Language translation is a booming industry at present. This is not surprising given the global nature of the business world. Now, successful professionals and business owners looking to expand often decide to take their skills and offerings to markets in other nations. This requires them to use the language of the country they are dealing with. And when they can't, they often turn to professional translation services.
One man who could have done with employing the help of professional translation providers has noted the problems he experienced after friends of his translated his CV into Chinese.
Writing in the Australian, Jesse Newman noted that he decided to access a "bigger pond" by seeking work in the Asian country.
Commenting on the English version of his resume, he stated: "[It] is a heady blend of white spaces, bold-faced key performance indicator achievements and independent project management positions. It's a long document (six pages) designed to convey all key information in a glance at the front page. The rest is available for reading should I get to the interview stage."
However, after he relied on his companions' assistance for language translation, he failed to achieve the standard he was looking for with the Chinese version. Indeed, one of those who received his CV told him it was a "bit like a disorderly novel" and advised him to cut it down.
The individual pointed out that those responsible for recruiting new personnel only have a limited time in which to read such documents, so if they are too long, they will not get proper consideration.
Mr Newman went on to point out that doing what amounted to a direct translation did not work because it resulted in his CV being too wordy in Chinese. Knowing these cultural and tactical issues is also crucial in achieving success.
