| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Is it worth to send a CV...? Thread poster: Pablo Bouvier
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I believe that today it is not worth to send a usual written CV to an LSP (and in not so big measure to a client) as they receive hundreds of them each day and thousends each month.
I guess we should try to sell us ourselves (and our services) by other means such as guerrilla marketing, video-cv, services brochure, etc.
What do you think about?
According to marketing experts, if you have not gotten the customer's a... See more I believe that today it is not worth to send a usual written CV to an LSP (and in not so big measure to a client) as they receive hundreds of them each day and thousends each month.
I guess we should try to sell us ourselves (and our services) by other means such as guerrilla marketing, video-cv, services brochure, etc.
What do you think about?
According to marketing experts, if you have not gotten the customer's attention in the first 3 seconds, you have lost your opportunity.
What do you think about other means than the traditional written CV will be the best to capture the customer attention in the first 3 seconds?
Thank you for sharing your opinion! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds 
United States
Local time: 21:30
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
The best thing is a referral to a new client from one of your existing satisfied clients. The best way to get that is to satisfy your clients. This works with direct clients; however, if your clients are all agencies, you will probably not get much help.
| | | | | What about giving a website link? | Sep 16, 2010 |
If you have a professional website, it can probably attract more clients and look more serious than just a CV (I am working on my website now).
I don't know about printed marketing material - do you think that the potential clients will put them in the bin as easily as they will delete an email?
QUESTION TO PABLO: what do you mean by "Guerilla Marketing"?
[Edited at 2010-09-16 16:40 GMT]
[Edited at 2010-09-16 16:44 GMT]
| | | | Jaroslaw Michalak
Poland
Local time: 05:30
Member (2004)
English to Polish
SITE LOCALIZER | Less CV, more an offer | Sep 16, 2010 |
From my experience the covering letter is much more important than the "CV". I often attach the latter as the clients keep asking for this, but I suppose it is more habitual than not...
After all, we are service providers, not employees. You do not ask your lawyer about particular details of his education, do you? You are much more interested in the services he can provide you...
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Edward Vreeburg
Netherlands
Local time: 05:30
Member (2008)
English to Dutch
+ ...
| I'm not looking at CV's either | Sep 16, 2010 |
...in fact I am hesitant to send my CV, since you never know how an agency will be using your CV. More shady ones would simply contact all the companies on your resume and offer them lower rates... or forward it to their end-client claiming htey use professional translators, while the actual work is done by cheaper or perhaps even none-native translators...
So, in general, I send a few phrases with my rates and expertise, and a possible deadline, and the products I use if applicable... See more ...in fact I am hesitant to send my CV, since you never know how an agency will be using your CV. More shady ones would simply contact all the companies on your resume and offer them lower rates... or forward it to their end-client claiming htey use professional translators, while the actual work is done by cheaper or perhaps even none-native translators...
So, in general, I send a few phrases with my rates and expertise, and a possible deadline, and the products I use if applicable and a link to my Proz profile....
Most of the time outsources (other agencies) do not read beyond the rate I guess...
Depending on the type of clients you want, a brochure, extremely good cover letter and link to a website is what you need...
Ed ▲ Collapse
| | | | Roy OConnor (X)
Local time: 05:30
German to English
| I think a CV does matter | Sep 16, 2010 |
Contrary to Jabberwock, I think a CV does matter, particularly in the technical field. It helps to show the training and experience you have for the project in question.
My own view is that most work comes from personal recommendations, but it is also well worth having a decent informative website. Mail drops by snail mail are a bit out of date and expensive.
If you have a certain expertise or speciality then you have to emphasise this as far as possible and target your... See more Contrary to Jabberwock, I think a CV does matter, particularly in the technical field. It helps to show the training and experience you have for the project in question.
My own view is that most work comes from personal recommendations, but it is also well worth having a decent informative website. Mail drops by snail mail are a bit out of date and expensive.
If you have a certain expertise or speciality then you have to emphasise this as far as possible and target your communications accordingly. ▲ Collapse
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 06:30
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
| I think CV is not very important | Sep 16, 2010 |
I myself do not like sending my CV. For a simple reason - it contains too much of sensitive personal information and very little information about "what you are as a translator". It is IT age and I think one shall take a lot of care about one's personal info. I know a real-life situation with EU tenders with stolen CVs where several translators did not even know that one company submitted their CVs for the EU tender and these translators were the MAIN ONES (with good, "strong" CVs) for them to W... See more I myself do not like sending my CV. For a simple reason - it contains too much of sensitive personal information and very little information about "what you are as a translator". It is IT age and I think one shall take a lot of care about one's personal info. I know a real-life situation with EU tenders with stolen CVs where several translators did not even know that one company submitted their CVs for the EU tender and these translators were the MAIN ONES (with good, "strong" CVs) for them to WIN THE TENDER...Imagine this...Not even speaking about agencies who get hundreds of CVs a day and who never probably even open them (as noted by Pablo).
If you want to introduce yourself to your possible future clients with a higher level of success, I'd recommend to have a simple, nice website where you can put all (not sensitive) info about who you are, what you do, and your contacts. And simply give the URL to the people who ask for more info about you instead explaining same things to hundreds of people in your emails. A good Resume stating your education and experience in translation (without sensitive personal data) of max a page (no one read all those "Talmuds") can also do. But this info can be put on your website too. And the website WILL pay back. In terms of money you put into it (just several hundred euros max) and it terms of time saved by just copy-pasting your URL link in your proposals to people who are interested.
[Edited at 2010-09-16 18:19 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Pablo Bouvier
Local time: 05:30
German to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | What about giving a website link? | Sep 16, 2010 |
Anna Rioland wrote:
If you have a professional website, it can probably attract more clients and look more serious than just a CV (I am working on my website now).
I don't know about printed marketing material - do you think that the potential clients will put them in the bin as easily as they will delete an email?
Maybe yes, maybe not. If you use some strange or curious printed objects to face your marketing (like by guerrilla marketing), may be the client will be proud to show them to his/her frieds, employees, collaborators, tec..... (see the link below)
Anna Rioland wrote:
QUESTION TO PABLO: what do you mean by "Guerilla Marketing"?
[Edited at 2010-09-16 16:40 GMT]
[Edited at 2010-09-16 16:44 GMT]
Guerrillla marketing is a term coined by Jay Conrad Levinson for the use of unconventional marketing tools used in cases when financial or other resources are limited or non-existent. And I would add "benefiting from already existent objects...".
Take a look here and you will get the idea.
[Edited at 2010-09-16 20:42 GMT]
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Pablo Bouvier
Local time: 05:30
German to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | The best. Yes, but... | Sep 16, 2010 |
Henry Hinds wrote:
The best thing is a referral to a new client from one of your existing satisfied clients. The best way to get that is to satisfy your clients. This works with direct clients; however, if your clients are all agencies, you will probably not get much help.
Hi Henry: I have been using this approach so far. But, at least in Spain, this is no longer enough. And this is also why I am thinking about less common ways to market myself or my services.
[Edited at 2010-09-16 20:50 GMT]
| | | | Sonoko Enami
Japan
Local time: 12:30
Member (2010)
English to Japanese
| CVs are for filing | Sep 17, 2010 |
My take on this is the reason agencies and clients want your CV is often not to decide whether you are a good candidate for the project they have, but to put it in their database as a record.
For example, I've noticed that many potential customers want you to write your rates and turnout per day in your email even though they know the information is included in your CV. And I often find that PMs who contact me later about job opportunities haven't read my CV at all, asking for the ... See more My take on this is the reason agencies and clients want your CV is often not to decide whether you are a good candidate for the project they have, but to put it in their database as a record.
For example, I've noticed that many potential customers want you to write your rates and turnout per day in your email even though they know the information is included in your CV. And I often find that PMs who contact me later about job opportunities haven't read my CV at all, asking for the same information included in my CV.
As mentioned by other people, what you need is an effective cover letter or email which attracts their attention.
As for other possible approaches you can take to get work, one way recommended by many translators is networking among your fellow translators. If you are a member of any translators' associations, you can attend their regular meetings and social get-together events, or just post messages on their mailing lists and forums so that you can tell other members what field you specialize in, and ask them to send you work when they are offered jobs which are not their specialization or their language direction.
In addition, some of the translators of the association I'm a member of are small-scale agents, so I regularly get work from them, even though I don't attend those meetings or events often. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | CV as a requirement | Sep 17, 2010 |
If a client as me for CV, I send to it without expecting a response. I just fulfill the demand. I always find that a new client wants me to fill in their format/questionnaire everything I already have in my CV. That is, my CV attract the client enough to write me again.
Soonthon Lupkitaro
| | | | | Brochure, not CV | Sep 17, 2010 |
I like to send an (electronic) brochure instead of a CV.
It is more colourful, more attractive, looks more professional.
After all, we're not looking for a job, we're selling our services.
And it doesn't take long with photoshop.
(Which makes me think that it's probably time I update my brochure...thanks for the reminder)
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Paula Borges
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:30
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
There's nothing one can do against other people using/forwarding your CV. They can use the content of your CV, brochure or even claim your website is theirs. That is why I like to meet my clients/PMs in person or at least talk to them on the phone whenever possible.
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 06:30
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
I still believe in the good old way of sending a CV to a client. This is because I am not very good at marketing myself any other way, and a CV seems to take care of that. By the way, Europeans call it a CV whereas Americans call it a resume. One should have as many versions of this CV/resume as possible so that the possibility of a "good fit" is increased. I believe I should still work on that.
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wow a brochure! i've never though of this before
Geraldine, you are right, we are not employees looking for work, we are small businesses trying to sell services
| | | | | 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 » Is it worth to send a CV...? | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
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