Continuing Professional Development
Back when I was younger, I always assumed you went to school and university to learn things and then you went out into the world and did them. I’m not sure where I got this idea from exactly. I also thought I’d end up living in an apartment like the one Monica has in Friends. I don’t know. I had unrealistic expectations, I guess. I certainly never thought I’d need to keep developing my skills all through my career, but as it turns out, this is a really important thing to do.
It sounds like a cliché, but you never stop learning. Maybe some new software enters the market, or you decide you want to shift your career in a slightly different direction – something that requires a new skill set. It can feel counter-intuitive to take time away from paid work to sit in a classroom or pick up a book, but it’s really the only way to take your solo business to that next level. Especially when you’re working as a freelancer, it’s important to be aware that you are in charge of shaping your own career. Nobody is going to send you on a mandatory training course, so it’s up to you to identify gaps in your own knowledge and then seek to fill them.
For me, this has looked like learning marketing skills and making sure my linguistic and cultural knowledge relating to my language pairs is up to date. I also like to keep checking around to make sure I’m using the best translation software for my needs. We’re lucky to live in a time when there are some great educational resources out there and a lot of them are really affordable. On this occasion, the internet is really your friend.
I thought I’d take a moment to share some of my favourite resources that you can use for your Continual Professional Development (CPD).
Online Classes
To be honest, this is my main one. I am obsessed with Skillshare at the moment, but I know a lot of people really love FutureLearn as well. These are online learning platforms that allow you to take classes put together by experts. Subscriptions are really affordable and it’s such an easy way to learn. Most of the classes are pre-recorded, so you can fit them around whatever you’re doing. You also don’t have to take time out of your day to travel anywhere. They’re perfect if an afternoon suddenly opens up and you want to do something productive. And I genuinely feel that the content is really useful. Skillshare is great for creatives and, since I consider myself a creative translator, it’s really helped me to develop that part of my business.
Just to be clear: Skillshare aren’t paying me to say this. I just really like them.
Podcasts
Another great option if you don’t want to leave your house (or if you can’t because of COVID). There’s a podcast about basically everything these days. I like to listen to interviews with freelancers or podcasts in my source languages of German and Dutch. It’s great because I can pick up tips and keep my language skills sharp all while doing something mundane and necessary, like my ironing. Oh, and most podcasts are free. So that’s a real bonus.
Books
I love to read. Since I like to spend my evenings sitting with my feet up and a good book, this can be a great time to get in some CPD in a way that feels fun and relaxing. I often challenge myself to read translated literature and think about the strategies the translator is using. Or I’ll read some kind of fun self-help book. I recently read Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. It was packed full of useful tips for managing stress in your work and personal life.
I tend to download books onto my Kindle, but if you want to save money, you could always pick something up from your local library. Books are great. Everybody loves books.
Conferences
At the moment, lots of conferences are taking place online, which makes them really accessible. You don’t have to live in a big city or worry about travel costs. It remains to be seen what the future will hold for online conferences, but it seems likely that some will stick around. In-person conferences are also great, though, because they give you a chance to network. This is another thing that is really important to prioritise as a freelancer, but I could write a whole separate blog post about that.
Regardless of your field, there’s probably some kind of conference related to it. Listening to industry experts speak about the latest innovations and trends is always going help you to develop new skills. It can also really inspire you and make you feel connected to other people – something that can help combat any feelings of isolation you might have as a freelancer.
I recently joined an online conference through Fiverr called The Shift. I learnt a tonne of new information that day about how to adapt to life as a freelancer in the post COVID world. It was also totally free, which was great.
Blogs
Now this may seem like some stealthy self-promotion that I’ve stuck in at the end, but I’m not necessarily referring to this blog. (Although I’d like to think I provide lots of useful and enriching information!) Pretty much any time I’m confused about something relating to my freelancing career, I manage to find a blog post on the subject. Blog posts provide information in a short, digestible format, so it’s really easy to sit down and learn something new in no time at all. A lot of people who write blogs are experts in their fields. Or maybe they’re people like you who are just figuring things out and sharing as they go. Either way, the internet is home to a lot of incredibly specialised information that may be relevant to your career. Whatever you’re doing, there’s probably somebody writing about it. Take advantage of the fact that people are sharing their expertise and use it to develop your skills.
So, there you go, I hope that I’ve inspired you to carve out some time so you can go and develop your professional skills. Keep learning. Keep growing. And, most importantly, keep dreaming that you’ll someday have an apartment like Monica’s in Friends (even though that thing would have cost thousands of dollars a month to rent).