Recruitment Téma indítója: Mylene Haman
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Hi,
Even though I’m experienced, I’m having a hard time finding new customers. If you could give me some advice, what would it be? It may seem naive to ask, but do you know agencies that are recruiting (English to French)? Do European agencies tend to work with Canadian translators? I never know if I should sent them my resume or not... Thanks for your help!
| | | | | | | Profile and picture are important! | Sep 26, 2013 |
Put up a good profile, including your experience and - very important! - include a picture. People like to know to whom they are talking. Apply for a few jobs on the boards; once you get a couple you will be able to start to build your customer base.
Best of luck,
Steve K.
| | | | Mylene Haman 
Kanada
Local time: 04:51
angol - francia
TÉMAINDÍTÓ | What about the rates of the jobs? | Sep 26, 2013 |
Thanks Steve. But the rates are low for some jobs, and I understand that the people posting jobs are looking for the lowest rates. Am I wrong?
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Sheila Wilson
Spanyolország
Local time: 09:51
Tag (2007 óta)
angol
+ ...
| Examine the message you're giving out | Sep 26, 2013 |
Are you aiming to make ProZ.com your showcase, Mylene? If you are, it's essential that you do as Łukasz and Steve suggest. You have a rather weak presence here at the moment, which will mean that even if you like the jobs on the open job board, those potential clients will be unlikely to choose you. A lot of the jobs posted are for very low rates, but by no means 100%. But of course, ProZ.com isn't the only place to meet clients. If you never give clients a link to your ProZ.com profile, or loo... See more Are you aiming to make ProZ.com your showcase, Mylene? If you are, it's essential that you do as Łukasz and Steve suggest. You have a rather weak presence here at the moment, which will mean that even if you like the jobs on the open job board, those potential clients will be unlikely to choose you. A lot of the jobs posted are for very low rates, but by no means 100%. But of course, ProZ.com isn't the only place to meet clients. If you never give clients a link to your ProZ.com profile, or look for jobs here, then it isn't important.
You certainly need to think seriously about marketing yourself though, and the easiest way to do that is to try to see yourself from the client's point of view. Think of every possible reason for them to choose you (you've got a degree, for a start): are you telling them all of those reasons? Think of every possible reason why they might NOT choose you (you don't on the face of it have any experience/qualifications in your specialisations): what can you do to remove those hurdles? Do you come over as a career-minded professional with a passion for translation, intent on running a successful business and building a great reputation, or as "someone who translates because that's what they studied in full-time education"? I daresay you're somewhere between those extremes, but maybe you can move along the line a little.
Along with all the other advice in the link you've already been given, I'd suggest you look through all the relevant threads in the Business of Translation and Interpreting forums here. I know you have several years of experience in translating, but maybe in terms of marketing you are still "Getting Established".
As for the clients to target, I should look for those specifically wanting your variant first. There's bound to be some call for it in Europe but it will be a minority requirement. I had heard that there was an enormous amount of work in your pair in Canada (though I have no direct knowledge) - you just need to tap into it. ▲ Collapse
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I'd send them your resume. You have a great advantage over European translators: You can work the whole night, if necessary. So if they send you a file at 6 p.m. (European time), you could work at it until midnight or later (European time) without any problems. If it's really urgent, you could work even longer.
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Mylene Haman wrote:
Thanks Steve. But the rates are low for some jobs, and I understand that the people posting jobs are looking for the lowest rates. Am I wrong?
I came back into the "looking for agencies" market myself quite recently, and have found several very good customers paying fair rates from posted jobs on ProZ. They are not all skinflints - it costs nothing to apply and then you can select the best and dump the rest!
Steve K.
| | | | Khwansuree DEROLLEPOT
Franciaország
Local time: 10:51
Tag (2012 óta)
angol - thai
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A WEBOLDALAT LOKALIZÁLÓ FORDÍTÓ | Agree with Steve | Oct 25, 2013 |
A lot of jobs here (at least in my language pairs) offer really fair rates. I think the first thing clients are looking for is someone "reliable" (is specialized or have relevant experience in the fields, have a fair number of satidfied clients, etc.). Quoting too low can even make the clients think you are not good enough.
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Zhihua Liu
Kína
Local time: 16:51
angol - kínai
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| If you are good enough, some one will come for you | Oct 27, 2013 |
Khwansuree DEROLLEPOT wrote:
A lot of jobs here (at least in my language pairs) offer really fair rates. I think the first thing clients are looking for is someone "reliable" (is specialized or have relevant experience in the fields, have a fair number of satidfied clients, etc.). Quoting too low can even make the clients think you are not good enough.
As Khwansuree says, it you quote too low, they may think you are not professional.
Anyway, prepare a good CV, list your strengths and send some CVs.
Wish you all the best!
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