My Mentee Experience

Last year I took part in the ITI Spanish Network’s mentoring scheme. This article gives a brief overview of why I took part, how it works and what I learned. I hope it will be of use to anyone else considering mentoring (as a mentor or a mentee).

Why I decided to become a mentee

I have been aware of the ITI Spanish Network’s mentoring scheme for some time but only recently decided to give it a go. I felt it was the right time in my career because I was (and still am) quite confident in my skills, both linguistic and in terms of subject knowledge, having finished a part-time LLM in International Law in 2017, yet I rarely receive enough – if any – feedback from my clients, despite asking for it.

I don’t know what reviewers have said or whether documents are reviewed at all, so I was keen to get feedback from a more experienced translator on my accuracy, stylistic choices and comprehension. There is always room for improvement and I felt I was at a dead end in terms of what to work on next. I needed to know whether my hesitant confidence was justified and what I could do to further improve. To my mind, constant improvement is the only way to succeed and success for me is contributing effectively to transnational communication and cooperation while earning a decent living.

Initial Stages

Having applied to be a mentee and paid my fee, I was paired with a more experienced Spanish to English translator working in a similar field to me, Coralie Pearson. We began with a Skype call to make sure that we were a good fit and discuss what I most wanted to work on, what type of texts I usually work with and what I would find challenging. Coralie was open and enthusiastic about the process and I was sure from the outset that we would work well together.

Progress

The difficulty of the texts Coralie gave me to work on varied. Some were highly formal, some more creative, but they all gave me the opportunity to put my skills to the test and get feedback on my choices. The mechanics of the exchange were fairly straightforward. Coralie would send me one text a month (for six months) and I would send back my translation and comments. She would then provide written feedback on specific translation points and on my work more generally. We had a catch-up via Skype at the mid-way point to check that we were both happy with how things were going and that I was finding the process useful (we were and I was).

What I learned

Most importantly, this process renewed my confidence that I am a highly competent translator. One of my particular strengths is writing clear, natural English so the translation sounds as though it were originally written in English. This is a skill I have worked hard to hone in the past, so I am glad that this effort has paid off.

Even so, there is always room for improvement. I know that I need to work on better translating the fine nuances of the source text and interpreting the specific meaning of complex phrases. These are both areas I will focus on in the coming months. While my translations are very rarely incorrect, they could be better. And better is always the aim.

I would like to thank Coralie Pearson for agreeing to be my mentor and for her invaluable support and guidance throughout this process. I would recommend the mentoring scheme to anyone. It is only by working together that we can really improve.

For more information about the Spanish Network’s mentoring scheme click here.