Only members can post in this forum | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Making the most of my membership Thread poster: Louise Souter (X)
|
|---|
Balasubramaniam L. 
India
Local time: 03:50
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Looking professional !! | Jan 31, 2009 |
Niraja Nanjundan wrote: Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
Also, some people are plain ugly and it is natural that they prefer not to distract potential clients Apart from the fact that I don't think anyone is really ugly, I'm not really interested in clients who judge people by their looks.
Looks may have some relevance to an interpretation job where the interpretor is physically seen doing the job, but I don't think it has any relevance to translation. Translation jobs are judged by other qualities such as punctuality, professionalism, accuracy, elegance of language, etc.
If any outsoucer or agency uses beauty as the sole or important criterion for selecting translators, that would indicate his gross unprofessionalism, and he is likely to soon go out of business. So it would be safer not to work for such outsourcers for you may not get paid, as he would have gone bankrupt for all you know.
Having said that, I would certainly like to see the photograph of the transltor on the profile page, instead of a flag or an animal or a cartoon. It gives a human touch to the situation. It is immaterial, as I have said above, whether the translator is ugly or a Miss Universe.
I don't pride myself of having the looks of Aamir Khan or Salman Khan, but I have never-the-less put up my mug-shot on my profile, for what it is worth. I am sure many of my clients and friends at proz.com identify me by my picture, and forgive me for my ugly looks, for which I am grateful to them!
With regard to putting up a flag, I think that is a bit too jingoistic, and old-fashioned in these days of internationalism and globalisation. It is like wearing your views on your sleeves, which is not very subtle. Just my personal opinion.
| | | | | Changing the picture? | Jan 31, 2009 |
Aniello Scognamiglio wrote:
That's true, but it's me, and I keep changing my pictures frequently.
I have a question here: I am not copletely satisfied wiyh the picture I put in my profile, but I am not sure that changing it is a good idea. Maybe people wan't recognize me as someone who's been around for a while if I do. What do you think?
Ciao,
Cristina
| | | | | I changed mine | Jan 31, 2009 |
Cristina Lo Bianco wrote:
I have a question here: I am not copletely satisfied wiyh the picture I put in my profile, but I am not sure that changing it is a good idea. Maybe people wan't recognize me as someone who's been around for a while if I do. What do you think?
Ciao,
Cristina
I changed mine a few months ago, after several people commented at a powwow that they didn't recognise me from my photo (although I don't think they'd recognise me from this one either, unless I were wearing the same sunglasses!) The first one was very professional-looking (at least, I think so!); I got my partner to take a head shot of me looking as businesslike as possible. This one is decidedly less so and I'll probably change it in the near future - as soon as we get round to doing another head shot.
I tend to agree that pictures of your cat, dog or whatever don't give a great impression. Some of the best non-photo profile pictures I've seen here include an electronic circuit board, a set of scales and a sketch of RNA - they all immediately convey an idea of what the translator in question is offering. The cats and dogs and scenery are all fairly nondescript, in my opinion.
Having said all that, once you contribute regularly to the forums other regulars will recognise you and judge you (postively or negatively) on what you say, not on what picture you have up (if any). They'll already know your name and may even comment on the new photo you put up.
I've no idea what difference that might make to outsourcers, though.
[Edited at 2009-01-31 11:04 GMT]
| | | | Jessica Noyes
United States
Local time: 18:20
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Create your own head shot | Jan 31, 2009 |
There's no need to wait to have the ideal photo. Just look through your My Pictures file. If you have any kind of digitized picture which includes you, you can crop out everything except the part you want. My picture here on the site was taken while visiting Montreal's Botanical Gardens, and originally included five other people sitting with me on a bench.
| | |
|
|
|
Speranza
Local time: 00:20
Spanish to Russian
+ ...
| How much do looks matter? | Feb 1, 2009 |
You may want to check out this blog post to get some insight into how a more professionally diverse group of individuals sees the issue.
That one is about good vs. poor looks; as to whether a pet photo is a legitimate choice, it probably depends on your objectives. You may simply want to be easily identifiable when you contribute to ProZ, in which case any pi... See more You may want to check out this blog post to get some insight into how a more professionally diverse group of individuals sees the issue.
That one is about good vs. poor looks; as to whether a pet photo is a legitimate choice, it probably depends on your objectives. You may simply want to be easily identifiable when you contribute to ProZ, in which case any pic, within reason, is fine as long as you don't change it too often. Conversely, if you are out for branding yourself, letting people know what your friendly smile looks like is a better idea. I once saw a fellow ProZian on CNN discussing language issues in a very multilingual country very far in the south. If one day you get a similar opportunity to get your expertise recognized, if implicitly, by an influential TV network, but nobody recognizes you on the screen, such valuable exposure will be hard to leverage marketing-wise. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
Germany
Local time: 00:20
English to German
+ ...
| You never get a second chance to make a first impression. | Feb 1, 2009 |
Cristina Lo Bianco wrote: Aniello Scognamiglio wrote:
That's true, but it's me, and I keep changing my pictures frequently. I have a question here: I am not copletely satisfied wiyh the picture I put in my profile, but I am not sure that changing it is a good idea. Maybe people wan't recognize me as someone who's been around for a while if I do. What do you think? Ciao, Cristina
As long as you share recent pictures with the world out there showing YOU, perhaps from different angles, I consider it an advantage to change pictures every now and then (why not upload a private picture today and a business picture tomorrow? It takes just a minute). I know from other social networks or business platforms that some people like to change pictures frequently to generate more traffic to their profile (because every profile change is communicated to the contacts). As far as I know this feature is not implemented on ProZ.com yet.
@ProZ staff:
Can we add this neat feature to the implementation list (for future releases)?
From personal experience I know that one picture alone may convey a wrong idea of a person. The key question every translator should ask himself is: What do I want to achieve with my picture?
It is incontestable that a professional picture oder foto can open doors, however, its value should not be overestimated. It is also a matter of fact that both in professional and in private life most people judge other people by their appearance (first impression), but while it is true that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression, it is also true that you often get a second chance to "correct" a prejudice.
| | | | | Profile pictures | Feb 1, 2009 |
I generally favor a nice head shot, though specialty-related images like K Donnely's & others make a good impression on me. If I wanted to go through a period where I make a hard push for more chemistry work to the exclusion of other things, I might use a nice pic of a molecular model, though knowing me it would probably be a controversial structure just to see if anyone notices.
What really drives me nuts in a head shot pic are some of these that look like they are taken from a mod... See more I generally favor a nice head shot, though specialty-related images like K Donnely's & others make a good impression on me. If I wanted to go through a period where I make a hard push for more chemistry work to the exclusion of other things, I might use a nice pic of a molecular model, though knowing me it would probably be a controversial structure just to see if anyone notices.
What really drives me nuts in a head shot pic are some of these that look like they are taken from a modeling agency portfolio, with odd angles and artistic lighting. Others may like them, but my first thought when I see something like that is "yep - another actor/actress or model who can't pay the rent and is giving translation a try". I'm sure some of these people are brilliant, but they tend to be rather young too, so in my narrow mind that emphasizes a possible lack of experience or commitment to the profession. I don't feel that way when I look at other pictures of young colleagues. I'm not an outsourcer, so nobody will miss out on work because of my screwy perceptions, but it is worth asking if potential clients might get the same impression. If I worked for Esprit or some other brand like that on the other hand, it might be perceived as positive. That's not my world, so I wouldn't know.
The cats, dogs, penguins, geese, pigs, rats and other lovely critters that people use are often very nice and interesting, and in some cases they are effective identifiers, but the identification has never been one that would be of benefit in client acquisition as far as I could see. I'll take a picture holding a little kid over that any day - some go ballistic over the family stuff (I used to get criticized a lot for time spent with my daughter and for taking her to places like research laboratories, but screw the critics - last I heard she plans a research career), but others view it differently. My feeling is that women might need to be more careful about that because of the stupid prejudices some people have about translators who have babies. I think that's an awesome thing as long as the same professional standards are applied to the quality of the jobs.
Animated stuff? Oh god. It almost never works. Arnaud's penguin has minimal motion, so it doesn't distract me badly when I look at the screen and I'm not bothered, but some other animated logos and profile pictures actually make it hard for me to absorb information on a page.
So on the whole, I prefer simple, clear head or upper body shots. Even an ugly mug can inspire a lot of confidence from the impression it makes. ▲ Collapse
| | | | carly kelly
Italy
Local time: 00:20
Italian to English
+ ...
| Good with names, but prefer faces... | Feb 1, 2009 |
After ten years of teaching, the one thing I miss in this job is face-to-face contact with people.
I often wonder what certain PMs etc.. - who I only talk to on the phone or via email - actually look like.
[quote]Charlie Bavington wrote:
I should maybe add "yet", because I think one will in the none too distant.
I know the forum is postively panting to know what I look like....
I don't work in your language pair Charlie, but having read some of your posts on the forum, I'm dying to see what you look like! So go on...put me out of my misery...(!)
That outburst aside, on a practical level I often feel that in a country such as Italy, where such importance is attached to looks (particularly where women are concerned), the anonymity of translating probably works in many peoples' favour.
| | |
|
|
|
Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 15:20
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | How they look like | Feb 1, 2009 |
carly wrote:
I often wonder what certain PMs etc.. - who I only talk to on the phone or via email - actually look like.
The two largest clients of mine obviously take pictures very seriously - and I appreciate it.
They send me theirs. At times even pics of their kids or their wedding. Or their hockey team. They want to be accepted by you, just the way you want to be accepted by them. They are business partners, not your supervisors and certainly not your boss.
One wonderful agency has little photos of the respective PM embedded as a footer in every email. I love it! I get a good idea who I am dealing with. Especially when we are on the phone.
| | | | | Spn-off question: photo on CV | Feb 2, 2009 |
Here's another question on the subject:
do you send a photo when applying for a job or the beginning of a collaboratin? Do you send it embedded in the CV or as a separate attachment?
I thought about putting it inthe CV but I was afraid the file might get mesed up in unpredictable ways when the other party tries to read it. I on't whant to loose a job becouse of Word! Maybe the pdf format is safier?
What do you think about it?
Ciao,
Crist... See more Here's another question on the subject:
do you send a photo when applying for a job or the beginning of a collaboratin? Do you send it embedded in the CV or as a separate attachment?
I thought about putting it inthe CV but I was afraid the file might get mesed up in unpredictable ways when the other party tries to read it. I on't whant to loose a job becouse of Word! Maybe the pdf format is safier?
What do you think about it?
Ciao,
Cristina ▲ Collapse
| | | | Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
Germany
Local time: 00:20
English to German
+ ...
| Fare una bella figura | Feb 2, 2009 |
carly wrote: After ten years of teaching, the one thing I miss in this job is face-to-face contact with people. I often wonder what certain PMs etc.. - who I only talk to on the phone or via email - actually look like. Charlie Bavington wrote:
I should maybe add "yet", because I think one will in the none too distant.
I know the forum is postively panting to know what I look like....
I don't work in your language pair Charlie, but having read some of your posts on the forum, I'm dying to see what you look like! So go on...put me out of my misery...(!)
That outburst aside, on a practical level I often feel that in a country such as Italy, where such importance is attached to looks (particularly where women are concerned), the anonymity of translating probably works in many peoples' favour.
Looking put together, comfortable and confident: bella figura.
Flip-flops and shorts in town during the week: brutta figura.
http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2006/04/27/Opinions/Office.Hours.Una.Bella.Figura-1879537.shtml
Whenever I do a translation "voglio fare una bella figura" (it is not sex-specific)
Best,
Aniello
PS: Claiming that "For Italians, it's everything" is nonsonse.
Probably the author had too many grappas when he wrote the last sentence.
| | | | | No photo in CV or résumé | Feb 2, 2009 |
Cristina Lo Bianco wrote:
Here's another question on the subject:
do you send a photo when applying for a job or the beginning of a collaboratin? Do you send it embedded in the CV or as a separate attachment?
Cristina
Nerver have, probably never will. It's never been part of British business culture (although some companies may well request a photo), so I've never even considered doing it.
| | |
|
|
|
Cristina Lo Bianco wrote:
do you send a photo when applying for a job or the beginning of a collaboration? Do you send it embedded in the CV or as a separate attachment? Maybe the pdf format is safer?
What do you think about it?
I leave the pics in the profiles, though if you are using your CV as a marketing profile I would see no problem with including a picture. If you ever apply for a staff job in the US, however, you must not under any circumstances include a picture.
I only distribute CVs and other materials as PDF to ensure that no manipulation (accidental or otherwise) takes place. It is still possible for deliberate alteration of the data to occur, because I haven't bothered with password protection & the like, but at least it takes some effort.
| | | | Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
Germany
Local time: 00:20
English to German
+ ...
| No CV and no photo!!! | Feb 2, 2009 |
Cristina Lo Bianco wrote:
Here's another question on the subject:
do you send a photo when applying for a job or the beginning of a collaboratin? Do you send it embedded in the CV or as a separate attachment?
I thought about putting it inthe CV but I was afraid the file might get mesed up in unpredictable ways when the other party tries to read it. I on't whant to loose a job becouse of Word! Maybe the pdf format is safier?
What do you think about it?
Ciao,
Cristina
Professional translators should not use a CV!
You are not applying for a permanent job. Just think a little bit.
Yes, always use PDF documents.
| | | |
Aniello Scognamiglio wrote:
Professional translators should not use a CV!
That's what they invented portfolios for. The only information I find is relevant for a potential client is your diplomas and credentials to help establish a minimum competence and a history of what you have translated/reviewed/proofread. Even at that, no need to give a detailed list of your jobs - a summary list does the trick.
In my case, I have a list broken down by subject matter (environment, health and safety, etc.), and each subject matter is broken down by document type (report, manual, website, etc.), with the total wordcount added next to each item. I don't add a separate line for each job - I have a line under the Environment heading for all the reports I've translated, with a total wordcount of 300,000 words. That is usually enough for a potential client to establish that they can trust me with their report translation.
In my case, it all fits onto one page. If potential clients are intrigued by the items, nothing keeps them from asking for more detail.
[Edited at 2009-02-02 18:41 GMT]
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Making the most of my membership | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
| | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
