Should a novice translator apply for every job? Thread poster: Carmen Grabs
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Carmen Grabs
Germany
Local time: 05:59
Member (2012)
English to German
+ ...
Hi,
my question is: Should I be sending out applications to job offers posted on this and other translation websites? I am registered with a few companies now, should I just wait until they send me an offer or should I keep appliying?
The thing is, nobody seems to be coming back to me although I keep sending out application after application. Quite frustrating.
Can anyone advise?
Thank you very much.
Carmen
[Edited at 2012-... See more Hi,
my question is: Should I be sending out applications to job offers posted on this and other translation websites? I am registered with a few companies now, should I just wait until they send me an offer or should I keep appliying?
The thing is, nobody seems to be coming back to me although I keep sending out application after application. Quite frustrating.
Can anyone advise?
Thank you very much.
Carmen
[Edited at 2012-08-14 17:09 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Empty post. |
Dear Carmen,
Roberta gave you some useful links - although some of the more known freelancer portals are populated with notorious cheapskates. It is good to get started, but since I get enough work from regular clients, I haven't used these sites anymore. Too difficult to find jobs that pay anything near normal rates.
It is not easy to land the first jobs. Many agencies will put us in their databases without ever sending us any actual job. So I think you should apply to... See more Dear Carmen,
Roberta gave you some useful links - although some of the more known freelancer portals are populated with notorious cheapskates. It is good to get started, but since I get enough work from regular clients, I haven't used these sites anymore. Too difficult to find jobs that pay anything near normal rates.
It is not easy to land the first jobs. Many agencies will put us in their databases without ever sending us any actual job. So I think you should apply to every job you feel comfortable working on, and not wait until one of those agencies comes back to you.
Once you have worked for a client, he might come back to you if he was satisfied with your work.
You need patience - eventually, you will succeed!
Good luck!
[Edited at 2012-08-14 19:18 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I did not know you existed | Aug 14, 2012 |
I know, my title is provocative, but it is the truth. As an outsourcer I can't give you a job, if I don't even know that you exist. Try to look at it from the outsourcer's point of view. First of all any potential outsourcer or any outsourcer with a job in your language pairs and specialty needs to find you. Second, the moment they "land" on yor profile, you have to covince them that you might be the right person for the job.
PROz offers various webinars that will help you to get you in th... See more I know, my title is provocative, but it is the truth. As an outsourcer I can't give you a job, if I don't even know that you exist. Try to look at it from the outsourcer's point of view. First of all any potential outsourcer or any outsourcer with a job in your language pairs and specialty needs to find you. Second, the moment they "land" on yor profile, you have to covince them that you might be the right person for the job.
PROz offers various webinars that will help you to get you in the right direction.
I checked your profile and noticed that you work in the medical field. You can send me your CV, we are always looking for experienced translators. ▲ Collapse
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matt robinson 
Spain
Local time: 05:59
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
| What do you want to do... | Aug 14, 2012 |
Hi Carmen,
I see from your profile that you offer three languages into and out of German. If I were looking for a specialist in a language pair this might put me off. I'm not saying that you aren't as able in all pairs and in both directions, but a jack of all trades might not fit the profile I was looking for. Which pair and direction do you enjoy/prefer? I would concentrate on that one, remove the rest and then keep on sending out those letters and CVs. Don't expect immediate resu... See more Hi Carmen,
I see from your profile that you offer three languages into and out of German. If I were looking for a specialist in a language pair this might put me off. I'm not saying that you aren't as able in all pairs and in both directions, but a jack of all trades might not fit the profile I was looking for. Which pair and direction do you enjoy/prefer? I would concentrate on that one, remove the rest and then keep on sending out those letters and CVs. Don't expect immediate results, but if you send out just 10 per week then very soon everyone will know you are out there.I am regularly contacted and receive work as a result of emails sent out easily two years previously.
Good luck. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ana Myriam Garro (X)
Local time: 00:59
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Carmen I am in the same situation | Aug 14, 2012 |
I have been unsuccessfully submitting quotes for all translation jobs in my language pair falling within my areas of expertise for about six months or more and I have not received a single translation . Just like you, I feel extremely frustrated, but nevertheless I keep on submitting quotes. It has become some sort of sport.
Reading what some of the colleagues have posted above gives me some hope. Good luck and keep walking!
| | | | | Meeting clients at ProZ.com | Aug 14, 2012 |
Hello all,
Though quoting on jobs may be an effective strategy to get started, Carmen, you should also know that, at ProZ.com, the main channel to get jobs are direct searches outsourcers conduct in the directory.
With this in mind, there are a few easy things you can do to make sure potential clients searching the directory for language professionals see you, and that once they see you, that they re... See more Hello all,
Though quoting on jobs may be an effective strategy to get started, Carmen, you should also know that, at ProZ.com, the main channel to get jobs are direct searches outsourcers conduct in the directory.
With this in mind, there are a few easy things you can do to make sure potential clients searching the directory for language professionals see you, and that once they see you, that they remain interested, even when you are just getting started. These few things are what, at ProZ.com, are called winning strategies. ProZ.com winning strategies include:
1. Membership, as members are ranked ahead of non-members in the directory of freelancers and interpreters, http://www.proz.com/translator-directory/ , and are then more visible in searches. Visit this page to check your current directory ranking.
2. Specialization. Let potential clients know what your fields of expertise are by listing fields in your profile in order --your specialty fields must be ordered accordingly, earning KudoZ points in those fields and in your top language pair, providing details in your "About me", etc. More tips on how to show your specialization are available here.
3. A good profile, as your profile serves as your business card and directory listing, and it is the first impression of you that colleagues and potential clients will have when they find you at ProZ.com and when running web searches.
4. KudoZ PRO points in your language pairs and fields of expertise, as this is how directory search results are ranked among the first group (members) and the second group (non-members). A few minutes of effort, a few times a month, may be all that is needed to boost your position in the freelancer directory.
5. PRO status, as becoming a certified PRO will allow you to network and collaborate in an environment consisting entirely of screened professionals, including companies seeking the services of certified PROs only. (it is extremely important though that all previous strategies are put into use, and that all required information is gathered, before applying for inclusion into the Certified PRO Network).
As Siegfried suggests, ProZ.com offers a free webinar on "Meeting clients at ProZ.com" a couple of times a month:
http://www.proz.com/guidance-center/additional-resources/#webinars
Also, for more information on ProZ.com winning strategies, just visit http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/ProZ.com_winning_strategies
Or else, watch this short video:
http://www.proz.com/videos/tutorials%20on%20proz.com/607
Hope this helps!
Kind regards,
Lucía ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 04:59
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Patience, Carmen | Aug 14, 2012 |
As Siegfried says, you will have to wait until someone needs exactly what you are offering, and then try to fulfil that need. If you can, make sure you're available during the summer, over the year-end break and all other public holidays and weekends - that's when agencies hunt around most.
You say you're registered with "a few" agencies. You would be lucky to ever hear from more than 1 agency in 10, frankly, so I think you need to keep plugging away. On the other hand, any one of ... See more As Siegfried says, you will have to wait until someone needs exactly what you are offering, and then try to fulfil that need. If you can, make sure you're available during the summer, over the year-end break and all other public holidays and weekends - that's when agencies hunt around most.
You say you're registered with "a few" agencies. You would be lucky to ever hear from more than 1 agency in 10, frankly, so I think you need to keep plugging away. On the other hand, any one of those silent agencies could call you tomorrow, next year, next month...
As Matt says, you need to advertise yourself very carefully on sites like this. What you may not know is that the vast majority of jobs are never advertised. Instead, outsourcers select the translators who interest them from the directory, and ask them for quotes. So the important thing is to get yourself on the first page or two of translators when outsourcers narrow the selection down to what you do best. Go to "My directory ranking" under the Jobs tab to find out your current ranking and some advice on how to improve it, and sign up for the free "Meeting clients at ProZ.com" webinar.
It may pay you to concentrate on your native language pair on this site (but that may be poor advice as I don't know anything about that pair). In the EN - DE pair, outsourcers have over 15,000 translators to choose from; translating from Slovak, the number drops dramatically to just 159, and only 44 or them have that pair as their top pair. So, it's a thought - things like that are important for this type of site, even if you market yourself slightly differently elsewhere.
Lastly, and please don't take offence, but I think many outsourcers will be put off by your user name. You may have a reason for preferring it to your real name (although I see you are not hiding that), but just be aware that this is your professional window and you may (in fact, will) find that some clients will refuse to address an important translation offer to "Dear Buttons". ▲ Collapse
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Carmen Grabs
Germany
Local time: 05:59
Member (2012)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | You are a great community | Aug 15, 2012 |
Dear Proz-community,
I am overwhelmed! Never did I expect so much helpful advise. Thank you everybody for your help. I will certainly take on board all of your advise step by step. At last there is some hope.
I was struggling with leaving my real name as username for security and data protection reasons. But as you all seem to be displaying your full name, so will I. (Thanks, Sheila!)
The funny thing is that although Slovak is one of my two native language... See more Dear Proz-community,
I am overwhelmed! Never did I expect so much helpful advise. Thank you everybody for your help. I will certainly take on board all of your advise step by step. At last there is some hope.
I was struggling with leaving my real name as username for security and data protection reasons. But as you all seem to be displaying your full name, so will I. (Thanks, Sheila!)
The funny thing is that although Slovak is one of my two native languages, I am not as confident as with English. I am able to do general translations ok SLO-DE, but not specialised ones. But you definitively have a point here, Sheila, and I can slowly build up more word knowledge in Slovak, too.
Will register at a webinar Sheila and Lucia mentioned.
Thank you, Lucia, for all your good advice!
@ amgtranslations, might as well consider it a sport to keep applying! Just one thing: Your username might make outsourcers think that you are an agency. If you are a freelance translator, then I would change the name.
Matt, thank you for your advise. Yes, I was thinking about that too, so I might take away my other two language pairs and leave the EN-DE, although, as Sheila mentioned, there are over 15,000 translators out there with the same language pair ... But yes, I believe that if you are good and confident with what you can, there can be thousands who offer the same service, you still get work.
Siegfried, how kind of you, thank you for your offer. I will send you my CV.
Anna, thank you for your advise about the patience. Seems like I just need to carry on. BTW, the post Roberta wrote seems to have disappeared, so I cannot see any links, what a shame.
Carmen ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 04:59
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Confession time! | Aug 15, 2012 |
Carmen Grabs wrote:
I was struggling with leaving my real name as username for security and data protection reasons. But as you all seem to be displaying your full name, so will I. (Thanks, Sheila!)
I have to admit at this point that Sheila is not what my mother wanted - the name on my birth certificate, passport etc is Shelagh. When I ask ProZ.com whether I've done everything possible to promote myself here, the program says "try using your REAL name".
The problem is that in France, people kept referring to me on the phone as /Shellag/ and by post as "Monsieur Shelagh." So I started hiding it wherever possible, as I'm doing in Spain. "Sheila", on the other hand, always gets pronounced as something like /Sailor/ - not so bad, I reckon, even quite sweet. However, when it gets to contracts, banking etc I have to declare my real name. It's a P A I N ! ! ! When I think how easy it would have been to change it before leaving the UK!
I'll just go and get my horsehair shirt and scourge for a quick session before resuming work.
| | | | Carmen Grabs
Germany
Local time: 05:59
Member (2012)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for your confession | Aug 15, 2012 |
In an international market, local names can be tricky. I was born in Slovakia and am glad that my mother didn't give me a Slovak name such as Ludmila, Bozena or Viera. But luckily she visited the opera "Carmen" ... With your name Shelag, I would put the phonetic sound in square brackets next to it so that everybody knows how to pronounce it. You could even do it with Sheila, but some people wouldn't get the point there.
... See more In an international market, local names can be tricky. I was born in Slovakia and am glad that my mother didn't give me a Slovak name such as Ludmila, Bozena or Viera. But luckily she visited the opera "Carmen" ... With your name Shelag, I would put the phonetic sound in square brackets next to it so that everybody knows how to pronounce it. You could even do it with Sheila, but some people wouldn't get the point there.
Well, as they say in Germany, everybody has it's little parcel to carry with him ▲ Collapse
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