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Meet the linguist: Caroline Alberoni (@AlberoniTrans)

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Hi everybody! How's your week been? Mine was surely interesting: I had a webinar for Russian-speaking translators, there were 2 birthdays in my family, plus there were a couple very interesting translation projects and a lot of requests from new clients and agencies. Hope at least a couple of them turn into new long-term relationships :)

It's Friday, so it's the time to recommend another colleague! Today I'd like to share the interview with Caroline Alberoni. Caroline once took part in my series about keeping healthy and fit as a freelancer. You can read her post here. I really enjoy reading Caroline's blog and her posts in social media and I appreciate this chance to get to know her better. So here's the interview. Enjoy :)

1. Could you share some fun/weird facts about you that you don't normally write in your bio?

I have to work with my feet up. That’s right, totally straight, on a chair, so I need an extra space in front of the table, and the table needs to be hollow, with nothing covering its back.

I need to focus 100% on the translation, with no noise or music (except for a few selected songs, mostly classical, but only rarely). TV, people talking, radio, any kind of noise can totally distract me and make me lose my focus.

I have a terrible memory! I rarely remember people or facts from the past, only a few random ones. So for organizational purposes, besides adding my to-dos on the calendar, I have to set alarms for everything: bills to pay, events, things to buy, birthdays, you name it.

2. What's the best project in your career?

The best project in my career was actually my blog. I do enjoy working on some projects more than on others, but I don’t have a preferred one. My blog, on the other hand, was something I never wanted to do. I always thought I wouldn’t be creative enough to write, there wouldn’t be interesting topics, people would think it was tedious and so on. However, to my greatest surprise, it turned out to be a blast (at least for me). I’m getting great feedback from it, both in comments on the posts and directly. This makes me feel accomplished!

3. What was the worst project in your career?

We all have some great jobs, but also some awful ones, right? However, I never thought of the best or the worst. I do remember once I had to translate some IT on the client’s CAT tool. Working with that tool was terrible! It took a while to process every segment, and my productivity was half my usual one. A real nightmare! Luckily, we do learn from our bad experiences, and I never accepted a job that required that tool again.

4. What are the three things you love most about being a linguist/freelance translator?

First, I get to work with something I’ve always loved and dreamed of doing and get paid for it! Isn’t that amazing? I love working with languages and I love working at home. Second, I get to meet some great colleagues all around the world, like Olga. I think the translators’ community is fantastic! We love to help each other, engage with fellow translators and exchange useful information and knowledge. We aren’t competitors, we are on the same team! Last, but not least, as a freelancer, therefore, an entrepreneur, I have to do my own branding and marketing, and I love it! This is something I only found out later: dealing with social media, marketing myself and choosing my branding material is a joy!

5. Why do your clients prefer working with you? What's unique about Alberoni Translations?

My clients are usually happy to work with me because of my prompt and friendly responses and deliveries. I always try to answer their e-mails as soon as possible, even if only to apologize for not being able to accept a project. In my opinion, in today’s fast-moving world, rapid responses to consultations are key, as is politeness. Besides, I’m totally open to feedback. This makes me adapt to the client’s needs, learn with my mistakes (and not make them again) and shows we care. Again, politeness is essential in all these feedback communications. It shows if you’re really taking them well or not and how willing you are to change, if necessary.

As for quality, in my opinion, it is not a differential. It’s something mandatory, therefore, it shouldn’t be considered something unique in a professional.

Dear Caroline, thank you so much for your honest replies! I wish you all the best in your life and work!

Olga Arakelyan,
Your Professional Translator

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