How to Answer: How do you balance the satisfaction and expectations of your client when they might not align with the reality of the project?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Translator job interview.
3. How do you balance the satisfaction and expectations of your client when they might not align with the reality of the project?
How to Answer
Clients of translation projects often don't understand how complex thei 'asks' might be. Even seemingly straightforward texts can be nuanced, and the completion of a translation can take longer than expected. Translators have to balance reality and expectations using a customer-oriented approach. The interviewer is looking for your ability to walk this line, so respond by demonstrating that you can make the client satisfied while not making promises you can't keep.
Written by Clara Canon on November 30th, 2019
Answer Example
"My primary objective is to maintain open and honest communication with my clients to ensure that there are no surprises on their end. I want them to know that their satisfaction with the final product is my goal, and if I see that I might not be able to fulfill those expectations then I will direct them to a better-suited colleague. If I'm in the middle of the project, I try to avoid misunderstandings by keeping clients fully up-to-date with progress and milestones and checking in on any updates to their goals and needs. I will offer projections at the beginning of the project and re-iterate them along the way."
Written by Clara Canon on November 30th, 2019