Curriculum Vitæ – Pierre-Etienne Paradis

Languages and Communications

Linguistic Skills

  • Perfect mastering of French.
  • Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese (spoken and written).
  • Reading knowledge of Italian, basic German.

I successfully completed the Business Spanish I and II courses at Laval University, and hold the Diploma Básico, issued by the Government of Spain, which certifies fluency in Spanish.

Related Work Experiences

  • Information Officer
    Location: 
    Réseau Koumbit inc. (Montreal)
    Beginning: 
    June 2007

    Lead member of the Communications and Advertising Committee in Koumbit, a Montreal-based nonprofit organization providing a wide array of Free and Open Source ITC services.

    I've been responsible of the writing, translation and proofreading, in English and French, of most of the organization's external documents (press releases, news articles, monthly newsletters, website portfolio items). I've also been responsible of the advertising campaigns and the budget elaboration and monitoring, in partnership with the Comité de travail (Steering Board).

    These tasks require fluency in communication tools and protocols such as wikis, IRC, Drupal, Request Tracker, etc.

    http://koumbit.org

  • Freelance journalistic translator
    Location: 
    Montreal, for clients located in Ottawa, Toronto or Calgary
    Beginning: 
    January 2005
    End: 
    May 2008

    Tight-deadline translation of articles and dispatches, from English to French, for The Canadian Press online division and various Sun Media printed & Web publications.

  • Sports interpreter
    Location: 
    Cirque du Soleil, Montreal headquarters
    Beginning: 
    May 2004
    End: 
    August 2004

    Translation and interpretation (from English to Portuguese, Spanish or French) in support of the foreign performers and recruits admitted in the General Training Program.

    http://cirquedusoleil.com

  • Proofreader
    Location: 
    City of Montreal, Finance Division offices
    Beginning: 
    November 2003
    End: 
    October 2003

    Re-writing and proofreading of the 2004 Budgetary Plan, in the Finance Division offices.

    http://ville.montreal.qc.ca

  • Live Interpreter
    Beginning: 
    March 2003
    End: 
    March 2007

    Live Interpreter (from English or Spanish to French) at the annual Canadian International Model United Nations sessions, held in Ottawa.

    http://canimun.org

  • Software translator
    Location: 
    Montreal, for a client located in Austin (Texas)
    Beginning: 
    March 2003
    End: 
    March 2005

    French localization of the NewsStand Reader, an application that lets users read the digital edition of international newspapers such as The New York Times. French localization of the NewsStand website. Much of the work was done online, since the client is based in Austin, Texas.

    http://newsstand.com

  • Multilingual sightseeing guide
    Location: 
    Quebec City and Montreal areas
    Beginning: 
    April 1996
    End: 
    October 2000

    The work consisted mostly of escorting and entertaining groups of tourists in historic Old Quebec and its surroundings, through walking tours or "step-on" tours (aboard moving vehicles). It sometimes involved multi-day trips to Montreal and the Charlevoix region. The clients consisted of students, convention-goers and senior citizens fresh off the cruise ships, originating from the United States, Canada and Latin America.

  • Journalist and proofreader
    Location: 
    Impact Campus, Laval University, Quebec City
    Beginning: 
    January 1995
    End: 
    May 1996

    Volunteer work at Laval University students’ newspaper.

    http://impactcampus.qc.ca