Touching base – A brief interview with our employees

Five questions for Johann Schork, Head of Translation & QA

Hello Johann! You are head of translation & QA at Gemino. What are the tasks of your team?

„On the one hand, we take on core activities such as translation, revision, and terminology work. And we clarify off-the-cuff content-related and linguistic questions from our freelance translators. On the other hand, we are responsible for comprehensive quality assurance. I think that’s a special feature of Gemino: Every translation is checked by our internal team. Almost all of us review the work of other translators as part of our job. You can learn quite a bit in this way. In other words, you learn faster than if you have to make all the mistakes yourself first.“

Speaking of the team: What kind of people are in it?

„We are quite an eclectic mix in many respects. Very international at first, of course. In addition, some but not all studied translation. Regardless of their training, however, they have all become absolute experts. If I had to find a commonality, I would say that we all tend to have introverted personalities. So it’s a pleasure for me to confirm this widespread cliché.“

Everyone is talking about AI and ChatGPT: Are you afraid for your job?

„The translation industry has been driven by technology for a long time. In this respect, I don’t think anyone is only starting to wonder about their job now. Other sectors are perhaps more likely to be taken by surprise. But I admit that we have been waiting a long time for the next big step, which now seems to be on the horizon. We’ll see. In any case, we all have more or less high expectations.“

You have been with Gemino for almost 10 years. This is no longer a matter of course today. What has stopped you from moving on so far?

„First and foremost, my colleagues. Even on bad days, there is always something to laugh about. At least for me! Then there’s the fact that I find my job intellectually satisfying. But there is still room for improvement – sometimes it could be a little less and not feel like everything is constantly in motion. On the other hand, I haven’t been bored yet and I feel that my skills are put to good use here.“

And finally, out of personal interest: Are you also one of those people who proofread menus?

„Even after all these years, I can still laugh about grotesque translation mistakes in menus and on street signs.“

Johann Schork can be reached at +49 30 308788 15 or johann.schork@gemino.de.