It is perhaps little known, translators are often overlooked and under-appreciated when we think of the entire translation process. They are the unseen writers, editors, and linguists who toil away helping to make sense of the thoughts, ideas, and expressions written one language and translated into another. They are, perhaps, the unsung heroes of a plethora of literary works (many of which are known throughout the entire world), technical documents, as well as important business agreements worth millions.
With that in mind, we would like to offer some helpful advice to the independent and freelancing translator, proofreader, as well as editor, that reach out to other translation companies by sending their CV or resumes, or respond to the job openings that are occasionally posted on various employment websites found throughout the web.
1) Please be as specific as possible when addressing the recipient of the e-mail, ensuring to outline the important facts and details about yourself or the purpose for which you are contacting us, in a straightforward and concise manner.
2) Do not ignore detailed instructions given on how to best contact a project manager or vendor manager, by thinking that because you call the agency's office that your resume will be seen or given top priority. On the contrary, most translation companies do not want to be contacted by service providers by phone. Please do not call us to offer your services; An e-mail or responding to a job posting, in the manner in which is asked, is the preferred method of communication. Unless you are calling because you would like to know the status of your outstanding invoices, and you are calling to remind us of an overdue amount that is owed, e-mail is quicker and more convenient than the sound of a phone that is ringing, while the project manager or vendor manager is in the middle of an important task.
3) Do not inflate or exaggerate your abilities. As the old saying goes, honesty is the best policy. When you possess the right skills and requirements, any attempt at overselling yourself is unpleasant and a turn-off to the receiver, and rarely receives positive feedback in return. Hint: Do not claim to be able to translate 10K words in less than 24 hours when in reality you can only translate 3000 words, even if there was that one time when you managed to squeeze out 7000 words because the project was "URGENT!". It is our opinion that is always better to give a "ballpark figure" than too claim too a high a number. Within the translation industry, and in most cases, quality trumps quantity. We are unaware of any project manager that takes joy in receiving a translation of 6K words, full of errors and mistranslated terms, which will only lead to having to re-assign the project to another translator, delays, and an awful business relationship between the translator and the translation company.
4) Do not undersell yourself. In our opinion, (and judging by recent experience) it is far more displeasing and disheartening to receive an offer for the provision of translation services which undersells the translator's potential than to receive one that overstates the translator's skills and abilities. As previously stated, honesty is the best policy. If you are in possession of a certain skill set or knowledge and it is pertinent to the matter at hand, perhaps you should consider mentioning it -- Just make sure to leave out all the "bragging" which may or may not be well deserved.
A second point that we would like to make about underselling -- and one that is usually a very sensitive one -- is on the topic about rates. Most people reading this, are well aware about the laws of supply and demand. When the supply of a certain type of product is service is more than demand, more often than not prices come down. However, there also exists the matter of undercutting the competition by advertising your services for a price that is far below the going rate. Perhaps not everyone will agree with us on this point, however, cheaper isn't always better, and receiving a valuable service that is worth a certain price at a lower and/or discounted rate isn't always better. It sometimes leaves an undesirable aftertaste, which may sometimes leave you wondering "why?".
As service providers (translation companies included) we must ensure not to undersell our services in the attempt to chase that next Dollar, British Pound, Russian Ruble, (or whatever currency you gladly accept). In economics, nations usually declare economic warfare among each other by trying to outdo the other by making their currencies more attractive to potential investors, businesses, and other stakeholders, by sometimes deflating the value of their currency to foolish rates, which in the end, causes economic stress on everyone. Let us not do that to ourselves or to our industry. We must all take stock of our skills, our abilities and true worth, so that in doing so, we will know what our clients are willing to pay in order to obtain the skill set or service we possess.
Sometimes receiving an offer of 0.08-0.11 a word is preferable to the offer of 0.035 per word promised at lightning speed. Not to be offensive toward are readers, however, what are some of you running? A business or a translation sweat shop, running yourselves ragged, to the point where you will be useless to yourselves, your clients, and those in your life that may depend on you? We must remember that there is always a happy medium to everything. Extremism is rarely a good thing.
5) Making Demands -- Unless there exists an oral or written contract between us, let's skip over the part where we demand something from the other and jump right to the negotiating table where we can calmly, and with care and precision, spell out all of the terms on which we can agree, in order to proceed with delivering the products and services that the public expect from us. Do you agree or disagree with our suggestions? Can you come up with some tips and suggestions that you think we might have missed? Comment below!
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