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What attracted you to become a United Nations language professional?

Mostly it was by chance. I had done translation work as a student and I wanted to work at the United Nations, as one of the fields I did my studies in is Political Sciences. I took the competitive examination when I just finished school and got accepted.

How do you find working for the United Nations different from any previous roles you may have had?

I love the multiculturalism of the United Nations.

What do you consider to be the key traits of a good translator/reviser?

Precision, extended knowledge of many different fields, style.

What part of your job do you consider the most interesting? Why?

I like to handle sensitive jobs on political questions and I love my work as a focal point for gender-inclusive language.

What challenges do you face in your daily work? How do you handle them?

The most difficult thing is to understand texts that are highly specialized on many different topics. We have to be a bit of an expert on everything.

How often do you come across words or phrases you are unfamiliar with? How do you deal with them?

This still happens fairly often. It’s part of the fun to try to solve the enigma. One can do a search on the Web, otherwise we can always ask the "consulting official" (the person who has submitted the text for translation) to get clarification.

What are some of the most difficult tasks you have worked on?

The most challenging, but also most stimulating for me, has been to devise gender-inclusive strategies for French translations.

What do you think about the evolution of technology in your field of work? How has it affected you?

Technology allows us to harmonize documents more systematically.

How does your work fit into the larger framework of the United Nations?

We are a bridge between Member States. Without good translators, no dialogue is possible.

Do you have any advice for budding translators? Any tips on how to prepare for the competitive examinations for language positions?

I always advise junior translators to try to reread their text and ask themselves if it would be understandable to a French reader. They tend to stick too much to the original. Style is everything.