Welcome to the third installment in our Language Connections employee spotlight interview series! We’ll be talking to employees about their experiences working at this language service provider, their passions for localization, translation services, and interpreter services. This month, we’re featuring our Interpreting Project Manager, Xenia Sergeeva. Read more about how she landed an account manager position at this language service provider, and juggles language interpreting services projects at Language Connections!
Managing Interpretation Projects at a Language Service Provider in Boston
LC: Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Xenia: My name is Xenia, and I’m the Interpreting Account Manager at Language Connections. I work on the vendor side of this language service provider. I facilitate communication between relevant parties and pick the proper interpreters for the inquiries we receive. I perform vendor searches in our network of trained and experienced interpreters. I also source vendors we haven’t worked with before!
LC: How did you come to work for Language Connections?
Xenia: I started working here in April. I guess I could say Language Connections found me. It was actually through word of mouth.
LC: What was your biggest interpretation job thus far? Tell us a little bit about it.
Xenia: One of the most challenging interpretation jobs I’ve handled was organizing a conference in Detroit for a nonprofit organization that provides sexual health care domestically and internationally. The client requested a variety of interpreters for multiple days. They specifically wanted American Sign Language interpreters and Spanish simultaneous interpreters who can do conference level interpretation. On top of that, they also wanted the interpreters to be local. Detroit was a location I’ve never worked with before—it was easy to find ASL interpreters there, but there were not a lot of Spanish interpreters! In the end I found the appropriate individuals for the event, and it was a success.
LC: What are some of the challenges you face working at a language service provider?
Xenia: On certain days, the Interpretation Department gets a flood of requests and inquiries. Prioritizing tasks is a challenge for me, especially when there are major ongoing projects that are a week long and that require strategic planning. We also get urgent requests all the time, and organizing pre-event logistics, like paperwork, takes time.
LC: What are some of your favorite parts of working at Language Connections?
Xenia: I constantly experience an element of surprise when I work here. I’ll get inquiries for languages I’ve never heard of before, like Amharic, a language spoken in Ethiopia, and Tamil. I tell my clients, “I’ll see what I can do.” When languages are so rare and uncommon, you don’t know if we can be their language service provider…but we always find a way!
LC: What are your hobbies? What interests you?
Xenia: Biking, surfing and snowboarding. I also love reading English classics, especially ones that are beautifully written.
LC: What are your favorite languages?
Xenia: The English language never ceases to amaze me. As an immigrant, you never stop learning. I also like French; I learn and unlearn what I’ve learned constantly.
LC: What is your favorite word?
Xenia: My favorite word is “freedom.” I like its meaning, how it’s written, and how it sounds.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com
