Case study: Karen - Translation Manager

A kitchen knife and a recalcitrant potato almost put an end to Karen's translation career before it even began!

Having just graduated from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh with a 2:1 degree in Interpreting and Translating, she was keen to find a post as an in-house trainee translator. So when she received an invitation for an interview-cum-test with a highly respected translation company, she couldn't believe her good luck.

Good luck turned to misfortune, however, the night before the interview, when she attempted to sever her right pinky in an unfortunate potato peeling incident! Nothing daunted her and with her pinky anchored firmly in place by a combination of stitches and bandages, she attended the interview the next day, thumped out the requested test translations rather indelicately on an old-fashioned typewriter and was ecstatic to be offered the coveted traineeship.

The realisation that people are paying for your work tends to focus the mind

No matter how good the training you've received - and Karen still enthuses to anyone who'll listen about how good the Heriot-Watt course is - the sudden transition from the cosy confines of a University languages department into the harsh reality of the commercial world is a shock. As Karen says: "The realisation that people are paying for your work, and that neither they, nor you, can afford for you to make a mistake, certainly focuses the mind.

"Fortunately, working under the supervision of the agency's senior in-house translator gave me the confidence to stretch myself, safe in the knowledge that if I did make a mistake in those early days, his experienced eagle eye would pick it up."

She adds, "The scary part is when that safety net is finally removed and you're on your own!" Thanks to the patient and skilful guidance of her mentor, when the moment to go it alone finally did arrive, Karen felt ready and able to face the challenge.

After a couple of years as an in-house translator, Karen was keen to work in other sectors which would help to develop her vocabulary - in English, French and German - in different fields. During the next fifteen years she worked in a variety of companies, acquiring knowledge which aided her later career as a freelancer. For example, she enjoyed several happy years in the agricultural industry as a contracts manager, selling seed potatoes to countries such as Algeria and Morocco. This opportunity allowed her to use both her language skills and her agricultural background, as did several trips to Brussels where she interpreted at various veterinary conferences: "A nerve-wracking yet completely exhilarating experience," as she now recalls.

Interpreting at conferences was nerve-wracking yet exhilarating

Next she spent a few years with a civil engineering company, acquiring a whole new vocabulary in English in the process! Finally, by this time equipped with a useful combination of translation experience and knowledge of two very different industries, she took the plunge and set up her own small translation agency which she ran successfully for several years.

She would probably still be doing the same today, had it not been for a job description emailed to her by a German translator friend just over three years ago. Karen explains: "My friend thought the job - as a manager for a young, hip, hop and happening internet translation company - sounded ideal for me, especially as I had three young children to consider and the job was home-based.

"At first I was pretty daunted by the fact that the company was so internet-focused. I'm not exaggerating when I say that in those days I shied away from anything more technologically advanced than inserting a floppy-disk!"

The thrill of a new challenge eventually proved too hard to resist, so one interview and a few weeks later, Karen embarked on the next - and by far the most challenging - stage of her translation career. "I really was a 'Jill of all trades' in the early days," she explains. "I tested and recruited the translators, managed the projects, did most of the proofreading, dealt with the clients and translated the minimum charge or urgent jobs myself when necessary.

"It was absolutely manic for the first 18 months or so - my family thought I'd completely abandoned them, even though I was simply closeted in my office at home!"

It was completely manic - my family thought I'd abandoned them!

However, after a year of phenomenal growth, the company reached the point where two new project managers came on board to ease the workload. Karen continues: "We've continued to expand over the subsequent three years and as a steady stream of new colleagues have joined us, the work-life balance has been gradually restored."

Nowadays Karen is less involved in day-to-day project management, instead devoting more of her time to internal and external communication. Her current remit includes writing a monthly in-house newsletter to keep the 40-strong staff informed of what's going on in the company. In addition, she compiles a monthly bulletin for clients - featuring a blend of useful information, advice and anecdotes - and writes an occasional newsletter to keep the company's 900 or so freelancers up-to-date with the latest news and technological developments.

Asked if she's happy with her chosen career, she responds with conviction: "If I came back again, I'd probably do exactly the same! I consider myself incredibly lucky to have found a career path which I've enjoyed so much, and which continues to throw up the odd unexpected challenge to keep life interesting!"

Happily we can report that the pinky is still going strong too...