Certified Spanish Translation
Some Thoughts To Keep in Mind

There are a lot of different opinions on the matter, so I figured I would throw in my two cents, for what it's worth.

First of all, it's important to realize the difference between official certification required by certain countries, and accreditation (or certification) that is offered by private organizations (which isn't necessarily required). If you're interested, read more about the different types of certified translation services.

So, as I mentioned earlier, there are different thoughts on whether or not it's necessary to be accredited or certified by translation organizations.

What do I think? Personally, I don't think it's necessary. The reason that it is not necessary is that certification alone does not guarantee you translation jobs. I don't think it's even a strong factor in finding more freelance clients.

Most translation clients don't know anything about the translation profession. They don't know that in some countries like the U.S., there is no such thing as a national translation certification. Every translator can say that they offer "certified" translations. The client usually doesn't know the difference.

So what does it matter whether you are "certified" by a private translation organization? It doesn't matter. (It might matter in other countries if you want to become a sworn translator, but that's not what I'm talking about here.) Remember, I don't translate in other countries, and for those of you that live in a country other than the United States, you'll have to do some more research on what the requirements are specifically for that country.

When you're trying to build your client base as a freelance translator or convince a potential client that your able to do a particular job, instead of touting certification as your most valuable asset, the most important thing you can do is have a list of previous clients that are happy with the work you've done for them.

Why is this important? Well, because potential clients are going to feel safer giving you their business if they know that you have experience doing translation work.

Think about it. Anyone can say they are certified, or even make up their own official-looking certificate that says they are certified, but if you have clients that are happy with your work and willing to provide references saying as much, this is much more convincing to a potential client.

Whenever potential clients inquire about hiring me to translate for them, they never ask if I'm certified. The one thing that they do ask for, however, is contact information for some previous clients. They don't care if some arbitrary organization thinks I know how to translate. They'd rather verify that I can with actual clients I've done work for already.

And because I've done some good translation work for these other clients, they are more than willing to provide references whenever I need them. That's worth a lot more than being a certified Spanish translation professional.

Yes there are some advantages you might gain by being a certified Spanish translation provider, but in my experience, it's not worth it.

For these translators it can be hard to provide these much needed references to potential clients because they don't even have many clients to begin with! In this case, certification can provide a needed boost to show clients that even though you're just starting out, you have proved your ability to translate.

You won't be able to prove how professional a translator you are since you won't have had any translation clients before, but every translator had to have their first client take a chance on them and give them an opportunity.

But certified Spanish translation professionals can use their certification as a means to get that first job, and from there rely more on word of mouth and reputation.

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