Brief CV

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CURRICULUM VITÆ

BRIEF SUMMARY OF EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

1976-77 ST. GREGORY’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL, ARDWICK, MANCHESTER

1980-81 COLLEGE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, CRUMPSALL

1986-89 UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

BA Honours in Russian Studies.

Areas of Study: Russian Language, Russian and Soviet Literature, Russian and Soviet History, Russian philosophical thought. Included a term studying in the USSR.

I won the Walters Scholarship Prize for my first year’s work.

Graduated with a First Class degree.

Being a fluent Russian speaker, since graduating, I have worked continously as a freelance translator and interpreter.

SKILLS

• Computer literate, and currently studying for my MSCE (based on Windows NT)
• A good working knowledge of spreadsheets, both their use and development, mainly in Excel and Access
• Excellent knowledge of Windows 3.x
• Very good MS Office skills
• Knowledge of PC hardware (I have re-built my own PC twice over)
• Internet skills, both the use of the Internet and the creation of web pages
• Good interpersonal skills
• Fluent Russian speaker

SUMMARY OF WORK EXPERIENCE

Feb-Jul 1999 TEMPORARY WORK

I worked as a temporary Computer Support Administrator in the computer support section at Thorn UK plc in Theale. Whilst there, I:

• Co-ordinating calls to the help desk
• Creating and developing a database in Microsoft Access to be used on the network to log calls and their progress
• Keeping statistics on work flow and success rate on a daily and weekly basis
• Acting as the point of contact between end-users and support personnel

1997-98 SURREY TRANSLATION BUREAU

I worked as a Project Manager for Surrey Translation Bureau. This involved:

• managing the larger translation projects, often into many languages, co-ordinating them, liaison with the client and, where necessary, with typesetters or other third parties
• providing quotations to clients for possible translation work
• when time permitted and there was any Russian to English translation to be done I undertook this myself ‘in-house’
• I also installed Internet facilities on the site, both on PC and Macintosh

1994-95 RACAL ELECTRONICS LIMITED

I was employed on a temporary contract (to cover maternity leave) by Racal Electronics in their East European Trade Division as a Marketing Officer. Whilst there:

• I sourced market information on Eastern Europe and the CIS relevant to the Racal and Chubb group of companies (to cut costs, both organisations shared common facilities)
• I initiated and published a monthly East European Trade Division newsletter containing relevant political and economic information on Eastern Europe and the CIS. The newsletter was totally my own work, including the layout, typesetting and printing.
• I visited Eastern Europe and the CIS to support the efforts of company employees at exhibitions and during negotiations with relevant local companies and officials. This included both interpreting and translation work
• I was also responsible for overseeing the functioning of the Moscow office, ensuring that all necessary materials were in place and that everything ran smoothly

1989-94 MANCHESTER BUSINESS SCHOOL

I worked at the Manchester Business School as a Research Associate in the CIS Research unit. I was engaged in organising course programmes for groups of middle- and top-level managers from the Soviet Union which were run primarily with the assistance of the British Council. Whilst there I:

• was involved in negotiations with high-ranking officials both in the UK and the former USSR which resulted in the school being awarded contracts to train senior managers from the Soviet Union
• was also actively engaged in both the school’s partnership programme with Russian business schools based in Saint Petersburg, a project funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and with a programme developed in conjunction with Rank Xerox
• engaged in many aspects of organisation and planning of courses and trips to the USSR, from setting up itineraries to cold calling
• carried out research in the field of management of western-Soviet joint ventures
• exposure to marketing techniques, particularly in regard to small firms
• In addition, I also taught Russian to representatives of various companies at the Business School

AT PRESENT

I work and as a freelance interpreter/translator for a number of agencies and organisations on an ongoing basis. I have also, since leaving Racal, worked for them as a freelance translator. Some of my more interesting projects have been:

• in the telecommunications field, working with Cable & Wireless on numerous occasions, both in the UK and Minsk, Belarus
• oil and gas exploration interpreting and translation, both in the UK and Almaty, Kazakhstan
• medical interpreting and translation for both Middlesex University and the Royal College of Nursing
• involvement in translation of construction blueprints for new Russian embassies in London and Norway

PERSONAL INTERESTS

I am a keen photographer and enjoy most sports. I am also quite a keen chess player, although I have not played competitively since 1984 when I was on the National List of the country’s top two hundred players. I also enjoy watching soccer and American football.

REFEREES

References from referees can be provided upon request.

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