| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | My Profile, Your Brutal Truth Thread poster: David Jessop
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Nikki Graham 
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:57
Spanish to English
| On the whole, I agree with Maria | Sep 16, 2009 |
We cannot all ask the forums about our profiles, and two threads about the same profile seems a bit much.
However, here are some coments. The first thing I noticed (apart from the new photo) was your user message. Too long and like Kevin, I don't like the emphasis on affordable. Nor do I like the "thank you". You come across as grateful for a job.
I agree with others who say your content is too long (I haven't even had time to read it all). But I did see the bit about h... See more We cannot all ask the forums about our profiles, and two threads about the same profile seems a bit much.
However, here are some coments. The first thing I noticed (apart from the new photo) was your user message. Too long and like Kevin, I don't like the emphasis on affordable. Nor do I like the "thank you". You come across as grateful for a job.
I agree with others who say your content is too long (I haven't even had time to read it all). But I did see the bit about having lived in many Spanish-speaking countries and being able, therefore, to understand the nuances of the language used in them. This, IMHO, is a very important point, and is something I cannot do, for example, having never been to South America in my life (I routinely refuse all translations written in Latin American Spanish). Perhaps you should emphasise this a bit more. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Abba Storgen (X)
United States
Local time: 11:57
Greek to English
+ ...
| This is not summer camp | Sep 17, 2009 |
I have a friend who specializes in medical devices. I specialize in financial/legal and I was a financial professional for 12 years.
There are at least 4 project managers from highly respected agencies (our profiles are updated and correct in their databases), who keep sending to him the financial projects (and then he forwards them to me), and they also keep sending to me the medical devices as well as... cosmetics and cooking books (which I send back).
Two other agencies kee... See more I have a friend who specializes in medical devices. I specialize in financial/legal and I was a financial professional for 12 years.
There are at least 4 project managers from highly respected agencies (our profiles are updated and correct in their databases), who keep sending to him the financial projects (and then he forwards them to me), and they also keep sending to me the medical devices as well as... cosmetics and cooking books (which I send back).
Two other agencies keep forgetting I'm in the U.S. and we've been working together for 10 years at least.
Do you really think that lots of managers will actually read your profile? Nobody has the time to read profiles. Even if they do, will they remember anything?
When a project arrives and it's supposed to be for 25 languages, you' re talking about communicating to at least 100 people (at least 2 translators and 2 editors per language to see who's available).
Why would anyone remember you or me through proz profiles?
"Isn´t Proz about "translators helping translators?"
No it's not. Who told you that? Proz is a low-bidding website in which translators are competing with each other without information (nobody knows the real prices of the others) in order to give to the agency the highest possible profit margin.
We' re not friends in here. Proz is designed for competition.
You may receive some help, only if you pay attention (if you want friends, you got to get out of the house, competitive online contacts are not friends)... in which case Maria was right... after all, you asked for "brutal truth" - I assume you know what the expression means.
I also agree with Kevin, on all points. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No friends on ProZ ? | Nov 17, 2009 |
Eleftherios, your comment is valuable because it states (bluntly) one side of ProZ that does exist and that beginners should be well aware of.
But I beg to disagree about the fact that people should not hang around in the hope of finding friends or getting help. There is a large number of very helpful professionals on this site who enjoy the community aspect (forums) and do provide quite a lot of useful advice and support.
Furthermore, there are teams dedicated to providing vo... See more Eleftherios, your comment is valuable because it states (bluntly) one side of ProZ that does exist and that beginners should be well aware of.
But I beg to disagree about the fact that people should not hang around in the hope of finding friends or getting help. There is a large number of very helpful professionals on this site who enjoy the community aspect (forums) and do provide quite a lot of useful advice and support.
Furthermore, there are teams dedicated to providing volunteer translations to NGOs in a very organized way, treating this job as seriously as paying assignments. It's useful, fun, and a real opportunity to create a network with colleagues.
There are people abusing the KudoZ, and others who see only its competitive side (earning points to rise in the directory rankings), but I can't forget how many times a good KudoZ answer saved my day - and I never felt bad about giving the points. Feeling grateful is not exactly what I would associate with ruthless competition.
Your specific argument concerns the bidding system; but honestly, who gets most of his/her jobs this way ? You know that it is mostly a losing battle between the unrealistic budgets of the job posters, and the crowd of sweatshop workers that frightens Kevin so much (I'm joking Kevin, I love your posts about them. They provide me with endless entertainment).
It is a zero-sum game, and experienced translators are aware of this. Not everything on ProZ revolves around the job postings.
In conclusion, I just wanted to remind you that this profession is not different from other businesses: there is competition, but there are also business relationships and it is very hard to survive without them. I see ProZ as one way to forge such relationships - if possible with a glass of hot tea
Kind regards,
Michael
[Edited at 2009-11-17 16:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Getting back to the original topic... | Nov 17, 2009 |
... I had a look at the current state of the profile under discussion. I see a lot of improvement. I would probably add more samples, but the two given are good-sized chunks of text. And he no longer sounds like he's positioning himself as a bilingual secretary. Good job.
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Eleftherios, most people here don't "compete" with you and me, if for no better reason than the fact that we work different language pairs. And even if we didn't, how many hours are there in a d... See more ... I had a look at the current state of the profile under discussion. I see a lot of improvement. I would probably add more samples, but the two given are good-sized chunks of text. And he no longer sounds like he's positioning himself as a bilingual secretary. Good job.
******
Eleftherios, most people here don't "compete" with you and me, if for no better reason than the fact that we work different language pairs. And even if we didn't, how many hours are there in a day? Let's all stand in the same pond and compete to see who can scoop up the best water. If you scoop first, I've got the next drink while you enjoy your full cup. What's the big deal?
I think your previous reminders about the commercial nature of the site are more appropriate for the starry-eyed, and even there I won't venture to speak on all the motives for every action. As far as individuals are concerned I'm even less inclined to do so. On the average, "what goes around comes around" has been a pretty consistent experience for me in the last 25 years of business, so I'll do as I please and let others choose what they want to catch on the rebound. ▲ Collapse
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| What a brave thing to do... | Nov 17, 2009 |
...posting this question here. Maybe there should be a forum specially for this purpose. It could be called Am I Hot Or Not.
| | | | Daniel Weston
United States
Local time: 09:57
French to English
+ ...
| Lively forum exchanges.. | Nov 17, 2009 |
.. is what I like about this site - some of the forum topics are very lively and interesting. I do agree with Michael that there are relationships to be made and Kudoz has helped me out in a pinch before as well...and while there seems to be a vast majority of low paying rush jobs, you can also find better ones on the site occasionally and you can develop a good rapport with some of the outsources, too.
| | | | Krzysztof Kajetanowicz (X)
Poland
Local time: 18:57
English to Polish
+ ...
| professionalism | Nov 18, 2009 |
Careful with 'professionalism'. I've seen it ridiculed in another translator forum -- for there is something to the notion that a 'professional translator' is like a 'tasty beverage'. They say it's like exclaiming 'I don't suck'. I'm not so critical about advertising 'professionalism' myself but it's a word you do see a lot, and as such it's really devalued.
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