Despite having been a freelance translator and interpreter for more than fifteen years, I have never been a fan of networking. In fact, I did not see the point: I did my work, be it at home or the clients' premises and it was enough for me, I was happy with my little pool of clients.
Regardless, I took a course on Marketing for Translators, little did I know the instructor would become my boss some years later (best boss ever, by the way). The course proved valuable however it focused on marketing.
At one of the ATA's conferences I attended a speed networking session and I cannot say I liked it… I guess by now you already know I am not the social type.
However, MIIS has changed my point of view on networking. And not only thanks to our amazing career adviser but also thanks to two of my classmates who happen to have powerful networking and public speaking skills.
Lucy Jobe http://sites.miis.edu/ljobe/ is my personal social media guru. Thanks to her I got reacquainted with Twitter. In one of her speeches, she provided easy and helpful tips to maximize our use of this network with almost little effort. She has also created the MIIS MegaSec Twitter account to promote awareness about our consecutive interpretation practice sessions. For more info about Lucy https://twitter.com/lucielle_j and https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyjobe. MIIS MegaSec https://twitter.com/MIIS_megasec.
When it comes to personal networking, Eréndira Sáez is my hero. She attends countless events and does not miss any opportunity to talk to new people and even recommend some friends for jobs! She does have a gift for socializing and networking, but she also believes in the usefulness of the later. She is right, a good part of all the good things MIIS can provide for us is the contacts. And not only for us, ultra stressed out MIIS students, but for anyone. For more information about Eréndira https://www.linkedin.com/in/erendirasaenz and https://twitter.com/ErendiraS.
Our world is increasingly becoming more and more cooperative, and translators and interpreters are not isolated anymore. As an almost pathologically shy person, I find it pretty awkward to start talking to just anyone, however, once the first twenty seconds are over, the conversation gets smoother. Current times require us to be good communicators and salespeople. At first, I thought that having a well rehearsed "elevator speech" was not for me and a waste of my time. I couldn't have been more wrong. Having a "basic shot speech" about yourself will come handy in many different situations, and as you never know where your next opportunity will come from, I would encourage everybody to have one.
