Poll: What do you do when you have excess work? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What do you do when you have excess work?".
This poll was originally submitted by Elías Sauza
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a n... See more This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What do you do when you have excess work?".
This poll was originally submitted by Elías Sauza
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629 ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Multiple answers | Nov 17, 2005 |
Where should I answer?
Sometimes I have to reject new offers.
But sometimes I subcontract for the original rate, and sometimes I subcontract for a lower rate...
It depends if I can subcontract a colleague and if I can trust him/her enough to offer him/her the original rate.
| | | | Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X) 
Local time: 22:13
| For those who subcontract... | Nov 17, 2005 |
I would be interested in knowing how they manage to ensure the quality of the final product, for which they are responsible... that is, of course, if you are willing to share your experience.
[Edited at 2005-11-17 14:31]
| | | | avsie (X)
Local time: 04:13
English to French
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| When I subcontract... | Nov 17, 2005 |
It's usually the members of my translation team. I have never subcontracted to someone I didn't know and from whom I didn't already have a good idea of the quality of their work.
And I always check/edit the document before delivering to my client.
Marie-Claude
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| Stay up all night! | Nov 17, 2005 |
I have never subcontracted anything--once I accept it, I do it. If I get too many offers, I refer the prospective clients to other translators whom I trust. In my experience, that doesn't necessarily entail losing a client; most understand that I am a human being and appreciate my telling them honestly that I can't take on a new job at the moment and do it well.
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Of course, I only subcontract to translators I know. And like Marie-Claude, I always check the translation before delivering it (even if I have subcontracted at the original rate).
| | | | Rajan Chopra
India
Local time: 07:43
Member (2008)
English to Hindi
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| I reject new offers because | Nov 17, 2005 |
I can't guarantee the quality of job which is got done from some other translator and, if unfortunately, the translation is not upto the mark, I might lose my client for any future projects.
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Mariana Moreira
Portugal
Local time: 03:13
Member (2004)
English to Portuguese
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| Subcontracting | Nov 17, 2005 |
I usually subcontract and in the due course I have managed to create a "team" of good professionals I can rely on. However, even if I subcontract for the original rate I always do a proofreading.
| | | | Parrot
Spain
Local time: 04:13
Spanish to English
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| Refuse... and refer? | Nov 17, 2005 |
I wonder how many do this.
It's not seldom I refer clients, and not seldom that I receive referrals. Translators get to know more clients and clients get to know more translators.
And truth to tell, this has been pushing up rates for many...
| | | | | Subcontracting hasn't worked for me | Nov 18, 2005 |
If it's a large or important project, I will turn it down but try to find a colleague who can take it. If it's a small job and the client came to me through ProZ, I refuse but don't bother to help them find someone else because I know they won't have a problem.
One year, when I was swamped, I subcontracted to two colleagues whose work I knew and trusted. For starters, neither one of them met the deadline. Then, when I began to check their work, I realized that they both had omitted ... See more If it's a large or important project, I will turn it down but try to find a colleague who can take it. If it's a small job and the client came to me through ProZ, I refuse but don't bother to help them find someone else because I know they won't have a problem.
One year, when I was swamped, I subcontracted to two colleagues whose work I knew and trusted. For starters, neither one of them met the deadline. Then, when I began to check their work, I realized that they both had omitted significant chunks of text. The omissions included single words that were important and meaningful, phrases, sentences, and whole paragraphs. By the time I checked--and found--all the little pieces that had gotten skipped, I could have done the work myself. Both colleagues wrote their translations from scratch, rather than working from an existing electronic file. They were not used to such tight deadlines. And because they knew their work was going to be checked, they didn't go over it themselves.
I think this happens more often that we realize--or at least it used to. Once at an ATA meeting about 15 years ago, I heard an agent say that she found omissions in a very high percentage of the translations that she checked. Until then, I had been reviewing for accuracy and style, with not too much attention to omissions as long as the text made perfect sense. For me, working with an existing electronic file keeps me from omitting anything. I suggested a poll on this topic, but it hasn't shown up yet.
For this reason, I also refuse to review other people's translations, even though that's what I used to do on my job. In fact, that's why I took early retirement. It's too challenging to review someone else's work thoroughly.
[Edited at 2005-11-18 07:34] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nicolette Ri (X)
Local time: 04:13
French to Dutch
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| I stay up too | Nov 18, 2005 |
JaneTranslates wrote:
I have never subcontracted anything--once I accept it, I do it. If I get too many offers, I refer the prospective clients to other translators whom I trust. In my experience, that doesn't necessarily entail losing a client; most understand that I am a human being and appreciate my telling them honestly that I can't take on a new job at the moment and do it well.
I stay up too, as long as necessary. Or I refuse new clients or new subjects.
And of course I don't translate in the same way - take less coffee, work more concentrated, keep administrative tasks for later, spend less time on other subjects, prepare my meals quickly, etc.
I don't like subcontracting because my translations are very "personal": I do the same things for years now and it takes too much time to explain the subjects to others. Subcontracting means that I have more work than if I translate directly (even if the translations are good).
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