If you are looking to hire a linguist for a project, surely you want to hire the best language translators. We have a team of translators and interpreters who can help you with all types of language services.
Here are some tips on how to ensure you hire the right person for the job.
The translation market is bursting today. There are thousands of translators offering their services. Fees, experience, accreditation and certification vary. In order to pick the right person for the job, one needs a good eye.
Here are some criteria you may want to look at when hiring language translators and/ or interpreters. Hire language translators who:
- Are native speaker of the target language.
- Has a degree – or at least a certification equivalent to one – in the source language.
- Has a degree or concentrated study on the subject matter – i.e. legal, medical, technical or other fields.
- Work experience of at least three years in the area of the subject matter, or experience in translating in the area of the subject matter.
- Should be proficient in written and oral English.
- Should be accredited by a translation association.
- Can provide credentials such as CV, test scores, transcripts, certifications, and references from related work experience.
- Finally, can provide a sample translation in the same language pair and subject matter, as your requirement for your project, preferably, an expert in the subject and the same languages should validate the sample work.
You should spend some time interviewing the translators before hiring. This will allow you to get a better grasp of who they are, their experience/s, their expertise and their caliber.
Here are some sample questions when interviewing language translators:
- What types of clients do you usually work with?
- What is your area of specialization? Or do you work more on generic translation projects?
- Do you have any translation certifications?
- Have you ever encountered any ethical dilemmas in your job? How did you deal with those?
- How well can you understand different dialects and accents (of the source language and target language)?
- Do you try to translate every single word or idea expressed, or do you summarize the thought?
- What would you do if you made a mistake in translation or did not understand a particular word or expression?
Here are some additional questions if you are interviewing to hire an interpreter:
- How would you handle the situation if person said something that you did not agree with or found upsetting while you’re interpreting?
- How would you address or interpret gestures which are not understood in the culture of the other person/language?
- Do you try to establish a relationship with the person whom you will interpret, or do you keep the relationship formal without getting attached?
- What do you do if you didn’t hear exactly what a person said but you get the general idea or “gist” of what they said?
Hire only the best language translators and interpreter; call Language Direct today and choose from the thousands of linguists in our books.