Habits of highly successful translators

In this month’s translation industry updates, we’ll be thinking about skills that are valuable for translators and for freelancers more broadly. Read on to discover some of the habits of highly successful translators and linguists. 

A curious mindset and good reading and writing skills

If you’re drawn to translation then you’re probably also someone who loves reading and researching. Having a naturally active and curious mindset makes it easier to learn about other

subject areas, which is particularly important given that the wide-ranging nature of texts that need translating can mean that you'll often have to cover topics you're not previously familiar with, and understand just enough of the general idea to be able to discern which words work best in the context. 

People that read a lot generally also like writing, which is important because one of the most important elements of translation, regardless of the subject matter, is an ability to write well in your target language, including being able to communicate ideas in a wide range of styles and voices depending on the nature of the text that you work with and your target audience. If you read a lot then this will already come much, much easier to you. 

A high degree of self-motivation

To be able to even get started as a freelancer, it’s generally necessary to build up an online presence, find clients, and preferably make some friends and professional contacts, all of which can be convoluted and will take place entirely on your own unpaid time. And even if you’ve settled into a groove, you’ve been working as a freelancer for a while and you’re passionate about what you do, there will always be a certain amount of drudgery involved in all self-employed work, which means that you need to be able to motivate yourself to keep on top of tedious yet essential admin tasks such as invoicing and keeping up with tax returns. 

The more precarious nature of freelance work also means that it’s important to future-proof your business plan by looking for potential new clients while continuing to work with your existing clients, dedicating some time to learning and development, and trying to anticipate changes that might take place within your industry and require adaptation on your side. All of this is easier to do with a high level of self-motivation too. 

Resilience and creative problem-solving skills

If you freelance then you need to be or become good at solving problems, since depending on the nature of the work you do, you might need to be your own tax advisor, your own social media marketing manager, your own IT technician, and so on. Unlike in an employed environment, you probably won’t have ‘colleagues’ in the traditional sense who are able to offer practical or moral support, and this means that your own efforts are ultimately what will see you through. In many senses, this can actually be a good thing, since the one-man-band nature of freelancing means that you’re likely to conduct far more diverse activities and learn many more transferable skills than you might end up doing in an employed role, and this will help you in any other future work that you do. 

Self-reliance is also important in the sense that freelancing can be lonely, particularly if you freelance in an industry that tends to attract quiet people, or if your clients or other professional contacts are spread out across multiple geographic zones. While a lot of people like the freedom and flexibility that comes with the freelance lifestyle, there can also be difficult moments that you’ll have to ride out alone, such staying up late to meet a deadline, and self-reliance will help you with this. 

Flexibility and openness to new ways of working

Freelancing in any industry can bring a great deal of flexibility, but unless you’re lucky enough to be extremely well-established in a particular niche then it can also bring uncertainty. Freelance work by nature tends to fluctuate regardless of the industry, so it’s important to try to diversify as much as possible and to always have an eye out for alternative opportunities, even if they’re slightly different from the type of work that you originally imagined yourself pursuing.

If, like many freelancers, you balance your self-employed work with a salaried job or other commitments such as caring responsibilities, then it’s important to be able to focus your mind on a number of things at once. It’s also good to be open to learning and development, since the pace of social and technological change is such that the way we work can change rapidly. That makes it all the more important to read widely around your industry, talk to other people as much as possible, and be mindful of opportunities that you might not have previously considered. 

This wraps up our list of highly successful translator and freelancer habits, but we’re sure our list isn’t exhaustive. If you’re a translator or you do freelance work in any industry, which skills do you think have helped you the most? Are there any that didn’t feature on our list?