contradictions between resumé and addendum

[jrafert]

Greetings,

I have asked few questions regarding a GPA addendum to explain poor performance while studying abroad (for more than a year) in a foreign language. I ultimately decided to write an addendum explaining my somewhat sub-par performance - I cited the fact that I was still in the process of learning the language when I started school and that I was working 35 hours a week.

I'm happy I wrote the addenda and I feel good about it but now I am questioning whether to include translating/ interpreting experience on my resumé because it appears to contradict my "argument" about learning in a second language.

I am not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes - despite the fact that I spoke the language fluently enough to get freelance translation and interpreting jobs, I still struggled academically due to language differences, mainly because it made things go much slower when I was writing /reading, etc. (with my schedule constraints this was hard). I am not a certified translator etc. and the jobs I got were paid but at small events that I found out about through professors and friends - this was not high-level stuff. That said, admissions committees may not understand this/ not have the same perspective on it as I do.

Sorry to ask so many questions! I just my applications to be as strong as possible. I would love to know what you guys think and thank you in advance for any thoughts.

[Brook Miscoski]

jrafert,

I'm assuming that the "contradiction" means that you were earning money as a translator at the same time that you were learning the foreign language.

I don't think it is even remotely surprising that someone could be skilled enough to translate but not skilled enough to compete academically in that same language. The qualification for translating is that you know both languages well enough to translate, not that you could compete with a native speaker in that person's own language.

My opinion is that generally the response to these kinds of concerns is to elucidate rather than hide. I would rephrase your addendum to accurately reflect that you were not a pure novice but still had some distance to go before being competitive with a native speaker in an academic environment. I wouldn't hide the fact that you handled the challenge in part by doing work as a translator.