Work with clients who value the difference between close and correct.
Layaab works with freelance translators, interpreters and transcribers around the world. We are looking for qualified professionals who are native speakers of their target language and who know a subject area properly, not generally.
What we ask of every linguist on our roster
Native target fluency
You translate into your native language. This is not negotiable for published or certified work, and it is the single most reliable predictor of a translation that reads as it should.
Formal training or equivalent
A degree in translation, interpreting or your subject field, or demonstrable professional experience that stands in its place. We care what you can do, and we test it.
Credentials where they exist
Court interpreter certification, medical interpreter certification, sworn or authorised translator status, or professional association membership. Hold them and they matter. We verify them.
Real subject depth
Legal, medical, technical, financial or another specialism where you know the terminology, the document conventions and what a reader in that field expects.
Four steps, and we tell you where you stand at each one
- 1
Application
Send the form below with your CV and any certificates. Tell us your language pairs with the direction marked, your specialisms and your realistic availability. We read every application.
- 2
Credential check
We verify certifications with the issuing body and follow up references. If a credential cannot be verified we will ask you about it rather than quietly setting the application aside.
- 3
Subject test
A short paid test piece in your declared specialism, reviewed by a senior linguist in the same pair. Interpreters do a live assessment instead. You receive the reviewer's feedback either way, including when the answer is no.
- 4
Onboarding
Confidentiality agreement, payment details, a walk through of how we brief work and how we handle client material. First assignments are reviewed closely, as all our work is, and you get the reviewer's comments back.
What working with us is like
- Briefs that tell you the purpose, the audience and the deadline before you accept
- Glossaries and reference material supplied with the file, not requested from you afterwards
- A named project manager you can reach with a question rather than a ticket queue
- Payment terms agreed in writing before your first assignment and kept to
- Reviewer feedback on your work, both ways, so revision is a conversation and not a verdict
- The right to decline any assignment, and to tell us when a deadline is not realistic
Where we most often need people right now
We accept applications in any of the languages we serve. These are the pairs where work comes in faster than we can cover it, and where an application is most likely to move quickly.
Africa and the Horn
Middle East and Asia
Europe and the Americas
Court certified and medically certified interpreters are in demand across every one of these languages, as are transcribers who can work in a language other than English.
Send us your details
Complete the form and attach your CV and any certificates. Be specific about direction and specialism: an application that says every language and every subject tells us less than one that says two pairs and one field.
Before you send
- Mark which direction you translate into
- Name the issuing body and year for each certification
- Give availability you can actually keep
- Attach certificates as well as the CV
- Say if you interpret as well as translate
Questions about applying? Write to info@layaabservices.com.