Continuing education and development allow you to take control of your personal and professional learning and growth, as part of a process of reflection and action. With the empathy and support of a more experienced colleague, those joining the ranks of the profession can build their confidence and skills and gain practical knowledge and insights.
Mentors can:
- offer guidance on career choices or transitions
- help define short-term and long-term career goals
- advise on continuing education and professional development opportunities
- introduce key people in a specialisation and promote networking
- help identify areas for improvement and provide guidance on how to work on them
- give valuable feedback on the mentee’s performance and progress
- share their own successes and mistakes, to help avoid pitfalls.
A mentor’s role is not to do or correct translation tests, do job searches, or review mentees’ translations, but rather to serve as a guide to help mentees reach their goals. In other words, the mentor helps the mentee discover the path of “stepping stones” that they should follow so as not to fall into the river.
It is precisely with that idea in mind that the Brazilian Association of Translators and Interpreters (ABRATES) named its mentoring programme Caminho das Pedras. Created in 2016, the programme consists of six-month cycles, and it is already on its 11th cycle. It has been designed to make the onboarding of new professionals smoother through better preparation, and it is beneficial both for the profession and for clients.
The programme offers guidance for beginners or final-year students of translation, interpreting, or literature on practical and ethical aspects of the profession. Members who have less than two years of experience or are final-year students on undergraduate, graduate, or certification courses are eligible to participate as mentees. Members with more than five years of professional experience are eligible to participate as mentors. Each mentor works with a single mentee per cycle.
The programme is managed by the ABRATES Mentoring Programme Administration Committee, whose role is to define core contents and general rules, to match mentors with mentees, and to provide support as needed. Additionally, the Committee analyses reports submitted by mentors and mentees and issues certificates of participation.
While individuals joining as mentees can define their own personal goals, the core contents of the programme include guidance on the following:
- creating a professional and effective CV
- doing research on the reputation of prospective clients
- evaluating contracts with companies
- setting and negotiating rates
- learning to say “no”
- dealing with negative feedback
- networking
- sharing information about conferences and events.
It should be noted that the mentoring programme is not an internship. In their capacity as guides, mentors can support, show the way, and help mentees start their own professional journey, without walking the path for them.
Carolina Ventura, Vice President, ABRATES