Anne Lafeber

The Search for (The Right) Translators: Recruitment Testing at International Organizations Anne Lafeber

Intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union and the United Nations regularly hold recruitment tests to find translators who can meet their exacting standards. How effective are those tests as instruments of selection? How should they be designed? What skills should they measure? Little research has been done into translation at international organizations and even less into the testing of translators for employment purposes. The groundbreaking study presented in this book begins to fill that gap. A survey of 25 organizations provides an array of insights into how translators at international organizations work and what skills they need. The implications for training and recruitment are analyzed, and a novel empirical method for drawing up ideal candidate profiles is described. The results of a test trial are used to draw conclusions about the reliability of current examinations and to suggest ways forward. Those wishing to learn more about this specialized branch of professional translation, whether practitioners, academics, translation students or translator trainers, as well as those involved in translation testing, should find the study of great interest.