1. Language expertise. No doubt, this is the first and foremost characteristic an effective member of the translation service must possess. If you are not fluent in at least two languages, you must find a career in another field. Definitely, the professional translation industry would need someone who is articulate in different languages, more than his native tongue. It is more than just knowledge in different languages that is required here. You need to be eloquent to be able to translate documents fittingly.
2. Research skills. Even when you feel you are fluent enough in different languages, you still need to be armed with some skills in research. You see, you will most likely get jobs that are not only about texts or documents but cultures as well. You must know how to expand your resources in interpreting the language you are assigned to. That is one way of being effective and becoming a suitable candidate for more professional translation projects. Being skilled in research also means that you know the translation tools available to you to help you carry out the task at hand.
3. Professionalism in communication. Being an expert in language and in communication are two entirely different things. They are, however, both relevant in the success of one’s career in the professional translation field. While a language expert is knowledgeable in different languages, a communication professional is someone who can deliver a message without missing any bit of detail. This is especially critical since professional translation means you are transferring an idea or concept from one language to another. To be effective, you must be able to deliver the translation in an accurate manner, delivering the message as it is. This means that you should not only learn how to provide an equivalent word to a foreign word but also conveying the original message of the document you are working on.
4. Specialization in a subject. Nowadays, since the global trade has become so popular that a lot of businesses are getting into it, professional translation has become so in demand as well. This means a broad and varied work area for translators. You must, therefore, be knowledgeable in different subjects, fields, and industries to get as much work as is available. Do not tie yourself down to technical subjects because that would limit the amount of work you will be allowed to. Then again, you must remember that you need to be an authority in the topics or subjects that you claim you can handle. You cannot be a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ in the translation service industry.
5. Discipline and commitment. Professional translation requires your commitment and devotion to deliver the work assigned to you on time. An effective translator is someone who can meet his deadlines. It takes a lot of discipline to be able to do that.

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One Hour Translation is the world’s fastest professional translation service. One Hour Translation provides Fast, High Quality Professional Translation on a 24/7 basis thanks to a community of over 8000 certified translators from all over the world.

Freelancers in the professional translation field thought in unfair to offer such a service when they are doing business out of it. In a way, a couple hundreds of those in the translation service felt violated that LinkedIn and the rest are trying to give out an impression that anyone who can speak/write two or more languages could easily pass up as a translator and do so without having to charge any the way language experts do.

LinkedIn’s defense is that, what they are doing is actually just soliciting efforts from their end-users towards the localization of their sites. They are not asking to have a full-pledged document translated. They are merely asking the Internet community to provide a localized interpretation of some phrases on the site to make them (the end users) become more comfortable with the arena they move around in. They see it as just an effort to build quality within the site through collaboration with the very users who will benefit from it.

Moreover, they don’t think they are taking away any from freelance translators and every person involved in professional translation for that matter. They (professional translators) remain the unanimous choice for the clients they used to getting. They choose not to follow the normal process of human translation, editing, and proofreading, merely because they think there is barely a need to do so.

LinkedIn maintains that they are expending no cost for such a gain. In fact, they say, like any kind of business, managing the site costs some investments on their part. Regardless, however, whether the sites spend for such an effort or not, some researches that arrived afterwards show that LinkedIn and the rest keeps high regard to human translation as a profession. They even employ in-house translators for what they call as ‘traditional projects’.

It remains to be seen whether both parties are going to resolve this conflict in the end. After all, such a statement was dropped that crowdsourcing is here to stay. Observers say that crowdsourcing translation, also known as CT3, is a product of a technological advancement, which we get pretty much too often these days.

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One Hour Translation is the world’s fastest professional translation service. One Hour Translation provides Fast, High Quality Professional Translation on a 24/7 basis thanks to a community of over 8000 certified translators from all over the world.

• They should remember to be organized. This is very helpful, especially in case of really big human translation projects that pour in really good income. You should know when and where to start. It also helps if you will follow a timeline so as to ensure that the quality of your translation service is not sacrificed.

• They should set an estimate segment or number of words that could be finished in a day. This way, you will see clearly when you need to work extra harder in case you fell short of what you expected to finish on a particular day to make it to the deadline.

• They should be realistic. Being strict to follow deadlines has so much to do with the promise of a good career in professional translation. That’s why you must never give your client any false hope as to when you will be able to turn in the project just so you could impress him. Give a realistic deadline, which you are sure you can work around with and stick to it. It pays to be honest in this job on human translation, you know.

• They should not be afraid to seek help from the tools that aid human translation. Saving on your professional translation time and costs could be possible if you know the tools that could help make your life easier as a translator and how to use them well. A good translation tool is useless if you won’t be able to use it properly. Remember that the tools are there to help manage your time as a translator. If they are making any kind of disturbance in your workflow, it would be better to drop them.

• They should know that it pays to communicate well with the client. A close contact with your client can make or break your professional translation service. It will save you a lot of time and effort if you already know, right from the start, the requirements of your project and the expectations of your client. Human translation is not so hard a job if you are not guessing half the time what you are supposed to be aiming for.

• They should know that their survival in the professional translation field speaks a lot about how they can move on from one project to another. So make the transition always smooth.

• They drop everything that may infringe their productivity. Be sure that when you are working on a professional translation project, your heart and mind is into it. Your full attention and your time is required to make sure that you won’t just be turning in the translation service on time but also of the highest standard of quality.