More about Polis
How long have you worked at the company?
I have been working with the company for almost 4 years. I feel like my career has been very developmental during that time
What was your “ah-ha!” moment?
I was interpreting for a woman who was nine months pregnant, speaking with her doctor to check in on the baby. All of a sudden the doctor said that the lady had to give birth immediately, and it was really incredible to realize that I helped her to do this by removing the communication barrier .
What was one thing you didn’t know about the industry before you started working at TransPerfect?
The many different protocols and procedures that have been developed over time.
What is your favorite thing about working at TransPerfect?
Learning about so many different cultures from all around the world.
What do you think are the most important skills to excel at your job?
Follow up and using all tools available to excel.
How would you describe your day-to-day role in one word?
Fast-paced.
What has been the trajectory of your career at TransPerfect?
Very developmental.
What’s the strangest request you’ve encountered working here (internal or external)
A customer wanted a refund check for a piece of work he hadn’t paid for yet!
More about Shane
Where are you from?
Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, where I graduated from business school in 2009.
Was TransPerfect your first job right after school?
No, I actually started my own event services company with a partner. The company was very successful and I had 12 people working underneath me. In 2010, we took a big business risk and it backfired—the company went bankrupt, and I owed some serious money to the investors of the company.
How did you get from that point, to TransPerfect?
I got a call from a recruiter wanting to chat, and I went to London to meet with him and one of the most senior managers in the EU. I was offered a job, but I had to decline because at this point in my life, I simply could not afford to move to London.
But somehow you’re now in New York…
Instead, I started working out of the Dublin office and built a book of business from scratch. Within the first year, I sold ½ million, got promoted to DBD, and got my first Account Manager. I continued to increase my revenues and in 2013, Liz & Phil agreed to sponsor my full visa to move to New York. I’ve been here for almost 4 years now—I’ve completely paid my debt from my company in Dublin, continue to grow my book of business, and have three people working for me.
What’s your favorite thing about TransPerfect?
There are a lot of answers to this, but I think the obvious one is that I met my future wife through the company. Can’t beat that! (Shane is engaged to one of our Regional Directors and they’re set to marry next year.)
More about Ekaterina
Where were you born?
I was born and raised in Krasnoyarsk, Russia – that’s in the Siberia region of Russia
What drew you to the language services industry?
My 1st masters is in Foreign Language Teaching, and my second Masters is in Translation and Localization Management—I went to the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. I’ve always been fascinated by languages and cultures.
What is your role here at TransPerfect?
I actually work on the Translations.com side—TransPerfect’s division that focuses on technology solutions and website localization needs. I’ve been working in Client Services for the past two years, which could not have been a better fit. I knew a lot about the l10n technology, linguistics, and the nuts and bolts of the actual process but my experience in client services helped complete the picture. My role is to ensure that our clients’ needs are met so I try to see the process from their perspective and help improve it.
Any cool experiences you’ve had here at TransPerfect?
The Monterey Institute focuses on international business—very aligned with what TransPerfect does on a day-to-day basis—so as a company we recruit pretty heavily from there. I was recruited right out of school, and this year, I had the opportunity to return and help recruit newly graduated students to come work with us as well, which was a lot of fun!
What’s the strangest request you’ve ever encountered?
One time, a client asked us to “localize skin tones” for the female model images on their site. It is not uncommon to use different ethnicity models for different markets but to digitally change the skin color on the existing models—that was a first! The client ended up just switching the models after further consideration…and some cultural consulting from the TransPerfect team!
More about Hannah
How long have you worked at the company?
3 years! I remember the exact date because I started on Tax Day.
What is your favorite thing about working at TransPerfect?
TPT is 24/7, I like the global way of thinking and knowing that this is an industry that truly never sleeps!
What do you think are the most important skills to excel at your job?
Organization, flexibility and problem solving. And then organization again.
What has been the trajectory of your career at TransPerfect?
I started as a project coordinator. Annually, I made my way to Project Manager and Senior Project Manager. In the last 1-2 years I’ve been able to incorporate a bit of my personal background into my work and focus on German language projects. As a result of a lot of hard work I am currently a client Language Lead for Germany and South Africa, and Executive Project Manager.
What is the most interesting project you have worked on?
During the Ebola outbreak in 2015 the Life Sciences division received translation requests for some of the first drugs that were starting to work against the disease. It reminded me how our work is relevant to people’s lives today, and can really make a difference.
What were you doing before working at TransPerfect?
I graduated from Tulane University with degrees in Art History and German Language. I went on to get a Masters Degree in Modern & Contemporary Art, and worked for some of the biggest names in the art world in London and New York. When an opportunity at TransPerfect came up, I decided to put my other degree to use and return to my linguistic roots.
More about Matt
How did you get hired?
A chance encounter! I was nearly 9 years into an advertising career looking for a change of scenery which I thought would be another ad agency. I got a sales call from a translation agency, and was surprised to find myself turning it around to them and asking if they had any job openings.
What drew you to the language services industry?
I'd always had an affinity for languages, having minored in French and 2 years into studying Italian as part of a lifelong goal to learn about my ancestry (which I’ve continued to do to this day). I knew little about the industry, but it seemed like a unique opportunity.
How did your career at TransPerfect evolve?
Organization, flexibility and problem solving. And then organization again.
What has been the trajectory of your career at TransPerfect?
The day of my interview, I walked by someone working on a translation on their computer screen. Having not the faintest clue about translation memory and other tools, it looked like something out of a science fiction movie. I’d just never considered the technological aspects of how translation worked.
Since I'd already been working with clients for almost a decade, I knew plenty about account management but little of localization. 5 years later, I’ve combined client service experience with knowledge of translation processes to advise my clients as well as the 5 members of my team.
What is the best part of your time at TransPerfect?
My favorite thing about TransPerfect is my colleagues. Working together with a gumbo of cultures has enriched my work experience; whether it’s learning about a co-worker’s background or getting to taste a bit of it during one of our fabled TDC potluck lunches. I’ve had a pair of great mentors the past 5 years, whom I can’t thank enough for their guidance. Not only have they been wonderful sounding boards whenever I’ve needed advice on handling a situation, they have celebrated me as an individual and allowed me to truly feel comfortable expressing my personality full of quirks. I’m grateful for their support in so many ways.
How would you sum up the culture at TransPerfect?
When I got the call to appear on Who Wants to be a Millionaire 3 years ago on 2 days’ notice, I was not only encouraged to pursue my game show aspirations (having come to TransPerfect with a Jeopardy! championship under my belt), but also joined by many of our team members at a viewing party when my episode aired. That’s what this culture is like.
More about Caroline
How did you end up at TransPerfect?
I’m on the client services team for our OneLink technology, and started right at the beginning of 2015 after graduating with a masters in Spanish from NYU in Madrid, Spain. I heard about TransPerfect from a friend in my program and moved to NYC to join the team.
I have always liked languages and the idiosyncrasies that go along with them but was not certain how I wanted to incorporate them into my job. Also I did not know just how far the localization industry reached. One of my favorite things about working at TransPerfect is the international team. I work with team member from all over the world every day.
What TransPerfect experience left an impression on you?
One client left me a voice mail asking for me to call them back, I dialed the number and was taken aback when they began speaking to me in German, even though I dialed the country code and knew they were located in Germany. I was not mentally prepared for the situation but I said ‘Guten Tag’ and nervously asked for the client. All went well after she responded in English kindly and was excited to hear back from me.
What do you think are the most important skills to excel at your job?
Multitasking and Juggling multiple items at once. And Communication. My day-to-day role is very multifaceted—but that is what keeps it exciting!
More about Tenaya
Was TransPerfect your first job out of college?
It actually was not. I decided instead to pursue entertainment (I did a lot of theatre in college so wanted to see if that was the right career path), and accepted a job at a big talent agency in LA. I started in the mailroom and then worked as an assistant for an agent, but soon realized it wasn’t the right industry for me.
What led you to TransPerfect?
I graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in French and Linguistics, and wanted to get back in touch with my language background, potentially in a role that had opportunities for travel and/or relocation. I remembered having spoken to a TransPerfect recruiter my senior year, and had a friend who had since started working there. I got the call a couple of days later and agreed to move to New York in 5 weeks.
How has your career trajectory shaped itself?
I started as a Project Coordinator in our Life Sciences Production department. Immediately my favorite thing about the job was getting to learn from the linguists about all the different languages—it really brought my education to a new light. I loved the challenges posed by different languages and enjoyed working with the linguists to come up with creative solutions. I was just promoted to Senior Project Manager in May!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
My favorite parts of the job are the language and culture aspects—anytime I have the opportunity to think creatively about ways to solve problems that arise in certain languages/cultures is exciting to me. As a side project I’ve been working on a vendor initiative to identify qualified linguists that are interested in working with our department to improve overall quality and timeliness and improve/further our relationship with the best linguists for the subject matter.