Career Workshop

Back in late October/early November I attended a Career Workshop.

I'd like to stress the "career" in the title.

It was for people with careers to further their careers and find jobs in that career.

I don't have much of a career.

So for the purpose of most of the exercises, I went with "transportation/logistics".

I've been a courier for about 2 years, it's all the "career" I have. It's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it's what I have experience in.

What I really need right now is a job. Or a way to break into a career. But that's another post.

The instructors gave us several different ways to network within our careers. Ways to further our careers and so forth.

Most of the stuff I learned didn't really transfer well to being a courier.

But what I did notice is that it transfered quite well to being a linguist/translator.

In fact, I'm doing almost everything right to further my career as a professional Klingon translator.

• Join professional organizations. Wear lapel pins. Et cetera.

I'm a member of The Klingon Language Institute. I proudly wear a KLI lapel pin on my suit coat, and have my membership card in my wallet.

I'm also a member of Klingon Assault Group (and a member of thier Klingon Language Guild), The Empire, and KlingonSpace.

• Use LinkedIn!

If you were to go to my LinkedIn profile, it would clearly list me as a "Professional Klingon translator". I have all of my translating work listed (along with my "real" jobs).

I even have my profile available in Klingon!

• Other stuff that I'm doing that I don't remember the "category" of...

I also have a Google Profile. Most of my translation jobs come through it. I don't know how they end up there, but it seems to work.

Twitter. My first paid translation gig was through twitter. For a while, I read every tweet that used the word "Klingon". One such tweet contained a request for a Klingon translator. Next thing I know I have a job.

• Networking

I'm semi-active on the KLI's e-mail discussion group. Recently I made a contact through the list, and we're co-hosting a panel on tlhIngan Hol at an upcoming convention.

I have 333 followers on Twitter (I just looked, I don't memorize the number). They're all aware (or should be...) that I speak Klingon. My twitter bio clearly states my professional status, and every third Wednesday of the month, I tweet exclusively in Klingon.

I have made several new language-related contacts through twitter.

Part of networking is just getting your name out there. My e-mail signature (and my signatures in my various groups) state that I'm a translator and link to my Google Profile.

• Seminars

Each summer the Klingon Language Institute holds their qep'a'. As of yet, I haven't been able to attend one. However, this past November, I co-hosted a panel on the Klingon language at a local convention.

And as I mentioned, I'll be dong so again this coming July.

So if Klingon translators were in higher demand, I'd probably have a job by now.