TRANSLATION INDUSTRY UPDATES July 2023

What to do when it all goes quiet

In last month’s translation industry updates, we described the often seemingly all-or-nothing nature of the freelancer work cycle and shared some tips for coping if you get stressed or overwhelmed. Now that we’ve dealt with unusually busy periods, we’ll talk about the equal and opposite side of the ‘feast and famine’ equation: the times when you feel like you’re casting around to have enough work to do. 

One key piece of advice would be to use quieter periods to take time out for yourself (even though that’s easier said than done if you’re worrying about where your next project is coming from). Try to catch up with some of the tasks that you might have been putting off during busier spells, whether that’s freelancer admin such as accounting or cultivating your social media presence, or general life admin and catching up with people. If you’re of a creative mindset (which most translators are), you could consider creating a website, or writing an article on LinkedIn and sharing it with your network. 

It’s also well worth using down time to work on continuing professional development, either in your own industry or in another that you’d like to branch out into. As well as helping you to develop your skills and increase your employability, doing courses can be great for getting ideas and inspiration, and there are many available online, either for free or for a relatively modest sum on platforms such as Coursera. 

There’s also no shame in writing to your existing clients and contacts and letting them know that you’ve available for work on new projects, as well as reaching out to new prospective contacts. As a general tip, it’s important not to get too reliant on any one project, client, or industry. If you have plenty of work coming in from one source then it’s easy to get complacent, but even when you’re busy, it’s still worth keeping an eye out for new opportunities. Remember also that you might not always hear back immediately, so contacting potential clients during a busy spell might eventually pay off during a future quiet spell.

Don’t get too scared, but don’t get too complacent either. It’s natural for any industry to have busier or quieter periods, depending on seasonal trends, national holidays in the countries where your clients are, and broader economic trends. If you’ve been freelancing for a few years, then you might already have an idea of when these slower periods might be. At the same time, if things have been quiet for a while, it’s best to be proactive about seeking out additional opportunities. Talk to people in your network and read around your industry, since there is a lot to be learned from chance encounters or things that we read about in passing. 

Lastly, there’s no shame in applying for a side job, even if it’s one you consider yourself overqualified for. A lot of people working relatively mundane day jobs still have interesting side projects that they do outside of work, so you might well meet like-minded people and get interesting ideas, as well as being able to add to your professional network. Doing an hourly paid job also makes it easier to have a steadier income and be less vulnerable to the feast and famine cycle that we’ve been describing, as well as providing an opportunity to learn new skills and - importantly in the freelancer world - enjoy some social interaction.  

This concludes our suggestions for keeping calm and collected no matter which stage of the cycle you’re on. If you have any more freelancer business tips, feel free to share in the comments! 

Until the next time!