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Get to The Point – How to Ace Interviews With Senior Executives

PC: Rogan Public Relations

True story: A few years ago, one of my students, who was about to graduate with an MA degree in Conference Interpretation, did a series of mock interviews with me in preparation for a position as an executive assistant to the US CEO of a large global company headquartered in Asia. After three interviews, the moment of truth came – she was shortlisted to be interviewed by the US CEO. With a reputation of a sharp mind and high standards, working for him was such an intense experience that his executive assistants typically rotated out every two years. The flip side of that is working for a boss like this prepares you for anything that comes your way thereafter.

After the big day I asked my student to tell me how the interview went. She told me that after each of her answers, the CEO would say:  “OK. Give me the same information, but summarize it. Cut the length by half.” She followed the direction. He then said: “OK. Now cut the length by half again.” To make a long story short, she got the job, crediting her training as an interpreter. On a side note, summarizing while retaining the meaning of the message is one of the key skills taught in interpretation training. This is a beautiful story of leveraging one’s transferrable skills.

Back to interviewing. I had never heard of this interviewing approach described, but it made sense to me. What is the most valuable resource of a senior executive? Time. He needed his executive assistant, who would often be his “gatekeeper” of information, to be highly skilled at grasping and articulating the essence of issues.

I thought of the CEO interview story recently when Jingfei Shi (MATLM 2022) scheduled a mock interview with me specifically in preparation for the final round of an interview cycle – this time with the VP of the company she was applying to. In anticipation of this mock interview, I thought back to my VP days. Do I think C-suite executives approach interviews differently from the frontline hiring managers? The short answer is yes. To be clear, accurate and concise communication shouldn’t be reserved for senior executives. Communication best practices should be utilized at all times regardless of where your counterpart is on the org chart, but I do think the more responsibilities one has in an organization, the more information they need to acquire, process, synthesize, frame, and articulate. As such, they do tend to have higher standards in the precision of messaging. Here was the advice I gave to Jingfei:

  1. Take a position on the question you are asked. Know the point you are trying to make. Sounds easy, right? Not so. If you don’t know what message you are trying to convey, you are just filling space with words. Be clear about the point you are trying to make.
  2. Get to the point. Start your response with the “punch line” – the key point(s) you are trying to make – and then use stories or measurable outcomes to support and elaborate on your point(s). This is the best practice I follow even when I am not interviewing for a job. When I approach colleagues, especially the busy ones, I always start with a “bottom line statement” – explaining what information I am about to share, what questions I am asking, or what actions I want them to take. This way, the communication is framed and the listener is oriented.
  3. Brevity is your friend. If you can make a point in one sentence, don’t take two. I get it. When you are nervous during an interview, it’s easy to fall prey to the perception that saying more exhibits knowledge and therefore strength. However, rambling on is exactly what you shouldn’t do.

In case you are wondering, Jingfei was offered and has accepted the position and she graciously shared her learnings from this experience:

  • The VP’s questions were broader than localization with emphasis on technology and business acumen. I felt that showcasing how I think about and think through issues was as important as the “what” in my answers.
  • The most helpful things I did in my preparation:
    • Winnie Heh’s suggestions on “get to the point” when answering questions. I kept answers within 3 minutes and referred back to the key points the interviewer made.
    • Eva Klaudinyova’s class on Leadership. I quickly mapped the VP to a visionary leader. This info may or may not have been useful during the interview, but when I start working in the team, I believe it’s going to be useful at some point.
    • I drafted 5 questions and consulted with professors beforehand. I asked smart questions to let them know that I cared about what they do.
  • Now looking back, I think I could have done more research on the company’s product performance and on their product offerings in various regional markets. This way I could have had a more intelligent discussion with the VP when he shared their market expansion plans.

The job interview is an opportunity to exhibit the quality of your thinking through the quality of your talking. First things first: focus on the thinking and the talking will follow. I’d like to end with a saying by Ludwig Wittgenstein: “Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly.” (For more than 20 years, I actually had this saying on a small piece of paper pasted to my monitor as a daily reminder.) I think this is what the CEO in the story above was looking for, and for that matter, what most hiring managers are looking for, too.

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

MIIS

What I Have Learned From Conducting 100+ Mock Interviews

Photo credit: Totaljobs

According to my MIIS students, the most anxiety-inducing thought throughout their internship and job search process is: “I really want this position, but I don’t have relevant experience.” The inference here is: “if I can not point to a track record of past success in a similar position to the one that I am applying for, I can’t actually prove that I can do the job. So why would anyone hire me?”

If that logic held true, no one would ever get a job, nor would anyone ever get a promotion into a job they had never done before. The good news is if you are willing to put in the work, you can overcome this barrier. After all, people without prior experience get hired all the time, and people get promoted every day.

I have come to this conclusion in the process of giving more than 100 mock interviews over the past two months, leading up to the annual TILM Career Fair at MIIS in early March. My “interviewees” have included 1st-year students seeking internships and  2nd-year students seeking employment or contractor roles after graduation. This caught my attention: some 1st-year students, who typically do not have as much academic training and work experience as 2nd-year students, actually interviewed better than their senior classmates. They demonstrated to me, the hiring manager, that they did not only have the tactical skills necessary to apply what they had been learning in the classroom, but also that they possessed valuable critical thinking skills and an acute ability to grasp the big picture. “Why is that?” I wondered.

After analyzing the performance of each stellar interviewee, I have concluded that they all exhibit the same powers of:

  • Observation: They observe themselves and their environment (people, process, and technology). What’s more, rather than passively taking in what they are being taught as the totality of “reality”, they observe the context in which these theoretical processes actually occur.
  • Reflection: They ask questions. Rather than being satisfied in knowing “how” to produce good translation/interpretation work, use a tool, or to leverage a workflow, they ask “why” and “why not” about the current way things are. They ask how we can build on our current processes, and make them better.
  • Application: A solution is only useful when it is applied to the right problem. Telling me that CAT tools and TMS can help an operation is nice (I call this “stating the obvious”), but giving me concrete examples from your experience of how these tools have removed specific operational pain points makes you stand out. “But I have never worked in a real job, how would I have concrete examples?” you say. Think again. Do you really need to have secured a job that pays you in order to experience real examples of how to apply solutions to a given problem? Of course not. Your class projects can provide examples. Examples can also come from dialogues with classmates or industry colleagues, or from reading blog posts/books pertaining to these subjects.
  • Getting results through people: “Stellar communication skills” and “team player” are some of the verbiages used by employers when they intend to say: “No matter how brilliant you are, you can’t achieve greatness all by yourself. Your ability to work with people to achieve the organization’s goals is just as important as your technical skills.” Your potential employers want you to demonstrate that you have the ability to communicate clearly and respectfully. Do you need a paying job to have this kind of experience? No. You have been communicating with people all your life. Examples abound.

If I could boil down everything I have said above into two words, it would be “active learning.” As an experienced interviewer, I can feel it at the gut level whether you are just repeating some fancy words that you think will impress me, or if you are sharing with me your own deeply reflected thoughts. Don’t worry about what you think I “want” to hear. Think about what story you want to tell me so that I get to know you – your insights and your motivations. I am trying to hire a human being that I get to work with, not a list of superficial words.

As I wrap up this post, it occurs to me that this post is a result of an observation which caused me to reflect on a phenomenon that seemingly did not make sense. I am trying to make my reflection as relatable and applicable to you as possible. You see: I am practicing what I preach. Give the process I have shared a try and let me know how it goes.

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

2022 TILM Career Fair

Every year, the Center for Advising and Career Services brings together a TILM Career Fair that hosts a wide range of translation, interpretation, and localization management employers.

The 2022 TILM Career Fair will be held on March 3rd, 2022, online at Handshake.

Please see the information below for list of all the currently registered employers and the job and internship opportunities they are currently hiring for!

2022 TILM Career Fair Exhibitors

Acclaro

Acclaro is a localization and translation services company that helps the world’s leading brands succeed across cultures. Our agency specializes in expertly adapting brands, products and services to new language markets.

Current Opportunities: Project Coordinator, Project Manager

Anzu Global

Anzu Global LLC is a globalization staffing company. We provide globalization personnel—Localization managers, internationalization engineers, translators, L10n and I18n QA engineers, bilingual technical support and localization engineers. We provide both on-site and remote resources for either contract or full-time openings.

Current Opportunities: Linguist, Localization Project Manager, New Business Development Manager, Product Marketing Manager – Data Services

Arizona State Courts

Under the direction of the Chief Justice, the Arizona Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) provides administrative support and oversight of all state courts. AOC programs include interpreter credentialing through the Arizona Court Interpreter Credentialing Program (ACICP). Credentialed interpreters are eligible to work as staff or freelancers in courts across the state.

Current Opportunities: Spanish Court Interpreters (Staff); Freelance Court Interpreters (all languages); Paid Summer Internship for Spanish Court Interpreters

Bloomberg LP

Bloomberg runs on data, and our Global Data team acquires and supplies it to our clients. Teams work to collect, analyze, process and publish the data which is the backbone of our iconic Bloomberg Terminal — the data which ultimately moves the financial markets! We’re responsible for delivering this data, news and analytics through innovative technology – quickly and accurately.

Current Opportunities: Localization Analyst

Cadence Translate

We are a leading provider of investment research and language services to the global business and investment community. We have offices in Beijing, Los Angeles, and Singapore.

Current Opportunities: Associate, Associate Intern

CERTA Language Solutions

CETRA /set – ra/ noun 1. A trusted Language Services Partner with a focus on quality and delivering an exceptional customer experience. 2. An organization dedicated to helping people globally to understand each other and the world around them. CETRA’s services include translation, interpretation, sign language interpretation, website and software localization, multilingual typesetting, voiceover, and transcription for corporate and government clients in more than 200 languages.

Current Opportunities: Business Development Assistant, Project Manager – Translation Services (In-House Position)

CyraCom International

CyraCom is the leading provider of language interpreting services to healthcare, and its interpretation and translation solutions are exclusively endorsed by American Hospital Association. Whether in-person or via phone, video, mobile app, or written text, CyraCom bridges communication gaps for healthcare organizations that need rapid access to language assistance. The Company supports hundreds of languages and operates 24/7. CyraCom impacts the lives of millions in the United States by connecting those with limited English proficiency to healthcare services.

Current Opportunities: Project Manager, Translation and Localization

CQ fluency

CQ Fluency is a translation services company that specializes in cultural adaptation communications for the healthcare insurance and life science industries, in over 150 languages. We facilitate real connections and true cultural understanding between people who don’t speak the same language. Our Cultural Intelligence (CQ) blends both meaning and feeling to create effective communications that transcend words and engage hearts and minds.

Current Opportunities: Project Coordinators, Project Managers, Freelance linguists: translators, post-editors, Quality Control specialists for all language pairs at MIIS.

Deluxe Media

Deluxe Media leads the advertising and entertainment industries with innovative supply chain solutions that help market, enrich, and enable media distribution to all platforms and all consumers throughout the world. Deluxe Media is a global company with presence in 9 countries. Our clients include the major Hollywood studios as well as a growing number of on-line retailers.

Current Opportunities: Account Coordinator

Dotsub

Dotsub is in the business of captioning and translating videos …and so much more.

We strive to remove language as an obstacle to the billions of people by enabling the exploding amount of knowledge created in video to be accessed by everyone in their native languages.
Our passion is the localization of video to expand horizons and to do some good in the world.

Current Opportunities: Video Captioning (Freelance), Subtitle Translation (Freelance)

DS-Interpretation, Inc.

DS-Interpretation, Inc. has specialized in Conference Interpretation Services since 1972. We believe that when it comes to live interpretation, the human element is essential. We use technology to help interpreters deliver their clients’ dynamic and critical message while maintaining industry standards. Our mission is to be compatible with the future. Interpreters will not be replaced by technology. They will be replaced by interpreters who use technology.

Current Opportunities: Conference interpreters

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Directorate of Intelligence

Today’s FBI is an intelligence-driven and threat-focused national security organization with both intelligence and law enforcement responsibilities that is staffed by a dedicated cadre of more than 30,000 agents, analysts, and other professionals who work around the clock and across the globe to protect the U.S. from terrorism, espionage, cyber attacks, and major criminal threats, and to provide its many partners with service, support, training and leadership.

Current Opportunities: Special Agent, Electronic Technician, Computer Scientist , Contract Specialist , Intelligence Analyst, Data Scientist, Electronics Engineer, Employee Assistance Counselor, Equipment Specialist – Automotive Mechanic, IT Specialist – Data Management – Data Analyst , IT Specialist – Digital Forensic Examiner, IT Specialist (HQ), IT Specialist System Administration/Customer Support, FBI Police Officer , Occupational Health Nurse

Honda Kaihatsu Americas, Inc.

Honda Kaihatsu Americas, Inc. (“HKA”) has been providing expert Japanese-English translators and interpreters at Honda manufacturing plants and facilities in the United States. Our mission is to support the various business activities of all Honda companies in the US. There are currently 35 HKA translator/interpreters working as in-house staff in Honda companies. The number has been growing according to the success of Honda.

Current Opportunities: In-house interpreters/translators (Japanese and English)

Idem Translations, Inc.

Founded in 1983, Idem Translations, Inc. is a full-service provider of translation and localization services. Idem specializes in certified translations for medical device, biomedical, and pharmaceutical companies, as well as other organizations and entities working in the life sciences sector, such as contract research organizations (CROs), healthcare research centers, and institutional review boards (IRBs). The company is a WBENC-certified woman-owned business and holds certifications to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016, and ISO 17100:2015.

Current Opportunities: Life Sciences Localization Project Manager Assistant, Project Management Intern, Quality Control Specialist

Interprenet

Founded in Chicago in 2003, Interprenet is a leading Language Service Provider in global RSI(Remote Simultaneous Interpretation) industry. Working with over 800 freelance linguists, we successfully provided RSI service for over 1,500 meetings in 2021.

Current Opportunities: Conference Interpreter

Language World Services

Language World Services is Northern California’s premier language service provider offering comprehensive solutions in healthcare, government and the private sector. We are the largest employer of onsite interpreters in the state, and one of few organizations to offer interpreter staffing. Our enduring emphasis on quality both drives our success and sets us apart from our competitors. We invite you to explore our service offerings and stand ready to exceed your expectations.

Current Opportunities:
On site interpreters: Arabic, Cantonese, Spanish (full-time and part-time), Hindi and Punjabi, Hmong, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Pashto and Dari, Romanian
Translators: Vietnamese, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Filipino, Arabic, Hmong, Russian, Punjabi

Masterword Services

MasterWord Services, Inc. is a woman-owned business that provides interpretation, translation, localization and other language support services to enable language access and ensure success of international organizations, projects, and initiatives.

Current Opportunities: Full-time Interpreters, Strategic Solutions Representatives, Freelance Translators and Interpreters

MediaLocate

MediaLocate is a full-service localization company that provides multilingual solutions to organizations of any size. We offer scalable language services to our growing list of corporate clients in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. For over four decades, MediaLocate has built successful customized programs for hundreds of companies by providing wide-ranging services: from large-scale technical documentation translation, website localization and software engineering, to global consulting, language automation, audio/video production, staff augmentation, and in-person & over-the-phone interpretation. MediaLocate prides itself on being a true “full-service” localization company.

Current Opportunities: Meet with MediaLocate to hear about their upcoming positions.

Monterey Language Services

Monterey Language Services is committed to bridging the world’s languages by providing quality, professional and efficient translation & interpretation services in over 175 languages.

We are a group of professionals from different backgrounds working together as a team. Our expertise includes translation quality, translation processes, project management, and multilingual computing technology.

Current Opportunities: Assistant Project Manager, Interpreters, Translators

Mother Tongue

Mother Tongue is a worldwide network of creatives, strategists and linguists. From our hubs in London, LA and Singapore, we offer language services, powered by a passion for culture, creativity and communication.

Current Opportunities: Account Manager, Localization Intern

Multilingual Technologies Inc.

MultiLingual Technologies Inc. (“MLT”), based in Santa Clara, California – at the heart of Silicon Valley – is a multilingual professional  language service provider specializing in serving high-tech industries, especially the IT, Electronics and Life Sciences, as well as legal and financial services sectors.

We provide high quality and affordable translation and interpreting services between English and other major languages to clients worldwide, and our capabilities in East Asian languages, esp. Chinese, Japanese and Korean are well-known in the language services industry. As the company name implies, we are a language and technology problem solver and a cross-cultural technical communication facilitator.

Current Opportunities: Account Managers, Project Coordinators

RWS

RWS Holdings plc is the world’s leading provider of technology-enabled language, content management and intellectual property services. We help our customers to connect with and bring new ideas to people globally by communicating business critical content at scale and enabling the protection and realization of their innovations.

Current Opportunities: Localization Project Coordinators and Managers – 6 month Fixed Term Contracts

Stanford Children’s Health | Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford

Stanford Children’s Health is the largest health care system in the San Francisco Bay Area—and one of the few in the country—exclusively dedicated to pediatric and obstetric care. We serve in more than 65 locations across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region. As part of Stanford Medicine, a leading academic health system that includes Stanford Health Care and the Stanford University School of Medicine, we have access to some of the best innovative minds at the forefront of scientific research to improve children’s health outcomes around the world.

Current Opportunities: Medical Interpreters for Spanish, Mandarin/Cantonese, Vietnamese, and ASL.

Stanford Health Care

Great things happen when you put talented people together and then empower them to reach beyond the ordinary. Every day is an opportunity to lift up our patients with the kind of care that has earned us a worldwide reputation for excellence. We are an organization with more than 300 facilities throughout the Bay Area united by our culture of respect. Our C-I-CARE philosophy invites all staff to elevate the patient experience, because every interaction is a chance to make a positive impact in the lives of those around us. That same commitment extends to the way we work together. We prize open communication and intensive collaboration, because that’s how true innovation happens again and again.

Stanford Health Care will sponsor international students’ H1B visa applications.

Current Opportunities: Medical Interpreter Interns (Cantonese/Mandarin, Spanish, Russian), Medical Interpreters (Spanish, Cantonese/Mandarin)

Supertext

Founded in 2005, Supertext ranked among the top 100 European technology start-ups as early as 2008. Supertext. Our name says it all. As a creative copywriting and translation agency, we write, translate, localize, and edit content, websites, apps, videos and more. With offices in Los Angeles, Zurich and Berlin, Supertext has been putting in a good word for starts-up with global ambitions and multinationals since 2005.

Current Opportunities: Localization Project Management Intern, Freelance Translators, Freelance Linguists

Terra Translations

Terra Translations is a global language services company specializing in English and Spanish translation. We are made up of a group of professional translators who have been working in the translation market fTerra Translations is a global language services company. We are made up of a group of professional translators who have been working in the translation market for more than 20 years, and we currently collaborate with a team of 1,000+ translation professionals across the globe. Terra is a rapidly growing firm with offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Terra Translations is woman and Hispanic-owned company. We have Women-Owned Business (WBE) and Minority-Owned Business (MBE) Certification as designated by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. We are high achievers and we treat every project, large or small, as yet another step to success, yours and ours.

Current Opportunities: LQA Specialist, Translators, Multilingual QA

TransPerfect

TransPerfect was founded with a mission to help the world’s businesses navigate the global marketplace by providing a full array of language and business support services, including translation, interpretation, multicultural marketing, website globalization, subtitling, voice overs, staffing services, e-learning and training, and legal support services. TransPerfect is more than a translation company. For more than 25 years, TransPerfect has been the world’s largest provider of language services and technology solutions. From offices in more than 90 cities on six continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in 170+ languages to clients worldwide.

Current Opportunities: Account Manager, Account Executive, Project Coordinator

Please note that this page will continue to be updated leading up to the day of the fair, so please check back regularly!

Additional Recruiting Sessions

Due to time zone differences or other operational reasons, some employers have decided to reach students outside of the career fair through the recruiting sessions listed below.

Please note that sessions are listed in chronological order, and some may have already passed. The events that have already passed are included to make students aware of employers who are currently showing interest in MIIS students.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is the nation’s first hospital devoted exclusively to the care of children. Since our start in 1855, CHOP has been the birthplace for countless breakthroughs and dramatic firsts in pediatric medicine. Built on a foundation of delivering safe, high-quality, family-centered care, the Hospital has fostered medical discoveries and innovations that have improved pediatric healthcare and saved countless children’s lives. Today, families facing complex conditions come to CHOP from all over the world, and our compassionate care and innovation has repeatedly earned us a spot on the U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of the nation’s best children’s hospitals.

Date: Tuesday, February 8th, 2022

Stanford Health Care

We believe that great things happen when you put talented people together and empower them to reach beyond the ordinary. Every day is an inspiration and an opportunity to lift up our patients with the care that has earned us a worldwide reputation for excellence. As an organization with more than 300 facilities throughout the Bay Area, we are a team united by our culture of respect. Our C-I-CARE philosophy invites each employee to elevate the patient experience, because every interaction is a chance to make a positive impact in the lives of those around us. That same commitment extends to the way we work together. We prize open communication and intensive collaboration because that’s how true innovation happens again and again.

Stanford Health Care in the Stanford University Medical Center is ranked by US News among the top 10 Hospitals nationally and is well known for having one of the best programs in medical interpretation and translation in the world.

Date: Thursday, February 10th, 2021

Honda Development

Honda is recruiting MIIS Japanese language students! Join recruiters and staff from Honda’s language team as they discuss how you can use your Japanese language skills to work full time with their team.

Date: Thursday, February 10th, 2021

WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)

WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property (IP) services, policy, information and cooperation. We are a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with 193 member states.

Our mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international IP system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all. Our mandate, governing bodies and procedures are set out in the WIPO Convention, which established WIPO in 1967.

Sally Young of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will present the Fellowship opportunity and application process for translators, terminologists, and technical specialists.

Lingua Viva Traductores

Join Co-founder Sebastien Longhurst as his discusses the Colombia based internship that includes constant support of a PM, as well as improving and fine-tuning CAT tools, translation project management, reviewing skills, and more!

Ready to be the next MIIS intern to work with Lingua Viva and take the next step to improve your skills?

Date: Thursday, Tuesday 15th, 2022

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

The CIA is the US Government agency responsible for collecting foreign human intelligence, providing objective, all-source analytic assessments on critical national security issues for the President and other senior policymakers.

he ability to speak, read, and translate foreign languages, in addition to understanding cultural differences, is vital to the mission of the CIA. Because intelligence priorities can shift, and countries and languages can increase in importance rapidly, the CIA must have employees with foreign language skills to handle both current national security requirements and potentially new missions.

Learn more about working for the CIA. Directorates represented will most likely include Open Source, Operations (Clandestine Service), and Analytical.

Date: Thursday, February 24th, 2022
Time: 12:10 PM – 1:50 PM PT

Register in Handshake

U.S. Department of State – Office of Language Services

Join department heads from the Office of Language Services as they provide a general overview of career paths and potential career opportunities.

Date: Tuesday, March 1st, 2022
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM PT

Register in Handshake

Daikin

Daikin is the world’s #1 manufacturer of air conditioners and refrigerants and provides the North American market with a full range of residential and commercial HVAC products leveraging its advanced core technologies for refrigerant control, inverters and heat pumps.  Located just outside of Houston, Texas, the Daikin Texas Technology Park allows Daikin to consolidate manufacturing, engineering, logistics, marketing and sales in a 4.2 million square feet state-of-the-art manufacturing and business campus.

Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022

Time: 1:00 – 1:50 PM PT

Ad Astra

Ad Astra is a reputable language services firm that specializes in administering screened, trained, certified, and experienced interpreters, translators, and transcriptionists in any language on a 24x7x365 basis. Our company’s philosophy is focused on cultural awareness and sensitivity in order to transfer communication

Date: Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022

Note: More information about this event will be forthcoming.

Defense Language Institute

The Defense Language Institute teaches 17 language and dialects to military students from all branches of the military. Student body is 3,500. There are 1,700 faculty at DLI, almost all of whom are native language speakers. Aiso Library provides library resources and services to DLI students, faculty and staff. We work with a variety of vendors to acquire native language materials. We are expanding quickly into electronic resources – especially databases from other countries.

Note: More information about this event will be forthcoming.

Feeling Anxious About Internship Search? Start the Search Anyway.

Andrew Taylor (MATLM 2022) came to MIIS with a Bachelors Degree in Japanese, a minor in English and a minor in Computer Science. He secured an internship at Salesforce in summer of 2021. First year students are starting to think about applying for internships. I asked Andrew to share his experience for his internship search.

 

What attracted you to the Translation and Localization Management program?

 

To be perfectly honest, what attracted me to the TLM program was just the very fact that it was a Translation and Localization Management program. It’s a very specific field of study, and it’s the foremost degree in the United States that focuses entirely on the localization industry. 

I think my journey here was somewhat unique because my goal was to enter the localization field from the start. It may not have been my dream from the moment I started my undergraduate studies, but by my senior year I had identified a career in localization as my best opportunity to pursue my passions in both language, cultural analysis, and computer science. I knew that the TLM degree at MIIS would help me find the crossroads to those passions and prepare me for a career in the localization field.

 

What do you think your greatest growth areas were in the last year?

 

It might be surprising to say given all the industry knowledge I’ve gained in the past year, but I honestly think my biggest growth has been in the field of career development. I had very little job-hunting experience prior to starting at MIIS, and my resume crafting knowledge was basically just anything I could find on Google. What’s more, I was always left terrified at the very sound of that infamously menacing word – networking. One year later, I’ve learned how to craft my resume to stand out, how to manage a successful job search, and how to build up my own personal brand. I’ve also learned how networking doesn’t have to be scary – especially as a student who is interested in the field, localization professionals will be happy to connect with you and help you as you begin your journey in the industry.

 

What part of your academic preparation do you think have helped you the most in securing an internship?

 

Of all the skills I have learned throughout my academic career, none may have been as vital to securing my first localization internship than my ability to work together with a team. Teamwork, and its closely related skill, communication, are perhaps the two most sought-after foundational skills in the professional world – so much so that you can just about guarantee that every job interview will include at least one question designed to ascertain your collaborative and communicative efficacy. To be honest, this skill has not come easy to me, but it is something that I have come to see as one of my best strengths after lots of practice. Luckily, the curriculum in the TLM program gives plentiful opportunities to practice these team building skills, so make sure to make the most of it!

 

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to the current first year students in terms of career preparation?

 

If you are feeling anxious about your career preparedness and your internship search, then the best antidote is to start working at your internship search anyway. It may seem a bit early, but some of the biggest companies in the industry are known for hiring very early in the school year. Just today I saw at least one major big tech company on LinkedIn already looking for a localization intern. So start scouring LinkedIn and Handshake whenever you have a free moment and save any job or internship that looks interesting to you. Read what the requirements are in order to familiarize yourself with the language. Then, once you find one that really speaks to your interests, start working on your application. Once you’ve begun applying, take the opportunity to bring your resume to the career center and get advice on how to customize it for the position you are after.

Your first application might not land you an internship right away. In fact, there’s a decent chance you will get ghosted, which has happened to me more times than I care to count, but every application, every email to a recruiter, and every professional interview is experience that is steadily increasing your level of proficiency as you navigate the job market. No matter how tempting it might be to push it aside for other assignments with definitive due dates, a job/internship search is one thing that you should not procrastinate on.

 

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

MIIS

Be Brave and Ask – Connor Wertz’s Journey From Peace Corps to Localization

Connor Wertz started his MA program in Translation and Localization Management at MIIS in 2020 after working for the Peace Corps as an English teacher in China. He is scheduled to graduate in summer of 2022. Between his first and second year at MIIS, he worked as a Project Manager Intern at Idem Translations. He is currently the Teaching Assistant for Professor Adam Wooten’s Translation Technology class. He sat down with me to share his career management journey in the last year.

  • How did you decide to pursue an MA degree in Translation and Localization Management? 

After finishing Peace Corps, I decided that I didn’t want to work for the government, but I still wanted to work in a language-related career field. The TLM degree caught my eye because of its heavy emphasis on technology, which I think is the most interesting part about localization. Now that I am in my second year, I can really appreciate how everything in our degree program revolves around learning hard skills, which makes us much more employable. 

  • Looking back at how you felt a year ago when you first started the TLM program, could you have anticipated how your career preparation has evolved? What do you think were your greatest growth areas? 

When I entered the TLM program I had no prior localization experience, so I really felt the pressure to get something on my resume. I spent a lot of time networking with second year students, who were gracious enough to help me find freelance jobs. I grew the most by meeting with our career advisors, Winnie Heh and Edy Rhodes, who helped me polish my resume and prepare for interviews. 

  • What part of your academic preparation do you think have helped you the most in both developing your freelance translation work and in securing an internship? 

I think one of the key reasons I was able to secure an internship with Idem Translations was my knowledge of Trados. When faced with translation homework, many students are tempted to work in Google Docs or in Word, but I would highly encourage everyone to translate using Trados. After spending an entire year working inside Trados, I was able to ace the Trados technical interview for my internship because I knew about features and key processes that some of my peers weren’t aware of. We learn a lot of cool stuff in our classes, but it’s on us to find real-world applications for these tools! 

  • Share with us the most valuable lessons you have learned in the past year as a freelance translator and as a project management intern? 

Many of the freelance projects that I worked on were pretty small, and for companies that weren’t as mature. Idem Translations, however, has been around for 20 years and has very established processes and procedures. By working in these two different settings, I was able to learn how I should and shouldn’t work. 

The most valuable thing I learned is that the more time you spend upfront on a project, the less time you have to spend fixing problems downstream. For example, if you rush a project out the door to translators, you might have to spend hours fixing formatting errors that were caused by a poorly formatted file from the client. However, if you spend just a little time upfront getting everything formatted nicely, you won’t have to spend nearly as much time fixing problems later! 

In other words, the more time you spend setting up a project, the fewer problems you’ll have later on! 

  • Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to the current first year students in terms of career preparation? 

Make appointments with your career advisors! They’re awesome and extremely helpful. Also, reach out to 2nd year students and TLM graduates! People love talking about themselves, so just reach out and ask if people in the industry are willing to share some stories about their work. I’ve learned a lot about the localization industry this way. People are usually really receptive to these kinds of informational interviews, so be brave and ask!!! You can do it! 

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor, MIIS

 

Nailing A Remote Interview—Tips for Success

By Anne He (MATLM 2021)

It’s May, 2021 and time for graduations, so a lot of you are probably interviewing at the moment. Interviews, especially in a remote setting, can be nerve-wrecking. See if the tips below can help calm your nerve and help you prepare!

  1. Setting up an Interview

You will typically receive an email or a phone call to set up an interview (sometimes, a LinkedIn message as well). In my case, I have gotten more phone calls than emails, so it’s important to update your phone number on your resume and make sure you answer you phone, even if it’s coming from a number you don’t recognize!

During the initial phone call, some interviewers/employers would want to do a quick screening, asking why you have applied to this job or briefly ask about your experience, but most of the time this call is only to confirm that you’re still interested, and to set up a time for the interview.

  1. Before an Interview

Make sure you know the date, time and format of the interview. Sometimes, the interviewer or HR will send you a calendar invitation with all the information, but other times, the person might just tell you the date and time over the phone or via a message. Make sure to confirm the time zone! Also, ask about the format of the interview as well. We usually assume that it’s Zoom or Teams, but if you can’t find a link, then it is probably a phone screening.

Also, some interviewers will send you an automatically generated email asking you to schedule a time on a calendar system yourself. In this case, after I have booked a time, I usually still reply to their email to thank them and let them know that I have booked a time. This way, if the system somehow goes wrong, at least they know you have tried to book a time.

  1. Phone screening

Phone screening is common for the first round of interviews, and it’s a bit challenging for me because my house pretty much doesn’t have any signal. When I get a phone call, I usually have to go outside to answer. Therefore, I usually do my phone interviews from the back seat of my car.

Another thing is that the person will usually call you a bit past the time you agreed on, so you might get more and more anxious while waiting. I usually like to do something irrelevant to relax (reading a random article, browsing on Facebook). You can also warm up your voice by humming a song or doing some vocal exercises.

More often than not, on the client side, the person who interviews you during the phone screening is from the HR department. Therefore, they might have very little idea what localization is or what localizers do. Keep this in mind, and don’t go on and on about technical details (unless you’re sure this person has a localization background). If you’re asked general questions, answer in general terms. When they ask you about your language abilities, also use layman terms and describe what you can do. They might not be familiar with the A1-C2 system or other language certification systems.

  1. Preparing for a Video Interview

When I first started interviewing, I thought it was a bit funny to wear a suit in your own home, so I just had a blouse or shirt on, but later on I had no problem dressing up as if I were going to a real interview. Most of the time, interviewers are casual, just wearing a T-shirt, but I think being a bit formal doesn’t hurt.

I have set up a Zoom “background” in my house because on my computer virtual backgrounds don’t work. If you worry about your real background being seen, clean it up a little. I usually move everything I don’t want to show at an interview out of the camera. Some platforms might not support virtual background at all. Also, make sure your Wi-Fi is stable!

I usually log on 5 minutes before the interview, but no earlier than 10 minutes, because some platforms ping the interviewer to tell them you’re waiting, and if you log on too early, or are simply testing the link, it might interrupt them during their meeting or work.

  1. Technical Interviews

Technical interviews are usually right after the phone screening. Some interviewers will call it a technical interview, some will not, but in this round definitely be prepared to speak to someone from the localization team. Rest assured, the technical interviews I have been through are never too technical. These interviews will focus more on work experience and the ability to solve problems than real technical questions like, “What code do you write to import the localization module in C++?” Instead, they will ask questions like, “What are the i18n issues you have seen?” Occasionally, they will throw out a term or two you don’t know, but don’t worry. It is perfectly acceptable to ask the interviewer for clarification and they don’t expect you to know absolutely everything.

I personally think that situational questions are the hardest to answer, since we don’t have that much work experience to begin with. For example, I have never seen a client being angry or upset, because I don’t directly talk to clients at work, and also because we do good work! How do I know how I’m going to respond if a client is very upset? Still, I think this is where our MIIS education comes into play. Since we have so many simulations and projects at school, you can probably think of something that is relevant to the question. The situation you come up with doesn’t have to exactly match their prompt, it just has to make sense. This also applies when you have no work experience in the field.

Don’t worry if they ask follow-up questions, especially for the situational questions—they’re just trying to grasp the situation—it’s not easy for someone to understand other people’s work situations, the workflows in their companies, etc. Also, don’t worry if you just cannot come up with a matching situation, I have been told that it is fine.

When asked what questions I have, I usually like to ask about their daily work or their workflows. It’s a good learning experience, even if the interviews end there. I try to avoid asking about visa or compensation because, on the client side at least, it’s likely they (the localization people) don’t know. You will need to ask HR.

  1. Final interviews

The following rounds can be with other members of the localization team, or with the HR department, and can be general or technical, but in any case, be prepared for anything when you’re past the second round. Note that some interviewers in this stage (or the previous one) will follow some kind of a script or list of questions, so it can feel a bit unnatural. In any case, interact with the interviewer and be conversational—don’t just robotically answer the questions. In addition, be prepared to discuss compensation, relocation, or visas.

I always struggle with “What is your salary range”. You shouldn’t ask for too much but asking for too little does you no good either. However, I usually figure that they have a range or number in mind already when recruiting, so I usually say, “Money isn’t my focus now, and I just want to learn and grow as much as possible at my first job, so as long as the wage is livable in the area I’m going to work, it’s fine,” which is authentic and true. Some interviewers are satisfied with that and reassure me that they won’t let me live in my car. Some, however, insist on getting a number. I used to have the range 50,000-70,000, but there was one time when someone offered me 45,000, so I kind of adjusted it to 40,000-70,000.

When it comes to relocation, I’m usually wide open because I don’t mind it anyway, but the start date—for me May 17 at the earliest—kills a lot of opportunities. It has to be the case, since I’m an international student. I would offer to start earlier part-time perhaps, but they always say no.

As for visa, I usually ask whether they would consider sponsorship when they ask me my visa status. It’s the most convenient time. Even if a company says they won’t sponsor H1-B, you might still consider working for them. However, do try to find out whether they’re e-verified. If they’re not, you CANNOT work for them while you’re on STEM OPT, you can only work for them for 1 year at most.

Finally, try asking, “what are the next steps?” to find out exactly how many rounds of interviews you still have (typically 3 for most companies, but some have as many as 6-7), and when you will hear back from them, so that you have an idea of what’s going to happen next.

Well, that’s it! I hope you find this article helpful, and feel free to think of your own strategies to handle some of these questions/situations: you don’t have to take my word for it! Ask your colleagues, career advisors and professors if you’re not sure what to do. And with that, I wish you the best of luck on your job-seeking journey!

Do The Scary Stuff Every Chance You Get – How Gustavo Mercado (MACI 2019) Accomplished So Much In Two Years

As you can see from this interview, Gustavo Mercado (MACI 2019) has not let COVID slow him down. In addition to internships in international organizations, passing prestigious interpretation tests, building a freelance career, moving several times, he took time out to share his learnings and words of wisdom. I am so grateful to his generosity of spirit. MIIS alumni are the best.

  1. Please tell us about what you have been doing since graduation.

To be perfectly honest, I left MIIS with a bit of anxiety; I had turned down a full-time position in New York City, which left me feeling rather uncertain about the future. Following graduation, however, Christiane Abel sent me a message about an internship opportunity with an international organization. I applied to see what would happen and by the end of the week I was offered a spot in New York City with the United Nations English Verbatim Reporting Section. I lived with two other MIIS graduates from the German and Russian programs, and I spent my time there creating transcript translations of speeches that were delivered on the floor of the General Assembly, as well as various committees. The job felt a bit weird to me at first: imagine sight-translation, but backwards. I got to listen to the original speeches as well as the interpretations of those speeches from all the booths to help me create my transcripts and listening to those interpreters every single day truly helped to prepare me for the freelance exam down the line. That internship lasted from September to December of the same year.

Then, at the beginning of 2020, I moved to Washington, DC to do yet another internship with the Organization of American States. This one was much more focused on my goal of becoming an interpreter for major institutions.  My intention was to get established in the DC area as a freelance conference interpreter. Having passed the UN exam, though, conferences come my way quite frequently, and my eyes are now set on passing the Federal Court Interpreting exam while gaining enough conference days to apply to AIIC and TAALS to work with organizations like the OAS, the IMF and the World Bank

  1. How did you prepare for the UN Freelancer Exam?

The tricky thing with the exam is how comprehensive it is. Yes, the speeches are fast, and the topics can seem obscure – everyone knows to expect that – but I feel that there are underlying factors to watch out for. Agility is key. You must be able to switch from the abstract to the formulaic in a matter of seconds and you can’t let flipping to your second language combination trip you up either, which is tough because it feels like you’re attacking the content from a different part of your brain. Your endurance needs to be robust as well, so that you can handle something at the speed of light and avoid traps when you’re already fatigued from interpreting multiple speeches in a row.

I had heard about people dedicating months or even years of constant study to passing the exam (which always seemed a bit excessive to me), but when every foreseeable plan fell through at the beginning of the pandemic, I figured “what better time than now to eat, sleep and breathe this test?” I tried to take advantage of the fact that I could focus on just practicing for the exam while “sheltering in place,” so I sat down for some two months or so and worked on speeches every single day for hours on end. I compiled a list of about 80 United Nations speeches and repeated every single one of them until I could interpret them as accurately and as quickly as possible. I made sure that my practice speeches covered every country that spoke my languages, as well as each of the major UN topics at the four duty stations. It goes without saying that you need to feel very comfortable with regional accents before you try to tackle this test, and it helps to know the UN system backwards and forwards. Ironically enough, I don’t know if this would have been possible had it not been for my schedule being forced open by the health crisis. Don’t mistake that as me taking the pandemic lightly, because I certainly did not, but thinking this way allowed me to find a silver lining amid the chaos.

  1. What does passing the UN exam mean to your work life? Do you expect to start being called for assignments by the UN?

This is a massive achievement for me, both personally and professionally, as I used to think that it would take me ten years or more to get UN accredited. But I managed to pass the test just a year and a half out of MIIS and I hope that it opens the door to other international organizations. As I understand it, opportunities will arise at the UN once the Organization starts using its freelancers again. In the meantime, the private market has welcomed me with interesting new projects.

  1. Looking back, what parts of the MIIS preparation do you think have helped you the most in navigating your career path after graduation?

Everything I learned at MIIS prepared me to succeed after graduation. One of the last conversations that I had at the Institute was with Barry Olsen in his office. He asked me what my goals were, and I mentioned that I would like to work for the UN one day, but that I didn’t expect that to happen for at least a decade. He said that there was no reason why that couldn’t be a medium-term goal. I ran with it and made it short-term one instead!

If it hadn’t been for Christiane Abel pointing me towards the Verbatim Reporting Internship, I wouldn’t have known the UN system inside and out like I did when the time came to take the exam. Leire Carbonnell’s advice from when she herself prepared for the Language Competitive Examination was the model for my own practice regimen. As I sat down to prep, I could hear her telling me to divide everything up by duty station, committee, issue, region, country, and even to specific speakers if necessary. Jacolyn Harmer’s stories helped me understand that challenges were to be seen as fun chances to see how things went and that they didn’t have to intimidate me. Julie Johnson’s mindfulness strategies taught me to keep my cool and deliver a great interpretation despite wanting to strangle a particular speaker. And I wouldn’t have gotten certified to work in court without Cas and Holly’s specific training and insight, a field of interpreting that I work in quite regularly now.

Adding to that, there was, of course, all the advice that I got in the Translation and Interpretation as a Profession course, which I still use to guide my professional development. In Stephanie’s class, I learned about the advantages of creating an LLC, how to handle scammers, and that checking in with agencies that you haven’t worked with in a while really does make a difference. As a full-time freelancer (hehe), running my own small business is something I have to work on and get better at each day, and her guidance has been supremely helpful in that respect.

  1. For MIIS students who want to pursue an interpretation career path, what words of wisdom would you share with them?

I feel that I don’t have much more experience than anyone else currently at MIIS because I just left two years ago, but I can offer this: do the scary stuff every chance you get. MIIS interpreters really are a cut above the rest, and I’ve had the luck of working in the booth with alumni almost exclusively thus far. If you feel like you’re jumping straight into a void, you will be fine. You will stick the landing. We graduates are out here waiting to connect with you and we’re excited to get you working alongside us.

I recently came across a video on YouTube of somebody (not from MIIS) trash-talking the profession and saying that it was a bad career choice because it’s impossible to make a good living and that we’re all going to be replaced by machines in the next 30 seconds, anyway. Let me just say that I completely disagree with that statement. There is a ton of work out there to do and very few people capable of doing it well. And, for what it’s worth, the interpretation field of the future belongs to those of us coming in now who already know the tech side of the profession. Trust me.

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

It’s Showtime. Act.

What should my first steps outside of MIIS be?  What should I do on, say, May 16th, the day after graduation? A well-articulated question from a student who is about to graduate in May, 2021 inspired me to write this blog, with her permission to share her question.

She wrote:

“Recently, I have noticed that, in conversations with fellow second-year classmates, many of us are struggling to grasp what our first steps will look like outside of MIIS. We have been hearing from and talking with many professionals, both within our classes and outside of them, which has been wonderful. Naturally, the vast majority of those we speak with graduated 5, 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Much of the advice they give us, as inspiring or helpful as it is, is provided with the caveat that the market has changed or that it doesn’t apply during the pandemic. 

This leads me to my question. Though I think many of us (or at least I personally) understand what we want our lives to look like in 3-5 years, it’s hard to know what to do on say…May 16th (the day after graduation), or even August 1st, 2021.”

What I shared with her:

“Since you asked about informing your first steps, my thought went to creating a check list. The closest I have come to a post graduate check list is this:

  1. Assume that you “know” enough already for your needs. It’s time to act. No amount of additional knowledge will replace your actions at this point. “Action” will be the theme of my message.
  2. Recognize that you have all of the information you need to guide you. None of the professors, advisors, colleagues or friends will have that totality of the “database” you own, even if they may know more about specific domains. Part of that “database” has information that you, and only you, know – your dreams, values, directions.
  3. Think back on the MIISMap that you worked on during New Student Orientation two years ago. You were asked about your career goals in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and at retirement. Have you changed your mind about your career goals since that time? If yes, congratulations! You have grown. If not, congratulations! You knew what you wanted clearly before coming to MIIS. My point here is: there is no “right” answer and it is ok to change your mind (within reason).
  4. Number 3 above is important. Keep your goals in mind as a “guide.” Make sure your career moves, short-term and mid-term, go in the “general direction” of your long-term goals. Regular calibration will be useful.
  5. Put on paper your vision for the next year – where you want to live and what you want to do. Know that these ideas are not coming from a vacuum. These ideas come from your “database” that has been collecting data. Don’t be afraid of these goals being “wrong” or “unrealistic”. We will get to that next.
  6. Put your “project plan” on paper, noting how you would reach your goals from item 5 with actions, milestones and dates. Think about goals in three categories: professional, personal and financial.
  7. Review items 5 and 6 with trusted professors, advisors, colleagues, family members and friends. Their role is to be your sounding board – to point out blind spots, provide additional perspective or connect you with others. Remember that this is not a private struggle. Use your network to support you.
  8. Implement your project plan, knowing you are able to adjust along the way.

The key points are:

  • Put down a plan.
  • Get feedback.
  • Take action.

Your question made me reflect on my own and some of my close friends’ journey after MIIS. Every one of us has a post-graduation story to tell – one with twists and turns. It is typically not straight forward. What I have learned from so many of these stories is: just land somewhere and go from there. We are not defined by our first jobs. Analysis paralysis is your biggest enemy right now.

At this point of the Spring Semester, I think of 2nd year students as great performers who are about to get on stage. You have studied and you have rehearsed. At some point, you have to get onto the stage. Know that you are well-prepared. Have a support system that can be your sounding board and you will be just fine. Finally, know that I am always available to act as your sounding board now and after graduation.”

It occurred to me that expectant graduates have worked hard to enhance their professional profile by acquiring knowledge and skills. At some point, a switch of mindset from knowledge acquisition to action needs to happen so that they can continue to thrive post-graduation. I have boiled down the new mindset to:

  • It’s showtime. Act.
  • Get comfortable co-existing with uncertainty.
  • Strive for excellence, not perfection.

(Image credit: www.streamspy.com)

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

MIIS

2021 TILM Career Fair

Every year, the Center for Advising and Career Services brings together a TILM Career Fair that hosts a wide range of translation, interpretation, and localization management employers.

The 2021 TILM Career Fair will be held on February 25, 2021, online at Handshake.

2021 TILM Career Fair Exhibitors

Acclaro

Acclaro is a translation service and platform that helps the world’s leading brands succeed across cultures. Through a fine-tuned process, top industry talent, and leading technologies, we make a long-term investment in our clients’ global brands.

Working in over 125 languages and with offices around the globe, Acclaro helps clients open new markets and gain a competitive edge by expertly adapting their brands and products with fast, high-quality translations.

Current Opportunities: Localization Project Manager, Localization Project Coordinator, freelance linguists of all language combinations offered by MIIS.

Ad Astra, Inc

Ad Astra is a reputable language services firm that specializes in administering screened, trained, certified, and experienced interpreters, translators, and transcriptionists in any language on a 24x7x365 basis. Our company’s philosophy is focused on cultural awareness and sensitivity in order to transfer communication between parties from different cultures and abilities. Our firm’s services reflect our commitment to diversity and equity.

Current Opportunities: Interpreters and Translators

Beijing Foryou Data Co., Ltd.

Beijing Foryou Data Co., Ltd., established in 2003, is specialized in translation, interpreting, conference service, localization and standardization. Foryou is based in Beijing, branched in Nanning, Baoding and Chengde, and sets up a research institute in Beijing. Foryou’s translation and interpreting services are strictly provided according to the requirements of ISO 17100 and ISO 18841 respectively. And as one of TAC-certified AAA translation service provider, the Company has passed such certifications as ISO 9001 Quality Management System, ISO 27001 Information Safety Management System, AAA Translation Service Certification and AAA Enterprise Credit Rating Certification.

Current Opportunities: Translators

Cadence Translate

Cadence is a leading provider of investment research and language services to the global business and investment community.

Current Opportunities: Associates. (See Handshake posting for job description.)

CQ fluency

CQ fluency is a global translation and language services company specializing in cultural adaptation with a focus on healthcare and the life sciences. We are a communications company on a global mission to facilitate real connections and true cultural understanding between people who don’t speak the same language. Our cultural adaptation methods blend both meaning and feeling to create effective communications that transcend words and engage hearts and minds.

Current Opportunities: Project Managers. Vendor Coordinator. Freelance linguists: translators, post-editors, Quality Control specialists for all language pairs at MIIS.

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC)

The Defense Language Institute teaches 17 language and dialects to military students from all branches of the military. Student body is 3,500. There are 1,700 faculty at DLI, almost all of whom are native language speakers. Aiso Library provides library resources and services to DLI students, faculty and staff. We work with a variety of vendors to acquire native language materials. We are expanding quickly into electronic resources – especially databases from other countries.

Current Opportunities: Instructors

Delsurtranslations

delsur is a localization company based in Argentina that provides Spanish, Portuguese and other native Latin American languages services worldwide.

Our company is the manifestation of our shared belief in a strong work ethic and a commitment to continuous improvement. Through our collective vision, we have built a solid team of qualified language professionals who are recognized both at the national and international levels.

Current Opportunities: English-Spanish Translators and Localization Project Managers

DS-Interpretation, Inc.

DS-Interpretation, Inc. has specialized in Conference Interpretation Services since 1972. We believe that when it comes to live interpretation, the human element is essential. We use technology to help interpreters deliver their clients’ dynamic and critical message while maintaining industry standards. Our mission is to be compatible with the future. Interpreters will not be replaced by technology. They will be replaced by interpreters who use technology.

Current Opportunities: Conference interpreters

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Directorate of Intelligence

The Directorate of Intelligence of the FBI is the conduit between the FBI and the rest of the IC partners. The DI is responsible for managing the FBI’s analytic systems and development/management of the analyst workforce.

Current Opportunities: Language Analysts

Honda Kaihatsu Americas, Inc.

Honda Kaihatsu Americas, Inc. offers translation and interpretation services between Japanese and English for Honda group companies in the United States. Since its establishment in 1989, Honda Kaihatsu Americas, Inc. has been sending highly skilled and experienced Japanese-English translators and interpreters to Honda group companies in the United States.

Current Opportunities: In-house interpreters/translators (Japanese and English)

Idem Translations, Inc.

Founded in 1983, Idem Translations, Inc. is a full-service provider of translation and localization services. Idem specializes in certified translations for medical device, biomedical, and pharmaceutical companies, as well as other organizations and entities working in the life sciences sector, such as contract research organizations (CROs), healthcare research centers, and institutional review boards (IRBs). The company is a WBENC-certified woman-owned business and holds certifications to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016, and ISO 17100:2015.

Current Opportunities: Quality Control Specialists, Life Sciences Localization Project Managers , Project Management Interns

Intuitive

Intuitive was founded in 1995 to create innovative, robotic-assisted systems that help empower doctors and hospitals to make surgery less invasive than an open approach. Since the da Vinci surgical system became one of the first robotic-assisted systems cleared by the FDA for general laparoscopic surgery, we’ve taken robotic-assisted surgery from “science fiction” to reality. Working with doctors and hospitals, we’re continuing to develop new, minimally invasive surgical platforms and future diagnostic tools to help solve complex healthcare challenges around the world.

Joining Intuitive Surgical means joining a team dedicated to using technology to benefit patients by improving surgical efficacy and decreasing surgical invasiveness, with patient safety as our highest priority. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KeYgoga9MA

Current Opportunities: Documentation Tools Specialist (DITA)

KUDO

KUDO is the market-leading platform for multilingual video meetings, built for governments and enterprises to communicate across numerous languages in real-time around the world. Earlier this year, KUDO experienced an unprecedented surge in growth due to global circumstances that brought business travel and in-person meetings to an overnight halt. KUDO is now helping bridge critical lines of communication for international organizations and Fortune 1000 companies across different languages, cultures, and continents. Our platform achieves this by creating a seamless user experience where human professional interpreters work remotely through our powerful cloud-driven platform to facilitate multilingual video meetings and events built for the New Normal.

Current Opportunities: Interpreter / Project Manager, Interns (Preferred languages: Chinese, Korean, Japanese)

Lilt

Lilt makes it possible for every organization to communicate with their customers in the language of their choice affordably and at scale. The product combines human expertise and machine efficiency in a complete enterprise localization solution. Our mission is to make the world’s information accessible to everyone, regardless of where they were born or which language they speak. Lilt is backed by some of the world’s leading investors including Sequoia, Intel Capital. Our customers include some of the largest Fortune 500 companies in the world who rely on Lilt every day to provide more personal customer experiences in 50+ languages. Our team is headquartered in San Francisco with secondary offices in Berlin, Indianapolis and Dublin.

Current Opportunities: Services Managers/ Services Manager Interns, translators, reviewers

Masterword Services

MasterWord Services, Inc. is a woman-owned business that provides interpretation, translation, localization and other language support services to enable language access and ensure success of international organizations, projects, and initiatives.

Current Opportunities: Interpreters, Translators, Translation Project Managers, Localization Project Managers, Interpretation Project Managers.

MediaLocate

MediaLocate is a leading full-service localization company that provides technology-driven language solutions to global businesses large and small. From Fortune 500 companies to start-ups positioned to enter the global marketplace, MediaLocate offers proactive language services that minimize delays to market, while managing consistency, compliance and cost.

Current Opportunities: Will update at the fair.

Meridian Linguistics

Meridian Linguistics Ltd. provides language solutions to technology companies: language data collection, linguistic analysis, translation, localization, and more. Our phoneticians, corpus linguists, annotators, data scientists, and translators work in dozens of languages, with a particular expertise in the languages of Asia.

Current Opportunities: Will update at the fair.

Mother Tongue

Mother Tongue helps global brands speak their customers’ language. They operate from hubs in London, Los Angeles and Singapore, with an international project management team that’s united by a love of language and a can-do attitude. With a global network of in-market talent, they provide round-the-clock access to expert trans-creation, translation, insight and content origination services.

Current Opportunities: Account Manager, Account Management Intern, KO>EN translators and editors (native English or bilingual speakers only). 

Monterey Language Services

Monterey Language Services is committed to bridging the world’s languages by providing quality, professional and efficient translation & interpretation services in over 175 languages.

We are a group of professionals from different backgrounds working together as a team. Our expertise includes translation quality, translation processes, project management, and multilingual computing technology.

Current Opportunities: Office and Project Assistant, Interpreters

Morningside Translations

Morningside Translations is a leading provider of Foreign Language Solutions, such as translation, interpreting, and IP Services. Morningside Translations is the fastest growing major language service provider in North America and one of the largest intellectual property translation companies in the world. Specializing in patent, life sciences, and legal translations where accuracy and subject matter expertise are paramount, Morningside provides ISO 9001 and 13485-certified translations into more than 150 languages and offers end-to-end technology-enabled translation, localization, and multimedia solutions.

Morningside is the trusted partner to thousands of organizations including Fortune 500 companies, Am Law 200 firms, and international regulatory bodies. Headquartered in New York City, Morningside has offices across the globe in San Francisco, Hamburg, London, and Jerusalem.

Current Opportunities: Part-time Project Coordinator, IP, Client Solutions Representative, Technical Services Representative

Multilingual Technologies Inc.

MultiLingual Technologies Inc. (“MLT”), based in Santa Clara, California – at the heart of Silicon Valley – is a multilingual professional  language service provider specializing in serving high-tech industries, especially the IT, Electronics and Life Sciences, as well as legal and financial services sectors.

We provide high quality and affordable translation and interpreting services between English and other major languages to clients worldwide, and our capabilities in East Asian languages, esp. Chinese, Japanese and Korean are well-known in the language services industry. As the company name implies, we are a language and technology problem solver and a cross-cultural technical communication facilitator. 

Current Opportunities: Summer internship for Translators and Project Managers with Chinese, Japanese and Korean as native languages in Santa Clara, CA (CPT and OPT supported), Xiamen and Shanghai.

Nexon America

A pioneer in the world of interactive entertainment software, Nexon was founded in 1994 and introduced some of the biggest innovations in our industry including the world’s first graphic massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and the first free-to-play game. Since then, we’ve continued to be an industry leader in MMORPG’s with more than 80 live games operated across more than 190 countries proving that online games are a progressive, mainstream form of entertainment to be enjoyed by everyone. By focusing on quality we have developed long-standing IP franchise hits, including MapleStory, Dungeon&Fighter, Sudden Attack, and KartRider.

Current Opportunities: Localization Coordinator Korean/English Bilingual, Localization Copy Editor, Localization Specialist

SDL International

SDL (LSE: SDL) is the global innovator in language translation technology, services and content management. For more than 20 years, SDL has transformed business results by enabling nuanced digital experiences with customers across the globe so they can create personalized connections anywhere and on any device. Are you in the know? Find out more at SDL.com.

Current Opportunities: Linguistic Test Specialists, Linguistic Test Leads

SOS International LLC (SOSi)

SOSi is a private, family-owned and operated government services integrator that works principally in the defense and intelligence sectors. We were founded in 1989 to provide specialized analytical services to the U.S. law enforcement community and over the past 25 years have evolved into an international solutions provider with experience in more than 30 countries worldwide. We provide intelligence, technology and project-management solutions to large government and private-sector organizations and are known for our agility, flexibility and proven experience around the world. Our commitment, expertise and experience deliver tangible results that reflect our passion for excellence.

Current Opportunities: Court Interpreters

Stanford Children’s Health
(Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital)

At Stanford Children’s Health, they know world-renowned care begins with world-class caring. That’s why they combine advanced technologies and breakthrough discoveries with family-centered care. It’s why they provide their caregivers with continuing education and state-of-the-art facilities, like the newly remodeled Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. And it’s why they need caring, committed people on our team – like you. Join them on our mission to heal humanity, one child and family at a time.

Current Opportunities: Assistant Manager – Interpreter Services, Medical Interpreters

Stanford Health Care

We believe that great things happen when you put talented people together and empower them to reach beyond the ordinary. Every day is an inspiration and an opportunity to lift up our patients with the care that has earned us a worldwide reputation for excellence. As an organization with more than 300 facilities throughout the Bay Area, we are a team united by our culture of respect. Our C-I-CARE philosophy invites each employee to elevate the patient experience, because every interaction is a chance to make a positive impact in the lives of those around us. That same commitment extends to the way we work together. We prize open communication and intensive collaboration because that’s how true innovation happens again and again.

Stanford Health Care in the Stanford University Medical Center is ranked by US News among the top 10 Hospitals nationally and is well known for having one of the best programs in medical interpretation and translation in the world.

Current Opportunities: Medical Interpretation/Translation Interns, In-House Medical Translators/Interpreters

Syntes Language Group

Since the early 1980s, Syntes Language Group has pursued a more interconnected world by providing its clients with reliable translation, interpreting, localization and consulting services. We serve over 200 clients around the world that include a wide range of corporate, professional and government organizations. Headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, Syntes offers translation services in more than 60 languages.

Current Opportunities: Project Managers/Jr. Project Managers

Terra Translations

Terra Translations is a global language services company specializing in English and Spanish translation. We are made up of a group of professional translators who have been working in the translation market for more than 20 years, and we currently collaborate with a team of 1,000+ translation professionals across the globe. Terra is a rapidly growing firm with offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We have the strongest commitment to quality, demonstrated by ISO 9001:2015 certification and by consistently high performance for quality, timeliness, and turnaround time.

Current Opportunities:

  • Language & Cultural QA Specialist
  • Quality Control Specialist
  • Localization Project Manager
  • Spanish into English Translators and Editors
  • English into Asian languages -and viceversa- Translators and Editors

The Pokémon Company International

Join one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world! The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996.

Current Opportunities: Localization Specialists

TNOLA Languages

We are a comprehensive Language Services Provider offering on-site Interpreters, written translations, and remote Interpreting solutions. Our mission is to provide the highest quality interpreting and translation available as we create communities through communication.

Current Opportunities: Assistant Translators

TransPerfect

The world’s best businesses know that potential customers can be anywhere. TransPerfect helps our clients to BE EVERYWHERE. With global headquarters in New York and offices in 104 cities across 6 continents, TransPerfect is the world’s largest privately held provider of language services and related technologies.

Current Opportunities: Project Manager, Account Manager, Solutions Engineer, Localization Engineer, Technical Project Manager, Special Projects Intern, Translators

U.S. Dept. of State – Office of Language Services

The Department of State’s Office of Language Services is responsible for providing foreign language interpreting (spoken) and translating (written) support for the State Department, the White House and other federal agencies. Our interpreters and translators serve as the ears, voice and words in foreign languages of the President, the First Lady, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor, and other Cabinet officials.

Current Opportunities: Will provide updates during the career fair.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the global forum for intellectual property (IP) policy, services, information and cooperation. A specialized agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 191 member states in developing a balanced international IP legal framework to meet society’s evolving needs. It provides business services for obtaining IP rights in multiple countries and resolving disputes. It delivers capacity-building programs to help developing countries benefit from using IP. And it provides free access to unique knowledge banks of IP information.

Current Opportunities: Fellowship Programme

Additional February Recruiting Sessions

Due to time zone differences or other operational reasons, some employers have decided to reach students outside of the career fair through the recruiting sessions listed below:

Anzu Global

Anzu Global LLC is a globalization staffing company. We provide globalization personnel—Localization managers, internationalization engineers, translators, L10n and I18n QA engineers, bilingual technical support and localization engineers. We provide both on-site and remote resources for either contract or full time openings. Our philosophy is simple, “tell the truth”. With both our clients and candidates we strive for honest, clear and accurate communication.

Join Anzu Global’s Managing Partner, Mike Klinger, and his team as they discuss ‘hot’ technologies, how to prepare for job and interviews, and next steps! Includes Q&A.

Date: Tuesday, February 16th, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM PST

Register in Handshake

Cadence Translate

Cadence is a leading provider of investment research and language services to the global business and investment community.

Matt Conger, CEO of Cadence, will present what it means to be an Associate at Cadence, why he founded the company, what MIIS grads like about the company.

Date: Monday, February 22nd, 2021
Time: 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM PST

Register in Handshake

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

The CIA is the US Government agency responsible for collecting foreign human intelligence, providing objective, all-source analytic assessments on critical national security issues for the President and other senior policymakers.

The ability to speak, read, and translate foreign languages, in addition to understanding cultural differences, is vital to the mission of the CIA. Because intelligence priorities can shift, and countries and languages can increase in importance rapidly, the CIA must have employees with foreign language skills to handle both current national security requirements and potentially new missions.

Learn more about working for the CIA. Directorates represented will most likely include Open Source, Operations (Clandestine Service), and Analytical.

Date: Tuesday, February 9th, 2021
Time: 12:10 PM – 1:50 PM PST

Register in Handshake

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is the nation’s first hospital devoted exclusively to the care of children. Since our start in 1855, CHOP has been the birthplace for countless breakthroughs and dramatic firsts in pediatric medicine. Built on a foundation of delivering safe, high-quality, family-centered care, the Hospital has fostered medical discoveries and innovations that have improved pediatric healthcare and saved countless children’s lives. Today, families facing complex conditions come to CHOP from all over the world, and our compassionate care and innovation has repeatedly earned us a spot on the U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of the nation’s best children’s hospitals.

Are you ready to be a Spanish Staff Interpreter and an internationally recognized pediatric health care network? Join Program Managers from CHOP’s Language Services division as they discuss their 2021 Summer Internship and how you can be a part of it!

Date: Tuesday, February 9th, 2021
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM PST

Register in Handshake

Daikin

Daikin is the world’s #1 manufacturer of air conditioners and refrigerants and provides the North American market with a full range of residential and commercial HVAC products leveraging its advanced core technologies for refrigerant control, inverters and heat pumps.  Located just outside of Houston, Texas, the Daikin Texas Technology Park allows Daikin to consolidate manufacturing, engineering, logistics, marketing and sales in a 4.2 million square feet state-of-the-art manufacturing and business campus.  

Use your Japanese language skills in an internship or full-time job with Daikin, the largest HVAC company in the world. With a newly established Interpretation Department and advanced Bosch simultaneous conference systems, interns will be working in Daikin’s brand new 4 million sq. ft. facility.

Date: Thursday, February 18th, 2021
Time: 12:15 PM – 1:00 PM PST

Register in Handshake

SDL International

SDL (LSE: SDL) is the global innovator in language translation technology, services and content management. For more than 20 years, SDL has transformed business results by enabling nuanced digital experiences with customers across the globe so they can create personalized connections anywhere and on any device.

Join SDL’s Supply Chain Strategist, Ricki Ravnsbæk, as he discusses Career Paths within the Localization Industry – with a focus on linguist roles.

Date: Wednesday, February 10th, 2021
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST

Register in Handshake

Stanford Children’s Health

At Stanford Children’s Health, they know world-renowned care begins with world-class caring. That’s why they combine advanced technologies and breakthrough discoveries with family-centered care. It’s why they provide their caregivers with continuing education and state-of-the-art facilities, like the newly remodeled Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. And it’s why they need caring, committed people on our team – like you. Join them on our mission to heal humanity, one child and family at a time.

Stanford Children’s Health is recruiting for full-time and part-time Medical Interpreters and Translators. Includes full-time, part-time, and management positions.

Date: Thursday, February 25th, 2021
Time: 12:10 PM – 1:00 PM PST

Register in Handshake

Stanford Health Care

We believe that great things happen when you put talented people together and empower them to reach beyond the ordinary. Every day is an inspiration and an opportunity to lift up our patients with the care that has earned us a worldwide reputation for excellence. As an organization with more than 300 facilities throughout the Bay Area, we are a team united by our culture of respect. Our C-I-CARE philosophy invites each employee to elevate the patient experience, because every interaction is a chance to make a positive impact in the lives of those around us. That same commitment extends to the way we work together. We prize open communication and intensive collaboration because that’s how true innovation happens again and again.

Stanford Health Care in the Stanford University Medical Center is ranked by US News among the top 10 Hospitals nationally and is well known for having one of the best programs in medical interpretation and translation in the world.

Stanford Health Care is recruiting for Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian Medical Interpreters for their Summer 2021 Internship Program. Staff interpreters will present the program and application process.

Date: Thursday, February 11th, 2021
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM PST

Register in Handshake

Supertext

Founded in 2005, Supertext ranked among the top 100 European technology start-ups as early as 2008. More than 3,300 companies use their online services. Not only can they order and manage their copywriting and translation projects online, they also benefit from the company’s technical expertise and intelligent use of translation memories, termbases, and online workflow integration. Today, over 70 full-time members of staff coordinate the work of more than 1,500 copywriters, proofreaders and translators for national and international clients from all industries. Supertext takes care of more than 3,000 projects every month and is one of the most innovative global language service providers.

Join Supertext’s Chief Language Officer, Lucas Maire, and his colleague Frances Provine (Head of English) as they discuss freelance work, transcreation, what’s is like to be a Project Manager, career opportunities, and more!

Date: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021
Time: 12:15 PM – 1:50 PM PST

Register in Handshake

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property (IP) services, policy, information and cooperation. We are a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with 193 member states.

Our mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international IP system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all. Our mandate, governing bodies and procedures are set out in the WIPO Convention, which established WIPO in 1967.

Sally Young of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will present the Fellowship opportunity and application process for translators, terminologists, and technical specialists.

WIPO will be hosting three different recruiting sessions:

PCT Terminology Fellowship
Date: Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Register in Handshake

PCT Translation Fellowship
Date: Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021
Time: 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM PST
Register in Handshake

PCT Translation Technology
Date: Wednesday, February 24th, 2021
Time: 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM PST
Register in Handshake

Please note that this page will continue to be updated leading up to the day of the fair, so please check back regularly!

How Two Degrees in Japanese Literature Translated Into a Localization Career – A Conversation With Jamie Cox

Jamie Cox
Jamie Cox is a Localization Producer at Blizzard Entertainment with years of experience on both the vendor and client sides of the localization industry. His October 2020 post on LinkedIn was on an issue near and dear to my heart – with two degrees in Japanese literature, how he “stumbled” into localization and how liberal arts and foreign language skills can translate into a successful career outside the classroom. I am always on the lookout for role models for language students, hence this conversation on lessons learned in navigating his career path.

Q: Please tell us about what sparked your interest in Japanese literature.

In high school, my family hosted an exchange student from Japan for a couple of weeks. This student taught me about Japanese culture and sparked my interest. I then was able to visit him in Japan a year later and I fell more in love with Japanese culture and the language. Japanese literature was the available major at my undergrad university (University of Montana), and so that’s where my passion for Japanese literature began.

Q: You used the word “stumble” in describing how you got into localization. How did it happen?

After graduating with my MA in Japanese Literature from Portland State University and moving to California, I didn’t know what to do next. A friend suggested I do some freelance translating for a company called Gengo. I noticed Gengo had an office close to where I was living at the time, and I reached out to see if they had any internships available. As luck would have it, they were looking for a project management intern at the time. That was over seven years ago, and I’ve been a localization project manager ever since!

Q: Have your two degrees in Japanese literature helped you in your career in localization? In what ways?

In the localization industry, it’s definitely a plus to know an additional language, even if you don’t actually use it for your own work. In my case, my knowledge of the Japanese language helped me secure the internship at Gengo, because Gengo is a Japanese company with its main office in Tokyo. In a practical sense at work, I don’t often use Japanese, but in the past I have occasionally done a quick check to make sure characters are appearing correctly in a delivery, or line breaks are accurate, those small types of things that every project manager will do from time to time.

Q: In addition to one’s language skills and cultural knowledge, are there any additional skills that can help one’s career in the localization industry?

I think soft skills that one tends to learn from education around language  (like foreign language learning or other liberal arts degrees) help tremendously in being able to accurately and easily convey information, either written or verbal. Additionally – at least for project managers – organization and documentation is paramount, so learning how to stay organized in your personal life will help you in your professional one as well.

Q: Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently in terms of managing your career?

The more you can offer to a company in terms of the skills you bring to the table, the better. There have been times I’ve wanted to streamline or modify a workflow but haven’t had the technical knowledge to do so, whether through Excel macros, database queries with SQL, or something similar. If I could do things differently, I would try to focus on cultivating some of those more technical skills to be a more well-rounded project manager.

Q: What is the best career advice you have ever received?

The most important thing to know about the localization industry is that it is a small one – you never know when the person you worked with (and hopefully made a great impression on) will pop back up later on in your career. Networking is very important, and so is making sure you’re always putting your best foot forward at work. We work in a great industry with amazing people from all over the world, so be sure to enjoy the connections you make.

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

MIIS