August 3, 2005
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In-House or Freelance - Part 2
Yesterday's interview at Alpha in Cambridge was quite a thorough affair. I did a timed translation project and had two interviews, one with the Project Manager for the Scandinavian team - the Scandi desk
- and one with the Director, so it took pretty much the whole day.The timed translation project I did was allocated 3 hours, using the company's time allocation formula, and I did it in about 3 hours and 45 minutes, which was quite encouraging - the Project Manager mentioned that they would expect new translators to get up to speed in about 3 months, even though some translators they have employed have taken almost a year. With 3 hours and 45 minutes, their assessment was that I was almost there.
They company's UK office employs about 35 translators and everybody sits in a large, open-plan office with a lovely view of the green, lush Cambridge outside. The atmosphere seems quite relaxed and the people were really nice. The post they offer is a "one-man Swedish department", so it would involve quite a lot of responsibility from the start, and the company uses all the latest high-tech and know-how within the translation industry, so it's definitely a good company to work for.
We are three candidates being interviewed for the post and they said they'll get back to me on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, I've not received a single translation job from Wordbank this week, i.e. £0.00 income for this week, so far. So, if I get an offer from Alpha on Tuesday, I'll be very tempted to accept, in spite of missing out on the freedom I'd have as a freelance.
It's a hard decision to make...- * -
I'm going for a long weekend to Sweden, leaving tomorrow and returning on Monday. A good friend of mine, Sten, is getting married in Jonkoping, and it's event I just can't miss - even though pretty much everything is up in the air at the moment. I'm actually going by coach - it takes 24 hours form London to Copenhagen - so this will give me plenty of time to contemplate my future options
(and read up on metaphor analysis for my dissertation).
Comments (6)
eek 24 hour coach ride. have fun!
Enjoy your coach ride ! Have fun at the wedding! And good luck with the work position! K
Hope the news on the job front is good!!!!!!!!!!
Hope all is well with you. Transitions can be so exhausting. I hope this all goes very well for you. I do believe Romans 8:28, and trust it will all go fine for you as well.
Have a wonderful trip to Sweden and best of luck on landing the job at Alpha. While it may seem to be something of a gamble -- working for someone else rather than freelance -- everything you say suggests that you'll enjoy working for Alpha. I certainly wish you every happiness, whatever happens.
Best of luck on the job. I will be checking back to see how you made out!!
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