Work Update
I had a really interesting day yesterday. Starting up doing something freelance is a challenge. There's no way around it. It takes time and effort, and you won't get paid until you're able to do actual real work for actual real clients.
With my background as in-house translator and translation line manager at a major language service provider, I feel I have a slight advantage, because I know what goes on behind the scenes on the client's end (at least if the client is a translation agency). I'm used to the way they talk, their expectations, and needs.
Still, finding clients is difficult when you're on your own.
I've done a couple of test translations (these are never paid), and it seems like these will turn into work eventually (the feedback has been positive, my rates have been approved), but there is still paper work to be done before they let me take on projects. Right now it's a waiting game.
Anyway, yesterday it felt like I finally got the ball rolling. Last week, I was randomly contacted by someone who offered me an in-house linguistic position (through a language industry networking site). I politely declined, but told them I was available for freelance gigs if they had anything available. And, yup. Yesterday, they got back to me - could I please proofread a big project for them. I ended up working 9.5 hours, proofreading a pretty fun project. The communication was smooth and professional, I was given a training session, and the project was interesting ... I really hope they'll be happy with my work, and I hope they're able to follow through on payments as agreed. I'd gladly do more projects for these guys (as long as they prove to be reliable - I did my research before accepting the job, but still .. you just never know).
Going into this, I was fully prepared that I had to work more for less. I worked 9.5 hours yesterday, which is longer than what an average workday should be (by Norwegian standards at least), but it didn't feel like a 9.5 hour workday. Trust me. I had my share of those at my old office, and I alway came home a sobbing wreck. Yesterday made work fun again.
Here's to hoping I'll score more projects like this in the near future~!
With my background as in-house translator and translation line manager at a major language service provider, I feel I have a slight advantage, because I know what goes on behind the scenes on the client's end (at least if the client is a translation agency). I'm used to the way they talk, their expectations, and needs.
Still, finding clients is difficult when you're on your own.
I've done a couple of test translations (these are never paid), and it seems like these will turn into work eventually (the feedback has been positive, my rates have been approved), but there is still paper work to be done before they let me take on projects. Right now it's a waiting game.
Anyway, yesterday it felt like I finally got the ball rolling. Last week, I was randomly contacted by someone who offered me an in-house linguistic position (through a language industry networking site). I politely declined, but told them I was available for freelance gigs if they had anything available. And, yup. Yesterday, they got back to me - could I please proofread a big project for them. I ended up working 9.5 hours, proofreading a pretty fun project. The communication was smooth and professional, I was given a training session, and the project was interesting ... I really hope they'll be happy with my work, and I hope they're able to follow through on payments as agreed. I'd gladly do more projects for these guys (as long as they prove to be reliable - I did my research before accepting the job, but still .. you just never know).
Going into this, I was fully prepared that I had to work more for less. I worked 9.5 hours yesterday, which is longer than what an average workday should be (by Norwegian standards at least), but it didn't feel like a 9.5 hour workday. Trust me. I had my share of those at my old office, and I alway came home a sobbing wreck. Yesterday made work fun again.
Here's to hoping I'll score more projects like this in the near future~!