What to include in your cover letter for job postings as a freelance translator

When applying for translation jobs, always,always, ALWAYS, include a sample translation from the client's document.

It doesn't have to be long. 2 or 3 sentences are enough.

Of course, if you have past projects you can show, such as published article or websites, that's great. 

But people who are trying to get their first job, people who are trying to start their career as freelancers all have the same dilemma. They need experience to get the job, but they can't get the experience without the job.

Freelance translators are luckier in that aspect, because you can demonstrate your skills right away by performing a portion of the client's project.

Go through the document the client included in the job posting and choose a phrase that is most difficult or complicated to translate.

Make the translation and include it at the top of your cover letter.

When you do, make sure to include comments to the translation explaining what assumptions you made, what you would've have asked before the translation if it was your job, and why you made certain translation decisions.

If the client didn't provide you with the document, that's fine too.

Just indicate that you'd be more than happy to provide them a sample translation, and explain how you are going to tackle the difficulties.

Again, if the client provided some description of the project, just find a material that's similar on the web and provide a sample translation.