Fourth-Year Student Guide to Finding a Translation Job- Step #3

You’ve got your impressive résumé, your mind-blowing cover letter and now you get to sit back, relax and watch the magic happen. Right? Wrong. 

Sorry to break it to you but this is when the real work starts. Your impressive résumé and mind-blowing cover letter are of no use to you if they’re saved on your computer waiting to be e-mailed out. 
Get yourself out there!

So, you’ve probably heard the term “networking”. If you haven’t, here you go: Business Networking. You need to use your network, whether of online connections, friends, family, the next-door neighbour you only talk to when you both end up shoveling your driveways at the same time (awkward, right?) or school alumni. This involves getting your inner salesperson out. Sell yourself. And I mean that in the most non-offensive way possible. Show people what you have to offer. When opportunities present themselves to talk about your skills and what kind of job you’re looking for, don’t be shy. I have a friend, we’ll call her Serena. She’s sitting in a Starbucks, working on an assignment and using Photoshop to design a web page. There’s a guy sitting next to her who has been talking and talking and talking on the phone the entire time cutting deals, calling Tokyo, and trading stock. She’s finished her second macchiato, closed up her laptop and is about to get up. He puts his call on hold, gets her attention and asks her if she’s a Graphics Designer. She’s not. But he’s been watching her progress the entire time and gives her his card. Turns out this guy has about 100 connections in the field she’s interested in and he ends up linking her to some people hiring. We don’t all get a Starbucks story but the point is that we have to get out there and take advantage of opportunities to show people how awesome we really are. I mean who’s to say the guy at the party you’re at isn’t looking for a Translator for his up-and-coming website?

 Let people know you’re looking

Hey, I understand, telling people you’re broke and unemployed is not fun. It’s not. But you don’t really have to let people know you’re broke, you just have to let them know you’re looking. There’s a way to do that without appearing desperate or pathetic. I promise.  How about this: 

Easy, right? I’m not saying this will happen all the time. In fact, maybe it will only happen 1 out of every 50 times you ask. But that 1 time is all you need if it lands you a job, right?

So, it’s time to practice what I’m preaching. Glendon is having their Translation Alumni Night this month and I’ve got to get out there and sell myself, round up some business cards and get the ball rolling. You never know. Maybe this’ll be the chance I've been waiting for.

March 4th has never been this exciting

I absolutely have not given up my series on finding a translation job, but there was something I needed to tell you. Today. Before it was too late. Something you must know. Something that could potentially change your life forever. So here it is: Glendon’s Spring Open House, lovingly known as Expérience Glendon, is happening in 7 days and counting. 7 days! If you’re still undecided as to whether Glendon is for you, checking out the campus is the sure-fire way to make up your mind. Know you want to do translation but still don’t know where? This open house is the perfect opportunity to get an up-close and personal look at the life of a Glendon student.

Expérience Glendon

If you've applied to a number of different schools and are currently trying to sort through the 56,473 things you've been told over the course of the last 3 months, you might be feeling panicky, overwhelmed with information and bursting with questions. Have no fear. You’ll get to meet a professor from Glendon’s School of Translation and ask a student in the program whatever’s on your mind.  And by whatever is on your mind, I don’t mean “should I eat seven burritos in one sitting?” (But in case you were wondering, the answer to that question is always “no.”) I mean questions like “Why Glendon?” “If I’m in the Translation program, can I still go away on exchange?” “What are the classes like?” “What are the professors like?” “What does it take to make it in this field?”

There will be something small and sweet and delicious to eat

Not only is all of the above true, but you can also take a tour and check out our beautiful campus, sit in on some information sessions on how to succeed in your first year plus—PLUS!—there  will be cupcakes.

Blue, blue blue

Like winning free stuff? Don’t pretend you don’t. You know you do. But here's something you didn't know: if you wear blue to the event, you have the chance to win an on-the-spot prize. Nothing could be simpler. Just grab that blue sweater in your closet, you know, the really soft, comfy one you got on sale. Then wear it on March 4 to Expérience Glendon for a chance to win free stuff.

So what are you waiting for? This is about your future people, and time waits for no one. Register here: http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/spring/

Fourth-Year Student Guide to Finding a Translation Job- Step #1

Job hunting is fun…for the first hour and a half. Then it’s excruciating. But all of us—millionaire heiresses and criminals aside—have to do it at some point. So I decided to share my vast job-hunting knowledge and experience with you. And ok, YES, I haven't yet found a job in my field, and NO, I have no proof these steps will work (stop harassing me!).  But let's try them out together and first one with the job wins...the satisfaction of having a job (and money)!

I’m not the first person to think of sharing my job hunting tips with the masses. Many have done it before me, and better:

Exhibit A: York University's Career Centre- Find the Job You Want

Exhibit B: Globe and Mail - Primer for student job hunters

Exhibit C: Zoom - 5 Great Job Hunting Strategies that will get you Hired.

Oh and look!  A Wikipedia page on Job Hunting.

But here it is coming from a fourth-year Translation student perspective, coming from someone who’s starting to sweat a little as graduation comes nearer and the list of experiences on her résumé seem to be smaller than ever.

So here’s my how-to.

How to find a Translation Job if you’re a fourth-year student who

a) Does not have a parent or relative who owns a translation agency and would be willing to hire you no questions asked

b) Has zero to little professional translation experience

c) Is not francophone; or

d) Fits all of the above.

Let’s... begin at the beginning.

Step #1 Create an Awesome Résumé

Yeah, yeah I know…you’re résumé is a masterpiece, a work of unparalleled imagination, the embodiment of all that is literary genius. Shakespeare would be envious. If this were 1860, Mark Twain would be ripping the pencil from your hands in a fit of jealous rage.

But, let’s get real for a second. We all think our stuff is amazing. It’s really hard to be objective when we’ve spent hours writing a description of every awesome thing we’ve ever done throughout our entire life in the most flattering way possible. I thought my stuff was amazing too…until I brought it over to Glendon’s Counselling and Disability Services.

Get a Second (or Third Opinion)

You may be pretty proud of the lemonade stand you set up when you were five, and for certain jobs maybe it’s relevant. But for others, maybe it’s not. So, perhaps it doesn't need to be included in your list of work experiences. To confirm whether something on your résumé is relevant or not, it's always helpful to get opinions from an objective critic: your teacher, your most honest friend, or your school’s Career Services (all three if you can manage it).

Choose a Style that Suits Your Experience

My professor suggested that I use a functional résumé. For those of you in the crowd scratching your heads, don’t feel bad, I did that too. A functional résumé is a résumé organized based on your skills. It’s ideal for students because most of us have not yet had an opportunity to work in our chosen field. That doesn’t mean you wasted the year you served at McDonald’s or the 6 months you worked at Kernels Popcorn (yes, it’s true, I wore the popcorn shirt and everything) or the summers you spent as a camp counsellor. You gained valuable experience that can be applied to other positions and a functional résumé lets you highlight them. Monster explains Functional Résumés Here. My functional résumé is organized like this:

This isn’t verbatim, but you get the idea.

Take Advantage of the Free (Yes Free!) Resources at Your School

After having my résumé reviewed by my mom and my professor, I brought it over to Glendon’s Career and Counselling Services, now called Counselling and Disability Services. As you can see, it’s in a cute little building attached to the Glendon Manor.

They were super nice, super friendly and gave me candy, which was a nice bonus. More importantly, they also showed me the glaring flaws in my résumé that I would not have been able to spot on my own. 

Throughout the year, they have a ton of workshops on preparing for job interviews, writing resumes, networking, marketing your B.A. and exploring the hidden job market. And, as a Glendon student, you can also attend many of the workshops offered through the York University Career Centre.

I could go and on. I really could. But there are so many useful places out there for résumé-writing tips like here and here.

The next piece of the puzzle is the Cover Letter, and it's coming soon to a screen near you.