Off topic: Job postings: poor language Thread poster: Joanna Waller
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Does anyone else feel that seeing a job posting, or receiving an e-mail from a customer containing misspellings, grammar errors, clumsy phrasing is a deterrent to accepting work from that customer?
I saw one this morning from a US company which included the following:
- Selected candidates will be evaluated (evaluation test comprise of a 350 word test (approximately).
- SDL Certification, Proz certification (will be notted).
Please app... See more Does anyone else feel that seeing a job posting, or receiving an e-mail from a customer containing misspellings, grammar errors, clumsy phrasing is a deterrent to accepting work from that customer?
I saw one this morning from a US company which included the following:
- Selected candidates will be evaluated (evaluation test comprise of a 350 word test (approximately).
- SDL Certification, Proz certification (will be notted).
Please apply and submit your resume via proz as a Word or PDF file. ▲ Collapse
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Joanna Waller wrote:
- SDL Certification, Proz certification (will be notted).
Wow. Indeed it should clealy be "knotted"!
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Yes, I definately agree! In fact, I do not apply to job adverts that are poorly worded. Just as a job application full of spelling mistakes sends out a bad image to a prospective employer, the same is true when it's the other way round.
| | | | Joanna Waller
Local time: 18:17
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER
Quite, David, clever to include your own typo
Maybe we should all do that when replying to customers whose correspondence is lacking in the kind of finicky accuracy that characterizes translators, and see if they spot it.
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:17
Spanish to English
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| Definitely offputting | Jan 11, 2012 |
I usually have a hearty chuckle at them - and the thing is that these numpties will usually be the first to demand excellence and speed as well as the usual tedious array of technical accoutrements and - surprise surprise - low rates.
In fact, any posting that begins with "We are currently developing our database of translators/seeking translators for a big project/...." and similar apparent half-truths gets more or less the same reaction.
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neilmac wrote:
In fact, any posting that begins with "We are currently developing our database of translators/seeking translators for a big project/...." and similar apparent half-truths gets more or less the same reaction.
Also in my case, the "we are developing our database" messages go straight to the bin. I am not interested in companies that do not have a real job to assign and only want to swamp us with forms and agreements with little purpose.
| | | | Robert Forstag 
United States
Local time: 13:17
Spanish to English
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| And just as irritating... | Jan 11, 2012 |
is the habit of one particular very large agency that announces each new project it posts, and which involves highly routine work at low rates, as an "EXCITING NEW PROJECT!, EXCITING OPPORTUNITY!"
It is interesting to speculate on the view of freelance translators reflected by such language.
[Edited at 2012-01-11 16:39 GMT]
| | | | NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 13:17
Member (2002)
French to English
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MODERATOR | We're agreed then | Jan 11, 2012 |
These are signals, yea beacons, to professionals that warn us against dealing with such customers. Sort of separating the wheat from the chaff. Yes, that was a sentence fragment but I'm claiming poetic license, etc. etc.
In addition to neilmac's and Tomas's remarks about endless useless forms, technical requirements and low rates, might ... See more
These are signals, yea beacons, to professionals that warn us against dealing with such customers. Sort of separating the wheat from the chaff. Yes, that was a sentence fragment but I'm claiming poetic license, etc. etc.
In addition to neilmac's and Tomas's remarks about endless useless forms, technical requirements and low rates, might I add that payment may be just as sloppy and hit-and-miss as the job advertisement. In other words, I figure I'd be well ahead to wash my windows or go to the garage for routine maintenance, if those are my options for the day, rather than tackle a huge, time-consuming job from a client whose source text (it would appear from the ad) might be poorly written, perhaps even incomprehensible; in the end you might turn out what this client may deem to be an unacceptable -- and ultimately unpaid for -- translation.
PS: I have no idea if that is what would happen here; I'm unaware of this particular case. I am simply presenting scenarios I have learned from in my early days, sharing my experience from the days when I took chances just to have work. I am pleased to say, I have much more time to maintain my home and car now  Less EXCITING! I grant you, but far more reliable and serene.
[Edited at 2012-01-11 13:15 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Usch Pilz
Local time: 19:17
English to German
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| Fast and cheap | Jan 11, 2012 |
To me those poorly written postings reflect what you find out there increasingly:
Companies work with very little qualified staff and a lot of cheap and unqualified labour. Turnaround has to be fast. Mistakes are overlooked (however, not those of the translator taking the job).
Unfortunately the posters will go a long way - at least for a while - until somebody on the global market offers the same for even less.
[Edited at 2012-01-11 16:28 GMT]
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