| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Is it possible to search translator C.V.'s for keywords Thread poster: John Moran
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John Moran 
Ireland
Local time: 07:25
German to English
+ ...
Hi,
We are an agency in Dublin looking for translators who have worked for a well-known end client.
We would like to be able to search through the C.V.'s of translators on proz.
Is that possible and if so how?
Kind regards,
John Moran
www.transpiral.com
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 07:25
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Some thoughts | Aug 8, 2015 |
I have absolutely no idea of what might be possible, although I don\'t think there\'s a neatly packaged feature. Still, those robot things seem to do OK trawling the web.
But I doubt it would be very useful, partly due to the following:
1. The vast majority of us choose not to list our clients\' names.
2. Our relationships are often covered by NDAs.
3. We\'re also bound by non-compete clauses in many cases.
4. The clients I imagine you\'re referring to will b... See more I have absolutely no idea of what might be possible, although I don\'t think there\'s a neatly packaged feature. Still, those robot things seem to do OK trawling the web.
But I doubt it would be very useful, partly due to the following:
1. The vast majority of us choose not to list our clients\' names.
2. Our relationships are often covered by NDAs.
3. We\'re also bound by non-compete clauses in many cases.
4. The clients I imagine you\'re referring to will be large enough for most of us to have worked in totally different areas. I worked for Shell for 10 years and rarely met anyone who had any contact with oil .
How about posting a job specifying exactly what experience you require? ▲ Collapse
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All of what Sheila mentioned, plus:
5. Large (searchable) companies usually use agencies - like yours. We translators therefore often mention fields rather than end-clients
6. Our CVs are often not directly on ProZ, they are linked to, or on request
7. Do you really want only people who translated for that particular company/ies? If you need somebody for Total, wouldn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t you consider Sheila (Shell), or an Exxon translator?
To me, ... See more All of what Sheila mentioned, plus:
5. Large (searchable) companies usually use agencies - like yours. We translators therefore often mention fields rather than end-clients
6. Our CVs are often not directly on ProZ, they are linked to, or on request
7. Do you really want only people who translated for that particular company/ies? If you need somebody for Total, wouldn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t you consider Sheila (Shell), or an Exxon translator?
To me, this sounds like a job for TM-Town that can search translation memories for you on company names and project specific terminology.
Edited to include a test search exxon site:http://www.proz.com/profile : 33 hits on Bing.
Cheers,
Hans (who refuses to use the search engine of the Thieves of Mountain View)
[Edited at 2015-08-09 01:01 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | This is a very interesting question and not stupid at all | Aug 9, 2015 |
Hi
I am a translator but also worked in an HR department. HR people do have software which can crawl through a bunch of applicants cv\'s (in PDF or on LinkedIn).
The main drawback of this software was that it catches 3 months\' trainees who accidentally have this particular keyword in their cv, but will miss out all those experienced generalists who of course will do a much better job. In general, asking for a specialization means too much false positives and too much f... See more Hi
I am a translator but also worked in an HR department. HR people do have software which can crawl through a bunch of applicants cv\'s (in PDF or on LinkedIn).
The main drawback of this software was that it catches 3 months\' trainees who accidentally have this particular keyword in their cv, but will miss out all those experienced generalists who of course will do a much better job. In general, asking for a specialization means too much false positives and too much false negatives.
And like Sheila, as an independent translator I also worked for an oil company (Total) but never dealt with crude oil or tankers, only with shoes, gloves and road signs. Look for total in your search field or for industrial protection equipment, and you won\'t find me. ▲ Collapse
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John Moran
Ireland
Local time: 07:25
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | End client names | Aug 11, 2015 |
Thanks for the responses. I used the Bing search tip and it worked so I was able to find someone who looks suitable. I read quite a few translator C.V.'s and end clients are commonly mentioned. I suppose whether that is unethical depends on the NDA with the agency in question and the translator's interpretation of the relevant clause.
Point taken about end clients not necessarily being useful as large corporations need various kinds of documents translated (e.g. financial in an oil ... See more Thanks for the responses. I used the Bing search tip and it worked so I was able to find someone who looks suitable. I read quite a few translator C.V.'s and end clients are commonly mentioned. I suppose whether that is unethical depends on the NDA with the agency in question and the translator's interpretation of the relevant clause.
Point taken about end clients not necessarily being useful as large corporations need various kinds of documents translated (e.g. financial in an oil and gas company).
Nonetheless, I think it might be useful to be able to list and search for end clients on proz. That way agencies could compete to find people with technical client product experience. In this case it is likely to be useful. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Exxon, Shell, and Total | Aug 19, 2015 |
Meta Arkadia wrote: To me, this sounds like a job for TM-Town that can search translation memories for you on company names and project specific terminology.
While I was at it, I tried Nakōdo - TM-Town's translator search engine - with one company name, and got this message
... and no results. I tried with three company names, got the same warning, but did get results. There can be several reasons for this, but it's obvious that the more relevant data your search text contains, the better the results will be.
Cheers,
Hans
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:25
Portuguese to English
+ ...
John Moran wrote:
Nonetheless, I think it might be useful to be able to list and search for end clients on proz. That way agencies could compete to find people with technical client product experience.
John,
Can you please explain what you mean by that?
Can you not ask your end client which translators have worked for them?
I am completely baffled why anyone would post a c.v. here or list the names of their clients.
| | | | John Moran
Ireland
Local time: 07:25
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Proz is at least in part a recruitment platform. In my experience, many translators post C.V.'s here (though I would question whether it is a good idea as some are stolen by scammers but that is a different topic).
End clients like large pharma companies typically work with a handful of larger agencies who work with smaller specialized ones or directly with translators. While I definitely think on a C.V. it would be bad for a translator to list:
Oil and Gas technical sp... See more Proz is at least in part a recruitment platform. In my experience, many translators post C.V.'s here (though I would question whether it is a good idea as some are stolen by scammers but that is a different topic).
End clients like large pharma companies typically work with a handful of larger agencies who work with smaller specialized ones or directly with translators. While I definitely think on a C.V. it would be bad for a translator to list:
Oil and Gas technical specs. for End company X for agency Y
but listing
Oil and Gas technical specs. for End company X
If you are not mentioning Agency Y (or listing Agency Y separately) this is ok in my book for most NDA's I have seen.
In the end that is your decision but bear in mind I have read several hundred C.V.'s so I have a statistical model in my head of what the defacto situation is.
Does that explain the point better? ▲ Collapse
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XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:25
Portuguese to English
+ ...
I wouldn't post a C.V. here a) for identity theft reasons b) I'm not applying for a job. You've no doubt heard it a thousand times: the whole concept of c.v.s for freelance translators perpetuates the employee mentality. That is not running a business. C.V.s are only ever required by agencies. In 20+ years no direct client has ever asked me for my C.V.
I wouldn't disclose who my clients are for obvious reasons and nor do I consider an agency's client to be my client so, even if I w... See more I wouldn't post a C.V. here a) for identity theft reasons b) I'm not applying for a job. You've no doubt heard it a thousand times: the whole concept of c.v.s for freelance translators perpetuates the employee mentality. That is not running a business. C.V.s are only ever required by agencies. In 20+ years no direct client has ever asked me for my C.V.
I wouldn't disclose who my clients are for obvious reasons and nor do I consider an agency's client to be my client so, even if I were inclined to do so, I would not name them anywhere. Operating on the assumption (sadly not always the case) that an agency adds value to the process by reviewing my translation, doing the DTP work, etc. I don't see how I can claim that client to be mine. Equally, if the end client fails to pay the agency that is not my business, the client is theirs not mine. ▲ Collapse
| | | | John Moran
Ireland
Local time: 07:25
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Direct clients | Aug 19, 2015 |
Pesky translators with direct clients!
Just kidding.
We are an agency (albeit a small one) so we care about C.V.'s.
Most translators who list end clients do so by saying they worked for the end client through an agency they do not name (even if there is a list of their agency clients further down).
For certain corporate end clients there are only a small number (and handful) of MLV suppliers so you often find one translator working for differen... See more Pesky translators with direct clients!
Just kidding.
We are an agency (albeit a small one) so we care about C.V.'s.
Most translators who list end clients do so by saying they worked for the end client through an agency they do not name (even if there is a list of their agency clients further down).
For certain corporate end clients there are only a small number (and handful) of MLV suppliers so you often find one translator working for different departments in the same end client via multiple agencies. ▲ Collapse
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:25
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| Out of interest | Aug 19, 2015 |
Can you explain why C.V.s are important to you -- bearing in mind that I've seen more fake C.V.s than one can shake a stick at and that they often stretch the truth beyond recognition?
| | | | | So how would you select a translator? | Aug 19, 2015 |
Lisa Simpson, MCIL MITI wrote:
...I've seen more fake C.V.s than one can shake a stick at and that they often stretch the truth beyond recognition?
Undoubtedly. But at least searching for CVs on profile pages won't produce the "adjusted" CVs you'll undoubtedly get when you post a job. A test translation? Lots of people object to it, and it's not exactly tamper-proof either. Check KudoZ contributions or forum postings? KudoZ is often fake, the latter would be interesting, but it's way too much work.
I think I'd go for a combination of selection criteria:
The TM-Town way, search for relevant TM entries
Ask the best performing translators of TM-Town for their CV, or - better - look at their profile page
Check them for their forum contributions
Skip the test translation. Or not.
Cheers,
Hans
[Edited at 2015-08-19 14:40 GMT]
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XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:25
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| I don't outsource | Aug 19, 2015 |
But on the odd occasion when asked to recommend a colleague I point people to the directory of one of the professional associations. At least you know they have checked qualifications, references, etc.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 07:25
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| If specialisations listed on our profiles aren't enough | Aug 19, 2015 |
You can search our profiles for specific keywords. If you look at any profile (or most complete ones, anyway), you'll find a list of keywords at the bottom of the page. Those are searchable both in directory searches here on the site and in Google (and other) searches generally. At least, I think they are.
| | | | | But if you were an agency? | Aug 19, 2015 |
Lisa Simpson, MCIL MITI wrote: I don't outsource
Neither do I. And I don't have the ambition to start an agency, they do all the work for me I don't like to do. But if you were an agency, an American agency, and you'd have to find a Tamil translator for a German manual? What would you do? I don't trust "professional associations," especially not if I have no idea who they are. MCIL? MITI? Let alone one in Southern India - to stick to Tamil. That's John's problem (maybe).
Cheers,
Hans
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