Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires? Thread poster: Katrin Hoelscher
| Katrin Hoelscher Germany Local time: 05:25 Member (2020) English to German + ...
Hi everyone, so it happened again. I got contacted by an agency who said they'd found my profile and found it interesting and wondered if I was at all interested in a collaboration. Well, yes, I'm always interested in a (good) collaboration. So they ask me to fill out a loooong questionnaire with all my personal details as well as what fields would I like to translate in, and rate myself in the respective field from 1 (expert) to 4 (basic skills) and then of course, my rate pe... See more Hi everyone, so it happened again. I got contacted by an agency who said they'd found my profile and found it interesting and wondered if I was at all interested in a collaboration. Well, yes, I'm always interested in a (good) collaboration. So they ask me to fill out a loooong questionnaire with all my personal details as well as what fields would I like to translate in, and rate myself in the respective field from 1 (expert) to 4 (basic skills) and then of course, my rate per word and my hourly rate. So it all looks quite professional and I comply and they get back to me saying it all sounds very interesting to them, but could I agree to a (much!) lower rate (I quote: Regarding the rates, we work for global translation agencies and we have a very limited leeway.). I say "no", they come back to me with a slightly higher rate, but still a lot lower than what I usually work for. So I'm new to the freelancer business and even though I won't complain because there have been a lot of jobs coming my way and I thought it would be a lot harder to make contacts, I still thought that it couldn't hurt to have one low price agency for times with less volume from the nice agencies . So I agreed to the low rate. Next thing they want is a short test translation. Okay, sure, we need to prove that we are capable... (next time I hire someone to paint my house, I'll ask them to paint one wall for free first, so I can get an impression of their work ). So I agree to a short test translation. It turns out to be three excerpts of highly scientific content (IFU, clinical trial, White Paper), word volume almost 800 words. And nothing I can "just translate", but something that actually needs research - I may be a pharmacist, but I'm not a surgeon, and not an oncologist, so for a good translation, I have to look stuff up. So now I'm wondering - is this quite extensive translation test worth it? Long story short - to save yourselves from being in the pickle I find myself in with this translation test - do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires? Thanks in advance Katrin ▲ Collapse | | | Jan Willem van Dormolen (X) Netherlands Local time: 05:25 English to Dutch + ...
Of course I ask about rates. In fact, when an agency approaches me, my first reply is always something along the lines: "Thank you for your message. I would be interested in a collaboration, but to save both you and me time and effort, please confirm that you will be willing to pay my rates of €0.12/sw for translation, €45/h for review, €25 minimum charge." More often than not, I never hear from them again. | | | Agnes Fatrai Germany Local time: 05:25 Member (2018) Chinese to German + ... I do not ask them, I tell them | Mar 18, 2021 |
Dear Katrin, In order to avoid superfluous work, I have meanwhile taken to informing the agency of my rates in advance and asking if they are still interested. Some never get in touch again, but I can do without them. | | | Eva Stoppa Germany Local time: 05:25 English to German + ... To rely to qour question | Mar 18, 2021 |
No. I give them my rates first and if theirs are significantly lower than mine, bye-bye, bye bye bye. 800 words are also far too much for an unpaid Translation test. I don't do them anymore. If they contacted you, they somehow must have been convinced that you are a good fit. | |
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Katrin Hoelscher Germany Local time: 05:25 Member (2020) English to German + ... TOPIC STARTER Thank you all... | Mar 18, 2021 |
...for your valuable input. This is exactly what I'll definitely do from now on - and I also think I'm going to tell this agency bye-bye (maybe they'll find someone else to do their test). Thanks again!
[Edited at 2021-03-18 10:51 GMT] | | | Dan Lucas United Kingdom Local time: 04:25 Member (2014) Japanese to English
Katrin Hoelscher wrote: Long story short - to save yourselves from being in the pickle I find myself in with this translation test - do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires? If you don't, you'll end up wasting time registering with lots of agencies who have no intention of accepting your rates. By the way, you're not "asking" them: you are negotiating to find out what is mutually acceptable. There may be room for compromise on both sides, but they don't control the interaction. So, yes, start that process very early on. [EDIT All the more so because your qualifications should put you in a strong position.] Some will try to twist and turn and get out of it: they're usually the ones with something to hide. In other words, they are the agencies with rates that are so low that the agencies themselves are well aware that most candidates will not accept them. I take the same approach with NDAs and SLAs. Last year a well-known LSP approached me about working with them. They wanted me to do a test before they would give me sight of the agreements they wanted me to sign. That is, they wanted me to commit the time and effort of the (unpaid) test without knowing whether the terms of the agreements were acceptable or not. I suspect this was in part a psychological ploy intended to get me invested in the process so that I would be less likely to refuse to sign the documents. Instead I withdrew my interest. You will not be surprised to learn that this was a very large US firm... Regards, Dan
[Edited at 2021-03-18 10:47 GMT] | | | Katrin Hoelscher Germany Local time: 05:25 Member (2020) English to German + ... TOPIC STARTER Thank you Dan, | Mar 18, 2021 |
that is probably one of the points I still have to learn and work on: I'm not asking, I'm negotiating. I'm qualified, and my translations are worth every cent/penny! Thank you | | | Jan Willem van Dormolen (X) Netherlands Local time: 05:25 English to Dutch + ... There is a name for this | Mar 18, 2021 |
Dan Lucas wrote: I suspect this was in part a psychological ploy intended to get me invested in the process so that I would be less likely to refuse to sign the documents. Instead I withdrew my interest. You will not be surprised to learn that this was a very large US firm... This is called 'the sunk cost fallacy' - the mistake people make to continue with something bad, just because they have already invested so much time and effort in it. There's a Dutch saying: "Beter ten halve gekeerd dan ten hele gedwaald" - it's better to turn around halfway then to get lost all the way | |
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Jan Willem van Dormolen (X) Netherlands Local time: 05:25 English to Dutch + ... Test too long | Mar 18, 2021 |
Eva Stoppa wrote: 800 words are also far too much for an unpaid Translation test. Definitely agree here. 250-300 is reasonable, but anything over that is just not on. | | |
You are asking yourself the right questions. If you get no access to a discussion about rates before doing the paperwork, the chances are you will be wasting your time. The first question is that this also takes time for them, so if they are bothering, there is a reason. The most simple one is that your profile is indeed a good match and you may indeed receive offers from them. This could be the start of a beautiful (business) relationships! Who knows?! There are some ... See more You are asking yourself the right questions. If you get no access to a discussion about rates before doing the paperwork, the chances are you will be wasting your time. The first question is that this also takes time for them, so if they are bothering, there is a reason. The most simple one is that your profile is indeed a good match and you may indeed receive offers from them. This could be the start of a beautiful (business) relationships! Who knows?! There are some excellent agencies out there, providing interesting work, respecting the professional upon who they rely to do the work and without which they would have no business. Then there are the others. Some of these "others" track down freelancers who may have the profile type they need to have on their registers in order to bid for big contracts. No contract, no further contact. Contract won, the possibility of them contacting you, but not necessarily. They may simply be playing a numbers game. ▲ Collapse | | | Kevin Fulton United States Local time: 23:25 German to English Rates upfront | Mar 18, 2021 |
If an agency isn't interested in paying my rates, I'm not interested in working for them, and I'm not interested in a lot of negotiation, either. I have found that agencies requiring a lot of paperwork upfront also require it down the road. For a while I took on both editing and translation tasks for a an agency with a good Blueboard rating, mainly editing because I suspect that my translation rates were higher than what others were getting. I had to submit the completed edits to both the PM and... See more If an agency isn't interested in paying my rates, I'm not interested in working for them, and I'm not interested in a lot of negotiation, either. I have found that agencies requiring a lot of paperwork upfront also require it down the road. For a while I took on both editing and translation tasks for a an agency with a good Blueboard rating, mainly editing because I suspect that my translation rates were higher than what others were getting. I had to submit the completed edits to both the PM and their Plunet system, with a QA report going to yet a third recipient. The net effect was that I was spending more time reporting the work than actually doing the work. Plus I often had to chase them for payment ("our accounting assistant quit" "had a baby" "is on vacation") so I was making less than minimum wage, given the time expenditure. ▲ Collapse | | | Katrin Hoelscher Germany Local time: 05:25 Member (2020) English to German + ... TOPIC STARTER Thank you Nikki | Mar 18, 2021 |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote: Some of these "others" track down freelancers who may have the profile type they need to have on their registers in order to bid for big contracts. No contract, no further contact. Contract won, the possibility of them contacting you, but not necessarily. They may simply be playing a numbers game. That is a concept I hadn‘t thought of. Interesting, yet sad to know. You learn something new every day! | |
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Aakash5555 India Local time: 08:55 Member (2014) English to Hindi + ... It depends upon company | Mar 18, 2021 |
If company is registered on Proz, then I check its rating and don't ask. If it's some new company then I first ask rate and other terms. | | | Exactly what Jan Willem says | Mar 18, 2021 |
It saves a lot of troubles to state your rate from the start. Of course you'll face rejection a lot (the majority of the time, actually), but it would be even worse if it came after a test and days of waiting. | | | State your terms | Mar 19, 2021 |
If I'm approached by an agency that starts reeling off a list of forms, questionnaires, etc., I tell them it's not my policy to spend time on a lot of paperwork unless there is a specific job on the table: so is there, or isn't there? I also tell them my rates and payment terms. If they choose not to proceed after that, that's fine by me. | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Do you ask agencies about their rates before filling out all their questionnaires? Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
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