Don't Publish Your Translation CV Online Before You Read This

Do you have a curriculum vitae (CV)? If not, then you should definitely consider making one using our recipe for the ultimate translation CV! A CV allows you to quickly provide potential clients with an overview of your educational and professional experience, concisely summarizing your skills and abilities for readers.

As a freelance translator, a CV will be a useful tool for securing work, and there are a lot of places online that you can upload your CV to so that potential clients can view it. However, there are also a number of cautions that go hand-in-hand with uploading your CV to the internet, and before we look at some good places to publish your CV online, we’ll discuss some of the dangers first.

The danger of fraud 

Unfortunately, identity fraud is a very real reality in the world of freelance translation, and unless you’re aware of the dangers, then there’s a possibility that it might happen to you too.

Unscrupulous individuals can take CVs from other translators and attempt to pass them off as their own. If you happen to have a relatively successful career then you are more likely to become a target for fraudsters.

To combat this there are a few different measures you can take when publishing your CV online: 
• Avoid including too many specific, personal details 
• Ensure you trust the service that you’re publishing your CV on 
• If requested to send your CV via email, make sure you research the client first 

With that said, let's look at some safe methods of making your CV available online.

Where to safely publish your CV online:

Your professional website
Do you have a website advertising your translation services? If so, then this can be an excellent place to publish your CV as it’s directly linked to your business and marketing material. 

However, bear in mind that there’s no easy way to stop fraudulent people copying information. Thus, it’s best to only post basic information on your website, with a message stating that clients can request a more detailed version upon contacting you. This will allow you to find out more about whom you’ll be sending your CV to before you decide whether to do so.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great place to highlight your CV, and the platform has a number of tools available to help you build one easily. As far as security is concerned, you can change your privacy settings so that only approved connections can view more detailed information about you.

Google+
Google+ also has a number of privacy settings to control what information you can share with different people, making it easy to share your CV with trusted viewers. 

Unfortunately, Google+ no longer has the advantage of linking your profile with any author tags in content you’ve published online, as Google discontinued the service  earlier this year. However, the presentation, privacy and contact options available on the Google+ platform still make it worth considering as a place to share your CV online.

Freelancing websites
Websites built specifically for freelancers to connect with clients (such as oDesk or Elance) allow you to create a profile and share CV data with potential clients. 

Moreover, these websites usually employ some sort of feedback and ranking system for clients by other freelancers, which should give you an indication as to whether the client who has requested your CV seems like trustworthy party. If the client has poor feedback or is still a new user of the platform, then sharing your CV with them might be a bad idea!

Final thoughts

Have you ever published your CV online? If so, then what steps did you take to ensure the security of your personal information? Perhaps you know of some other good places to share your CV with prospective clients? Feel free to discuss in the comments below!