Gone are the days when mastering one’s own language was enough. Knowing how to safely position yourself and communicate clearly with people of different nationalities has become a differentiator and a necessity. In the crowded job market, those that stand out are the ones who do better in all situations, and not only in some of them.
Freeze Chua, or simply Freeze, as he prefers to be called because he believes it's easier to pronounce, is only 20 years old and already working as a freelancer, and since the beginning of 2019, he's registered at Workana as a Writing and Translation professional.
With 12 projects completed, being 3 of them ongoing projects and 2 rehirings, we invite you to meet yet another successful freelancer at Workana!
At just 20 years old, he's currently a student and waiting for the replies to know which universities he can join from September this year. He will try the Logistics or Operations Management courses. As he doesn't live in Kuala Lumpur, he's ready for possibly moving.
Due to the studies, getting a steady job working part-time wouldn't be an easy task, and that’s where the idea of becoming a freelancer came to him. This was a way to start earning money, experience, and reconciling his studies.
Get to know a little more about this young professional
Freeze likes being with his family or hanging out with friends for coffee or tea; he enjoys this time because he knows that when his university studies start, being with them won’t always be possible. This is already happening with his two sisters who live in Kuala Lumpur, where they study. His father also lives in another city and only returns home on the weekends.
We had the pleasure of interviewing him, and now we'll tell you what Freeze shared with us:
How important is Workana in your freelance career? What has Workana made possible for you?
Workana allowed me to create an account and develop myself as a freelancer, even living in a state far from Kuala Lumpur. This way, I found the opportunity to spend more time with my family and friends and still be able to cover all my expenses using the platform.
What do you like most about Workana?
Besides making money, learning how to deal with clients, how I should communicate with them. Each customer has different requirements, so I learn every day. I learn a lot from my contact with each and every one of them.
What have you been doing with your free time now that you are a Freelancer?
Being able to balance my personal and professional life is very important to me, working in a sustainable way that allows me to do what I really enjoy. I don’t want to get into the routine of waking up, working, eating, and going to sleep. I want to be able to merge work and my personal life in a way that I can have balance and be with my family and friends.
What would be your advice for anyone who wants to become a Freelancer?
I'd tell them not to give up easily and keep going. The first few weeks were the more difficult, as I didn't always get responses from customers but, with perseverance, I got my first project and from then on, everything became easier because the profile gets more prominence and stands out.
Up to getting to Silver or Gold level, everything was more difficult, because now I can showcase some completed projects, my portfolio, and reviews.
Also have at hand examples of work you've done before, of the quality you can provide (through the portfolio) and a good photo with a good resolution. If the picture is taken outdoors, even better; if not, make sure the light and background match.
How to be a translation professional?
Leveraging existing expertise, as odd as it seems, wasn't Freeze’s first choice. He got a project to write an article, but browsing Workana found that his skills and knowledge could open up incredible opportunities. In addition to Malay, he is fluent in Chinese and English.
And it's true, the translation area is one of the largest in the platform. After all, the translator is one of the most sought-after professionals these days. We live in a globalizing, constantly evolving world, and all this technology allows people to be closer and closer to each other.
Geographical barriers have been broken down, and this is where the role of freelance translator and its importance comes in, regardless of the company’s business segment.
We recently wrote about here on the blog about Sirena’s CRM case, a company from Argentina that markets a WhatsApp tool that helps businesses centralize their customer communications in one place, increasing sales conversion.
With the help of 10 freelancers from different places and languages, it was possible to boost the company’s content strategy. Today, their website, besides Spanish, is translated into Portuguese and English.
Now check out 7 tips for those who want to start working in this promising area:
1) Know how to write well
A good writer needs to know how to have great writing. It's no use just translating to the letter and leaving the content meaningless. You have to have coherence, and for that, writing well is a strong requirement.
2) Always read
Only writes well those who read a lot. Search for books, blog articles, magazines, and newspapers in the language you're looking to update yourself in. This will enrich your vocabulary and increase your knowledge and culture in general.
3) Stay up to date
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, with the constant changes in this globalized world, it's essential to always be updated. It's important that the translator is aware of everything that is happening because if translations for current events come about, knowing the daily news well will help in understanding and writing the text.
4) Network
How about having a group of translating friends who can help you when you have questions about a particular subject?
Build a network with people who work in the area, and exchange knowledge about slang, expressions, some form of work you're not yet familiar with, etc.
5) Search for a specialization
It's always important to stay up to date, and pursuing a course on the new spelling reform, translation techniques or computer-assisted translation programs can be of great value to your portfolio.
6) Be a perfectionist
Always being aware is crucial to being a good translator. Pay special attention when translating a sentence, as entering a wrong date or making grammatical errors could mean all the difference in your work.
7) Create your profile on a freelance work platform
This is your typical job that is very timely, which means that the demand arises and the entrepreneur goes looking for a freelance translator to help them in this specific job. Hundreds of translation projects are created daily here at Workana! take the opportunity!
Where can the Translator act?
This is a very wide market and the translator has a huge range of job possibilities. See some of them:
Simultaneous translation
In this type of work, the translator is required to attend meetings, lectures, interviews, congresses or seminars where it's necessary to use a translation for others who don't have the command of the language in which a person is speaking.
Subtitle videos in general
Surely you have come across videos that have subtitles, right? It used to be more common in the cinema, but nowadays with the growth of streaming series and all kinds of types of videos on Youtube and other social networks, it's very common requesting a translator. This is the professional who will analyze the original text and translate it into a local language.
In this case, it's the translator’s responsibility to also bring the language to the most well-known and used expressions, so it's necessary for them to have a vast knowledge not only regarding the local culture but also the culture of the country of origin from which the material will be translated.
Certified translation
Here come translations that have official values such as powers of attorney, contracts, and official documents in general. But beware, not all translators can work in this area. In Brazil, for example, you need to be approved in a public tender held by the state Commercial Registries.
Get started today!
Do as Sirena, which, by seeking translation professionals through Workana, was able to launch their application in just 5 days in 3 languages simultaneously. There are several professionals who specialize in different languages and that, like Freeze, can make your project a real success and scale your business even faster.
Remote work can benefit all of us, businesses and professionals. Get started today and register or update your profile as a client or freelancer at Workana!
[Download] Learn from Freeze how to take your first steps as a freelancer:
