumer. This is because creating value is consumer-centered by definition. Be careful not to fall into the trap of complaining about lower rates and losing work to globalization. These negatives can be turned into positives by creating value for your clients.

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Other articles you may find interesting:

How to Increase Productivity as a Freelancer
The Dos and Don’ts of Self-Promotion
The Rise (and Fall) of Freelance Translators

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Self-Promotion

As the Translation Services Industry is continuing to grow, the number of freelance translators are growing as well. The competition is very real. Finding ways to differentiate yourself from the rest can prove to be terribly challenging.

Many companies spend a lot of money on advertising platforms, but there are many cost-free ways to market your freelance business. The most important thing to ask yourself before taking any further steps is “Is this self-promotion, or am I contributing to the noise?” You d on’t want to make people angry or annoy them, and you certainly do not want to be considered a spammer.

DO’s

• DO be yourself – You want to shine, but you must stay true to yourself. You never want to lie or exaggerate about your skills and capabilities. Remember that you are selling yourself and at the end of the day people want the truth.
• DO be professional – Yes, you are trying to sell your services, but you must portray a professional image. Maintaining a professional image is vital to preserving relationships with companies.
• DO maintain relationships – You must engage with people who are interested in your self-promotion efforts. This is how you master the art of networking and build relationships that can contribute to your success.
• DO establish your credibility – One of the best ways to confirm and showcase your credibility is by writing a blog. You can share your knowledge on the industry or even on your niche, and this will speak for itself in terms of demonstrating your expertise. You can also share links on Facebook and Twitter to other blogs and articles, which deems you as a valuable source of information.

DO NOT’s

• DO NOT ask or beg for work – Instead, offer your services. Posting comments such as “I need a job, please help” simply sounds desperate and does not establish any sort of credibility for your brand. Try offering your services as opposed to asking for work. By offering your services you can portray yourself as someone who is established and reliable. This shows that you have the means of helping them with their tasks.
• DO NOT spam – Facebook and Twitter, as well as other social media platforms, must be utilized properly. Do not use it simply for self pr­­omotion. People will consider you a spammer, and they will “unfollow” you. Become a valuable source of information, and you will be contacted for possible jobs and assignments.
• DO NOT take mentions lightly – If a blogger or twitter follower “retweets” or mentions you, you should thank them. You should publicly show your gratitude towards them, which would make them want to mention you again or make other people want to “retweet” your posts.
• DO NOT make claims without proof – You should always back up your claims with evidence. When you make claims without any proof you can put a damper on your credibility and completely destroy your reputation as  an accredited source of information. Backing up your facts with hard evidence will improve your integrity. You can do this by linking to an article that has already established credibility.

Well, now you know what to do (and what not to do) in terms of self-promotion. Please don’t forget that when you are portraying yourself as a brand that YOU ARE THE BRAND! So remember stay true to yourself and don’t forget to enjoy what you are doing!

Debunking 5 myths About Freelancers

We have already dispelled 5 myths about the translation service industry. There are many misconceptions about freelancers as well. Let us debunk 5 common myths about freelancers.

1.     Freelancing is easy work.

Many people believe that freelancers can wake up when they want, take their time eating a nice breakfast, and then slowly begin to work all while still lounging in their pajamas. While this may have some truth, successful freelancers are busy and have deadlines that they must meet. While they very well just might be their own bosses, and they might be able to take their time before getting started for the day, a productive freelance translator gets to work by a certain time every day and typically works for a specific amount of hours.

So maybe freelancers do have the option of sleeping in, but not more so than anyone else. Sleeping in while you have deadlines to meet is unquestionably irresponsible, and a successful freelancer understands this. When you have messages from clients waiting to be answered, sleeping in is simply not an option.

2.     Freelancing is fast and easy money.

This is simply fictitious. You have to work hard to be successful. The first month, especially will not be easy. You will need to think of a game plan and stick to a specific schedule. You should schedule time to brainstorm your brand and then actually create it and begin to market your brand. The first few jobs you take on will most likely not be high-paying ones, but they should be credible. By taking on credible jobs you will be able to build your resume or CV, but they will most likely not have a big payout. You must know your price and make sure you recognize when someone is asking you for quality work for little pay.

3.     Freelancing is less stressful than a regular 9 to 5 job.

Okay, so we’ll admit, without the commute freelancers do not have to deal with the stress of traffic, delayed trains, and clocking in on time, but there are different stressors that come with freelancing. For a freelancer, stress can come from not having enough work. It might be an off week, but if you were not expecting it, you might be feeling the effects of having less income for the week. On the other hand, it might be an extremely busy week, and now you’re swamped with work. Either of these situations can make for a stressful week. A freelancer’s life doesn’t seem so relaxing now.

Okay, you’re still not convinced, you’re thinking, ‘How stressful could their lives be when they don’t have to answer to a boss?’ Even though they might not have to keep their bosses happy, they must still keep their clients happy; this could be equally, if not more, important. If they damage a relationship with a client, they could potentially lose that client forever.

4.     Freelancing is flexible.

People believe that freelancers make their own hours. For the most part, yes, they do. They work for themselves therefore they essentially work when and where they want. A successful freelancer knows that there are consequences to these choices. Maybe a freelancer would choose not to work on the weekends, or maybe they only want to work every other day. Limiting your availability, limits your integrity. If you get a call for an assignment that is needed by Monday, and you don’t take it because you’re off on Mondays, you have just missed out on a job.

So while freelancers can make their own schedules, it must be within reason. They can choose when they want to work, but they cannot choose when work wants them. As a freelancer, you don’t have to work from 9am to 5pm, but your day should fall within these hours because that is typically when most offices are open. So, you would want to be available during these hours.

5. Anyone could be a freelancer.

I must respond to this myth by saying, ‘Of course not’. We discussed in an earlier myth-debunking post that not everyone has what it takes to be a translator or interpreter. Similarly, it takes a certain kind of person to do certain jobs. A freelancer must be disciplined. A lazy person will not take on a heavy workload and therefore, will not be as successful. A freelancer must have extreme organizational skills. They must organize their time and their office. They work for themselves so the discipline must come within. There is no one guiding you and no one telling you what to do, so you must be capable of truly being your own boss. A freelancer must also be a business person. You must be personable and possess networking skills. You must be able to manage yourself.

All-in-all, a freelancer’s job is not so easy. Within the translation services industry, most of the linguists are freelancers, and from what we’ve witnessed at thebigword, freelancers have truly got to be renaissance men/women in order to be the best (which freelance linguists certainly are)!