Motivation for a Job of Translator in the EU Institutions - Assignment Example

How is your education and experience relevant to this particular profile? My academic background provided exemplary competencies in the command of Slovenian, English and French languages. I was credited with a “University graduate lawyer” degree in Slovene language and a master degree “LL.M. International and European Law” in English language. My academic background and my diverse work experiences in law and in the financial sector, make me familiar with idiomatic and formal usages and highly accomplished at handling law and financial terminologies. Slovenian language is my native language that I speak in everyday life. My second language is English. The expertise gained through years of English language courses in elementary school, high school and university gave me a good command of my second language. Besides compulsory courses in school, I also took part in several private courses and passed the First Certificate and TOEFL exams. With employment in MP Asset Management Inc., and later, ANKOM d.o.o., I started to use English in the professional environment. On a daily basis, I was communicating and corresponding with my English-speaking colleagues and business partnersMy knowledge of English law terminology comes as a result of having successfully completed the master degree “LL.M. in International and European Law”. The International law department of Jean Moulin 3 Lyon University in France provided the perfect venue to hone my skills in English. I completed the study with an average grade of 15 which placed me in the top five percentile of my class. The decision to choose an English speaking programme located in France turned out to be a priceless experience. Besides being able to significantly improve my command of a second language, I had the opportunity to delve into learning still a third foreign language, French, during my spare time. After the successfully completed LL.M., I decided to spend another five months in France, where I continued to learn French at Alliance Française of Montpelier. I believe that the combination of my education and my work experience provided the theoretical framework and background for the profession of translator within the European institutions as EU documents often covers political, legal and financial areas. Why do you want to apply for this particular career opportunity? (You should explain why you have decided to apply for work in the European institutions/agencies.) You should also explain why this particular profile interests you. There are several reasons why I decided to apply for the position of Slovenian language translator in European Institutions. First of all, I am motivated to apply because of a strong conviction in the idea of European integration. I would like to take part in it, being an instrumental participant through the contribution of my knowledge and work experience. I believe that further European integration is possible in the way that each country keeps its specific culture, tradition and language. Therefore, it is of great importance that the documents of the EU are translated into the languages of all member states. I would be honored and pleased to serve in the process of translating EU documents in my native speaking Slovenian language. Moreover, working for the EU institution is my strong wish and logical career path after completion of the LL.M. International and European Law. I believe that my educational background and various work experiences makes me a qualified and competent candidate for translating relevant documents of diverse categories, particularly texts from the area of law and finance. It is my contention that a career in the EU Institutions would enable me to use and further develop my skills and knowledge diligently earned during postgraduate studies. The profile of a translator interests me for the reason that I find translation of complex topics, from source language to target languages, highly interesting. It presents a continuous challenge to work with the different languages and to find solutions for translating complex context that exist in one language but not in the other (e.g. punitive damages in common law system etc.). As such, the work of translator is manifested as a calling for me and this is the reason why I am inspired to apply and hopefully become a member of your team. Last but not the least, there is a genuine enthusiasm and personal drive to serve in an international environment and with people of different nations from diverse cultures. What specific contribution do you think you could make to the work of the European institutions and agencies? In what role could you best contribute? What particular strengths would you bring to your work? * To the work of the European I can contribute in delivering high-quality translations within the deadlines set and by providing linguistic advice. I can offer translations from English and French languages into Slovenian language including making the necessary revisions of such translations and terminology search. A translation from English language is my preference as I have better command of English language which comes as a result of my postgraduate studies and work experiences. There is a strong desire to be instrumental in translating legal texts as I have in depth knowledge of law, gained during the years of studies and working experiences. I am also adept in the subject of finance through working experiences in the stock brokerage house and from being credited with a license for the professional asset manager. My qualities include excellent concentration and discipline, motivation for reaching goals, positive thinking, professional attitude, leadership, ability to motivate colleagues, ability to work individually or as a part of the team. I have developed my skills in analyzing and solving various organizational problems. My communication skills, both in written and oral forms, are commendable. Moreover, time management assisted me in prioritizing the most important tasks by working flexibly and organizing my own workload efficiently. On the basis of project management model, I can clearly identify the goals and precisely define the scope and objectives with the specified time frame. I have gained managerial skills through practice of focusing on the functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Working with a team has been a rewarding experience in the way that every team member gets the task which he is the most specialized and qualified for. My strength is identifying critical facts in complex issues and developing creative and practical solutions. I take my duties seriously and I deliver quality solutions and results on time. I am used to take personal responsibility and initiative for delivering work to a high standard of quality within set procedures. My quality is to remain effective under a heavy workload and to handle organizational frustrations positively. I have excellent computer skills including good command of Microsoft Office™ tools (Word™, Excel™ and PowerPoint™) and West Law searching tool. I can boast of an admirable typing skill, which is a plus factor for the job of translator. Outline two of your main achievements. Describe what they are, the process you went through and their positive outcomes for you and for others. My two main achievements were made during my employment as a lawyer in Slovenian Stock brokerage house MP Asset Management Inc., an organization with over 100 employees. My first achievement was successfully carrying out a project of harmonization of the company legal acts and procedures with the new Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act. The project lasted three months and involved back office and front office departments, including all 10 branch offices of the company. Since the time of implementation was quite short, it was important at the onset to clearly define the project scope and objectives with precisely defined timeline. During the course of the project, it was necessary to efficiently manage and execute diverse tasks through responsibilities of a manager and leader. During this project, I learned to use project management skills in practice. I improved my communication skills as it was regularly necessary to communicate with different departments within the company. Last but not the least, this project gave me an opportunity to test my skills under time pressure. My second main achievement was taking the helm in carrying out a project of harmonization of the company legal acts and procedures with the new Financial Instruments Act. The details of this project necessitated preparing the project plan. When initially preparing the plan, I realized that the project was much broader than I and my superiors have expected in the beginning. Therefore, it would be impossible for me to close the project on my own within time frame. I prepared the list of tasks to be done on a clearly defined time schedule. I realized that with support from colleagues and good planning, smooth implementation of the project was viable. I proposed my project plan to the board of directors and managed to get the required support from concerned departments. On the due date, the project was successfully delivered and completed. In reviewing the work process, I gained a lot of experiences and improved my project management skills. I learned that difficulties and unexpected circumstances need to be communicated immediately to avoid further complications. During the working process, I also further developed my communication skills and became confident working as a head of the team. Read More