Smita Shenoy

Having completed a C1 (Advanced diploma) in French from Alliance Française, Smita Shenoy has acquired an above-average level in the language—both written and spoken. She is already freelancing as a content editor, copyeditor and proof-reader for English language content. She now wishes to explore similar or different opportunities in the domain of French language.

She regards the opportunity to intern with Modilingua as the perfect chance to explore the numerous possibilities to gain access to her desired area of work.  

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Career Goals

41 seems to be a bit late in the day to be evaluating career goals, but as wise people have said: age is just a number. I always had a strong inclination towards two things: creative writing and copyediting. Besides, I also had a passion for learning new languages. Unfortunately, my career path did not quite follow any of these passions or interests.

Peer pressure led me to pursue a degree in commerce and when I got a job—a well-paid one at that—in an MNC, I thought my professional future was sealed. In spite of trying sincerely for a few years, however, I realised that ‘number crunching’ and reconciling bank statements is not for me.

At 35, I finally decided to take a risk and change my career path. I sent in a couple of articles to a publishing house whose main publication was a women’s magazine. They liked my work and joined the company as a content writer and copyeditor. After a few years there, I moved on to another publishing house—this time school textbooks—as assistant editor.

Meanwhile, I was pursuing a language course in French from Alliance Française de Madras and completed my C1 (Advance) diploma in the language in 2017.

Now I have quit my job at the publishing house as I wish to focus completely on freelancing. Thanks to my experience with the publishing houses, I am able to get editing and proofing assignments.

The challenge I am facing now is with my second career goal. I want to put my knowledge of French to good use by venturing into online teaching or translation work. But my lack of work experience in the domain of French language is proving to be a bane. I feel that some much-needed insight and input in how to market myself in this field will prove invaluable in clinching potential contracts.

I am confident that this internship will help me achieve my career goals.

Smita Shenoy a Summer Intern 2018 at Modlingua