Why is it that some freelancers achieve enormous success while others take years to get their career off the ground?
Being a freelance translator, or any kind of freelancer for that matter, is not always an easy career: it can be extremely stressful and very unpredictable, but it can also bring a huge amount of satisfaction.
If you’ve been told that being a freelance translator is an easy career, full of opportunities and free of responsibilities, then someone was pulling your leg! Of course, there are many opportunities out there for freelancers, but taking advantage of these opportunities is something one must learn how to do. Why is it that some freelancers achieve enormous success while others take years to get their career off the ground? What is it that makes a freelance translator so successful? Some people theorize that freelancers probably take more risks, while others think it’s the confidence, communication skills, and resourcefulness that set them up for success.
What we do know is that one of the personality traits that sets successful freelancers apart from others is their ability to deal with rejection in a healthy way. If you’re a freelance translator, you’ve probably already experienced your fair share of rejection and disappointment. And while it’s preferable to have your own website, even that doesn’t guarantee that you won’t experience rejection. So how does one cope with the humiliation and sense of injustice when one experiences rejection? See below for some strategies that we hope may help you deal with rejection –
Don’t Take It Personally!
Of all the emotions humans have to deal with, rejection might be the hardest. Interestingly, it’s also the most common. We experience rejection in our relationships with friends, family, clients, contractors, and even our partners; and the simple truth is that, just because someone refused your translation services, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not good. In fact, it could well have absolutely nothing to do with knowledge or merit.
Because we’re all so very different, people expect different things, and your ideas may not be the same as theirs. It’s highly likely that the issue is with the client: their budget may be too low, or they may just be having a bad day: there are so many things that justify rejection, with very few suggesting that it’s your incompetence or that your ideas are not acceptable. If you’re faced with rejection, don’t ever take it personally. There may be something to learn from this experience, but don’t let rejection affect your translation career.
Never Stop Looking!
You probably won’t be surprised when we say that the main difference between a good freelancer and an excellent one is how they cope with rejection. After a few rejections, a good freelancer may decide to give up searching, but rejection wouldn’t stop an excellent freelancer.
