Our company is growing quickly, and so is the need for our services. Culture Guides has an ongoing need for new interpreters, translators and other professionals. With technology available through the internet, we network with professionals worldwide to meet the needs of our customers. Our online scheduling and time billing services make it possible for you to stay in touch wherever you have an internet connection. If our mission appeals to you, please read on to learn more about working with Culture Guides.

A few quick instructions

• Interpreters and Interpreter/Translators. Culture Guides continually seeks to hire professional interpreters and translators. If you would like to apply as an interpreter or interpreter/translator, please begin the application process online. Your initial application will be forwarded to our Human Resources Coordinator. Please read the rest of this page prior to submitting your application. It contains important information about qualifications and duties.
  
• Translators Only. If you prefer to work only as a translator, please send your resume and translation sample (both source and target documents) to us by e-mail. Alternatively, you may contact us at our office.
  
• For a quick and printable overview of our Selection Process for interpreters and translators, please download the PDF document here.
  
• Consultants, Instructors, and Other Professionals. If you are more interested in helping to provide any of the other services we offer, please contact us to let us know.

Qualifications

Culture Guides considers the following qualifications essential for successful interpreters and translators:

• Demonstrated fluency in English and the target language at a level equivalent to at least a bachelors degree in both languages, with strong preference for language proficiencies equivalent to an advanced degree.
  
• Knowledge of the cultures of both the United States and your cultural area(s) of expertise.
  
• Professional ethic as demonstrated in some field (not necessarily related to interpreting or translating)
  
• Prior training and experience, or demonstrated potential, as an interpreter or translator
  
• Commitment to professional development as an interpreter and/or translator.

Independent Contractors

Most interpreters and translators join the Culture Guides team as Independent Contractors. As an independent contractor, you have the flexibility to accept the assignments that fit with your schedule. You also may refuse specific assignments according to your own availability with no penalty. Below you will find more information specific to interpreters and translators.

Interpreters

Culture Guides has been called “the Cadillac of interpreting services” because we do more than just interpret, when it is appropriate to the situation. We also provide cultural mediation and advocacy services when necessary. Our interpreters often serve the most vulnerable members of society, including the sick and disabled, the very young and the very old. Culture Guides uses care in selecting interpreters who will act with the utmost respect for the people we serve. We work to ensure that interpreter candidates hold the esteem of their elders and fellow community members, especially in smaller language groups. Interpreter candidates must pass through a rigorous application process before becoming interpreters for Culture Guides. The candidates we select are willing and able to serve their communities effectively, ethically and appropriately.

• As a Culture Guides interpreter, you will have opportunities to work in a variety of settings according to your skill level and experience. Settings may include, for example, medical, mental health, legal, government, business, and technical and social service settings. You will also have the opportunity to take on more difficult assignments as you gain experience, knowledge and advanced skills.
  
• You will have opportunities to work as part of a team with Culture Guides. Sometimes you may work as a team interpreter for longer, more intense assignments, spelling your teammates to improve accuracy and endurance. Even when you are working alone, you are only a phone call away from an interpreter supervisor who will help you resolve any problems and advise you on how to proceed in difficult or unusual situations. If the supervisor determines that an advocate is required, you will continue in your role of interpreter and allow the supervisor to handle any advocacy that is needed. This team approach frees you to be the interpreter that professional ethics require you to be.
  
• Many times we have ongoing cases that require a case management approach, an approach that varies according to the setting. Culture Guides values your input to help achieve a best outcome for all of the parties we serve, regardless of who pays our bill. Our customers and clients find that our involvement really can make a difference in meeting their goals together.
  
• We work hard to achieve continuity of service for our customers and clients. We make an effort to assign the same interpreter or group of interpreters to ongoing appointments for individuals needing interpreting services. Customers have the ability to request specific interpreters with whom they have become comfortable. Culture Guides interpreters have more opportunities to develop rapport and provide the cultural mediation that many situations require for successful outcomes.
  
• Culture Guides supports the professional development of its interpreters. As a member of our team, you will receive information about training and development opportunities. We will also provide you access to our library, engage in professional exchanges with you and encourage your growth.

Translators

Translators must also pass through a rigorous application process similar to that for interpreters. Translator candidates must also submit a two to three page sample of their work as part of the application process. (Please include both the source and the target documents.) Culture Guides seeks translators who not only translate accurately but also capture the spirit of the writer and the message.

• As a translator with Culture Guides, you will most often work in teams by participating in our peer review system. Peer review allows translators to review each other’s work in order to create a translation that will not only be exceptionally competent but also help the customer meet their stated goals for the document or other media.
  
• Occasionally our translators must make recommendations for presenting material in a more culturally appropriate manner for the target audience. We may relay your advice to customers, including such recommendations as: altering material content to provide necessary explanations, deleting or rewriting potentially offensive material, changing the order of presentation, or employing graphic designs so that they will appeal to the target audience.
  
• As a translator, you will enjoy a challenging and interesting array of documents to translate, according to your areas of expertise. Translators may have opportunities to work on multimedia projects such as audios, videos and web site development. Your assignments will also depend on your availability to meet customer deadlines and the translation needs of our customers.
  
• Sometimes you may have opportunities to perform typesetting and layout services when your computer skill level is adequate and the job requires it. When a document will be published or publicly distributed, we generally use skilled graphic artists for typesetting and layout. Translators then proofread the final document. One of our secrets of success is the extra care we give our documents and other media.
  
• Culture Guides also supports the professional development of translators, similarly to interpreters.

Interested? Join us!
By now, you may be able to tell that Culture Guides is not your ordinary interpreting and translating company. If you would like to join us in changing our small corner of the world, please contact us. Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Please visit our site again in the future as we add the following features:

• Resources for interpreters and translators: interesting links and information for professionals and those in training.
• Humor for interpreters and translators: share your (non-confidential only!) anecdotes with us, and we may post them here.