| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Is it worth to send a CV...? Thread poster: Pablo Bouvier
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The problem is not in a CV per se, but in persons who are supposed to read them.
According to my experience the person in charge of collecting CV's and the person in charge of making a decision of selecting the right candidate for a job are different people in many companies.
And the decision maker does not necessarily read all our life descriptions at all...
be they in the form of classic CV or brochure or videoclip or ...whatever.
The awful truth is—tho... See more The problem is not in a CV per se, but in persons who are supposed to read them.
According to my experience the person in charge of collecting CV's and the person in charge of making a decision of selecting the right candidate for a job are different people in many companies.
And the decision maker does not necessarily read all our life descriptions at all...
be they in the form of classic CV or brochure or videoclip or ...whatever.
The awful truth is—those who collect CV mostly do not read them. Those who read not alwasy get them from those who collect.
Let's add to this a usual lack of skills and professionalism of office executives today.
[Edited at 2010-09-18 06:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Gina W
United States
Local time: 22:52
Member (2003)
French to English
| It is worth it | Sep 17, 2010 |
It takes a few seconds and is free to send an electronic copy of a CV, once you have one, to an end client or agency. You can get work that way. However, it probably is a good idea to use other methods to market your language services, too. An agency may want to see a CV instead of a brochure as they are looking to work with an individual and not necessarily a business. A brochure might be better to send to an end client as it probably appears more professional and you probably want to be k... See more It takes a few seconds and is free to send an electronic copy of a CV, once you have one, to an end client or agency. You can get work that way. However, it probably is a good idea to use other methods to market your language services, too. An agency may want to see a CV instead of a brochure as they are looking to work with an individual and not necessarily a business. A brochure might be better to send to an end client as it probably appears more professional and you probably want to be known as your own business to a potential end client. JMO. ▲ Collapse
| | | | opolt 
Germany
Local time: 04:52
English to German
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| Profile instead of CV, unless ... | Sep 17, 2010 |
... you're working for agencies (almost) exclusively. That's at least my own personal conclusion after many years.
The thing is, CV's are really the most adequate choice when applying for a fixed post. They are also preferred by agencies for representing a more or less standardized data set, ready for a quick glance. But in my view, and for my situation, despite the many CV formats floating around these days, there are too many constraints on the kind of data that should be included... See more ... you're working for agencies (almost) exclusively. That's at least my own personal conclusion after many years.
The thing is, CV's are really the most adequate choice when applying for a fixed post. They are also preferred by agencies for representing a more or less standardized data set, ready for a quick glance. But in my view, and for my situation, despite the many CV formats floating around these days, there are too many constraints on the kind of data that should be included, and how they are to be presented. CV's also carry over that mindset, you know, "Sir or Ma'am, wanna get good job from your good big company, yours obediently in standard format" (I'm exaggerating, of course ) -- instead of transmitting the idea of an independent specialist looking for a contract, someone who has the freedom to present himself in whichever way he finds most suitable, without the baggage of the employee-employer relationship.
While I still keep my CV ready for agencies and those who explicitly demand it, I'm in the process of switching to a profile, not too different from those found here on Proz. In fact, already with each revision, my CV has been "migrating" a bit in that direction. -- Certain data won't be included in my profile (for instance, my year of birth -- though its not a secret), others not found on most CV's definitely will. I also think it's the right format and "middle of the road" for the self-employed, as compared to a brochure, which I feel has its own kind of problems, namely the risk of giving the wrong impressions by being "oversized" for the lone freelancer. I think a brochure is much more suitable for a company.
[Edited at 2010-09-17 21:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 20:52
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I just send them a link in order not to waste my time attaching the CV or loading a saved e-mail.
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Pablo Bouvier
Local time: 04:52
German to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Is it worth to send a CV...? | Sep 19, 2010 |
Thank you very much everyone for your answers. The conclusions I have reached with your help are:
a) the best mean of acquiring new customers is word of mouth, but this is no longer sufficient and must be complemented by other marketing resources like personal meetings, at leat in my country.
b) we should have a Thank you very much everyone for your answers. The conclusions I have reached with your help are:
a) the best mean of acquiring new customers is word of mouth, but this is no longer sufficient and must be complemented by other marketing resources like personal meetings, at leat in my country.
b) we should have a classic written CV (without sensible data), but send it only if the client expressly request to do it, as we ignore how the client will use it.
c) if the information is sent on our own initiative, it is better to send a deeply studied presentation letter along with a service offer or a link to a profile than a CV.
d) Brochures are more appropiated for end clients and CV for LSPs. To send a brochure to LSPs may mislead them, as they may be expect or prefer to work with individuals instead with other businesses.
d) Today it seems unavoidable to have a website, easily accessible, with a reduced and specific content.
Once again, thank you all for share your thoughts!
[Edited at 2010-09-19 15:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paula Borges
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:52
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
most agencies I know require a CV, print if off and analyse it. Old fashioned perhaps, but still a requirement.
| | | | | Thanks for the info! | Sep 26, 2010 |
Hi everyone,
This is my first contribution to the forum (I only joined ProZ today) and I want to thank you for all the information, tips and anecdotes you share here.
I am currently launching my business as a freelance translator of English to French, and reading your posts has given me a clearer understanding on the business in general.
About this particular topic: I do keep a CV handy in case an agency asks for it, but I'm also having a website done, because I t... See more Hi everyone,
This is my first contribution to the forum (I only joined ProZ today) and I want to thank you for all the information, tips and anecdotes you share here.
I am currently launching my business as a freelance translator of English to French, and reading your posts has given me a clearer understanding on the business in general.
About this particular topic: I do keep a CV handy in case an agency asks for it, but I'm also having a website done, because I think a good, professional-looking website is always great for your image (even as an independent translator, as opposed to a larger company). It's also the most accessible - you don't need to send anyone anything, make sure you have links leading to it everywhere (on your ProZ profile, in your e-mail signature, etc), and that you rank high in search results (Google).
Of course I'm only just starting so cannot talk from experience (yet) but I'll get back to you and keep you posted on the benefits of having a good website
ps: having a brochure / flyer sounds good to me too! Nicer than business cards ▲ Collapse
| | | | Simone Linke
Germany
Local time: 04:52
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| CV is obsolete | Sep 26, 2010 |
From my experience, I can say that a CV is totally obsolete.
As somebody else already stated: we're not applying for a fixed position here; we're only selling ourselves.
Why would it be important for a client (agency or direct client) to know what high-school you went to, what special interests you have, what sort of extra-curricular activities you enjoyed, etc.?
These are the kind of information that may help an employer decide whether or not you'd fit into the t... See more From my experience, I can say that a CV is totally obsolete.
As somebody else already stated: we're not applying for a fixed position here; we're only selling ourselves.
Why would it be important for a client (agency or direct client) to know what high-school you went to, what special interests you have, what sort of extra-curricular activities you enjoyed, etc.?
These are the kind of information that may help an employer decide whether or not you'd fit into the team and get along with the business hierarchy etc.
But we're individuals. We don't need to fit in - we only need to prove our skills and deliver quality work.
Hence, relevant information for clients can be summarized on one page: contact details, education/diplomas/accreditation, specialties & experience, CAT tools, and of ccourse, your language pair(s).
Also, this might help get a conversation with your client started. If you throw tons of information at your potential client, you don't really force them to get back to you. If they know everything about you and they don't think you're the right candiate, you're out.
But if you only give them the right teasers, this can force them to get back to you to get more details. And that's what you want. You don't want to run after your clients - you want them to come running after you.
And yes, a Website does pay off, too. ▲ Collapse
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to this topic: I have just put my website online, hopefully the results will follow!
In general it looks nice, but may I have a few comments in regards to the look?
- I'd consider using a different (bigger) font for texts in pictures, as the current version is less readible (not 100% "sharp" in italics).
- Quotations in pictures on pages Translation and Editorial are "lost" in the background - I'd consider using something less "disturbing" for the space where the lines are.
- On the Profile page, I'd put your photo a bit to the top, for example aligned (horizontally) with the Education part
- The footnote is barely readible.
(Maybe you use a different screen resolution on your screen and don't observe the first and last point, but some other visitors may notice this - not that it would "spoil" for the core message, though. I just assume even details may sometimes sell.)
| | | | | Thanks Tomas! | Nov 11, 2010 |
For the useful comments!
| | | | Pablo Bouvier
Local time: 04:52
German to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | ¿3 font sizes? | Nov 12, 2010 |
Anna Rioland wrote:
For the useful comments!
Would be nice if one could choose somewhere between 3 font sizes.
For people with visual impairments the website may be barely readable.
[Edited at 2010-11-12 11:33 GMT]
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Pablo, the fonts on that website can be enlarged using for example CTRL+mouse wheel (scrolling up/down).
(Not that it would be the best solution, but at least something, sometimes the sizes can have a fixed value AFAIK and the visitor can do nothing about it.)
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Tomas Mosler wrote:
Pablo, the fonts on that website can be enlarged using for example CTRL+mouse wheel (scrolling up/down).
...which will usually enlarge also any graphics optimized for the original resolution.
The solution I prefer is a free CMS (Joomla!, Drupal, Wordpress...) and a good (usually a premium) template.
In Anna's case, I guess using higher values for the respective styles in the corresponding CSS will suffice.
| | | | Pablo Bouvier
Local time: 04:52
German to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I am sorry, but | Nov 12, 2010 |
Tomas Mosler wrote:
Pablo, the fonts on that website can be enlarged using for example CTRL+mouse wheel (scrolling up/down).
(Not that it would be the best solution, but at least something, sometimes the sizes can have a fixed value AFAIK and the visitor can do nothing about it.)
I use a standard installation of Mozilla Firefox and at least in my computer CTRL+Mouse does just the same as without it; it scrolls the windows up and down...
[Edited at 2010-11-12 13:43 GMT]
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