Careers at Frenchside
Translate With Frenchside
We work in one language pair, English and French, for clients across Canada and the United States. Our network is made of independent translators, certified translators, revisers and interpreters, and we add to it every year. Tell us about your profile once, in detail, and we will come back to you with the assignments that match it.
One language pair: English and French, since 2014
A network of ATIO- and OTTIAQ-certified translators
Member of GALA and the Canadian Language Industry Association
Read the guide before you apply
Our guide for new translators in Canada explains how a specialized agency works with translators: selection criteria, the translation test, rates and payment, tools, the role agency work plays in ATIO and OTTIAQ certification, and co-op placements.
Free to read, no registration, updated every year. The PDF edition can be downloaded from the same page.
Inside the guide
- How a specialized agency is organized
- What we look for in a new translator
- The translation test, step by step
- Rates, invoicing and payment
- Tools, memories and machine translation
- Specializations in demand right now
- Agency work and the path to certification
- Your first year, and co-op placements
What we look for
- French as a native or dominant language, written at a professional level. We produce Quebec French, Canadian French and European French, and we ask translators to say honestly which variety they command.
- A translation degree or equivalent training, or a professional track record that stands in its place.
- One specialization, or the clear intention to build one: legal, financial, HR, technical, medical or marketing.
- Reliability on deadlines and instructions. A translator who says “I cannot deliver by Thursday” is worth more to us than one who says yes and delivers on Friday.
- Comfort with a CAT tool. We work mainly in Trados Studio and provide a project licence when the tool is required.
What we do not require: years of experience (we take graduates), certification, a company registration, or a physical presence in Montreal or Toronto. What we cannot accommodate: translators who do not work into their dominant language.
Translator application form
This form is long on purpose. The more precise your answers, the fewer emails we need to exchange before your first assignment, and the faster we can send you a test in your field. Fields marked with an asterisk are required. Allow about ten minutes.
What happens after you apply
1. Acknowledgement within 10 working days
We reply to every complete application, whether or not we go ahead. Please do not send translation samples; the test replaces them.
2. Translation test, 7 days to return it
A short unpaid test of 350 to 500 words in your field, based on a text with no commercial use, sent with a glossary and instructions.
3. Written feedback within 14 days
A marked-up text assessed on four criteria: accuracy, correct French, terminology and readability. You get a decision either way.
4. First assignment
Confidentiality agreement signed, rate grid confirmed, access to the secure portal, and a small first project delivered with full revision.
FAQs
Do I need to be certified to work with Frenchside?
No. Certification is required only for certified translations of official documents. Everything else is assigned on the basis of the test, your specialization and your revision record. We do encourage every translator to pursue certification, and we provide work attestations for translators applying to ATIO on dossier or to the OTTIAQ mentorship program.
Is the translation test paid?
No. It is short, based on a text with no commercial use, and returned with written feedback whether or not we go ahead. Paid work starts with the first real assignment. The guide for new translators sets out the test step by step and what the reviser looks at.
How and when do you pay?
You invoice us monthly for the projects delivered, and we pay by direct deposit within 30 days. Translators are responsible for their own taxes and, above the federal threshold, for GST/HST or GST/QST registration. We provide purchase order numbers and the annual summary you need for your bookkeeping.
Can I work with other agencies at the same time?
Yes. Our translators are independent contractors and most work with several clients. We only ask that client glossaries and translation memories are not reused elsewhere.
Do you translate from French into English?
Yes, as a second service, with native English translators recruited under the same process. English to French remains the bulk of our volume.
Do you take co-op students and interns?
Yes. We welcome co-op students and interns from Canadian translation programs, including the University of Ottawa’s co-op program, for placements of one term. A placement is remote, supervised by a senior reviser, and involves real client work in one field. Apply through this form, tick “Co-op student or intern”, and tell us your program and term in the last field.
What about machine translation?
Certified translations, legal documents and marketing content are translated by a human from a blank page. Some technical and internal documents are pre-translated by machine and assigned as post-editing, clearly labelled as such and paid by the hour. We do not accept machine-translated work submitted as human translation; the reviser will see it.