Translators need CVs like fish need bicycles
Hordes of budding young translators arrive fresh on the market each year and inundate potential clients with their carefully written curricula vitae, often in that newfangled Europass format. Even some established professionals regularly do mail shots with their painstakingly designed CVs, perhaps after attending costly workshops on how to write a killer curriculum vitae. But is this the right way to land freelance projects?
The speaker will attempt to persuade attendees not only that CVs are totally the wrong tool for the job, but are actually harmful.
Freelancers are – in reality – one-person language service providers and, as such, they should sell themselves, sing their own praises and promote their businesses. They should therefore be using marketing materials to advertise their services.
Michael Farrell
Michael Farrell is primarily a freelance translator and transcreator. Over the years, he has acquired experience in the cultural tourism field and in transcreating advertising copy and press releases, chiefly for the promotion of technology products. Being a keen amateur cook, he also translates texts on Italian cuisine. Besides this, he is an untenured lecturer in computer tools for translation and interpreting at the IULM University (Milan, Italy), the developer of the terminology search tool IntelliWebSearch, a qualified member of the Italian Association of Translators and Interpreters (AITI) and member of MET (Mediterranean Editors & Translators).
Practical details
This 20-minute talk is scheduled for Friday, 5 May, 2017, followed by a short moderated Q&A session. You can attend this session by purchasing a 1-day or a 2-day pass to BP17.
