6 Practical Tips on How to Become a French Translator

How good are you at French?

Do you have decent knowledge and the most common French phrases not only are part of your everyday life but you are also fluent in other specialized words and expressions?

If that is so, have you ever thought about becoming a French translator?

And do you know anything about this demanding but exciting profession?

In case this came to your mind at least once and you couldn’t sleep because you were thinking how it would be to become a French translator, keep reading. After all, in this post, we will show what it takes to become a French translator and what steps you should take.

Let’s dive in.

What Does it Take to Become a French Translator?

First and foremost, if you want to become a translator, you have to speak the language fluently.

So, if you are a beginner, you won’t start working as a French translator so easily. There is a lot of learning, dedication and work for you to get to the fluent level.

But that doesn’t mean that it is impossible. On the contrary, you have to be persistent and hard-working, and over time, you can get the fluency level.

For a start, book a lesson with French tutors. Learn basic words and phrases with them and practice your pronunciation and conversational skills.

When you get to some higher level of proficiency so that you can communicate with native speakers easily, you have to keep learning and working on your vocabulary.

If you can, you should spend some time in one of the French-speaking countries so that you have the opportunity to speak the language every day, in every situation. That is, so-called immersive approach, and this way, you can fully immerse yourself in the language although skype language exchange and talking with Justlearn French tutors are equally efficient.

How to Become a French Translator?

When you reach that desired fluent level of proficiency, you can think about becoming a French translator.

Here are our tips on how to become a professional French translator.

Volunteering as a Start

When you have to make a fresh new start, no matter which job it is, it is always hard to start.

In translators’ world, the situation is almost the same. Here, however, you have the opportunity to start volunteering.

Many volunteer organizations need translators, French translators, too.

So if you want to make the experience and a good recommendation, you can send your letter to volunteer organizations, and show them your knowledge and professionalism.

You have to understand that you won’t be paid for that but the experience you will gain and the recommendations you will receive is a bridge that gets you to your first real job.

Please note that if you accept to work as a volunteer, don’t act like that isn’t important. Just that you won’t get paid, that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to give your best. This is also one more lesson, even the most important one because it shows you how to work and communicate with the clients.

French is Diplomatic Language

If you thought that only English is spoken all around the world and that French isn’t so popular, you are so wrong.

French is the sixth most spoken language on the planet. It is also one of the languages of the European and one of the six languages of the United Nations, and still the language of diplomacy.

All this means that there are many opportunities to seek a French translator’s job for the UN, European Union, or other diplomatic organizations.

It is possible that you won’t have translations every day, but the experience you can get there is priceless.

French is Required in The Government

Many governments from all over the world have the need to employ French translators.

If you, for example, are from Canada, you should check out if the Canadian government has some available jobs for English-French translators.

In the USA, you can take a peek at the CIA website, and do they have the need for a French translator.

You would be surprised to find that in organizations and places like these you can find available jobs as a French translator or interpreter.

Sign Up to Freelance Sites

Today, there are many good websites where you can offer your translating services.

Some of the most popular ones are UpWork, Fiverr, and ProZ.

Make a professional profile and start searching for translation jobs.

Here, you usually have to negotiate prices depending on your translating pairs, experience, or other requirements clients consider essential.

These websites also offer forums where you can read other people’s experiences, ask for advice, or find answers to your doubts or questions. These forums can be very helpful, especially at the beginning.

Include Discounts For Your Services

In the beginning, it may be a little hard to find a client, but persistence is what matters.

Besides giving your best efforts, you can do something more about your job as a French translator.

You can provide discounts for your translating services.

We can’t precisely tell you how much discount you should give because it can depend on many things, such as translation pair, the professional field you translate, or the number of words and pages you have to translate.

What we can suggest is that you can pay for a translated word. Include discount if, for example, there are more than 2.000 translated words.

You should also pay attention to your competitions. Follow their prices, discounts and special offers and according to them make your own prices.

Create a Professional Profile on Social Networks

Social networks are very useful for jobs like this.

With the help of Facebook or LinkedIn, you can receive jobs as a French translator.

The first thing you have to do is to make a professional profile on social networks.

Besides some basic information, you should include which types of translation services you offer, do you work as a translator or interpreter, or some other useful information for the clients.

You can also make yourself some catchy logo so that people can easily remember you and find you in the moments of need.

Be active on social networks. Share some interesting things about the French language, such as learning French with podcasts, French-speaking countries in Africa or funny Google Translate fails. This way, you can attract more followers and virtual friends and your professional circle will be bigger, and therefore, you will have more opportunities and potential translating jobs.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a French translator isn’t easy. It takes a lot of time to get to that point so that you can work as a translator.

But, being a French translator always pays off, especially if that is something you want to do.

The good thing about translating is that people will always need translators. Machines, translation apps, and computers won’t get to that level to replace humans, so if your dream is to become a translator, go ahead.

Don’t wait any more minutes and do something about that. Book a lesson with French tutors and start moving forward to your dream called ‘French translator.’