Let’s start with freelancers. Why would someone want to work as a freelancer rather than an in-house translator? One of the main attractions to being a freelancer is the ability to be your own boss. You can decline the jobs that you don’t like while accepting the ones you do. You are able to set your own rates and your own hours. You have more flexibility to arrange your schedule around your needs versus regular employees who are expected to work a scheduled amount of time each day. In general, freelancers have the potential to make more money than in-house translators as well, so it is a very attractive path for many.

So why would someone not want to be a freelancer? The freedom sounds like it would be enough, not to mention the potential amount of money that you can make. One of the main reasons that some people prefer working in-house over freelance is because of the variance in the work. The frequency of work that you receive is not always guaranteed even if you have repeat clients. You are reliant on people offering you work rather than just having a steady stream of guaranteed work. Also, you need to be able to market yourself and compete with other freelancers for work. If you are unable to set yourself apart from the other translators out there, then you will have difficulty finding work because you will just be blending in and not showing off your skills.

What makes working in-house so great then? One of the biggest draws to working in-house is having structure. If you are hired as a translator or interpreter for a company, you will only have to worry about the work that they give you. You will have a schedule for your work hours, you will have a team to work with, you will have a steady salary, and you will have company benefits. You might even receive training that will help you improve your skills or work better in the company. There will also be opportunities to use new technology or receive benefits that you would have otherwise have had to pay for on your own if you were a freelancer.

The downside of working in-house though is the fact that you are working for a company and have to play by their rules. You have to make sure that you conform to their company culture and values, so that could mean that you lose a lot of your individuality and uniqueness. The translation or interpretation styles that you had in the past might not work at the company anymore. You also have no ability to choose the work you do. If your employer gives you the same kind of work over and over again, then you have no choice but to do it.

First, it’s good to have a presence on major professional websites or social media. When hiring someone, it is common for managers or recruiters to look at the potential candidate online. It’s a way to get a preliminary look at a candidate and really get to know them better before deciding on whether or not to proceed with the hiring process.

Next, it is good to keep yourself familiar with a variety of different skills. If you have many different skills and are adept at all of them, then you can market yourself as someone who can work in a lot of different fields. However, it’s important if you could commit everything to one field and then promote yourself that way, as someone who is highly experienced in the specific field. Sometimes, recruiters look for people who have the most experience in the field, so if you show that you have more experience than other people in the field, you will be more attractive as a prospective translator or interpreter.

Also, it is important to maintain good connections with the people you work with. Make sure to be as courteous as possible and project yourself as a professional translator or interpreter. Also be sure to make friends in the industry. If you have a network of colleagues, then you can help each other find work. There are a lot of times when translators or interpreters might be too busy with an assignment they are currently working on to take any new client requests. In this situation, they try to refer a colleague, and you might be able to be that colleague that they refer. If that happens, you will establish a connection with a new client, and maybe be able to connect with even more clients afterwards.

Growing your presence as an interpreter or translator is not something that you can just do overnight, it takes time and effort. But if you are able to grow your presence, then it will benefit you in ways that you might not expect. You will reach many new clients, and build your own network of clients that know who you are and would love to work with you on future assignments.