| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | Being competitive without experience Thread poster: Quentin NEVEN
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| "Growing" doesn't mean much to you | Jan 26 |
Quentin NEVEN wrote:
Many people believe there is no future for this industry, some point out that it's actually growing.
The shoe industry is growing too, but workers are paid less on the total and per unit. Figure out whether the money is the best you can do with your life. You're not getting younger, every month that passes is officially empty in your resume, you're not getting valuable training or education either. Or you can just have it in the side as part-time occasional gig, which is a great option.
| | | | Quentin NEVEN 
Belgium
Local time: 08:40
Member (Jan 2024)
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | A lot of traffic on this post, it's amazing! | Jan 26 |
Hello,
Thanks for your words of encouragement! It really helps being part of a community as working from home all alone can be daunting sometimes...
Here's an update: I decided to get a mentor on Proz.com. We'll start collaborating next week. I do believe it was the right call!
To Mr Kritikakis: Yes, you are raising a good question. What does a "growing industry" mean exactly for the workers? I am only one month in. It's not possible for me to answer at ... See more Hello,
Thanks for your words of encouragement! It really helps being part of a community as working from home all alone can be daunting sometimes...
Here's an update: I decided to get a mentor on Proz.com. We'll start collaborating next week. I do believe it was the right call!
To Mr Kritikakis: Yes, you are raising a good question. What does a "growing industry" mean exactly for the workers? I am only one month in. It's not possible for me to answer at this point.
However, I disagree with the "empty months" part for several reasons:
- I am learning the value of networking
- I am currently learning the basics of marketing
- I am interested in copywriting, both to build my brand but also as a means to offer additional services
- I am improving my resume and my communication skills
- I am learning how to manage my budget and stick to it
- I am also learning how to be more efficient with my time since it's my most important resource at the moment (this is the thing I struggle with the most at the moment)
- I am learning how to write compelling articles to increase my visibility on the Internet
I do not think any of this is useless!
However, as mentioned, I do not manage my time very well. I spend too much time planning and learning to the detriment of doing... From next Monday on, I will devote 40% of my time to improving my marketing abilities (which are close to 0 right now, let's be honest), 50% building a valuable portfolio and 10% networking.
We'll see how it goes. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | "Don't worry be happy" | Jan 26 |
Quentin NEVEN wrote:
However, I disagree with the "empty months" part for several reasons:
I'm talking "no employment" periods in your resume. Watching marketing YouTube vids or reading books is nothing in a resume. But the good news is that you don't sound under pressing financial obligations, the French translation market is large with huge volumes & good rates, you don't sound too ambitious, therefore you won't be disappointed. Good luck!
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 08:40
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| employees vs freelancers | Jan 26 |
Lefteris Kritikakis wrote:
every month that passes is officially empty in your resume
This is an EMPLOYMENT bias. As a FREELANCER you actually rarely need a resume in the classical sense (and this is true in more and more branches even for employees). So the "gap" argument is no argument here.
Should you be responsible for hiring freelancers in an agency, you are looking at the wrong thing to evaluate them if you are fixed on "gaps" and "uninterrupted track of working experiences". Even when looking for employees. The world of work has massively changed.
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| Why are we arguing on the basics? | Jan 26 |
Zea_Mays wrote: This is an EMPLOYMENT bias. As a FREELANCER you...
But this is what I meant, since many translators have been looking for traditional 9-5 lately, and they lack real-life connections (LinkedIn etc. is nonsense). "Working from home without proof of full-time work" doesn't look good. A plumber can claim translation work for 10 years and I'd have no way of proving or disproving it, other than tax returns with the names of 1099 issuers and income large enough to justify full time status. Otherwise, you're stuck with "part-time translation gig from home", which sounds like a college student resume.
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Lefteris Kritikakis wrote: Zea_Mays wrote: This is an EMPLOYMENT bias. As a FREELANCER you... But this is what I meant, since many translators have been looking for traditional 9-5 lately, and they lack real-life connections (LinkedIn etc. is nonsense). "Working from home without proof of full-time work" doesn't look good. A plumber can claim translation work for 10 years and I'd have no way of proving or disproving it, other than tax returns with the names of 1099 issuers and income large enough to justify full time status. Otherwise, you're stuck with "part-time translation gig from home", which sounds like a college student resume.
It's a valid point because people do go from freelancing back into employment and you don't have a demonstrable career structure to put on your CV. But if you become good at selling yourself and networking that will stand you in good stead, and freelance translators have many valuable transferrable skills.
| | | | | Nothing concrete in a modern resume | Jan 27 |
Rachel Waddington wrote: ... translators have many valuable transferrable skills.
Internet networking is like "facebook friends". Translators have imaginary transferable skills, nothing concrete. You can't write "great team-working" in a modern resume, they'll be laughing. But if you write "Expert in Python, Java, and $17M sales at ABC Inc." (concrete, specific, profitable), they'll call you. All former translators I know got only entry-level jobs elsewhere. The market considers translations a "college period gig". Because we are invisible to the public.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 08:40
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| you are an employee | Jan 27 |
Lefteris Kritikakis wrote: Zea_Mays wrote: This is an EMPLOYMENT bias. As a FREELANCER you... But this is what I meant, since many translators have been looking for traditional 9-5 lately, and they lack real-life connections (LinkedIn etc. is nonsense). "Working from home without proof of full-time work" doesn't look good. A plumber can claim translation work for 10 years and I'd have no way of proving or disproving it, other than tax returns with the names of 1099 issuers and income large enough to justify full time status. Otherwise, you're stuck with "part-time translation gig from home", which sounds like a college student resume.
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Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 08:40
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| we live in the 21th century | Jan 27 |
Lefteris Kritikakis wrote:
if you write "Expert in Python, Java, " ..., they'll call you.
Exactly. But you're not going to write "$17 million in sales at ABC Inc." as you suggest. That would sound dubious (how you'll proof this? Are you allowed to share such internal information? What light does this reflect on you?) and wouldn't be very impressive.
Companies don't care any longer if you took a year off or more, if you "did nothing" for a few weeks or months - which you wouldn't even need to mention in your resume. If you prove to be good, they will use your services.
The same goes for employees - skills count more than "perfect" resumes these days.
So, as a freelancer, you won't write "great teamwork" or give details about your family, but you will tell what your specific areas of work are, how long you have been in those fields, you'll list what you've worked on, in what fields, the volumes, what translations of yours have been published, what pro bono work you've done, you'll provide letters of recommendation, and so on. Good style in all this is a plus.
NO ONE will ask for a resume stating what you have done each month or even year of your life.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-01-27 09:22 GMT]
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Lefteris Kritikakis wrote:
"Working from home without proof of full-time work" doesn't look good. A plumber can claim translation work for 10 years and I'd have no way of proving or disproving it.
You have no way of proving or disproving mist other claims on someone’s CV.
The idea that employers are unable to cope with the concept of self-employment is ludicrous.
PS Do you also litter your translations with bold and italics?
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 08:40
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
I can’t help but noticing and wondering:
At one point Lefteris dramatically left ProZ by deleting his profile.
He is now back pouring long narratives with gloomy outlooks on a daily basis. If he is so convinced and so sure things on the market are so negative and hopeless, why coming back? Am I the only one confused by this contradictiory actions-narratives?
If I were an employer, this contradictory and childish behaviour would be a huge minus in his CV. ... See more I can’t help but noticing and wondering:
At one point Lefteris dramatically left ProZ by deleting his profile.
He is now back pouring long narratives with gloomy outlooks on a daily basis. If he is so convinced and so sure things on the market are so negative and hopeless, why coming back? Am I the only one confused by this contradictiory actions-narratives?
If I were an employer, this contradictory and childish behaviour would be a huge minus in his CV. Eg. deleting a profile like a 10 year old, then coming back would tell me he was unable to find anything else to do. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Quentin NEVEN
Belgium
Local time: 08:40
Member (Jan 2024)
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Let's not jump to conclusions | Jan 27 |
Well, we should not jump to conclusions.
We do not know why he deleted his Proz.com account.
Maybe he did not need it anymore at some point? Maybe, something personal happened in his life and he had to deal with it? Maybe, he was discouraged...
Nothing wrong with that! It's normal to be discouraged at some point in one's profession. I was discouraged when I saw several pro-translators suggest the industry was dying. I thought I had worked hard at the unive... See more Well, we should not jump to conclusions.
We do not know why he deleted his Proz.com account.
Maybe he did not need it anymore at some point? Maybe, something personal happened in his life and he had to deal with it? Maybe, he was discouraged...
Nothing wrong with that! It's normal to be discouraged at some point in one's profession. I was discouraged when I saw several pro-translators suggest the industry was dying. I thought I had worked hard at the university for nothing! I could not work on my business for three days...
But here I am, and here he is.
Machines do not get discouraged. They operate without feelings involved; that's why they do not do a goob job! Only humans can understand what other humans mean. Language is merely a vessel of something deeper that we, at least at the moment, are the only ones able to understand! We do not operate with words only, but with feelings, intentions, poetry, rythm, puns, ...
There is also nothing wrong with being a bit critical. I imagine he has excellent reasons to feel that way about the industry.
Translation involves a lot of criticism, and that's a good thing. It can contribute to - although not necessarily guarantee- good-quality work.
I am sure it served it well at some point.
(Sorry for the long post) ▲ Collapse
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Lingua 5B wrote:
At one point Lefteris dramatically left ProZ by deleting his profile.
Maybe you should hire a detective and a few paparazzi to follow me around.
| | | | | Objective readers can draw their own conclusions | Jan 27 |
Quentin NEVEN wrote:
Well, we should not jump to conclusions.
Especially with name-calling (who is "we"? sounds like "we against him"... pitchforks?). I never attacked anyone personally. But I received personal attacks with various epithets and even character slander attempts ("childish" etc). Even attempts to "investigate" me (I thought you guys were busy translating and living the dream). Objective readers can draw their own conclusions.
| | | | | Agreeing on the hypothesis, but in practice... | Jan 27 |
Zea_Mays wrote:
The same goes for employees - skills count more than "perfect" resumes these days.
Ok, but where are these skills in your posting? I didn't see any. According to your posting, an employer would say "Great! Whenever we need a translator, we'll give you a call". Dozens of specialties are facing the same problem. A few members here seem to be the only ones denying it, even though compensation has been decreasing 15 years in a row, let alone MT/AI etc.
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