Poll: Which personal characteristic has worked well for you in your career? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which personal characteristic has worked well for you in your career?".
View the poll results »
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All of the above. I would add remaining composed in all situations and being honest, diplomatic and well-mannered…
[Edited at 2024-11-29 09:48 GMT]
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:55
Member (2008)
Italian to English
ProZ.com Staff wrote:
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which personal characteristic has worked well for you in your career?". View the poll results »
My irresistible charm.
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Tom in London wrote:
ProZ.com Staff wrote:
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which personal characteristic has worked well for you in your career?". View the poll results »
My irresistible charm.
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Kevin Fulton 
United States
Local time: 03:55
German to English
| Other – sheer luck | Nov 29 |
When I decided to try to work full-time as a translator in the mid-1980s, I bought a computer (running on a variant of CP/M), and joined a local computer club to gain expertise in operating the equipment. One of the members, a notoriously picky Prussian, owned a small translation/tech writing business. When he learned that I was trying to get into the translation business, he gave me a small job, translating a brochure for an upcoming auction in Germany. Over the years, he passed on his overflow... See more When I decided to try to work full-time as a translator in the mid-1980s, I bought a computer (running on a variant of CP/M), and joined a local computer club to gain expertise in operating the equipment. One of the members, a notoriously picky Prussian, owned a small translation/tech writing business. When he learned that I was trying to get into the translation business, he gave me a small job, translating a brochure for an upcoming auction in Germany. Over the years, he passed on his overflow and taught me a lot about translating and technical writing. Using him as a reference was useful in obtaining jobs from other local translation agencies, since if he repeatedly hired me, they assumed that I must be at least competent.
Early in this century, I stumbled across an agency that was affiliated with a division of large multinational corporation. Eventually this agency was bought by a larger firm which increased my opportunities; this, in turn led to colleagues' referrals to contacts at other agencies or direct clients. Consequently I rarely lacked for work, despite a absence of driving ambition or much more than a modicum of talent.
I was also very lucky to have good clients – only two real deadbeats: one skipped the country and was uncollectable; I had to hire an agency to pursue the other to recover a large sum.
However, I never developed many marketing skills, since the work came to me. I attended trade fairs, both in Europe and locally, mainly as a means of taking a tax deduction to take a "working" vacation or meet with friends. When I realized that I didn't possess the skills to cope with the current challenges, I called it quits, with no regrets.
[Edited at 2024-11-29 14:24 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Some of the above. But first of all, subject matter expertise...
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 09:55
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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Is subject-matter a “personal” characteristic? Don’t think so. I think this is about your personality traits.
Can’t pinpoint just one characteristic.
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| Autodidacticism ... | Nov 29 |
... is behind everything I've achieved in the last half century.
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| Attention to detail and two more skills | Nov 30 |
Attention to detail + adaptability to ever changing topics + curiosity/analytical research skills = my own formula of tasty cake, the skills wich are acquired through decades of intense work. The skill of patting-down one's pockets is out of my expertise
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expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 08:55
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| All of them and... | Nov 30 |
... being humble, fair and honest.
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