Your Guide to Getting More Spanish Translation Jobs

Spanish translation is one of the most in-demand careers in the world today. With an ever-growing number of people who speak Spanish as a primary language - particularly in the United States - it is vital to business and everyday citizen affairs to ensure that these people are understood. To keep the economy growing and life moving along smoothly, translation is an important tool - but who will fill these jobs? 

If you speak Spanish and English fluently, you might already be working as a freelance translator. But many English to Spanish translators struggle to find work due to a lack of familiarity with the industry or an inability to market themselves effectively. Here, we’ll show you how to make the most out of your presence in this industry and land more jobs than ever before:

Make a Solid First Impression 

Whether you’re working directly with a client or working through a translation agency, make your first few assignments your very best work. This will impress your client and keep them coming back to you when they need work done in the future.

Another important part of making a good first impression is to make any customer-facing text you create as perfect as possible. You want your website and any emails or other correspondence you send to be faultless so that potential consumers can see that you really know what you’re doing when it comes to both languages you work with. This will give them a positive impression of your work and also offer a sense of you as an experienced professional.

Make It Personal

Want to set yourself apart from other English to Spanish translators? Personalize communication with your clients whenever possible. This doesn’t mean being “too friendly”; you should always remain professional in your dealings with clients. But it does mean remembering details about past projects, using their name when speaking to them, and offering personalized greetings and follow-up or thank you messages. This will give them a positive impression of you and your work - and garner repeat business and customer loyalty. 

Make the Extra Effort to Offer Formatting, Editing and More

Want to make more money in your job as a translator? Consider offering additional services, such as formatting finished text, editing text before and after translation, and copywriting. These are all additional fees that you can add to your customer’s bill - and services they are likely in search of anyway and happy to pay for. It’s a great way to bump up business and also keep your customers coming back for more. 

Make Your Experience Work for You

New to the translation job? If so, you may not have the extensive industry experience to log in a portfolio. This doesn’t mean you can’t share the experience that you do have - and benefit from it. Be sure to note every project you’ve worked on in your early days of translating, even if it was volunteer or student work. This will bulk up your portfolio and show even your earliest clients that you know what you’re doing. Soon, you’ll have plenty of paid work to add to that list!