1. Good writing skills

Translator cannot translate properly if they don’t write well. Good writing is a basic requirement for any good translator. I often ask new translators to write something on their own before taking any kind of translation. They look at me with amazement as if I were putting them through a college entrance exam. Many people do not associate the importance of good writing skills with their responsibilities as a translator; while poor writing usually prevents their translation work from rising above mediocrity.

2. Be an avid reader

This item is directly linked to the previous one. You have to read a lot to write well. Therefore I suggest that you read as much as possible – books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Reading expands your vocabulary and increases your general culture. Your writing will certainly improve, as well as your linguistic repertoire.

3. Stay up-to-date

Once again, this item goes pretty much hand in hand with the prior one. A translator needs to stay well informed, and hence should read as much as possible. Keeping current is part of a translator’s daily routine. After all, they will probably be requested to translate material related to current issues and events, usually discussed in the media, and understanding the subject well may take you half way there.

4. Develop research skill

No matter how familiar a translator may be with any given subject, now and then an unknown term or expression will come up. This is when your research skills come into play. Google is generally a great research tool, however there are many others, such as on-line glossaries as well as Wikipedia (albeit some of its glaring mistakes), etc. Nowadays you can find answers to most of the translation questions on the Internet. Therefore, excuses are no longer acceptable; all you have to do is to explore the vast array of on-line material out there, not to mention specialized dictionaries (hard copy), which should be part of your own library.

5. Ask your peers and join translator newsgroups

If you still have a hard time finding an answer to your question, no matter how hard you try, you can always ask your fellow translators. Networking with your peers should be broad, reaching as many people as possible, since there should always be someone who knows the answer you are looking for. Another good tip is to join in translators’ newsgroups. Translators can ask their questions there to hundreds of other translators, some of which may have that elusive answer.

6. Specialize

I always ask translators I am recruiting about their areas of specialty and I get utterly floored when they answer: “I translate in all areas,” or “I specialize in finance, culinary arts, medicine, auto mechanics, chemistry, biology, astrophysics, soccer, legal contracts, as well as social sciences.” I honestly doubt it. Even worse, such answers tempt me to get rid of these candidates. We have translators working for us who focus exclusively on medicine, while others specialize in legal work. I would like to mention, by way of example, a friend of mine and an excellent translator, Márcio Badra, a former bank executive who naturally specialized in translating finance, and has been very successful at it, given his command of the jargon and his thorough knowledge of the industry.