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靚人有數 《經濟學人》專題 美醜與成功有密切關係 | |||
| 【明報專訊】由細到大，長輩一直告訴我們﹕「上帝公平，人人平等。 ... | |||
Choosing an Interpreter
An Internet article about recruiting interpreters highlights the fact that people of differing abilities are offering interpretation services. As a consumer, how does one sift the wheat from the chaff? I wish to share some experiences in the Asia Pacific, Hong Kong market.
Over the years I have relied on a variety of channels to communicate my professional qualifications. Some clients are satisfied with reviewing academic achievements and work experience presented through hard copy resumes or electronic mail. Some insist on telephone interviews conducted in the 2 languages I'll be working in. Generally speaking, I have found that the shrewder companies who do their due diligence complain the least.
I once had a client conduct a phone interview, satisfied with my performance they recruited me on the spot. The next day I called the translation agency inquiring who was going to be my partner, and whether their phone interview was successful. The agency told me that the client was satisfied with my performance and decided to skip the phone interview for my partner. On the day of the meeting, the client complained that my partner had an accent and wanted me to take over. I declined and smiling inwardly asked them whether they had conducted an interview.
Separately, on a road show tour of the US of A last year, I had to endure 4 rounds of phone interviews conducted by 4 global investment banks. I can go on and cite more examples, but the reader probably gets the message. If I were to recruit an interpreter, I would ask for the following:
1. Interview conducted in the interpreter's 2 working languages
2. Audio samples of interpreter's previous work
3. Government credentials (court, legislature interpretation experience for example)
Currently there are no barriers to entry in the interpretation industry in Hong Kong. There is no government regulatory authority or voluntary body conducting examinations, maintaining standards. Anybody who claims to be an interpreter can find work in this city. One option for prospective employers is to recruit ex civil servants such as court interpreters and simultaneous interpreters for the legislative assembly. These people have the benefit of on the job training and have been recruited from a large pool of candidates.
The situation on mainland China, however, is different. The Ministry of Personnel requires practitioners in 47 industries such as accounting, law, engineering, translation and interpretation achieve professional accreditation. To this end, the China Aptitude Test for Translators and Interpreters has been set up since 2003 under the auspices of the Foreign Language Publishing House and Ministry of Personnel. Tests are available for consecutive and simultaneous interpreting in Chinese and English. Currently, there is only testing for level 3 and 2; level 1 and senior interpreter tests will only be available at a later date.
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First published 13 June 2007. Copyright of Pierre Wong
Suggested Reading: http--files.meetup.com-54742-HowtoExporttoChina(2006).pdf page 92
http://news.imagethief.com/blogs/china/archive/2007/06/27/how-to-work-with-interpreters.aspx