Negative rating - should I? Thread poster: S_G_C
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S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 19:00
English to Romanian
Before detailing, I confess I accept short, unpaid translation tests. I see them as a challenge, added experience.
I applied to two jobs offered via proz.com for my language combination.
The first one was posted by an Indian company. I performed the required assessment test on April 1st. It covered 5 fields, only 2 of which were my working ones. All 5 were mandatory.
On April 11th, I contacted the company and asked them about my test results. This is what they said:
The tests are still under review and the reviewer team is from the client end so they will let us know the results accordingly.
For now, the project is on hold and our project team is still in discussion with the client for final approval.
Needless to say, they didn't contact me anymore, like, at all.
The second one is recent, barely 2 days old. The company is located in the US. They insisted we communicate via whatsapp. I did so, pointing out I had already sent the necessary documents via their official website. They read the messages but didn't bother to answer, like, not a single word. They didn't confirm the receipt of the documents either.
Such attitudes following a job posting drive me mad. I am struggling emotionally and financially, have been for 6 months now, and every new deception just deepens the pit for me.
Should I use the Blue Board to make an entry?
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 18:00
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Sorana_M. wrote:
Should I use the Blue Board to make an entry?
You can only make a Blue Board entry if you have done a paid job for the agency, and if they did not complain about the quality of your translation shortly after. Unfortunately, you can't make Blue Board entries for unpaid test translations nor for lack of professionalism before you have done any work for them. There is little you can do about clients how behave unprofessionally or unethically. It comes with the territory.
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If you didn't hear back from a potential client, it's safe to assume that you didn't get the job. Of course, it also annoys me when outsourcers don't bother to reply, but nothing obliges them to send a reply to all applicants and I do understand that in some cases (hundreds of answers) this would be rather cumbersome.
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 18:00
French to English
Sorana, I'm sorry but this is all par for the course. I once posted a job here when working as a project manager and I was inundated with offers, we had to take the posting down after only a couple of hours. I only contacted a few of the translators whose offer actually corresponded to our posting. It would have taken hours to answer everyone, it's just not feasible.
The best attitude is to simply forget about the offer you sent. That way you're not disappointed when you don't hear... See more Sorana, I'm sorry but this is all par for the course. I once posted a job here when working as a project manager and I was inundated with offers, we had to take the posting down after only a couple of hours. I only contacted a few of the translators whose offer actually corresponded to our posting. It would have taken hours to answer everyone, it's just not feasible.
The best attitude is to simply forget about the offer you sent. That way you're not disappointed when you don't hear back, and if ever you do hear back, well it'll be a pleasant surprise.
I'm a successful translator, and I only ever got a handful of jobs here despite applying to almost anything that fits my profile. 99.9% of my work has come from elsewhere, mostly from people I've met, and former colleagues from the agency who I've kept in contact with on LinkedIn, so I suggest you try other avenues to market your service. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Unfortunately there is no point | May 2, 2023 |
The two agencies you describe have behaved in the same way as dozens of others. It is nothing personal, whether that is any comfort or not. Over the years, I have sent my CV out dozens of times, and also done tests, but never heard any more from most agencies. They are not obliged to send work, and may not have time to send many replies to everyone who applies, although it is bad manners. If they were reported for that kind of thing, it would be impossible to tell which were the real scammers an... See more The two agencies you describe have behaved in the same way as dozens of others. It is nothing personal, whether that is any comfort or not. Over the years, I have sent my CV out dozens of times, and also done tests, but never heard any more from most agencies. They are not obliged to send work, and may not have time to send many replies to everyone who applies, although it is bad manners. If they were reported for that kind of thing, it would be impossible to tell which were the real scammers and bad payers, and which were OK when they send work.
Just occasionally, an agency has come back again months or even years later. They say they do not have much work in my language pairs, which may be true, but there is no way of knowing. They will certainly not come back if you complain about them publicly.
I have an idea of how you feel - I have been through some black holes myself. I hope you soon find a way out, even if you can't see it right now.
Sometimes I have wished I could report an agency, when I have seen through them and pulled out before agreeing to work for them. It is against the rules, however, so I simply have to hope others will not fall into the trap.
It may be for legal reasons, but this is only my guess. If you are referring to a specific job and course of events around it, then you have evidence, and the agency can reply. Without that, sooner or later there will be misunderstandings or unjustified accusations. It would be all to easy to give an agency a bad reputation which they did not deserve.
There are good agencies and customers around too, so I really hope you find some. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Don’t take it personally | May 2, 2023 |
Kay Denney wrote:
The best attitude is to simply forget about the offer you sent. That way you're not disappointed when you don't hear back, and if ever you do hear back, well it'll be a pleasant surprise.
I couldn’t agree more with this statement.
Because I believe that the scenario you just described is what happens 98% of the time to 98% of us.
So you really shouldn’t take it personally.
I am not saying that this is right just because it is what happens most often. I am simply observing that this is how it goes, in my opinion.
Also, I don’t know if it is my device, but may I respectfully suggest that you double-check your Biography section, because the fonts and the layout seem to be uneven.
And consider adding some more details and features to your profile?
I once kindly received very helpful advice from a few members of this forum I am very grateful to, and I can confirm that working on our profile’s appearance can make a little difference.
I am not implying that any of this played any part in those agencies’ unpleasant behaviour - I actually do not think it did as, like I said, I believe that this is just the so-called “norm”.
But it is still something you can take into consideration for future potential clients.
Also, sometimes the job offers we see are for potential jobs that end up never materializing in the first place.
Other times, like others have already pointed out, agencies who apparently ignored us will contact us at a later time for some other project than what we had originally applied for.
Best wishes,
Maria
| | | | S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 19:00
English to Romanian
TOPIC STARTER
Kay Denney wrote:
...so I suggest you try other avenues to market your service.
I've tried everything my mind (and other people's minds, for that matter) could think of.
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S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 19:00
English to Romanian
TOPIC STARTER | How many times? | May 3, 2023 |
Kay Denney wrote:
The best attitude is to simply forget about the offer you sent. That way you're not disappointed when you don't hear back, and if ever you do hear back, well it'll be a pleasant surprise.
How many times before you feel like choking somebody? 'Cause I'm dealing with hundreds right now.
| | | | S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 19:00
English to Romanian
TOPIC STARTER
Maria G. Grassi, M.A. wrote:
Also, I don’t know if it is my device, but may I respectfully suggest that you double-check your Biography section, because the fonts and the layout seem to be uneven.
And consider adding some more details and features to your profile?
Best wishes,
Maria
I edited it several times so maybe it just wasn't saved right. Or maybe the way it appears varies with the device...
Details and features, what does this mean?
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:00
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Sorana_M. wrote: Kay Denney wrote:
The best attitude is to simply forget about the offer you sent. That way you're not disappointed when you don't hear back, and if ever you do hear back, well it'll be a pleasant surprise.
How many times before you feel like choking somebody? 'Cause I'm dealing with hundreds right now.
Since you enjoy doing free tests (your words), you could potentially be dealing with thousands. Free test offers are all around.
And you won't have access to the Blue Board until you have done an actual paid job.
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 12:00
Japanese to English
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You could try DGB Romanian Translation Services located in the UK. This should be a source of work. Hopefully my post will not be censured. Good luck.
Michael Newton
| | | | S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 19:00
English to Romanian
TOPIC STARTER
Maria G. Grassi, M.A. wrote:
I mean filling out more fields, adding links or colours…it is hard to determine how much of a difference it really makes, but it surely won’t cause any harm either.
Maria
I've been with proz.com for so long and I never knew I could use colours. I can't even see a corresponding option.
As for "more fields", I thought that was not wise, unless experience can genuinely be proven...
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