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Lesson 44: Translators, do you know how to network?
In an article I wrote some time ago, I encouraged you to attend all sorts of professional events. I’m a huge fan of online presentations, webinars and chats, but I must admit that meetings in person are irreplaceable. Apart from the obvious aspect of professional development, all face-to-face events give us great opportunities to network with our colleagues and other specialists in our fields. We’re approaching the Language Show Live and the ATA conference, not to mention all smaller events. Some networking knowledge is essential for all of us now, especially when we’re just starting up in the business. We all know the word. But what is really networking and how do we carry it out? And most importantly, what are some doubts we may have and how to go about talking to strangers? How to make networking less daunting?
Networking is, in simple terms, building your network of connections. In the simplest terms, getting to know people. You come to an event and meet new people. That’s it. I used to be a very lousy event attendee. In the past, I would just listen to the presentation and then run home as soon as I could. Terrible, I know. But I made significant progress since then, and now I know how to use these events to the fullest. So here are some of my doubts I managed to get rid of and pieces of advice about what to do before, during, and after each networking event.
Before the event
How do I know if I should attend?
Every meeting I go to has a purpose in my professional life. Some of them are strictly CPD, other meetings are to talk to potential clients, and some of them are to meet my colleagues. With so many events to choose from, I’m always trying to decide which one is going to bring me most benefits (or return on the time I’ve invested). I went to a legal exhibition because I wanted to meet lawyers, and I didn’t mind explaining to everyone there that I’m neither a solicitor nor a barrister. In fact, I’m ready to attend a gas and oil conference if it’s close and at reasonable cost. Because, why not?
How to get used to a new place?
It is extremely important to prepare for each event. Start with long-term preparation. Research the event, the venue; try to find out as much about it as you can. It will not only make you feel more confident, but you’ll also have some anecdotes to relate to your colleagues.
What should I take with me?
Make sure that you have enough business cards and that they’re suitable for this kind of event. I have two types of business cards: One specifically for my colleagues, inviting them to visit my blog and Facebook page, and the other one for my prospective clients, giving my essential details. I always carry both of them with me. On average, I’m giving out between 5 to 15 business cards on one event; unless, of course I’m presenting. Then I need many more of them. A camera is recommended to take pictures and share them with colleagues later. You could also consider taking your smartphone to tweet and update your Facebook.
What if someone wants to know something about me?
Before the event you have to think of your pitch, or introduction. Just visualise the venue, think of a situation where a couple of co-attendees approach and greet you. They’ll inevitably be interested in you and they will ask questions (if they don’t ask, you’re bound to tell them something about you anyway). But let’s suppose someone asks you what you do. You have about 20 seconds to introduce yourself and your services in the most professional and appealing manner. It’s your chance to make the first impression, so you better get it right. Creating such an introduction requires some preparation and rehearsals. Write down a sentence or two about yourself and your services. It’s good to mention whether you’re a translator, an interpreter, or both, which languages you do, what areas you specialise in. And then comes the spice. In your introduction, you should mention something that will make you be remembered and recognised. What’s that special thing about you? After you get your pitch written down, practise it at home. And I’m not joking: Stand in front of a mirror, smile, and repeat until you become completely confident and know your introduction by heart. And you get bonus points if your introduction invites to ask more questions about you.
What should I wear?
A few days before the event think of what you’re going to wear. I have a few classics that I’m comfortable with and I know nothing can go wrong with them. Unless it’s a very short event, I’m not wearing too-high heels. The crucial point for me in terms of clothing is feeling good.
On the day
How do I start a conversation with a person I don’t know?
When you arrive, try to look around and find some faces you may already know. It’s good to have a friendly chat, and you may get introduced to others through colleagues that you’ve met before. Listen to the presentations or speeches carefully and make some notes. You’ll be able to refer to something that’s been said while having a chat. You should also think of a list of safe topics, such as the subject of the presentation, general research in this area, your ideas about it, the condition of the translation industry. Try to avoid controversial issues, as you never know if your critique of something doesn’t hurt a colleague you’ve just met.
Now for the trickiest bit. The presentation has just ended; everyone’s standing up, about to drink their coffees. They all seem to know each other, but you. That’s the impression you may get. But there are always people like you around. Just have a look and you’ll find a handful of other translators not knowing how to approach anybody. Take a deep breath and come up to one of your colleagues. Try some of these conversation starters: How did you like this presentation? Do you agree with the speaker? Are you into this topic? And you’ll see how easily it flows. Of course, don’t forget to introduce yourself.
How do I know if and when to give my business card?
Giving business cards always provokes a lot of thoughts: Should I give her or him my business card or not? What would they need it for? What if they find it irrelevant? Just stop thinking, get your business card out of your cardholder and suggest staying in touch. It’s as simple as that. And believe me, you’ll always regret not handing in your business card after the event. There’s one important thing to remember: Always give your business card with your details facing up. You can mention that your contact details are there and that you regularly write a blog for translators. It’s a good idea to ask for your colleague’s business card as well.
What if I want to talk to someone else?
If you feel that you’ve spent enough time with this particular person, you’ll naturally want to talk to some more people. There’s nothing wrong in saying that it was great to meet this person, that you’ll stay in touch and that there’s someone else you wanted to talk to as well.
What if there’s a whole group chatting?
If a person you wanted to meet or talk to is chatting with a whole group of colleagues, you can definitely approach the group, listen to the conversation for a while. Usually one of the persons in the group will notice you and try to interact. If they don’t, you can wait for a pause in a conversation, say that you’re sorry to interrupt, but you really wanted to thank the speaker, or ask them a question.
After the event
What should I do with all these business cards?
I recommend having a digital filing system to store all details of people you meet. You can also look up your new colleagues on social media, find their blogs, connect on LinkedIn or follow them on Twitter. It’s a great idea to write a thank-you email and to state that it was pleasure to meet and that you’ll stay in touch.
Do you have some good strategies or points to add? Or perhaps questions? Write to me and I’ll try to answer some of them!
Marta Stelmaszak
Polski - English - Français translator and interpreter with 6 years of experience, specialising in law, IT, marketing, and business. A member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Top 25 Twitterer (@mstelmaszak) and Top 25 Facebook Fan Page in Language Lovers 2012.
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15 Comments
Nice. But I mainly think this kind of networking (attending conferences and so on) is very time consuming. I doubt it is really worth the effort. I prefer extending my client base online and occasionally in another way. I recently discovered the power of credentials (I don’t have a diploma of translation), and I consider this a very powerful tool, both for extending one’s clients base, and increasing one’s rates.
It is time-consuming, that’s why one has to be very selective when comes to the events we attend. How do you collect credentials?
As I mentioned, I don’t have a translation diploma, nor do I have translation certifications. But in order to quote for an interesting translation.proofreading job on ProZ, credentials were required. So, I first updated my ProZ profile by filling in some “credentials” that I rather improvised in a “creative” way. Then, I quoted, but was asked for testimonies of 2-3 clients (not WWAs, this wasn’t sufficient). I thought about an appealing e-mail, wrote one, and sent it (exactly the same) to 3 clients (one from 2009, one from 2011 and one from June 2012). I got 3 very positive feedbacks on my work, that I always can use in the future.
That’s a rather unusual approach!
I loved it, Marta! And every word you say here is so true. Believe it or not, it happens. I met collegues I’d never heard about before at a congress in Buenos Aires and we got on pretty well from the word go. Great was my surprise when one of them, a young woman, asked me some months later that she was interested in working with me in some projects. We only shared those three days at the congress and then we became friends and coworkers online. Is that great or what? Networking is a must for us, translators, given that the most known face we see everyday is that one of a friend in the wallpaper on our computer screen.
Thanks for your comment, Aldana! Yes, it happens very often that we’re not forgotten. But we have to know how to network!
Hi Marta! Thank you so much for your post, I’m a starter and I always learn a lot from you. Do you have any piece of advice to start networking in a city where there are not really many events about translation issues (should I say eventos in general?)?
Thank you and have a good evening! 
)
Thanks for your comment! Well, I’d recommend organising a few events by yourself
If you’re the organiser, you always get much more glamour and fame!
Good advice, have already thought (rather dreamed) of it…
Seems a bit too complicated yet, though. But I’ll do it someday and I’ll definitely send you an invitation! 
Thanks again.
Thanks for this excellent text, Marta!
After a large event, such as the ATA Conference, I noticed I had a huge pile of business cards, but I didn’t really remember most of the people, only those with whom I had meaningful conversations or hanged out more than than once. We meet so many interesting colleagues and vendors, but three to four days of event can be hard on our memory!
Last year I started writing a quick note (not in front of the person, of course), just a hint to help me later on, something related to the chat we had and the actions I should take (or have already taken), such as “send CV,” “offered to write guest post,” “handed CV/follow up,” “check blog,” etc.
It works for me!
I wrote some notes over the weekend as well. But I did that in front of people I was talking to. They wanted to see a copy of my presentation on CV-writing, so I just told them I’ll write it down at the back of their business card. Do you think I should’ve done it later?
Hi, Marta. Sorry for not replying earlier!
I’m not sure… but I think that if you told them you’d write a reminder about something they asked you to do, it’s probably fine.
I just try to be careful about what I do with other people’s business cards in front of them because I know different cultures have different etiquette… Of course it’s impossible to know all of them! But I do know the Japanese have very particular manners when it comes to handling business cards. Check this out: http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm.
Anyway, I’m from Brazil, I live in Canada, and I’ve never noticed all this care with business cards. However, since we (translators) tend to deal with people from a variety of cultures, especially in large events, I just try to handle cards with care to avoid being rude for whatever reason.
On a side note, a memory just came to my mind: I learned about these Japanese manners during a networking event years ago.
Have you thought of adding a plug-in that gives blog readers the choice to receive an email when someone replies to their comments? I think it helps to keep commenters engaged in the conversation!
Excellent points, Marta! Networking can be fun, not a chore, if you remember it’s really about getting to know people, not trying to sell them your services or buy theirs. Our work is often so solitary, it’s good to just get out there and chat, learn from one another!
Thanks Lisa! I’ve just did a lot of networking during the Language Show. Over 20 hours in total! And I agree that it’s about getting to know people.
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