Martina Abagnale writes:
One of my biggest fears when I started freelancing was not having a group of colleagues with whom I could discuss ideas or who I could ask for help. I had worked as a project manager at a translation agency for two years before starting my own translation business. I loved the interaction with my colleagues, and I wasn’t really looking forward to the idea of being a lonely translator, spending the day in my pyjamas. I wanted to talk to other translators, hear their stories, learn from them and ask for advice when I needed it. When I read about the mentoring programme offered by SENSE, I decided to give it a go.
I found out that a mentor can help out with all sorts of things, from translation skills to computer or business skills.
With my language pair (EN > IT) being rather 'rare' in SENSE, I decided to focus on developing my business skills with my mentor. I had only two months of freelance experience under my belt, but I had more than enough plans for the future. I felt overwhelmed by the number of new things that I had to learn or wanted to try out. I thought that talking with a more experienced translator would help me make a distinction between those things I needed to do for my company (must-have) and those things that could wait a bit (nice-to-have).
Jackie Senior, a member of the mentoring committee, suggested that Jenny Zonneveld could be a good match for me. Turns out she was quite right. Jenny is extremely knowledgeable and willing to share her insights and give advice. We met for the first time in January, back when in-person meetings were still allowed; during the lockdown, our mentoring continued online. She helped me set up an accounting system and gave advice on best practices in the industry; she even gave me the occasional pep talk when things didn’t work out the way I wanted. She also introduced me to other SENSE members and translators, allowing me to expand my network in the industry very quickly.
It is difficult to imagine what my career would look like if I had not enrolled in the mentoring programme, but I am certain it wouldn’t be what it is today. I’m very grateful to Jenny for being an incredible mentor and to SENSE for offering this programme.
If you are also starting out, or want to try a new path, or you just have a head full of ideas like I did, do consider mentoring. It will change your career!
Blog post author: Martina Abagnale
Date: 2020-08-20