| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: When a potential translation job is described to me, the words I like hearing the most are... Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| A number of the options | Feb 19, 2013 |
Promises of extraordinary rates, which takes months to recover are worthless. I prefer good rates paid quickly. It demonstrates respect, reliability and a professional attitude, factors I take into account when choosing clients with whom I wish to continue working.
The "easy job" is something I am extremely wary of as it often goes hand-in-hand with a number of negative factors : the client is unaware of the level of skill required, the client considers that as a result the work can... See more Promises of extraordinary rates, which takes months to recover are worthless. I prefer good rates paid quickly. It demonstrates respect, reliability and a professional attitude, factors I take into account when choosing clients with whom I wish to continue working.
The "easy job" is something I am extremely wary of as it often goes hand-in-hand with a number of negative factors : the client is unaware of the level of skill required, the client considers that as a result the work can be done in the twinkling of an eye and the client will expect to pay lousy rates and will pay late. Basically, when I hear this, it is generally a sign of imminent refusal on my part.
[Edited at 2013-02-19 10:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I couldn't agree more! | Feb 19, 2013 |
Cecilia Civetta wrote:
I hate to hear "I have an 'easy job' for you"!
Even if it's a translator saying it, it usually heralds bad news.
| | | | | "Easy Job" = No | Feb 19, 2013 |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:
Promises of extraordinary rates, which takes months to recover are worthless. I prefer good rates paid quickly. It demonstrates respect, reliability and a professional attitude, factors I take into account when choosing clients with whom I wish to continue working.
The "easy job" is something I am extremely wary of as it often goes hand-in-hand with a number of negative factors : the client is unaware of the level of skill required, the client considers that as a result the work can be done in the twinkling of an eye and the client will expect to pay lousy rates and will pay late. Basically, when I hear this, it is generally a sign of imminent refusal on my part.
[Edited at 2013-02-19 10:53 GMT]
You're spot on with your "easy job", Ms. Scott-Despaigne.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:57
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Sweeping majestically... | Feb 19, 2013 |
Christine Andersen wrote:
Just as 'Tourism, it's easy...' should start the warning lights flashing until you know exactly what it is about.
It MAY just be a short piece about lovely views and opening hours, but it may be a gourmet menu, or a museum with a lot of 18th century technology that you can't find on Google... Or high-flown art...
I
Total agreement here. Tourism and similar areas can be a nightmare, especially if you want to avoid the usual hackneyed sterotypes. Arty stuff in particular tends to raise my blood pressure.
[Edited at 2013-02-19 11:41 GMT]
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Ty Kendall 
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:57
Hebrew to English
| No amount of money | Feb 19, 2013 |
...can compensate for a ridiculously stressful deadline or ludicrously dull subject matter....so I'm surprised that "high payment" features so prominently in this poll.
Anyway, I thought we were the ones setting the rate? If a potential project is being described to me, rate shouldn't really come into it until the negotiation stage.
Under things which the client is entitled to set, I love to hear the words "take your time".
[Edited at 2013-02-19 11... See more ...can compensate for a ridiculously stressful deadline or ludicrously dull subject matter....so I'm surprised that "high payment" features so prominently in this poll.
Anyway, I thought we were the ones setting the rate? If a potential project is being described to me, rate shouldn't really come into it until the negotiation stage.
Under things which the client is entitled to set, I love to hear the words "take your time".
[Edited at 2013-02-19 11:54 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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or at my set rate and not some ridiculous low rate.
As for arty stuff, I have found that often those clients want a really 'arty' translation because they see themselves as 'creative' and end up being unsatisfied unless you do it exactly the way they'd imagined in their minds. So it can end up being a royal pain.
| | | | John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 16:57
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Teresa Borges wrote:
In fact, quite often they mean exactly the opposite!
I agree - I'm guess I'm a skeptic - unless it's coming from a client that I already know well, as soon as I hear promises of anything unusually positive I think "Why are they telling me this?". Usually I find the easy job has no money in it or the high paying job is impossible or they don't pay. It's not to say that there aren't high paying jobs out there, but those clients don't usually make a lot of it because there's generally some compensating factor.
| | | | | High payment | Feb 19, 2013 |
Providing that it is me who says so. How could anyone else know what is a high payment to me and most importantly: how much I'll make per hour?
Stanislaw
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David Wright
Austria
Local time: 22:57
German to English
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a customer I enjoy working with
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 22:57
Member (2009)
English to German
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Of course I enjoy "taking my time" as much as I'd loved an above average price and fast payment.
However, what is most important to me (aside from the above mentionend) is that I really enjoy working with a client and s/he with me because this is the foundation longterm business relationships are based on.
| | | | | A long-term sustainable and mutually rewarding cooperation | Feb 19, 2013 |
... when it's not just another lie to secure low rates and abusively long payment terms.
Interestingly enough, all the clients who actually could say so, and who actually made it come true, never said it in so many words. We just started working together, they kept their usual working style, I kept mine, and we were both proud from having been able to make it happen, and remain so for several years.
I've seen some pretty shoddy products bearing phrases like "ultra-super... See more ... when it's not just another lie to secure low rates and abusively long payment terms.
Interestingly enough, all the clients who actually could say so, and who actually made it come true, never said it in so many words. We just started working together, they kept their usual working style, I kept mine, and we were both proud from having been able to make it happen, and remain so for several years.
I've seen some pretty shoddy products bearing phrases like "ultra-super-duper high quality" on their packaging. Some others just display their basic measurements/features there, and these have been serving me so well for so long, that I can't recall when I bought them.
For instance, I had an excellent business relationship with a client that had just one LWA=1 on their Blue Board record, nothing else. He explained it to me, it was quite unreasonable, so I volunteered some guidance on how to get it removed. Meanwhile I see some translation outsourcers who have over a hundred LWA=5s, with whom I had some short and unpleasant working experiences, and that I wouldn't be able to hold back some internal joy if I ever learned that they went out of business. So, your mileage may definitely vary.
The best ones don't say they are so. They think there is always room to improve. They don't "promise" great pay, long turnaroud time, easy work, nothing: they just ask what I consider adequate or feasible. Then it's my turn: I strive to make their needs possible to fulfill. ▲ Collapse
| | | | DianeGM
Local time: 23:57
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
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| I don't want to hear any of those | Feb 19, 2013 |
The best thing for me is seeing the whole text.
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Marjolein Snippe
Netherlands
Local time: 22:57
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Gilla Evans wrote:
The words I like to hear are "interesting job".
I spent my early years as a translator working on all kinds of texts, most of them not of huge interest to me, although I did learn a lot about all sorts of obscure things, which was kind of interesting. But now I almost only accept jobs that are really interesting to me and from which I am going to discover new things. I know I'm lucky to be able to be so selective, but after time served on the uninteresting I steered my options into the areas that I want to work in.
I even put interest before money these days, and would turn down a well-paid boring job for a less-well paid interesting one. Although of course I only work for decent pay.
Even if it pays a bit less (which often it doesn't), I prefer working on an interesting, somewhat challenging job in my field. Either that or something which demands creativity (a lot of my jobs are interesting but need very strict translations).
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 13:57
English to German
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In memoriam | Same here. And first of all: Who is to tell what rate is "high" for me? | Feb 19, 2013 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
In fact, quite often they mean exactly the opposite!
My favorite line actually was coined by a long-term agency client of mine: "Our client XYZ just called. They want another one of those texts that you are famous for."
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 21:57
| None of the above! | Feb 20, 2013 |
DianeGM wrote:
The best thing for me is seeing the whole text.
Tell me:
Language pair
Number of words
Deadline
Proposed rate
Proposed payment terms
Format of document (I keep forgetting this one: dead PDFs mean I have to fiddle with paragraph numbering!)
Subject field
Once I have seen the whole text, I might want to know:
Something about the client (could be anything that pops into my head)
If not obvious, audience (Powerpoint presentations - in-house or external?)
What I do not need to know: anybody else's opinion of the text beforehand!
Exceptions: One or two agency clients who know my work and preferences and are quite good at judging the suitability of the texts to my talents.
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