Pages in topic: < [1 2] | No reply to rejected proposals / Cooperation proposals without rates Thread poster: Vesna Maširević
| Vesna Maširević Serbia Local time: 22:19 Member (2011) English to Serbian + ... TOPIC STARTER
Josephine Cassar wrote:
... and one outsourcer even went as far as providing feedback for a translation test
Well, that definitely proves we "Need a thick skin"
I can not even imagine what my reaction would be if I ever did a test translation and not receive any feedback.
Though, that would probably be less time consuming than being praised for them and exchanging numerous e-mails, signing 'long-term contracts' and confidentiality agreements and similar and then... nothing. Like a thoroughly negotiated marriage that stays on paper only
Someone called for a revolution in another topic (can't remember the reasons for the tempting idea) but I guess all we can do is try to stick to some principles regardless of where the world is going.
There are simply those who are like a dentist who does his scary drilling and cutting and pulling, not caring whether their patient has stopped breathing, as long as he is getting the job done.
But still.. this
Kevin Fulton wrote:
Occasionally I'd get a really nasty rejection.
and particularly this
Gitte Hovedskov, MCIL wrote:
"This message was sent to 3000 translators, and we didn't look at your specific profile", and ending with "Are you very frustrated in your life [sic] as you need to argue like this?"
is not OK.
It is not personal. It is simply unacceptable, business wise. | | | Glad it helped! | Aug 12, 2013 |
Needless to say my experience is limited (only 3 jobs), but I'm glad this "insider" view seems to be useful (it was certainly eye-opening for me!).
Regarding the particular comments in this thread:
1) I didn't use the directory, just the "Post job" section, and you can select whether to receive bids on the site or to provide an email for contact (I chose the email method for job #1). After entering the requirements and wording, the system processed the request and *then... See more Needless to say my experience is limited (only 3 jobs), but I'm glad this "insider" view seems to be useful (it was certainly eye-opening for me!).
Regarding the particular comments in this thread:
1) I didn't use the directory, just the "Post job" section, and you can select whether to receive bids on the site or to provide an email for contact (I chose the email method for job #1). After entering the requirements and wording, the system processed the request and *then* I was informed that the notification would be sent to 3000+ users. If I recall correctly (this was over a year ago), I did have the option to go back and choose more requirements in order to narrow the potential candidates, but I honestly had no more criteria to add (again, this was a very easy formatting job, and other than the language pair and the software used - Microsoft Word! - I had no other requirements). Also, I wasn't sure if by going back I was not going to lose all the details I had already entered (a lot of websites are still form-challenged!). In any event, the issue was not with the number of eligible candidates that answered; the problem was that, since I chose the posting to go public after x hours (I think 12), throngs of people with entirely different language pairs felt they had to mass email me their CVs...
2) Regarding rates for jobs #2 and #3, I was not surprised to get low-ball offers from beginners with little experience or "translators" with no formal education; I was surprised to receive them from established, certified, board accredited, PRO Network professionals with 10+ years of experience. I guess you never know how business is going for them at any given time, and perhaps they really need to work (or want to get more "online" jobs in addition to their usual fare just to get a WWA entry). I obviously do not share this approach and think their time would be better spent honing their skills or marketing themselves, but perhaps they don't like (or are not any good at) these activities.
3) I took a couple of screenshots (smudging any identification details) to show how the quotes look to the buyer, so you can all have a better idea how it looks like. The first image is the quotes summary, which is shown first. Take into account a full screen shows only 8 quotes (in my screen's resolution, and I use big fonts cause I'm hopelessly short-sighted, but still), so there's a lot of scrolling to be had:
You can see the first criteria is the completion date (with comments, if any), then the name & country, then the bid title and the rate (if any, some people don't enter rates and include a comment - this is largely useless), and then what I did about the bid. Note that posting your bid in a currency other than the one preferred by the job poster is really shooting yourself in the foot, since it forces me to convert it.
After scrolling through the summary, you find the individual quotes sorted by date received (I took a screenshot of the very first):
The green checkmarks (the same shown when you bid) clearly show what criteria the bidder complies with (or not), and the bid itself is prefaced with the "Proposed completion date" -which in this case was left blank (!)- and the title of your bid.
You could use the email approach with salutations, but really, there's no indentation for the text and the date/title before it does make it look a little off. Add to that the incredible length of all this data, and I found it's better to get to the point (at least in those cases where you don't have a name and you would just put up a generic "Dear Sir/Madam"). I also found the end salutation with your name irrelevant, since your name is at the top of the bid.
All in all the best advice would be: keep it short, include useful comments and a catchy title, use a relevant filename for you CV since it's shown (e.g. John_Smith_English_Spanish), quote in the same currency as the poster, work on your WWA, and keep a tidy/meaty profile since I can (and will!) access it with a single click on your name. I'm particularly miffed about the last one, since I haven't updated my profile in years... a clear case of do as I say, not as I do!
4) I do think overall my experience was positive in 2 out of 3 cases; I established a good relationship with several translators/proofreaders and if a project comes up in their languages/specialties I'll certainly contact them first before turning to the job post interface. I do not see it as a tool that diminishes the profession at all, in fact, it allows professionals to showcase their experience and specializations (specially in titles!). However, I agree it does not look well for generalist translators, but I guess those try to compete on rates (or compensate with massive positive feedback).
Anyway, I'm out of time and coffee, hope this helps too! ▲ Collapse | | | Vesna Maširević Serbia Local time: 22:19 Member (2011) English to Serbian + ... TOPIC STARTER Here's a well deserved new cup | Aug 12, 2013 |
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