Project Management Skills You Need to Master as a Translator
Before I went freelance as a translator, I used to be a translation project manager. And before that, during my Masters in Translation Studies, I also took a few project management modules. While I’ve since realised that I don’t want to be a full-time translation PM, I’ve also realised that those experiences were pretty valuable to me as a freelance translator. There are a few handy project management skills that will benefit your business no end, even if you never consider being a full-time PM:
Building in a buffer
As a PM, you receive projects from clients with an ideal deadline, then you get quotes from translators on their best deadline (or you head over to the schedule if you have an in-house team). Then you align these two deadlines as best you can and, ideally, build in a buffer in case of queries, emergencies and errors. As a freelancer, it’s tempting to offer the maximum work you can complete in the slimmest time period – time is money, right? But building in a buffer makes you far less likely to disappoint, far more likely to impress (read: deliver early) and gives you time to spend on trickier sections and confirming queries.
Scanning for queries early on
When I was PMing projects with languages I spoke, I always (if I had time) scanned the documents for potential issues before sending them out to translators, so we could clear up queries early – sometimes before we’d set the project rolling. These could be linguistic or continuity or formatting issues. If you scan the document(s) when you first receive them, you can accept the job and already be handing over your initial queries – maximum efficiency.
Good file organisation and versioning
Weirdly, perhaps, I find a neat filing system on my PC to be the most satisfying thing. There’s nothing like knowing exactly where all your reference documents, PO, working files and – of course – finished files are. Not to mention query responses. It’ll speed up the admin parts of your projects, which saves you time (and makes your margins better). But it’ll also help you if the client returns to you and asks “Where did you get X fact or Y wording?” You can simply open your reference folder and whip out the document in question.
Inbox management
Urgh. Inboxes. I personally, do not like my inbox – I don’t like emailing (perhaps you can see why I didn’t pursue a project management career). My inbox used to be a chaotic extension of my brain. However, inbox management is pretty essential; for PMs, so you don’t forget about projects or let them slide and then have to scramble and apologise, and for freelancers so you don’t miss opportunities. There are lots of inbox management methods, but you can also simply craft your own that works for you. Just remember, you can’t be on your inbox 24/7, you also have to work, so you’ll need to find a balance.
I could go on – communication, time management, negotiation and adaptability are all handy project-management-related skills to have (although arguably, what career are these not relevant for?).
I find the four listed above particularly pertinent to freelance translation work, either with direct clients or agencies. You’ll not only thank yourself for mastering these, the PMs from agencies and companies you work with will appreciate your organisation too. Do you have any more you find essential? Let me know!
