| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Don't you think it is absurd? (Excessive job requirements) Thread poster: MariusV
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MariusV 
Lithuania
Local time: 16:45
English to Lithuanian
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TOPIC STARTER | yes, no need to hide | Mar 7, 2008 |
Assia Terpecheva wrote: JM Berglund wrote:
That clients should make sure they are online and answering emails 24 hours a day to accomodate providers in Europe, Asia and the US, as well as insomniacs throughout the world
Stand up! Work hard and do not hide behind your computer screen! "All-day-round freelancer service, 7 days per week"
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 Brilliant post! You forgot to mention that there is no assurance that you will work for the agency after they have complied with all your requirements.
[Edited at 2008-03-08 13:50]
| | | | Karin Maack
Germany
Local time: 15:45
English to German
| A new job posting | Mar 8, 2008 |
There is a new job posting for proofreaders where knowledge of seven languages is required, including Arabic, Korean and Russian! At least that is the way they describe it.
Perhaps you also forgot to mention that the project manager should be able to understand each language.
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 16:45
English to Lithuanian
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TOPIC STARTER
Karin Maack wrote:
There is a new job posting for proofreaders where knowledge of seven languages is required, including Arabic, Korean and Russian! At least that is the way they describe it.
Perhaps you also forgot to mention that the project manager should be able to understand each language.
There are many people who know many languages. At least can say "Hellow" and "Good-bye" in a professional way. Why the PM needs to know the languages? To appear like snobs? You should have a very efficient management and Quality Assurance system.
Management system contains the following simple and efficient stages:
1) get an email from the client, save the attachement in your PC,
2) ask the client for at least some 0.15 USD per source word,
3) make a job post for 0.03 USD per word (with all relevant requirements, incl. HIV test of the translator), do not forget to demand test translations - you can already have half of the job done for free, let alone under no obligation at all, even under no obligation to respond to the test doers,
4) re-attach the file to the translator,
5) get the translated file from the translator
6) re-attach it to the client,
7) send the client the invoice, get the payment in 7 -10 days,
8) pay the translator after some 60 days (delay of some 30 days to those 60 or 3 reminders would be a sign of a good etiquette).
A TIP: Best of all is to agree on some unrealistic deadlines from the client - the "human factor" of mistakes is bigger then (the more mistakes the translator makes, the less probability there will be you pay him/her).
Quality Assurance system (in case you think there is no need to pay even those 0.03 USD):
1) get another one (translators) who replied to you job post;
2) give him/her to proofread some 10 000 words in 1-2 hours (of course, the job shall be very urgent with all those "ASAP"),
3) the proofreader, who is not more literate then the translator, will make it simple - he/she will make as many changes to the translation as possible, esp. some critical ones, like "till" changing into "until" (also, at least some 2-3 grammar mistakes inserted by the proofreader is a must),
4) you tell the translator "your translation was bad", tell the proofreader that he/she did not correct all the mistakes,
5) instead of paying those people, better spend that money for your vacation (the bigger the project, the further you can fly for a rest), and anyone, an independent party, can prove the translation was crap (natural, having found someone who took the job 2-3 times cheaper than the usual price) and that the proofeading was a total crap (natural, having in mind that the proofreader was not more literate then the translator),
6) if these guys insist on substantiation or, at least, an indication of "grammar mistakes" - tell them "this is our policy - we do not do that"; if they are really demanding, then simply send that, and if they tell "hey, your proofreader is illiterate" or "your translator makes so many grammar mistakes - do not give him/her any job, give it to me", use the main weapon - write a sentence "Sorry, but we do not know who is right - we do not understand any of the target language"...
7) if those guys are still very insisting, OK, no other choice as to pay those 0.03 USD for translation or those 20 USD for proofreading (but do not forget to subtract your banking charges from the amount due, and, best of all, is to pay by check - they would be glad in any case that they, at least, received the money);
A TIP: if they post 1 to 3 on BB, ask your best friends to post at least half a dozen of "fives" with comments like "This agency is brilliant. A pleasure to work with". So, you will remain with at least some 4.5 on the average and those couple of "idiots" telling your translation agency is crap will really appear as idiots (2 angry posters compared to some 15 very positive ones will really appear as idiots who did a terrible quality, were not paid and now are angry on your agency).
So, for a good trampslation agency there is no need to know the target language. Actually no need for anything. What the hell do they need that?
[Edited at 2008-03-09 14:18]
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Diantha Guessous
United States
Local time: 09:45
Member (2002)
French to English
| e-mail and all the rest | Mar 10, 2008 |
JM Berglund wrote:
That clients should make sure they are online and answering emails 24 hours a day to accomodate providers in Europe, Asia and the US, as well as insomniacs throughout the world
Thanks for the laughs! 24-hour E-mail is just a minimum though. Let's not forget Skype, MSN and Yahoo Messenger, not to mention ICQ.
| | | | | It warms my heart... | Mar 12, 2008 |
...that so many of my colleagues from all over the world agree with this.
In how many languages can you say "absurd"?
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 16:45
English to Lithuanian
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TOPIC STARTER | "absurd" is international | Mar 13, 2008 |
Alexandra Goldburt wrote:
...that so many of my colleagues from all over the world agree with this.
In how many languages can you say "absurd"?
I think that some shades of meaning can vary from language to language, BUT such a thing exists everywhere (as a phenomenon), so it shall have its "own name" in each language Same like the word "love"
| | | | | absurd is an euphemism | Mar 14, 2008 |
how about having experience with every known and unknown translator system under the sun? oops!!!! under the screen!!!
it is ridiculous, totally, and if we didn't take it humourously, thanks to the initial comments by Marius, it would be shamefully humiliating.
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Paul Lambert
Sweden
Local time: 15:45
Member (2006)
Swedish to English
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| Identity Theft | Jun 14, 2008 |
I wonder if there is a danger in submitting the kind of information we do to agencies with regard to identity theft?
[Edited at 2008-06-14 13:35]
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 16:45
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Yes, all we need is a little bit of an exaggeration and putting it vice versa. And we get it really funny to the level of absurd. But this is not funny when agencies send similar and SERIOUS requests to us.
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