On Friday February 28, Monterey Language Services had the pleasure of attending the Middlebury Institute of International Studies Career Fair, held at the Monterey Conference Center. The entire hall was filled with representatives from some of the top language service providers and language technology services in the nation—not to mention hundreds of MIIS students all waiting to show off their impressive résumés to prospective employers. This fair is a great opportunity for companies and students alike to make connections and learn about each other.

It was quite interesting and enlightening to hear students’ stories. They come from all over the world and have incredibly diverse backgrounds, both personally and professionally. Many students have come to MIIS to begin their careers in the language industry, and show clear excitement for their current course of study and potential career paths. Other students already have years of experience in translation or interpretation, and have come to MIIS to hone their skills in a certain specialty or even to change their career trajectory entirely, for example by moving from a linguist to a project manager. Whatever the case may be, we were happy to connect with these talented people.

Students at MIIS, whether they are studying Conference Interpretation, Translation and Interpretation, or Translation and Localization Management all share a passion for languages and a keen desire to put what they are learning at school to work. We are glad to see that so many of these young professionals share our goal of bridging the world’s languages and cultures.

We are always looking for talented freelance translators and interpreters. We are also looking for Office and Project Assistants. During the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, Monterey Language Services is poised for action – we have years of experience working remotely. For us, every challenge, downturn, or recession is an opportunity to reflect on what we can do to improve and move up to the next level. While most people and companies are focusing on the tasks at hand or cost cutting, we are thinking about what our contributions to the future would be and if we will be ready when our clients need us. Now is indeed a good time to think about all of this, and try to figure out how we can make better contributions to the environment we are in and to the people who we care about. We don’t lose faith in a crisis, and we believe those who survive the crisis will stand out when the crisis is over. To us, our career is a long journey. What’s most important is that we are ready to help when our help is needed, and staying connected to help each other out in a time like now.