The onboarding story I didn't expect to tell

Something happened last week that 1) surprised me, 2) ate up my weekend, and 3) just might shift the way you think about onboarding with translation agencies.

So. Last weekend (ugh!), I spent hours watching onboarding training videos for a new role as a translation reviewer. The agency's end client has a very distinct voice, strict expectations, and workflows I need to understand before touching a single sentence. It’s the kind of onboarding that feels both exciting and a little overwhelming. Lots of documents, lots of steps, lots of details.

But here’s the part that made me laugh:

👉 I actually onboarded with this agency back in 2023.

I took tests.
Sent my CV.
Submitted bank details.
Waited.
And then… nothing. For months. Then years.

Honestly, it felt like one of those paper-paved roads to nowhere. You know how it goes: agencies that request everything under the sun… only to go completely silent.

But then last week, out of nowhere, the email arrived:

“We’d like to bring you on as a reviewer. You're already vetted. Training starts now.”

And suddenly, all that groundwork from two years ago mattered.
All those forms, tests, and emails became the reason they could hire me immediately when the right project opened up.

That’s the part of onboarding nobody talks about:

🌱 You’re planting seeds… and some take a while to grow.

My longest onboarding ever?
Ten months.

It was with a United Nations organization (my DREAM client).

March — application
July — tests
November — added to roster
January — first annual contract

Ten months of silence.
Ten months of wondering, "Did they forget about me? Am I not good enough?"

And then suddenly, the door opened. A contract. A relationship. A long-term client.

What this means for you (and for all of us)

When we diversify our client portfolios, we’re not playing a short game.
We’re not playing "send an email and hope."
We’re playing a long game, a strategic game.

Some clients reply tomorrow.
Some reply next week.
Some reply ten months — or two years — later.

But when they do reply, you'll be ready because you did the work ahead of time.

So here’s what I want for you this week. Nothing complicated, nothing intense:

✔ Choose the service you want to promote right now.

Translation, editing, interpreting, subtitling.

✔ Choose 3–5 agencies.

Just a handful that align with your goals or your niche.

✔ Grab a free cover letter template with this button, personalize, and send.

Two or three thoughtful tweaks, nothing fancy.

Cover Letter Templates 

That’s it.
That’s literally it.

You’re not sending emails into the void.
You’re planting seeds.
You’re building the foundation of your DEEP Client Portfolio.
And sometimes the quietest seeds grow into the biggest opportunities.

Final thought

The work you do today: the onboarding you start, the emails you send, the connections you make... might not bloom immediately.

But trust that they will bloom.
Because you’re building something solid, sustainable, and deeply yours.

Here’s to planting for the future (and weekends well spent),

Catharine

p.s. Don't forget to grab your templates!