“Portfolio” seems to be buzzword these days… 

On Wednesday, 29 January 2025, about a dozen from the London Regional Group (LRG) kick-started the new year with a CPD event about creating a professional portfolio. We met at our usual venue, The Devereux, near the Strand in Central London, which provides a very homely upstairs function room.

The meeting was hosted and facilitated by Pamela Mayorcas. Prior to the meeting, Pamela had circulated some notes, including advice from the OU (Open University) and from LinkedIn – https://help.open.ac.uk/create-professional-profile-portfolio-for-job-applications; https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/what-documents-should-you-include-your-translation

In her brief introduction, Pamela highlighted the tension between the use of a portfolio of work for the purpose of marketing oneself and the duty of confidentiality. This was followed by a contribution from Ellen Moerman who shared some of her insights and reflections about possible copyright issues and confidentiality from her legal background, but also encouraged participants to put hobbies or interests in their CV – and who knows, that might even lead to a new work project you hadn’t thought about?

Then we split up into small groups for discussion around different tables. Among the questions and aspects discussed were, who would you actually create a portfolio for, as a translator or interpreter? What would you include in it?

While creating a portfolio can be a great way to showcase your work and demonstrate your skills as a translator to potential clients in some areas of work, would translation agencies even have the time to look through a detailed portfolio, when they typically want a one-page CV? What subject areas would lend themselves better than others for creating a portfolio? Perhaps in the beauty, fashion and luxury goods market, or perhaps you have done a number of wonderful tourism projects? One participant also mentioned a colleague who had created a very comprehensive portfolio of their subtitling experience on their website – so, would a professional portfolio more likely be a physical or an online portfolio? Could it be included in your website or LinkedIn profile? And what’s the difference between a CV or professional résumé and a portfolio? What about including your rates? While some clients may prefer transparency upfront, listing prices on your portfolio may limit your ability to negotiate with clients. Finally, you could strengthen your portfolio by including relevant courses or qualifications, other relevant experience and testimonials or feedback. Besides all these, what quite clearly sprung out overall was the duty of confidentiality when creating a portfolio.

Thanks to Pamela Mayorcas and to the committee for organising this event, which led to a stimulating discussion about the subject, and enabled us to share ideas.

Author: Isabel Brenner