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15 Jul

Posted at 10:43h in Business Practices, Court Interpreting, Ethics, Hilda Zavala-Shymanik, Interpreting, Professional Hazard, Professional Practices, Recent Posts, The Profession by
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Many times, I am saved by the bell. Last week I was in court, on time waiting for my early morning case to start. As we waited over 90 minutes, the ADA, judge, sheriff’s officers, clerks, and LEP defendant were understandably frustrated. The practice in...

30 Mar

Posted at 08:46h in Certification, Community, Court Interpreting, Ethics, Hilda Zavala-Shymanik, Immigration, Interpreters, Language Associations, NAJIT Conference, Professional Development, Recent Posts, The Profession, Tools of the trade by
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I came to the profession as many of you did, if you started your interpreting career ten or more years ago. I had a 15-minute phone interview with an agency owner, and I was hired on the spot and given very few instructions. I started...

06 Mar

Posted at 10:10h in Advocacy, Community, Court Interpreting, Finances, Hilda Zavala-Shymanik, Interpreters, New Ideas, Professional Hazard, Recent Posts, Self care by
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Several weeks ago, a friend and freelance colleague fell in the cafeteria of the courthouse where some of us work. The floor was wet and the “wet floor signs” were out of her line of vision. Once she was embarrassingly sprawled on the floor, the...

06 Feb

Posted at 08:46h in Advocacy, Business Practices, Certification, Community, Court Interpreting, Finances, Hilda Zavala-Shymanik, Interpreters, Leadership, New Ideas, Professional Development, Professional Practices, The Profession by
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We are always writing about colleagues asking us about fees, and we are horrified when we learn of new colleagues being lowballed. This is an everyday issue. Many blog writers and other guests write about this subject, and we tend to despair of ever having...

02 Jan

Posted at 08:19h in Community, Hilda Zavala-Shymanik, Leadership, NAJIT Affairs, New Ideas, Personal Growth, Professional Development, Recent Posts, Self care, The Profession by
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Are you ever surprised by how we go from the Thanksgiving holiday, a season of taking stock of what we have, being grateful for all the good things in our lives, and recognizing the joy we share with our families, to just a few weeks...

18 Dec

Posted at 01:00h in Advocacy, Attorney Education, Business Practices, Court Interpreting, Ethics, Interpreters, Janis Palma, Leadership, New Ideas, Professional Practices, Recent Posts, The Profession by
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I have been turning this question around in my head for a while, since someone raised the question in a social media exchange: am I advocating for interpreters? Or am I advocating for the LEPs we serve? And I just have to wonder, can we...