Internship at ASAP

Preklad do angličtiny: Denisa Chlivenyiová

For the past 15 years, since 2009, we have been offering internship opportunities to university students. Most of our interns have come from the Department of Translation Studies at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, the Department of English Language and Culture at Constantine the Philosopher University, and the Department of British and American Studies at the University of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava. We have also welcomed students from Comenius University in Bratislava, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, the University of Prešov, and the Department of Linguistics and Translation at the University of Economics in Bratislava.

To date, we have hosted around 250 student interns, with an average of 15 students per year. Our internships are designed for flexibility, offered either in person at our office or online via Skype to suit individual preferences. While the standard program lasts 10 days with 6 working hours a day, we tailor the duration to meet specific needs—such as a two-month internship we arranged for a student from the Faculty of Education at the University of Prešov to fulfil a higher number of required hours. Some students have found the experience so rewarding that they have returned for a second internship.

Our internships primarily attract fourth-year students, for whom practical training is a mandatory part of their curriculum. Fifth-year students also occasionally join us to complete their training during the final stage of their studies. However, it is often proactive third-year students who take the initiative to join us, eager to go beyond academic requirements and gain early exposure to the realities of professional translation and the role of a project manager in a translation company. We welcome only those who are genuinely committed to gaining hands-on experience, mastering translation software, and gaining valuable insights into the inner workings of a professional translation business.

Our interns' language profiles reflect the language study trends at Slovak universities. Most specialize in English, either as a primary focus or paired with Slovak, Russian, or Hungarian at a native speaker level. German and French are also well-represented, and we’ve had the privilege of welcoming Spanish-speaking interns and even one specializing in Italian. Recently, we’ve seen a growing number of Ukrainian students joining us. To support their unique needs, we provide practice translations not only from Slovak but also from English and German into Ukrainian.

Our interns start by revisiting the foundations of proper Slovak—an area often underemphasized in their academic programs from a practical perspective. Mastering Slovak is crucial, as language precision is a hallmark of a professional translator. Clients are far more likely to notice flaws in grammar and style than subtle errors in foreign language proficiency. During their internship, our interns sharpen their punctuation skills, especially with commas, and learn to spot and correct common sentence structure mistakes. 

Interns will refine their understanding of technical terminology for different types of errors, an essential skill for handling tasks like addressing complaints or assessing the quality of foreign-language translations. They will also explore various types of proofreading, their purposes, and methods, with an emphasis on the critical role of typographical accuracy. Missteps in this area can lead to semantic errors and client dissatisfaction with poorly localized translations.

We provide interns with hands-on training in converting non-editable formats using specialized OCR software, sharpening their technical skills and fostering patience as they prepare complex Word documents for translation.

They also gain an introduction to official translations, learning about their purpose and types of documents for which they are most commonly required.

Interns explore key aspects of our business, including high-demand languages, common translation topics, and essential computer-assisted translation tools. To further enhance their skills, they practice transcribing audio recordings, developing translation memories, and creating specialized glossaries from parallel texts.

We reassure our interns that CAT (computer-assisted translation) tools are powerful allies for translators working with non-literary texts, not something to fear. Through hands-on experience with tools like Phrase and Trados, they learn to configure automated quality checks, set up projects, and efficiently use translation memories and glossaries. Interns also have the unique opportunity to compare their practice translations with those of professionals, receiving invaluable feedback and guidance on areas for improvement.

We introduce interns to the full range of services offered by our translation company, along with the key responsibilities of a project manager, which are central to the value we deliver to our clients. We also highlight the benefits of our collaborative approach with translators, showing how these partnerships enhance the quality of our work. Skilled interns may be offered part-time positions when work is available. In the past, some have advanced to roles such as project managers or in-house translators. We are confident that our collaboration with universities will continue to be mutually beneficial.

For anyone interested in a translation internship at ASAP-translation, please contact Mrs. Katarína Absolonová at asap-translation@asap-translation.com.