Recurring problem with job offers

Allison Wright wrote:
I am amazed at the speed of translators who we are told have apparently already been assigned a job when: I have seen such a request the moment it lands in my mail box; typed a quick reply and sent it straight away. Not 30 minutes later, I am advised that the job is no longer available.
Assuming, say, 10 people have replied to the job query, that would give the agency 3 minutes to assess each application. I take longer to read my own ProZ profile - and I know what is there!

Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:

Based on the fact that 90% of new customers getting in touch did not hire me after a lot of emails and even tests because of my rate, some years ago I decided to report my base rate already in the first reply. This way neither of the two parties loses time sending/opening/checking documents, counting words, writing emails, doing tests, signing contracts that will not be needed, discussing long-term things... if in the end a cooperation will prove to be impossible as soon as we discuss the rate.

By declaring my rate upfront, I only have to spend time on customers who are willing to consider my rate as the starting point for a possible cooperation or negotiation. I think going straight to the main point is the best possible approach for both parties.

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:



I see some agencies requesting applications by e-mail only, with language pair and rate per word stated in the message subject. Their e-mail system has probably been set up for auto-reply with a rejection message to any figure above 0.02 on the subject line. They'll never actually see such messages.

Tina Vonhof wrote:

My guess is that I'm not alone with this recurring scenario: an agency (either a new client or one I've worked with before) contacts me (by name, not a mass e-mail) wanting to know if I'm available and what my rates are for a certain job (sometimes giving a word count, sometimes not even that). I reply asap (if it's a new client I look them up on the Blue Board and/or on the web) that in order to give any rates and make a commitment, I would need to see the document and know the deadline. They send me the document, I spend 10-15 minutes looking it over carefully (they are often fairly lengthy medical or legal documents) and I give them my rate and the minimum time I would need. Half an hour or an hour later they write back to say "sorry, another translator has already accepted the job". What this means they don't say, whether my rates are too high, I need too much time, or they have contacted ten other people and someone else was just faster on the draw. My biggest problem with this is: why can't they attach the document right away to speed up the process, why do I always have to ask for it first, when they know full well that that is the first thing any translator will need???

Thanks for letting me blow off a little steam and any suggestions on how to handle this differently are welcome.

Tina Vonhof wrote:

My guess is that I'm not alone with this recurring scenario: an agency (either a new client or one I've worked with before) contacts me (by name, not a mass e-mail) wanting to know if I'm available and what my rates are for a certain job (sometimes giving a word count, sometimes not even that). I reply asap (if it's a new client I look them up on the Blue Board and/or on the web) that in order to give any rates and make a commitment, I would need to see the document and know the deadline. They send me the document, I spend 10-15 minutes looking it over carefully (they are often fairly lengthy medical or legal documents) and I give them my rate and the minimum time I would need. Half an hour or an hour later they write back to say "sorry, another translator has already accepted the job". ...

Bernhard Sulzer wrote:
Now, this is a theory, but I am sure somebody has used this before.

What to do about it?
As you said, check the blueboard before you reply.

Wolf Kux wrote:
Could be that such similar translation job offers are only surveys for someone else, not real jobs for us!!!

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:


One thing I've learned to check on the Blue Board, among that usual stream of 5s, is the mix of PRO-tags, members, and free users there. No contempt implied towards any of these categories, however I'd think that an overwhelming majority of free users on a Blue Board record might tend to indicate lower-than-average rates, as these users are less likely to know what fair rates should be in their language pair, and therefore are happy with whatever they get.

As the Proz staff has persistently stated, the Blue Board is not about rates, but general satisfaction instead. If most of the people who are happy with an outsourcer supposedly adopt lower rates, it's likely to indicate that firm's actual practice.

Jocelyne S wrote:



Funny, I just this minute received the exact same email... but from two different people (not your Pete and Tom, but a Nick and "Sh"). Maybe they want you to translate it into French and me to then translate it into English?! It's worth noting that the email didn't come from Proz but was sent directly to me.

In any case, they forgot to attach the source file, but - like Nordiste - I don't think I'll chase after them to see it! (Otherwise, when interested, I do ask to see the source file before quoting.)

Edited for a typo.

[Edited at 2011-09-23 11:16 GMT]