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Poll: What's the maximum number of projects you have rejected on one day?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Karen Stokes
Karen Stokes  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:44
Member (2003)
French to English
Better to reject than to rush Sep 12, 2007

I've spent way too much time revising text after text from a single translator where the quality gets worse and worse and you know from the volume that they've just taken on too much in too short a time. So much better to say 'no' to make sure you maintain your quality - and as Nicole says, deadlines can be remarkably elastic when challenged.

[Edited at 2007-09-12 06:15]


 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 21:44
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Fridays Sep 12, 2007

Like all other answerers, I have to "reject" jobs occasionally because I'm only one person and there's a limit to how much even *I* can do in a day. Quite often this happens on Fridays - several clients ring with urgent jobs wanted for Monday. Whenever I can I accept jobs for good, regular clients, but sometimes it's just not possible (e.g. if I'm already up to my neck in work or even dare to go away for the weekend). In such cases, I request an extension of the deadline or suggest a colleagu... See more
Like all other answerers, I have to "reject" jobs occasionally because I'm only one person and there's a limit to how much even *I* can do in a day. Quite often this happens on Fridays - several clients ring with urgent jobs wanted for Monday. Whenever I can I accept jobs for good, regular clients, but sometimes it's just not possible (e.g. if I'm already up to my neck in work or even dare to go away for the weekend). In such cases, I request an extension of the deadline or suggest a colleague. What is it with Fridays?
We all know the situation, I'm sure.
Regards,
Jenny.
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DR Maryam Taghavi
DR Maryam Taghavi  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:44
English to Persian (Farsi)
+ ...
I did reject, but the clients were usually persistent! Sep 12, 2007

Hi.

I did reject jobs before, but the clients were usaually persistent. So, now I simply explain my situation for them and they extend their deadline.

Kind Regards

Maryam


 
Sophie Dzhygir
Sophie Dzhygir  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:44
German to French
+ ...
Depends on your client... Sep 12, 2007

Ali Al awadi wrote:

For some clients, a "reject"ion and that's it would sound hard.
Maybe you're talking about direct clients?
What I noticed is that many freelancers feel guilty all the time when they have to reject jobs, including jobs from agencies. But this is just because they know very few about the market and the way an agency works. An agency will never be offended because you can't take on a job, they know it's the rule of the game. And in case they are offended, then I'd rather not work with them, it's very unprofessional FROM THEM!

As for the poll, I often rejected more than 4 jobs a day, especially in my previous in-house job. Rejecting jobs never caused a client to go away or to give less jobs in the future, they always came back and were very happy.


 
Nicole Schnell
Nicole Schnell  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:44
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Ahem. Sep 12, 2007

Sophie Dzhygir wrote:

But this is just because they know very few about the market and the way an agency works.


Are you suuure?

Better: Maybe it's because freelancers are business owners themselves and know all too well how it feels to be stood up.

Good one.


 
Sophie Dzhygir
Sophie Dzhygir  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:44
German to French
+ ...
I meant... Sep 12, 2007

Nicole Schnell wrote:

Sophie Dzhygir wrote:

But this is just because they know very few about the market and the way an agency works.


Are you suuure?

Better: Maybe it's because freelancers are business owners themselves and know all too well how it feels to be stood up.
...after what I can read in these forums, many (not all of course!) translators are just scared about negociating a price or a deadline, say nothing about refusing a job. ;o)

But I don't understand your second point. As far as I understand, stand somebody up means you don't do something you've committed to. But refusing a job is not breaking a commitment (except if you have made an agreement in advance with the agency that you will accept all their jobs - but I think it's not the general case we are discussing here).


 
Jocelyne S
Jocelyne S  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:44
French to English
+ ...
Agencies versus direct clients Sep 12, 2007

I think that there is quite a difference between agencies and direct clients. When I started translating I worked mostly with the former, but gradually I have shifted towards primarily working with direct clients and I do handle things differently.

If the requested deadline is not feasible or negotiable, I frequently refuse jobs from agencies and have never had any "loyalty" problems. When I agree to a job, I deliver on time; when I am too busy to accept, I decline. When an agency i
... See more
I think that there is quite a difference between agencies and direct clients. When I started translating I worked mostly with the former, but gradually I have shifted towards primarily working with direct clients and I do handle things differently.

If the requested deadline is not feasible or negotiable, I frequently refuse jobs from agencies and have never had any "loyalty" problems. When I agree to a job, I deliver on time; when I am too busy to accept, I decline. When an agency is happy, they generally come back as they know what to expect. They understand that I am not at their beck and call; I know that they have a list of other translators in my language pairs and that my refusal is not going to ruin their day.

On the other hand, things are somewhat different with my direct clients. In my experience, deadlines are a bit suppler and projects are generally longer. I very rarely have to turn things around within a day, let alone within an hour or two. The "direct" side of things means that I talk with my clients directly. I explain what I've got on the go and how and when we can fit their project in. I very rarely refuse jobs from direct clients - from memory, it’s only happened once as I was going to be on vacation and in that case I suggested another translator I knew and trusted.

Generally, and because the majority of my work comes from them, I do tend to prioritise direct clients ahead of the agencies with whom I work. As others have mentioned, we are translators and not machines. Very exceptional circumstances aside, my workday ends when I want it to and does not impede on my private life or sleep time.

That said, the bottom line in any case is when a deadline is agreed to, it is respected; when a project can't be done well, don't agree to it.
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Ikram Mahyuddin
Ikram Mahyuddin  Identity Verified
Indonesia
Local time: 04:44
English to Indonesian
+ ...
Once or twice per year Sep 12, 2007

As far as I remember, I only reject jobs (English-Indonesian translations) once or twice per year. Actually I need more jobs.

 
Lisa Roberts
Lisa Roberts  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:44
Spanish to English
+ ...
When it rains, it pours... Sep 12, 2007

"Seems as if when it rains it pours"

Indeed...I seem to have extremely unfortunate timing...this week is manic and yesterday had to turn down a job offer - naturally better paid than the one I had already accepted


 
Nikki Graham
Nikki Graham  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:44
Spanish to English
Rejected four today already Sep 12, 2007

Because the deadline was imposible (for me) to meet as I'm already busy. It would have been five, but it appears at least one of the jobs was not that urgent after all.

 
Angela Dickson (X)
Angela Dickson (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:44
French to English
+ ...
either 4+ or nothing Sep 12, 2007

I've been having a real 'feast and famine' experience recently - very quiet August, and now as the French come back from holiday they suddenly find all the texts they meant to send for translation before they went away... so I checked the '4+' option but that doesn't mean I'm turning down that amount of work all the time.

If I have time I'll try and find someone else to recommend, and I have a small list of people I recommend consistently, but sometimes I don't even have time for th
... See more
I've been having a real 'feast and famine' experience recently - very quiet August, and now as the French come back from holiday they suddenly find all the texts they meant to send for translation before they went away... so I checked the '4+' option but that doesn't mean I'm turning down that amount of work all the time.

If I have time I'll try and find someone else to recommend, and I have a small list of people I recommend consistently, but sometimes I don't even have time for that.
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Ali Al awadi
Ali Al awadi  Identity Verified
Türkiye
English to Arabic
+ ...
Scared! :???: Sep 12, 2007

Sophie Dzhygir wrote:

many (not all of course!) translators are just scared about negociating a price or a deadline, say nothing about refusing a job. ;o)
But this is just because they know very few about the market and the way an agency works.



Hadn't freelancers (me included) understood the rules of the game, they would have nibbed their profession in the bud.
Helping good/repeat clients out is a main rule of thumb; (Well, at least for me and it never means being scared of losing the clients).

If you were one of those clients/project managers who would consider our helping hand a sign of being scared, rest reassured that you would get no reply other than "Sorry, not available", if any:-) .


I believe the poll gist holds good for freelancers (us) rather than in-house full-timers.

Moreover, why to feel guilty if I just apply the ABC of the Code of Communication Conduct (Again, at least mine )


Every now and then, to refuse a good client's offer wouldn't be good for me in the long run
(At least me . If I can help a client out, I will never hesitate.)

It doesnt necessarily mean to burn yourself out or the candle at both ends.

Regards
Ali


 
TrueBaller
TrueBaller  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:44
Albanian to English
+ ...
1 maximum Sep 12, 2007

So far.... I would feel so guilty if I rejected more than one. Adding new deadlines adds up to my stress level but what can I do other than try to work harder if this is what I chose to do?

 
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Poll: What's the maximum number of projects you have rejected on one day?






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