Translator & Interpreter (CZ, EN, FR) | Our members

Meet one of our newest members, Drahomira Rezkova! She’s a translator, interpreter, and subtitler (Czech, English, French) and has worked for clients of the likes of Netflix! If you’d like to learn more about her story and this fascinating profession (or if you’re looking for a good translator), check out her interview below.

Where are you from?

I’m from Marianske Lazne (west of the Czech Republic), but have lived in Prague for 10 years. I also lived in Montpellier (France) for a year, during my Erasmus, and visited places nearby.

What are you currently working on that you’re most excited about?

I’m always most excited about interpreting jobs. But Covid-19 makes that difficult now, so I can’t do it as often as I did before. Before coronavirus, I had an interpreting job at least once a week, but now it’s down to one per month. However, I’m always excited about that. Even now, if it’s just one interpreting job per month, I feel great after it. It’s more exciting than translating.

Subtitling is also exciting for me because I like cinema and TV shows – I have always liked to binge-watch TV shows.

We know you also work as a translator for Netflix. What was the most exciting movie/show to translate?

I have worked for Netflix only since last April, so I’ve only had a few jobs because coronavirus limited those options. But the most exciting was the last one, the one I’ve just finished. It was a French- Canadian film. It was really interesting for me to hear a real Québécois. The way they speak is so cool, using English words.

Do you specialize in any other fields? What type of clients do you have?

I mostly work for foreign agencies that have clients, usually brand companies. One of them was an agency that translates for Primark. I did translate a lot of the products descriptions (clothes…) Basically, marketing.

And sometimes I have some medicine translation projects. I translated some technical products, manuals, descriptions and things like that.

If you could start over again, would you choose the same profession, or something else?

That’s a tough question. I don’t like imagining myself starting again. I’ll have to think about it for a long time before I give you an answer, haha.

What was the biggest challenge you had to face as an interpreter?

For an interpreter, the biggest challenge is not to understand. When that happens, it feels like you are failing at your job. The hardest interpretation job that I had was after graduating when I worked for investment companies and I had to interpret meetings with top politicians and investors. I had to translate important things to English and it was pretty hard considering I was just a graduate and some complex vocabulary was involved. On top of that, I knew nothing about the parties who would participate in the meetings. So it was one of the hardest translating jobs I’ve ever had. Everything concerning stocks is hard and complicated to translate, so I’m trying to avoid that.

I have some knowledge about economics, of course. But I find it much easier to translate medical texts. Dentists, for instance. If you study in advance and you prepare for the presentation, you can always make it. I had a lot of compliments from dentists because I was always well prepared. They even thought I was a dentist myself!

Did you always like languages and translation or did you have another “dream job”?

I’ve always liked culture and languages. It all started when I was 16 or 17. I liked history and French was my passion. English came afterward – Harry Potter films are my connection to English! Harry Potter is the reason why I wanted to become an interpreter for English. And, a bit later, Sex and the city too. When I was at university, I watched a lot of shows and it was easier for me to learn.

Do you prefer freelance work over 9-5 jobs?

It depends. I like being a freelancer because I have the chance to meet people and choose the job I want. But then again, it would be nice to have colleagues and people around you. That’s the reason why I joined a coworking space.

What are the benefits of working from Locus in particular?

I like the space and the location. Before joining, I read there are many expats here and came across some positive reviews about how amazing the community is. And I would rather be in a space with a strong community, and caring members. Open and friendly.

Even if you are completely new, you can feel you are part of a community, which is very nice. The space is cozy and it feels like home. Sort of a library, but in a home style. It’s not like a cold office. I also like the fact that there are no closing hours, if you have a full-time membership. It’s very convenient that you can stay in long hours. It is cool that there is always someone working. Even if you work during the weekend, you see that you are not the only one who’s not enjoying their weekend. You are not alone in this! Haha

Tell us a fun fact about you

I love show binge-watching!

The Locus team would like to thank Drahomira for such an interesting interview. And if you’d like to meet her in person, or learn about the riveting story of any of our members, just join Locus! A great community awaits you! 🙂