Internship in Translation Agencies
Thread poster: Vladislav.
Vladislav.
Vladislav.

Local time: 00:44
English to Russian
+ ...
Jul 23, 2014

Hello,

1) I would like to know whether agencies offer internship for beginning translators for little/ no pay to help them get more experience.

2) If some agencies provide such internship, is it appropriate to list that internship in one's resume as actual work done for those agencies?

3) When applying for internship in an agencies, what is it necessary to write in one's cover letter?


 
Orrin Cummins
Orrin Cummins  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 06:44
Japanese to English
+ ...
Yes Jul 23, 2014

Vlad Kotenko wrote:

1) I would like to know whether agencies offer internship for beginning translators for little/ no pay to help them get more experience.


It's called the Job Board: http://www.proz.com/translation-jobs/


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 21:44
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Internships are for students Jul 23, 2014

Vlad Kotenko wrote:
1) I would like to know whether agencies offer internship for beginning translators for little/ no pay to help them get more experience.

Some certainly do, though I imagine most don't.

2) If some agencies provide such internship, is it appropriate to list that internship in one's resume as actual work done for those agencies?

You would list it in the experience section (of a job-seeker's style CV, at any rate), but clearly marked as an internship.

3) When applying for internship in an agencies, what is it necessary to write in one's cover letter?

Whatever you think will appeal to them - motivation; skills; background...

But I'm wondering from these questions whether you have the right idea of an internship. They're designed for students currently undergoing studies. They aren't designed for "fully fledged adults" who offer their services to a commercial enterprise for little or no recompense. That wouldn't be at all correct, IMHO. Everyone who works should be paid. Certain exceptions are made for students, but even then I personally believe they should be paid, particularly if they're in their final year.


 
Kirsten Bodart
Kirsten Bodart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:44
Dutch to English
+ ...
@Sheila Jul 23, 2014

I think you are sadly mistaken. I find it an outrage as well, but so-called 'work experience' is becoming more and more the norm in certain sectors, in fashion and journalism, for example. I'm not sure if there is a lot of this going on in translation, although I've seen a few from one particular client, although I don't get them anymore. Maybe they've stopped hiring them or I don't get those jobs anymore. I think they used to do small project management jobs and minor proofreading. I don't know... See more
I think you are sadly mistaken. I find it an outrage as well, but so-called 'work experience' is becoming more and more the norm in certain sectors, in fashion and journalism, for example. I'm not sure if there is a lot of this going on in translation, although I've seen a few from one particular client, although I don't get them anymore. Maybe they've stopped hiring them or I don't get those jobs anymore. I think they used to do small project management jobs and minor proofreading. I don't know what the actual 'value' of work experience is in translation.

I also consider it a modern version of shameless slavery, but I suppose everything to make a profit.
Collapse


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 21:44
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Depends on the exact definition Jul 23, 2014

Kirsten Bodart wrote:
I think you are sadly mistaken. I find it an outrage as well, but so-called 'work experience' is becoming more and more the norm in certain sectors

I'm sure these "work experience" offers exist, Kirsten; I've been around long enough to become very cynical and little would surprise me today.

However, the offers you're talking about don't qualify as "internships", which have a particular definition in the academic institutions. If the OP is looking to give his services for free, outside of an educational programme, then I'd encourage him to think again. As you say, the companies who are going down that route are those where you'd only learn how to produce an extraordinary volume of abysmally translated words per hour (as Google Translate does), not how to produce quality translations. Such experience certainly wouldn't do your CV any favours.


 
Rintaro Itoh
Rintaro Itoh  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 06:44
Member (2013)
English to Japanese
+ ...
Positive action is the key Jul 23, 2014

Vlad Kotenko wrote:

1) I would like to know whether agencies offer internship for beginning translators for little/ no pay to help them get more experience.



Sure there is.
You can browse company profile pages http://www.proz.com/translation-companies/ and there search at random at your will. Then, send a message to companies that attract you.
The key is to never give up. Access is the key. I wish you the best


 
Kirsten Bodart
Kirsten Bodart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:44
Dutch to English
+ ...
I agree Jul 24, 2014

Sheila Wilson wrote:

I'm sure these "work experience" offers exist, Kirsten; I've been around long enough to become very cynical and little would surprise me today.

However, the offers you're talking about don't qualify as "internships", which have a particular definition in the academic institutions. If the OP is looking to give his services for free, outside of an educational programme, then I'd encourage him to think again. As you say, the companies who are going down that route are those where you'd only learn how to produce an extraordinary volume of abysmally translated words per hour (as Google Translate does), not how to produce quality translations. Such experience certainly wouldn't do your CV any favours.


Yes, obviously they exist in Belgium where I come from too, as part of your course (mostly at the end), but I think it's getting more wide-spread now. Especially after formal course programmes and in certain industries. Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick in terms of the interns I worked with though. Maybe the company was 'innocent' so to speak.

It's the same as the abuse of the term 'apprenticeship', I expect. These days you can apparently also do an apprenticeship to be shelf-stacker.


 
Giulia Marconi
Giulia Marconi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 22:44
Member
English to Italian
+ ...
Looking for an internship in the UK Feb 21, 2017

Hello,

I'm an undergraduate translation student. I'm an Italian native speaker and I study English, Russian and Spanish. I expect to graduate in July. I'm looking for a translation/project management internship in the UK to gain practical experience into the world of translation and build up my CV. I've made a list of companies that offer internships but I don't know which one to choose. Do you have any suggestions?


 


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