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Upcoming interview with UN - suggestions needed
Thread poster: JoFP
JoFP
JoFP
Local time: 22:37
French to English
+ ...
Nov 24, 2012

I'm already pretty much established, but I didn't know where else to post my question. As it turns out, I have something called a competency-based interview coming up for a translating/editing position at the UN. I'm wondering if anybody has had one of these interviews and can shed any light on what they might involve. I've looked around on the Interwebz, of course, and you can find general explanations of competency-based interviews there, but I really have no idea how they might work for trans... See more
I'm already pretty much established, but I didn't know where else to post my question. As it turns out, I have something called a competency-based interview coming up for a translating/editing position at the UN. I'm wondering if anybody has had one of these interviews and can shed any light on what they might involve. I've looked around on the Interwebz, of course, and you can find general explanations of competency-based interviews there, but I really have no idea how they might work for translating positions. I'd be grateful for any input from anybody who has been through such an interview, and other people probably would be, too. ▲ Collapse
 
ATIL KAYHAN
ATIL KAYHAN  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 23:37
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
Competencies in Translation Nov 25, 2012

I suggest that you perform a web search using the terms
translation competence
and that search should hopefully give you an idea of the competencies involved in translation. This is somewhat important. You should have at least some awareness of the competencies involved in translation before you go to the interview. One competency example is reading comprehension. It is stated that "incorrect comprehension of a text considerably decreases the quality of the translation". That te... See more
I suggest that you perform a web search using the terms
translation competence
and that search should hopefully give you an idea of the competencies involved in translation. This is somewhat important. You should have at least some awareness of the competencies involved in translation before you go to the interview. One competency example is reading comprehension. It is stated that "incorrect comprehension of a text considerably decreases the quality of the translation". That tells me that you will come across at least one reading comprehension question in the languages that you work, perhaps more than one.

Profile of the Translation Student

Sound linguistic training in the two languages


Knowledge covering a wide cultural spectrum


High reading comprehension competence and permanent interest in reading


Adequate use of translation procedures and strategies


Adequate management of documentation sources


Improvement capacity and constant interest in learning


Initiative, creativity, honesty and perseverance


Accuracy, truthfulness, patience and dedication


Capacity for analysis and self-criticism


Ability to maintain constructive interpersonal relationships


Capacity to develop team work


Efficient data processing training at user's level (an introductory course is NOT enough)


Acquaintance with translation software for MT and MT edition

Hope this helps. Best of luck in the interview! ▲ Collapse
 
JoFP
JoFP
Local time: 22:37
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for the response Nov 27, 2012

Thank you, Atil. In any event, once I've been through the interview, I'll try to remember to give an account of it here, as it might be useful to others, too.
 
Daniel Grau
Daniel Grau  Identity Verified
Argentina
Member (2008)
English to Spanish
Here's a bit more info Nov 27, 2012

Try these:
  • http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&site=webhp&q=site:unlanguage.org%20"competency%20based%20interview"
  • http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&site=webhp&q="competency%20based%20interview"%20"united%20nations"

    However, there seems to be a lot of repetition.
     


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    Upcoming interview with UN - suggestions needed







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