Need advice on my resume
Thread poster: Kateryna Osokine
Kateryna Osokine
Kateryna Osokine
Canada
Local time: 22:35
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
May 9, 2004

Dear all,

I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me regarding my profile page and resume. As you will be able to see, I have done some (not much) translating already, both in Ukraine and in Canada, where I have lived since year 2000. I am a bit ashamed to say that I have never had anyone look over my resume, and resume-building tips from the net seem to be too general. I guess I should state what my situation is at present: having just graduated with a B.Sc. in Economic
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Dear all,

I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me regarding my profile page and resume. As you will be able to see, I have done some (not much) translating already, both in Ukraine and in Canada, where I have lived since year 2000. I am a bit ashamed to say that I have never had anyone look over my resume, and resume-building tips from the net seem to be too general. I guess I should state what my situation is at present: having just graduated with a B.Sc. in Economics, I will be in a Master's in Economics program in September. Translating (AND editing and proofreading) interests me much more than economics does, so it is what I would like to stick with after I get an MA.
In the summer, and while doing an MA, I will keep trying to get translation jobs - over the past year I only got a few small ones. So I just wanted to find out how does my resume look to an agency, for example, - are they able to get a good understanding of what I have been doing?
Any general advice other than on my resume is very welcome as well. Thank you!

Ekaterina

P.S. If something is not clear from the above, please ask, I'll be happy to explain.
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Monika Coulson
Monika Coulson  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:35
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Did not see your resume May 9, 2004

Dear Ekaterina,
I checked your profile, but I did not see your resume there.
Monika


 
Kateryna Osokine
Kateryna Osokine
Canada
Local time: 22:35
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I'm very sorry! May 9, 2004

Yesterday I deleted an outdated version while uploading a new one at the same time. The notification was along the lines of "OK - resume stored. OK - resume deleted from profile". I guess it did not upload, but did delete.. I did it again - should be there now! My apologies again..

 
Monika Coulson
Monika Coulson  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:35
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
My 2 cents May 9, 2004

Dear Ekaterina,

I looked at your resume and in my opinion it looks pretty good. I would highlight your working language pairs or your native languages, so the clients would be able to distinguish them right away.

Are you member of any professional translators/interpreters associations? If yes, it would be good to mention it in your resume. If not, you might want to consider becoming a member of one or a few of them. It always helps.

Also, you might want to
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Dear Ekaterina,

I looked at your resume and in my opinion it looks pretty good. I would highlight your working language pairs or your native languages, so the clients would be able to distinguish them right away.

Are you member of any professional translators/interpreters associations? If yes, it would be good to mention it in your resume. If not, you might want to consider becoming a member of one or a few of them. It always helps.

Also, you might want to do some finishing touches, like for example use a Print Layout format (in my opinion it looks better if you use Print Layout.) Or, you might want to align in center your contact information etc.

Maybe other colleagues will give you some better ideas.
Good luck,
Monika
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Kim Metzger
Kim Metzger  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 20:35
German to English
Need advice on my resume May 9, 2004

Ekaterina Shcherbakova wrote:

I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me regarding my profile page and resume.
How does my resume look to an agency, for example, - are they able to get a good understanding of what I have been doing?
Any general advice other than on my resume is very welcome as well. Thank you!


Hi Ekaterina,
Something's not quite right about this statement:

"Certificate of a translator of English and American technical and scientific literature #27 (into Russian/Ukrainian), Ukrainian Ministry of Education, 1998"

"Certificate of a translator" - should this be certificate in translation? Could you clarify?

Best wishes, Kim


 
Kateryna Osokine
Kateryna Osokine
Canada
Local time: 22:35
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Clarification May 9, 2004

Thank you for noting. The original document is actually in English as well, and that is the exact wording - I have not changed it. You may have noticed, however, that I am not reporting this credential on the profile page, nor am I calling myself a "certified translator" - the reason being, quite obviously, that what I have does not correspond to the "Certificate in Translation" qualification as understood in many countries. Here in Canada, one has to be certified by CTIC in order to have the ti... See more
Thank you for noting. The original document is actually in English as well, and that is the exact wording - I have not changed it. You may have noticed, however, that I am not reporting this credential on the profile page, nor am I calling myself a "certified translator" - the reason being, quite obviously, that what I have does not correspond to the "Certificate in Translation" qualification as understood in many countries. Here in Canada, one has to be certified by CTIC in order to have the title "Certified".

Kim Metzger wrote:

"Certificate of a translator" - should this be certificate in translation? Could you clarify?

Best wishes, Kim
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Kim Metzger
Kim Metzger  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 20:35
German to English
Need advice on my resume May 9, 2004

[quote]Ekaterina Shcherbakova wrote:

Thank you for noting. The original document is actually in English as well, and that is the exact wording - I have not changed it.

[quote]

I would reword it nonetheless. As it stands, it shouts: not written by a native speaker.

Best, Kim


 
Kateryna Osokine
Kateryna Osokine
Canada
Local time: 22:35
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
It is not written by a native speaker. May 9, 2004

But since it is a document in English, do you think it would be correct to change its wording, even though this may lead to a potential misrepresentation of my qualification?

Kim Metzger wrote:
As it stands, it shouts: not written by a native speaker.
Best, Kim


 
Kateryna Osokine
Kateryna Osokine
Canada
Local time: 22:35
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you, Monika, Kim, and Tayfun! May 9, 2004

I appreciate your input a lot. Monika, if I would have had the credentials/memberships, I would surely have reported them. I'm just not eligible for any memberships yet - all of my translation work adds up (by word count) to just half a year of full-time translation experience...

 
Margaret Schroeder
Margaret Schroeder  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 20:35
Spanish to English
+ ...
Some not-so-general advice May 9, 2004

Although, as you found, most of the advice available on CVs is too general, there are some useful tips specific to freelancers and translators at these sites:

Free Agents: Do You Need a Résumé?
http://resume.monster.ca/dilemmas/needaresume/

Sample translator CV makeover
... See more
Although, as you found, most of the advice available on CVs is too general, there are some useful tips specific to freelancers and translators at these sites:

Free Agents: Do You Need a Résumé?
http://resume.monster.ca/dilemmas/needaresume/

Sample translator CV makeover
http://resume.monster.ca/makeovers/ndouceur/
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Vladimir Dubisskiy
Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 21:35
Member (2001)
English to Russian
+ ...
a note May 9, 2004

[quote]Ekaterina Shcherbakova wrote:
Here in Canada, one has to be certified by CTIC in order to have the title "Certified".

Not necessarily, actually.
The other way - to have a university degree in translation with certain language pairs you will be able to certify (after being granted this 'power' on the basis of your credentials - I believe it's a common process in effect not only in Canada).

Then, please be advised that CTIC "charges" a lot (exams, membership fees), giving back quite a little - well, in my humble personal opinion only. And this is regarding my language pairs only (Russian, Ukrainian).

And, re. that certificate you have mentioned: the phrase "...English and American technical and scientific literature" sounds really weird to me.



[Edited at 2004-05-09 16:51]

[Edited at 2004-05-10 05:56]


 
Jenny Lu
Jenny Lu  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 10:35
English to Chinese
+ ...
it might be better if in doc Mar 27, 2005

Personally, I prefer using microsoft word to generate cvs. In this way you could have much more "beautiful" layout. Just an advice.

Jenny Lu
Award-Winning EnglishChinese Translator
+44-77-0464-0503
[email protected]


 


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