My first 365 days at TransPerfect – How perfect has it been for me?

A year ago I flew into London to begin my first week on the TransPerfect Client Services team. Fast forward to now and I am working out of our Barcelona office, and I still can’t believe how fast the year has gone! It’s been an amazing ride so far and I wanted to share my experience to date as I reflect back on my first year.

TransPerfect is the world’s largest language services provider. I work for the Translations.com division of TransPerfect, which focuses on bringing technology-enabled language solutions to some of the world’s most renowned brands.

Let’s go back to the very beginning. A friend who’s worked at the Barcelona office for over a decade suggested that I apply to TransPerfect—a company that he raved about as great to work for. Before I decided to apply, I made sure to do my due diligence on the company. I talked to former employees, current employees, recruiters, and anybody else I could find that had an opinion on TransPerfect, and the majority had very positive opinions.

I applied and was contacted for an in-person interview. During the interview, I met my future boss and the current director that I would be taking over for once he moved to a new department. In case the people I met with that day didn’t solidify my interest in TransPerfect, the Barcelona office made sure to seal the deal.

Located in the center of downtown Barcelona on the beautiful Passeig de Gracia, the TransPerfect Barcelona office is an impressive building with over 500 people spread out on several floors. Having worked remotely for the previous two years, I knew immediately the office location and setting would be a nice change of pace. Shortly after my interview, I accepted the offer to become an Account Director on the TransPerfect Client Services team, with the opportunity to lead a team of account managers.

From the day I started at TransPerfect, I felt like a contributing member of the team. My skills and experience were well-utilized, and even though my boss was based in London, she was in constant communication with me, making sure I felt comfortable in my new role.

Another nice touch during my first week was the “Welcome to Translations.com“ package—filled with fun, company-branded goodies—that greeted me on my first day. It’s a seemingly small gesture, but for a company of 4,000+ employees I can assure you it goes a long way toward making new hires feel welcome!

I quickly learned to love the open-space concept that all TransPerfect offices share. In Barcelona, our managing director doesn’t have an office, but instead is out on the floor with the rest of the team—always visible and available when needed. I’ve found that the hierarchy at TransPerfect is more on the flat side and employees have the opportunity to interact daily with VPs, directors, and other senior managers—more so than any other company I’ve worked for. If you have ideas for improvements or changes, you have the opportunity to talk to the right people and make it happen. If you want to get involved in an initiative you are passionate about, make it known, and chances are you’ll have the opportunity to do so.

Our office has over 500 employees, but that doesn’t stop TransPerfect from having fresh fruit delivered every morning, free for all employees. We also have multiple Nescafé coffee machines that make amazing coffee! To some, this may not be a big deal, but in Spain, where high-quality coffee is part of our culture, it’s a very big deal.

Morning fruit and coffee isn’t the only Barcelona office perk. We’ve also got our own “relaxation room” equipped with massage chairs and occasionally an actual masseuse! And Barcelona isn’t the only TransPerfect office with amazing benefits. Other offices around the globe have their own unique perks as well. It’s just another part of what I love about working for a global company like TransPerfect. For example, the London office has Friday afternoon beers and the Amsterdam office offers morning plank sessions for the more active crowd.

One of the coolest things that I discovered when I started here is that with 90 global offices, there is room for moving around if you are interested in another department or location—even around the globe! In fact, I know an employee that moved from the London office to Barcelona and now works in our Hong Kong office.

You’ve probably gathered by now that TransPerfect is an international company in every sense of the word. The Barcelona office alone has representatives from 35 different nations. Just within the Client Services department, I have Italian, French, Swedish, British, and Lithuanian colleagues. It’s amazing to come to work every day and hear a mix of languages from around the world, right in my own office.

On a personal level, getting to interact with a diverse, international crowd has been extremely rewarding. Outside of the typical diversity of our office, there are always tons of people visiting from our other globally dispersed offices—New York, London, Hong Kong, the list goes on and on. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of meeting new people and making new friends from around the world. Even if you don’t have the opportunity to travel, at TransPerfect, the world comes to you.

I’m also extremely proud to say that the company participates in many amazing fundraising activities and supports a variety of charities each year. The Oxfam walk that raised over 60,000 Euros last year to assist families in need saw 80 TransPerfect employees participate. TransPerfect has also helped to raise money for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, Translators Without Borders, and Toys for Tots.

TransPerfect knows how to have fun, too. Being one of the biggest offices in the world, our office parties are always well attended and well organized. One that stands out the most to me was a Greek gods party that we hosted at a club at the Barcelona marina.

TransPerfect also throws some amazing parties for our clients. I have had the pleasure of attending a few in Palma de Mallorca. They are an entertaining way to show our clients appreciation for working with us, not to mention that they are lots of fun!

I could go on and on about how great the company is and all of the offices I’d like to see and places I’d like to visit, but to sum up, TransPerfect has been…kind of perfect for me!

If you are interested in joining the TransPerfect family, in any of our offices around the world, please visit our careers page.