When a (new) agency wants to market you
Thread poster: Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 19:03
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Jul 27, 2012

Now I have been asked twice by new agencies, if they could 'market my CV'.
I wonder what they really mean by that? What is your experience?
The first was a "PM from Israel", who asked if he could 'market my CV' to his clients, but I could not find him on the Internet, and his rates were ridiculous.
The second was a new agency just starting up in the US, who asked if she could 'market my CV' on her website, but the website does not look that professional, re layout and with gram
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Now I have been asked twice by new agencies, if they could 'market my CV'.
I wonder what they really mean by that? What is your experience?
The first was a "PM from Israel", who asked if he could 'market my CV' to his clients, but I could not find him on the Internet, and his rates were ridiculous.
The second was a new agency just starting up in the US, who asked if she could 'market my CV' on her website, but the website does not look that professional, re layout and with grammar mistakes.
Let me hear your opinions.
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Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:03
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
No way Jul 27, 2012

J-J Trans wrote:
Now I have been asked twice by new agencies, if they could 'market my CV'.
I wonder what they really mean by that? What is your experience?
The first was a "PM from Israel", who asked if he could 'market my CV' to his clients, but I could not find him on the Internet, and his rates were ridiculous.
The second was a new agency just starting up in the US, who asked if she could 'market my CV' on her website, but the website does not look that professional, re layout and with grammar mistakes.
Let me hear your opinions.

To me, this sounds like they will use your CV to get customers they cannot get with their own merits, will keep a big chunk of the money for themselves, and will pay you nuts.

I would never accept such a proposal.


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 18:03
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Just another rake-off, IMO Jul 27, 2012

I can see the sense of one middle-man (apologies for the political incorrectness), the agency with an important web presence, all the latest DTP technology, proofreaders etc., but anyone else between the translator (me) and the end-client is simply absurd. What can they add to the mix? Nothing! So why pay them anything?

Sheila


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 15:03
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
What can they add? Jul 28, 2012

Sheila Wilson wrote:
What can they add to the mix? Nothing! So why pay them anything?


I'll tell you what they can add: non-value-adding COSTS!

I call them file-pushers.


 
Jessica Noyes
Jessica Noyes  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:03
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
At least they are asking permission Jul 28, 2012

With so many reports of companies stealing or appropriating CVs and using them to attract clients (and then giving the work to less-qualified translators), it is refreshing that *at least* these people are asking your permission. I am not saying that you should grant this permission, but I do give these people credit for honesty.

 
Nicole Schnell
Nicole Schnell  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:03
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
True. Jul 28, 2012

Jessica Noyes wrote:

With so many reports of companies stealing or appropriating CVs and using them to attract clients (and then giving the work to less-qualified translators), it is refreshing that *at least* these people are asking your permission. I am not saying that you should grant this permission, but I do give these people credit for honesty.


During the past two years I have received more than 100 applications from translators who claim that they found my company information on some translators' website I didn't even know it existed.


 
Woodstock (X)
Woodstock (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 19:03
German to English
+ ...
Don't let them Jul 28, 2012

The "agencies" - if they are that - are just trying to use you/your CV to collect clients they couldn't get otherwise. That's very suspect and they could well be just unqualified individuals who possibly use machine translation, for example, and would end up ruining your reputation by delivering shoddy work to the clients they do manage to acquire in this manner.

As has been mentioned, it's an improvement from NOT asking, but I find the whole thing rather dubious.


 
Phil Hand
Phil Hand  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 02:03
Chinese to English
A real agency doesn't reveal the details of their translators Jul 28, 2012

There is one guy I work with who can use my personal details - he was my first decent client ever, and always provides me with interesting work. We've been through a lot together, and I'm pretty much the only translator he works with.

That's the only situation in which an agency has permission to use my personal details for general marketing. Sometimes agencies might matchmake - they have a particular job that needs particular skills, and the client wants to vet me first. That's fin
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There is one guy I work with who can use my personal details - he was my first decent client ever, and always provides me with interesting work. We've been through a lot together, and I'm pretty much the only translator he works with.

That's the only situation in which an agency has permission to use my personal details for general marketing. Sometimes agencies might matchmake - they have a particular job that needs particular skills, and the client wants to vet me first. That's fine. But they have to go and make the contact themselves. They can't just hawk my information around to make themselves look good.
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Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:03
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Just think Jul 28, 2012

Jessica wrote:
At least they are asking permission

Just think what they will do "with your permission"!! I would only authorise them to "market my CV" is they sent me a signed, detailed contract specifying all possible uses of it.


 
Neil Coffey
Neil Coffey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:03
French to English
+ ...
Agencies don't do this... Jul 28, 2012

J-J Trans wrote:
Now I have been asked twice by new agencies, if they could 'market my CV'.


No, this isn't within the remit of an agency.

Occasionally, agencies may submit translators' CVs for bidding for certain tenders if this is specifically requested in the call to tender (which I think isn't so frequent, but not unheard of). But in that case, you should be contacted to give permission, and it should be clear that your CV is being used as part of a bid for a specific job, in which you will take part if the contract is awarded to the agency.

Otherwise, the whole raison d'être of an agency is that clients don't have to waste time ploughing through translators' CVs because the agency performs that job for them. I'm not sure that having translators' CVs posted on an agency web site is necessarily much of a plus as far as the client is concerned.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:03
Spanish to English
+ ...
Exactly Jul 29, 2012

Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:

To me, this sounds like they will use your CV to get customers they cannot get with their own merits, will keep a big chunk of the money for themselves, and will pay you nuts.

I would never accept such a proposal.


Me neither. Wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.


 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 19:03
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all Jul 29, 2012

Great to hear your reactions, it gave me a better perspective.
Now I know my reluctance was justified.


 
Miguel Carmona
Miguel Carmona  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:03
English to Spanish
At least they are asking for permission Jul 29, 2012

Jessica Noyes wrote:
At least they are asking permission

With so many reports of companies stealing or appropriating CVs and using them to attract clients (and then giving the work to less-qualified translators), it is refreshing that *at least* these people are asking your permission. I am not saying that you should grant this permission, but I do give these people credit for honesty.


That is right.

That is why agencies keep harvesting CV's and rates, to determine which CV's they will use to show the client, and which translators will get the assignments.


 
Margreet Mohle
Margreet Mohle  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 14:03
Member (2010)
French to Dutch
+ ...
In same vein: putting samples on website Jul 31, 2012

Thank you for starting this thread. I just had a similar strange request.

An agency in the US (I had sent my CV following a call for translators) asked if I could send some samples of my work to put on their website. I found that very strange, since I haven't even received any work from them yet.
I'm not sure if I would accept work if they'd offer, because the first contact seems very unprofessional to me.
I hope they won't put my CV on their site, I will certainly mon
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Thank you for starting this thread. I just had a similar strange request.

An agency in the US (I had sent my CV following a call for translators) asked if I could send some samples of my work to put on their website. I found that very strange, since I haven't even received any work from them yet.
I'm not sure if I would accept work if they'd offer, because the first contact seems very unprofessional to me.
I hope they won't put my CV on their site, I will certainly monitor that.

Is this common (first time it happened to me)?
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