Episode 23: Smart Habits for Planning Your Professional Development
We all know that professional development is extremely important for both translators and interpreters, but it can sometimes be a challenge to prioritize it over paid work, marketing, or establishing and growing your business.
Especially these days, with so many learning and training opportunities available, it can be overwhelming to pick the right one.
In this episode, we share our own experiences and thoughts on the topic of professional development for language professionals: how to choose, plan, and schedule it, as well as how to implement what you’ve learned.
Here is a summary of our conversation:
How to choose from the multitude of professional development options that exist for translators and interpreters
What mistakes we've made (and have heard other translators say they've made) when it comes to professional development
Why planning your professional development is better than taking an ad hoc approach
How to budget for professional development and find affordable (or free) high-quality training
How to find the balance between working on your translation or interpreting skills, improving your knowledge in the area of your specialization, or learning more about the business side of freelancing: marketing, admin, business development, etc.
How to find time for professional development
Where translators and interpreters can look for professional development opportunities
Why it's important to implement what you learned and how to do it effectively
How to incorporate professional development into your business planning/review process (for example, the business retreat exercise that we talked about in Episode 8!)
How to make the best of all the online training courses, conferences, workshops, and webinars that are available now during the COVID-19 pandemic
resources we mentioned in this episode:
MOOCs: Coursera, Udemy, EdX, LinkedIn Learning
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.
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