As a new interpreter, you might be tempted to either highlight the fact that you’re new or do the opposite and hide that you’re new. I’d like to encourage you to avoid highlighting or hiding your newness. Yes, I know those are opposites. Allow me to elaborate. . .
Imagine this scenario:
A new interpreter introduces herself to the medical team and patient and says all the usual pre-session things, and then says, “…and just to let you know, this is my very first official interpreting assignment ever.”
What are the medical team and patient supposed to do with that information? How does that revelation enhance the interpreter’s performance? Respectively, the answers are “nothing” and “it doesn’t.”
Declaring your “newness” might seem like a good way to be transparent, gain empathy, and have speakers “work better” with you. But the implication is that you’re expecting people to cut you slack and lower their expectations just because you’re new. The other implication is that you may or may not be an effective, reliable, and trustworthy interpreter. Would that be a fair expectation of any new professional? Of a new doctor? Of a new nurse? Of a new pilot? Of a new lawyer? I could continue the list, but I think the point is clear: “newness” is not synonymous with “incompetence.” A professional of any kind should never be incompetent. New, sure. At one point or another everyone is “new.” But that doesn’t mean that the professional performance will be subpar or should be excused if it doesn’t meet professional standards. So, you’re new. Big deal. You’ve still done all the work and developed all the skills necessary to be an effective, trustworthy, and competent interpreter. That’s what matters.
The other extreme – hiding that you’re new – is also not necessary. A new interpreter must not invent a professional history, overstate their qualifications, or do/say anything else that is untrue. Doing such a thing would not only be unethical, but it would also be unnecessary. As we’ve established already, being new is not synonymous with being incompetent. And competence is really the only thing that matters. Eventually you’ll have a professional history the length of your arm written in single-spaced size 8 font. And good for you when you achieve that interesting milestone. In the meantime, let your skills – no matter how shinny and new they are – speak for themselves. You’ve got this!
And lest you get the idea that your newness will one day wear off completely, it won’t. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something unfamiliar, unanticipated, and unexpected will happen. This is true even for the most tenured old-timer in this wonderful profession we call interpreting.
Let me use myself as an example to illustrate:
I had been interpreting full time for probably two years or longer when this situation happened. One department I frequented at the hospital was the Labor and Delivery unit. I was such a regular presence at the department that my “presession” with the medical team consisted of me declaring “I’m here!” (Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration.) I, in fact, had interpreted so many baby deliveries that I’d lost count of how many there had been. And then it happened. For the first time ever, the patient I was interpreting for needed an emergency C-section. Mind you, up until this moment, every delivery I had interpreted for had been a vaginal delivery. Not a single C-section. Not even a preplanned C-section. So, when it came time for me to interpret in the procedure room, I knew I was going to be in a situation that I had only studied about. I also knew that the medical team probably figured I was already old hat at what was about to happen, but that wasn’t the case. So, I let the medical team know that I hadn’t interpreted for a c-section or been in the procedure room before, so to please indicate where I should position myself and call out anything else I should be aware of. They did. I interpreted. And all aspects of communication were covered, and covered quite effectively if I do say so myself. New? Sure, but totally competent.
So, embrace your newness as a natural phase of your professional journey, and welcome to the profession!