Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work at a translation agency? Well, I’m here to tell you! I interviewed our Translation Services Manager Jenna Holopainen about what an average day in the Translation Services team looks like.
Jenna joined Delingua as a Translation Services Manager in December 2021. If we were to sum the work up in a single sentence, the work of a Translation Services Manager is fast-paced and involves project management and customer relationship management tasks. Of course, this is a simplification, as there are also many other interesting background tasks.
No two days are ever the same
The work of a Translation Services Manager involves a lot of email communication, phone calls and general interaction with customers. There are orders and quotes to process, projects to start, layouts to check and translations to resource and return. The work involves various types of translation, proofreading, transcription and subtitling projects in fields such as economics and marketing. The days also include internal and external meetings as well as more technical tasks, such as term base maintenance and file conversion.
However, no two days are ever the same at a translation agency: “No two days are ever the same, and the list of tasks changes constantly. At the moment, my to-do list includes resourcing a few projects, starting orders and preparing for a customer meeting, i.e. making an order report and finding out what has been done with the customer in question over the past year. When I find the time, there’s also a term base for me to clean up,” says Jenna.
The TSM team has regular cooperation meetings with customers. The meetings are rewarding, as they provide a good understanding of where we have succeeded and what things we should focus on in order to maintain or further develop the customer relationship: “It’s always nice to handle the projects of our regular customers, as those are what I’m most familiar with and there’s closer contact with the customer.”
Meaningful work in a close-knit community
The work gives a broad overview of how different customer industries operate and communicate. So, while working, there’s a lot to learn about different industries and about the translation industry itself, such as the technological possibilities it offers. Delingua’s special advantage is that we constantly strive to develop processes and technical solutions that make coordinating projects significantly easier.
“I’d say that working at Delingua is fast-paced, engaging and diverse in nature. The diversity of the work and the opportunities to develop play a key role in how meaningful the work feels,” says Jenna.
In addition to interesting tasks and projects, the work is made meaningful by Delingua’s warm and welcoming work community. Delingua’s human-centred approach is conveyed both in teamwork and in customer communications. Instead of just working on the texts, Delingua maintains close contact with its subcontractors and customers.
“Our team of Translation Services Managers, in fact all our personnel, are top professionals and work together to create a great atmosphere. Human contact in general is one of the best aspects of this work, and it feels nice to work with both translators and customers,” says Jenna.
Time management and prioritisation
What kind of person would be suited to working as a Translation Services Manager? Important qualities include time management, orderliness, stress tolerance and problem-solving and technical skills. In a hectic work environment, it’s important to keep a cool head – you need to be able to schedule your days efficiently and at times prioritise tasks intuitively. As every project doesn’t follow the same pattern, sometimes you just need to know how to decide which route to take.
However, you shouldn’t burn yourself out even if things are getting hectic. Instead, you should be able to rely on your team: “Personally, I enjoy working at a fast pace in a busy working environment. We have people with different areas of expertise in our team, so you can always get the help you need.”
