| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Do agencies generally expect freelancers to work weekends? Thread poster: Wendy Cummings
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| Give them an inch ... and they'll (at least some of them will) take a mile | Sep 21, 2005 |
Nicolette Richy wrote: Wendy Leech wrote:
An agency sends a text for a quote and deadline estimate. Are they *expecting* you to work weekends?
Agencies have lists of translators who are willing to work on weekends / overnight / 25th December and of those who are willing to accept everything in order to have a job. If you agree, they will call you back later and again and again, and again and again, while other translators have "normal" conditions. It's up to you.
I'm with you there, Nicolette. If I work on weekends, I like that to be my choice and I agree with Catherine in that I get more done, simply because the phone isn't ringing every 5 minutes and I'm not having to constantly answer mails. Having that kind of peace and quiet as a working environment is bliss after a hard week.
However, if an agency comes on Friday evening and wants something for Monday morning, I feel justified in asking for a surcharge because I have no other choice but to work at the weekend. Some agencies even have their clients deliver stuff on Saturdays and Sundays ...
My problem is that I am pretty fast - from talking to colleagues, I'd say that I'm probably faster than average. As soon as my agencies pick up on this, I tend to get the rush jobs and sometimes I'd just like to be a cut a bit of slack so that I can work at a normal pace.
Good luck!
| | | | | Most agencies probably expect it... | Sep 21, 2005 |
I work as a full-time staff interpreter and do virtually all my outside translation work in the evenings and on weekends.
When an agency asks me to do a translation I first get an approximate word count and the exact deadline (date and time at the agency's location). After years and years of working I have become quite good at figuring out how many hours will be required to do a specific document. Based on that, I decide whether I can reasonably arrange my time between acceptance ... See more I work as a full-time staff interpreter and do virtually all my outside translation work in the evenings and on weekends.
When an agency asks me to do a translation I first get an approximate word count and the exact deadline (date and time at the agency's location). After years and years of working I have become quite good at figuring out how many hours will be required to do a specific document. Based on that, I decide whether I can reasonably arrange my time between acceptance of the job and the delivery deadline, irrespective of whether there is a weekend during that period. If yes, I take the job; if no, I don't (or attempt to negotiate a later deadline).
It comes down to this: You are ultimately in control of your schedule -- arrange it as you see fit. If you consistently deliver a quality product within agreed time limits, any good agency will be ready to work with you on specific deadlines and surcharges.
My two kopecks... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | That's up to you | Sep 21, 2005 |
Each translator will set their schedule and their daily output... but yes, in this world of ours, weekends are dissapearing. More and more stores open on weekends, and all kinds of other services available too.... We become increasingly non-local.
While we sleep, others do our work in parts of the Earth where the sun is shining... Here in Southern Earth is the Spring Equinox now, while in the Northern area is the middle of the autumn.
So...
| | | | David Moore (X) 
Local time: 16:56
German to English
+ ...
| What's a weekend? | Sep 24, 2005 |
Hi Wendy,
I've been at this game some time too, like most of your writers. I would offer one (VERY) important word of warning: NEVER accept a job to be completed by 9 a.m. on Monday morning, unless the customer knows for sure he will only get a "working" version. These are always and invariably the translations on which you have queries of one sort or another, and the customer isn't there to ask over the weekend...
Having said that, I work almost every weekend; as free... See more Hi Wendy,
I've been at this game some time too, like most of your writers. I would offer one (VERY) important word of warning: NEVER accept a job to be completed by 9 a.m. on Monday morning, unless the customer knows for sure he will only get a "working" version. These are always and invariably the translations on which you have queries of one sort or another, and the customer isn't there to ask over the weekend...
Having said that, I work almost every weekend; as freelancers, we have to take the work when it offers; if it suits us to work over the weekend, well and good. If not, then allocate your time accordingly.
Best wishes,
David ▲ Collapse
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| UK agencies don't expect you to, but they'd like you to! | Sep 29, 2005 |
Wendy, I would say that agencies in the UK (and France) work out deadlines according to the number of working days required. I used to be a project manager in an agency and it was generally accepted that if weekends were needed to complete the project on time, they would be paid extra.
But it is the deadline from the agency's point of view -if you simply have a lot of work but want to take on another project which will mean you working the weekend, you cannot really charge extra. B... See more Wendy, I would say that agencies in the UK (and France) work out deadlines according to the number of working days required. I used to be a project manager in an agency and it was generally accepted that if weekends were needed to complete the project on time, they would be paid extra.
But it is the deadline from the agency's point of view -if you simply have a lot of work but want to take on another project which will mean you working the weekend, you cannot really charge extra. But if an agency rings you on a Friday afternoon and wants 5000 words for Monday, then yes, I would expect them to offer a higher rate.
Some agencies will ask you when you sign up if you are willing to work evenings and weekends regularly; again, they should be willing to pay extra.
Personally I avoid working weekends because I have a young child and I work in the week while she is at nursery and when she is in bed. Sometimes I do some work at weekends but I don't take on rush weekend jobs. When I started out though, I quite frequently worked at weekends just to keep the work coming in. Also it took me a lot longer to do jobs in those days, so I needed to factor in more time. ▲ Collapse
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