Feedback on my profile, résumé, and sample? Thread poster: Kristina Love
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Kristina Love 
United States
Local time: 19:11
Spanish to English
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If anyone has an extra moment, I'm looking for suggestions and feedback about my profile, which I feel is getting close to being complete for the moment.
I'd especially appreciate a glance at the Spanish version of my résumé since Spanish isn't my mother tongue.
If anything else jumps out as needing some improvement, please advise! Thanks in advance.
| | | | | Use your real name | Jul 11, 2021 |
You might want to use your real name for your proz profile. Think of your name as a brand. Your name should be the recognizable personification of all expertise, proficiency and quality work you can do and offer. People will google your name and find your past achievements and mentionings. Hiding behind a nickname could be considered unprofessional and dubious.
| | | | Kristina Love
United States
Local time: 19:11
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER
Okay, I did wonder about that. I had some vague idea of preserving privacy, but that's pretty much out the window with my résumé and contact info anyway. Thank you for letting me know!
| | | | | Your 'Bio' section | Jul 12, 2021 |
1. You'd better don't overuse bold fonts. Leave the headings/subheadings in bold only.
2. Provide more detailed and structured information in the 'Employment history' section (... to ..., position, employer, followed by a brief description of primary job duties and your major achievements in each role, if any).
3. Use bulleted lists for your certifications.
4. Add more keywords, e.g. Spanish-English translator, editor, proofreader, subtitler, financial statements, auditor's rep... See more 1. You'd better don't overuse bold fonts. Leave the headings/subheadings in bold only.
2. Provide more detailed and structured information in the 'Employment history' section (... to ..., position, employer, followed by a brief description of primary job duties and your major achievements in each role, if any).
3. Use bulleted lists for your certifications.
4. Add more keywords, e.g. Spanish-English translator, editor, proofreader, subtitler, financial statements, auditor's report, cash flow statement, balance sheet, annual report ... ▲ Collapse
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I don't know if you worked before deciding to translate and do a degree in translation and another in audio engineering. Maybe you can expand on the latter as you just mention it in the first line and then nothing. Besides being able to translate into your native language, you also need to specialise or, at least, specify what tasks you'll be interested or able to translate. You can definitely start with the audio engineering (I expect that is a highly specialised area and not just specialised a... See more I don't know if you worked before deciding to translate and do a degree in translation and another in audio engineering. Maybe you can expand on the latter as you just mention it in the first line and then nothing. Besides being able to translate into your native language, you also need to specialise or, at least, specify what tasks you'll be interested or able to translate. You can definitely start with the audio engineering (I expect that is a highly specialised area and not just specialised and pays really well-you'll also need some CAT tools as there might be a lot of repetition in the texts). My take, hope it helps. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jo Macdonald
Spain
Local time: 01:11
Italian to English
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| A few suggestions | Jul 12, 2021 |
Hi Kristina
Imo there are too many capitals in this part: I am a recent Summa Cum Laude graduate from UNCC with a Bachelor's degree in Spanish, concentration in Applied Languages/Translation track. In addition I hold two university Certificates, in Translation and in Business Spanish. I also hold an Associate degree in Audio Production from my Seattle days.
UNCC, better to use University of North Carolina at Charlotte (or just University of North Carolina) instead of an abbre... See more Hi Kristina
Imo there are too many capitals in this part: I am a recent Summa Cum Laude graduate from UNCC with a Bachelor's degree in Spanish, concentration in Applied Languages/Translation track. In addition I hold two university Certificates, in Translation and in Business Spanish. I also hold an Associate degree in Audio Production from my Seattle days.
UNCC, better to use University of North Carolina at Charlotte (or just University of North Carolina) instead of an abbreviation if that's what it is cause most people probably won't know what UNCC means.
I wouldn't use italics for the text, makes it harder to read.
Use a slightly bigger font.
You profile pic is great, you could also add a few pics in the About me part too, you in the recording studio, doing volunteer work, that sort of thing. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Make greater use of your experience | Jul 12, 2021 |
A good test is to ask yourself why would a client chose you over the next person in the line.
You have specific experience that may be of interest to a number of clients who do not even know you exist. Make know your recording studio experience, for example. Factor in your own areas of personal interest. Consider fields of business with which you are familiar, often hiding in plain sight in your background somewhere in the not so dim and distant past. Even then, resuscitation could also be... See more A good test is to ask yourself why would a client chose you over the next person in the line.
You have specific experience that may be of interest to a number of clients who do not even know you exist. Make know your recording studio experience, for example. Factor in your own areas of personal interest. Consider fields of business with which you are familiar, often hiding in plain sight in your background somewhere in the not so dim and distant past. Even then, resuscitation could also be a thing! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kristina Love
United States
Local time: 19:11
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Appreciating all the great feedback. | Jul 12, 2021 |
I'm not seeing how to respond individually to specific posts, but thank you everyone for such helpful and detailed advice.
I'll be trying to incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible over the next few weeks and then maybe solicit more feedback.
To explain why I didn't play up the audio engineering: I did the degree in 2002. Although I did two internships as well at the time, and I have a whole separate resume just for audio, I never worked in the field except... See more I'm not seeing how to respond individually to specific posts, but thank you everyone for such helpful and detailed advice.
I'll be trying to incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible over the next few weeks and then maybe solicit more feedback.
To explain why I didn't play up the audio engineering: I did the degree in 2002. Although I did two internships as well at the time, and I have a whole separate resume just for audio, I never worked in the field except for that brief stint in a recording studio. My job title was "studio manager" which sounds pretty great but in all honesty I was an office manager.
My initial plan was not to mention the audio engineering whatsoever in my translating career, but I have vacillated back and forth because of all the clamor about specialization. In truth I'd be just as good at translating other fields as I would audio. Having accomplished that degree is certainly something I'm proud of and I certainly want to put it forward to my advantage if "the world" sees it as impressive.
After high school, I did 3 years at the University of Washington, had pretty good grades, but instead of doing my senior year and graduating, I took off and moved across the country to work as a buyer at a used bookstore. After a year or so of that, I moved back to Seattle and got that Audio Production degree. (I was on the Dean's Honor roll and got awesome recommendations).
Over the next twenty years, life happened, I sometimes did volunteer and part-time work (political activism, Latin American Coalition, trying an eBay business), but other than the positions mentioned above mostly I just pursued hobbies and interests, while getting married and having/raising a special needs child (whom I taught third grade to at home this past year).
I'm a nontraditional, unconventional person. That's why I want to be a translator! I do excel, but I work in fits and starts. I have eclectic tastes and I'm equally interested in all fields (another reason why translation is attractive to me!)
A great part of the allure of translating as a career for me is that it is merit-based and it seems to me your work speaks for itself. I went back to school to finish my Bachelor's degree (and two certificates) in Spanish, for the express purpose of building up credibility to be a freelance translator, and I gave it my utmost effort and commitment and earned top grades. I'm proud of that. It may not be the same as decades of work history and genuine, hard-earned expertise, but we all have to start somewhere, right?
All of your suggestions are great, and I will implement as much as I can!
I'm capable, honorable, intelligent, ethical, I keep my promises, I'm a very good writer in both English and Spanish, I'm decently fluent in Spanish, I'm generally knowledgeable, I'm capable of deep focus, I'm intellectually curious, and I have great attitude and effort! Surely there is room enough for me, just as I am, somewhere.
I don't kid myself that I'm going to be a top-earner in the ubiquitous Spanish-English language pair. I just want my little piece of the pie and a bit of freedom to be myself.
[Edited at 2021-07-12 16:39 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Specialisation is your door opener | Jul 12, 2021 |
Kristina Love wrote:
My initial plan was not to mention the audio engineering whatsoever in my translating career, but I have vacillated back and forth because of all the clamor about specialization. In truth I'd be just as good at translating other fields as I would audio. Having accomplished that degree is certainly something I'm proud of and I certainly want to put it forward to my advantage if "the world" sees it as impressive.
Just to be clear here: All translators need to be generalists. We all are translating in a lot of fields, whenever a project comes our way. And all projects require some general and interdisciplinary knowledge, there can be legal content in a videogame translation, history content in a tourism translation, technical content in a marketing translation, and so on. This is part of our daily work.
The "clamor" means something else: you need a specialisation not to do the jobs, you need it to get the jobs. All translators, and particularly those in crowded language pairs like yours, need something to stand out. Your clients and agencies need a reason to choose you and no one else (and this reason should hopefully not be that you are so desperate that you do it for the lowest rate). You need to offer something that not every other translator in your pair can offer. And this special something should be subject matter expertise, the fact that you are at home in a couple of non-linguistic fields your (end) clients need. Such a niche gives you an edge when competing for jobs. You can certainly be proud of your degree but don't expect it to provide this competitive edge, since other translators have degrees too.
So the specialisation is your door opener for relationships with clients and agencies. When such a relationship is established and you did good work, you can expect to get all kinds of jobs the client has, and to translate in lots of fields.
| | | | Kristina Love
United States
Local time: 19:11
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | That was so well-put and crystal clear. | Jul 12, 2021 |
Kay-Viktor, thank you so much for that response. I spent quite a bit of time confused about the matter, and I was already starting to slowly realize the points you just made, but I think you just crystalized it for me.
My nascent "marketing brain" might be starting to show signs of life finally. Thanks for helping me by being frank enough to connect the dots for me between "point A" (you have to specialize to GET jobs) and "point B" (in actual practice you're generalist). Despi... See more Kay-Viktor, thank you so much for that response. I spent quite a bit of time confused about the matter, and I was already starting to slowly realize the points you just made, but I think you just crystalized it for me.
My nascent "marketing brain" might be starting to show signs of life finally. Thanks for helping me by being frank enough to connect the dots for me between "point A" (you have to specialize to GET jobs) and "point B" (in actual practice you're generalist). Despite having heard quite similar explanations hundreds of times, I don't think I could quite compute it without hearing someone else first admit that we're generalists.
Thank you! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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I've only ever done well when specializing as narrowly as possible.
For competitive advantage, I recommend punctuality. You'd be surprised how few of our peers are consistently punctual.
| | | | Kristina Love
United States
Local time: 19:11
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | a nerve-wracking hypothetical | Jul 12, 2021 |
My reticence to be "out and proud" about a specialization, especially given that my most "impressive" credential is a degree in audio engineering, is that my potential clients may then consist of people who want highly technical translations that are over my head. I know that professional ethics dictate that we not take on work that is truly beyond our personal capability. My fear is that turning down work might result in someone thinking that I misrepresented myself, or even that they would be ... See more My reticence to be "out and proud" about a specialization, especially given that my most "impressive" credential is a degree in audio engineering, is that my potential clients may then consist of people who want highly technical translations that are over my head. I know that professional ethics dictate that we not take on work that is truly beyond our personal capability. My fear is that turning down work might result in someone thinking that I misrepresented myself, or even that they would be right.
I could include my audio engineering-focused resume on my profile in addition to my translation-focused one, though the dates are from 20 years ago. The things I did at that time sound amazing, but I don't remember how to do those things anymore.
I don't have any more space on my current Translation-focused resume. To include past employment history or more specialized (audio, accounting) information would lead to a multi-page CV, while the fashion seems to be a single page document. In addition I think my employment history might work against me more than it works in my favor.
Punctuality should not be a problem for me, at least not if intense focus and forgoing sleep will do it. If it's physically and humanly possible for me to meet a deadline, I will, and so far that doggedness hasn't failed me in other pursuits (school, for instance.) ▲ Collapse
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Marjolein Snippe
Netherlands
Local time: 01:11
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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| Sign of professionalism | Jul 14, 2021 |
Kristina Love wrote:
My fear is that turning down work might result in someone thinking that I misrepresented myself, or even that they would be right.
In my experience, clients are grateful and regard it as a sign of professionalism when I acknowledge I would not be able to handle a particular project. Even highly specialised professionals will have particular topics that to an outsider may seem very close to their top specialism, but which the translator knows are outside their expertise.
| | | | Kristina Love
United States
Local time: 19:11
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks to everybody | Jul 19, 2021 |
A hearty thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread, each and every one of your posts was substantially helpful. I have been working on incorporating the suggestions and continue to work on it. I really appreciate these suggestions and insights.
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