How to Take Feedback in the Translation Industry

Feedback is incredibly important in the translation industry. It helps people improve their skills and increase the overall quality of their work.

Giving feedback should be more common than it currently is but how you receive the feedback is just as important as how to give it.

This article is part two regarding giving and taking feedback for people in the translation industry. You can read part one here: How to Give Feedback in the Translation Industry

Face the Feedback Head-on

If you’re not used to getting feedback it can easily make you feel inadequate. Like you’re a failure, that you suck at your job, and that you don’t deserve to be here.

Nope. Stop. Pause that thought.

Everyone has to start somewhere. It’s rare that someone’s first attempt at something is perfect, even if they’ve already got years of experience.

Often times the person giving the feedback isn’t trying to make you feel like crap; they honestly want to help you improve and do a better job.

I experienced this same thing just last year where I had a negative initial reaction to a new coworker’s feedback. But instead of lashing out or attacking my own self-worth I took a quick breather and looked over her feedback again. After taking her feedback to heart, making adjustments, and thanking her for it, my work improved and I felt better about myself and more confident in my skills.

Always Ask Yourself…

When you receive feedback you always want to ask yourself the following questions;

Is the feedback constructive and helpful?
Do they have a point?
What can you improve based on that feedback?
Is it worth disputing?

These questions force you to put the feedback into perspective. They help you identify how the feedback can be used to improve your skills. Sometimes you might get good feedback presented very poorly because the other person is not good at communicating, and other times it might just be bad feedback.

It’s also worth asking yourself if it’s feedback that’s worth disputing? Is this a hill you want to die on, or is it better for you to walk away?

Keep Your Ego in Check

No one wants to work with someone with an overinflated ego; someone who refuses or dismisses any or all feedback or collaboration.

Refusing feedback or collaboration because you think you’re better than someone else, or you think they’re being vindictive, can only damage your own career in the long run.

How you react to someone’s feedback says as much about you as it does about them. The translation industry is small and people notice how you behave. Even if they don’t directly comment on it, they might keep a mental note not to work with you in the future.

Don’t Lash Out

Getting feedback can be really frustrating. Sometimes it feels like the person giving the feedback is saying that you did a bad job. It can feel personal, but more often than not, it’s not.

One of the worst ways you can respond is to lash out.

Do not instantly reply to the e-mail with a pithy response. Do not post in a group chat of peers a passive aggressive message of frustration. And certainly don’t post your frustrations on social media.

As I already mentioned, the industry is small and you don’t know who might see your rant. It might be the original person you have issues with, it might be someone who knows them, or it might just be someone who gets the impression you’re difficult to work with.

If you feel angry or frustrated about feedback, step away from your computer and take a breath. Literally go outside and touch some grass if you need to. Cool your head, think about the criticism you received, and how you want to approach your response.

You can dispute feedback, but it’s important to do so in a polite and professional manner.

Apply the Feedback

Accepting feedback is one thing, but applying it is another thing.

Depending the type of feedback received you might need to change your workflow or look into how to improve your skills.

If it regards improving your workflow (spellchecking, self-editing/reviewing, or general English writing skills) then write the key action point down and put it somewhere easy to see. I like using post it notes on my computer screen. (I have “re-read everything” to remind myself to double check the English with the Japanese before sending it off.)

If it’s a skill that needs improving, here are some book recommendations for Japanese-English translation: Book Recommendations for Japanese-English Translators

Whichever it is it’s important to assess the feedback to determine where it might be applicable or most helpful. Not all feedback will pertain to all situations and trying to shoe-horn something in where it isn’t needed can actually be a detriment to your final product. This is part of why it’s so important to truthfully and honestly evaluate the feedback you receive.

Knowing why the change improves the translation is often just as if not more important than making the change in the moment because that knowledge will carry forward onto future projects. If you have any confusion or uncertainty about feedback received it never hurts to follow up with the other person to clarify.

Assess The Situation

In my first article How to Give Feedback, I emphasized the importance of giving constructive feedback. If the feedback is constructive then it’s probably worth listening to. But some people are really bad at giving feedback.

What do you do if feedback is given in a condescending manner? Or if someone calls you out in front of your peers? Or gives bad faith or misinformed feedback?

It’s still important to assess the situation, ask yourself if the feedback is helpful, and not lash out. You still want to act professionally, but it doesn’t mean you should force yourself to work with people who make your life miserable.

Sometimes people are just bad at communicating, but if someone is actively being mean and not providing constructive feedback, then it’s worth considering walking away.

If you can’t walk away because you work in-house and the person giving feedback in an unconstructive way is your coworker or boss, then it’s a little trickier. Keep track of instances where the person has been rude or engaged in power harassment. Try to talk it out with them (give feedback on their communications style) or get someone else involved to mediate the situation.

At that point, though, it’s not simply a matter of giving or receiving feedback and you should use your best judgement and ask others for help and advice.