How I got my job in the language industry

Amy Robinson graduated with a BA in French and Portuguese and now works at Andiamo! as a Project Manager. Here, she tells us how she got into the industry and includes some expert hints and tips.

The Background

My name is Amy and I am a Project Manager at Andiamo! Language Services ltd. I have been working for Andiamo! for about 18 months now, however during my first year in the company I actually worked as a Vendor Controller, meaning that I was responsible for recruiting new translators and interpreters for our database of suppliers, as well as lending a hand to the Projects team and preparing smaller quotations.

I realised that I had a keen interest in the Projects side of things, and changed roles about six months ago. Today my new role involves much more communication with our clients, talking to them about their requirements and preparing quotations for them, as well as negotiating rates with suppliers and working with translation software when checking translations through. I really enjoy seeing a project go from start to finish, as well as the relationship that I have built up with clients and suppliers that I speak to regularly.

Languages at Leeds!

I have a BA in French and Portuguese from the University of Leeds, and when thinking about my career after University I knew that I wanted to work with languages from the outset. I had completed a translation module as an elective in my first year, my final year language modules had a lot of translation content, and I also spent a small amount of time as a volunteer translator during my year abroad in João Pessoa, Brazil, which gave me an insight into the theory and practical side of translation, if not the broader industry. I would certainly recommend volunteer translation work as a way of gaining experience initially to people who are interested in translation as a career, and for project management at a language service provider, I would say that a knowledge and interest in foreign languages is definitely necessary, although I also think that a good level of English and experience in customer service are highly recommended, along with strong organisational skills and the ability to multi-task – you never know what is around the corner!

How the Careers Centre can help

While I was in my final year of University and looking for a job, I visited the Careers Centre a lot, both for advice on how to improve my CV writing skills, and for job interview practice, which I found to be invaluable, and I actually found the job advert for my initial Vendor Control role at Andiamo! on the Careers Centre website. I think as another useful hint it’s good to have a strong online presence these days, for example a LinkedIn profile; in my application to Andiamo! I also included a link to the travel blog I had put together during my year abroad – every little helps.