Getting jobs/clients Thread poster: Tom Jamieson
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Hi,
Here's my background: I'm English, living in Brazil, trying to work full time as a PT>EN translator. Specializing in IT/Technical. (I have a comp sci degree but no translation qualifications). I started in March/April so have been going at this a while now but never get more than a few thousand words per month.
So, does anyone have any tips on how to get more clients/jobs when you're starting out? I don't expect to be working full time instantly but I've been trying... See more Hi,
Here's my background: I'm English, living in Brazil, trying to work full time as a PT>EN translator. Specializing in IT/Technical. (I have a comp sci degree but no translation qualifications). I started in March/April so have been going at this a while now but never get more than a few thousand words per month.
So, does anyone have any tips on how to get more clients/jobs when you're starting out? I don't expect to be working full time instantly but I've been trying for a while now without too much luck. I just feel like I don't know what to do next.
Having read around on here, I think I should get pro membership and start answering Kudoz questions, hopefully that will draw people to my profile and maybe some jobs will come to me. Is that a realistic possibility?
Aside from that I have been emailing agencies every day, but with no luck (and by reading on here, it seems most agencies probably put my email straight in the junk. Even agencies that specialize in technical translations don't show any interest. I have one agency in Europe that gives me jobs regularly (one or two a month), who I first worked with through ProZ. They always give me great feedback on my translations. I wish I could show other agencies the quality of my work but I never get the chance.
Thanks in advance.
Tom ▲ Collapse
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN 
Türkiye
Local time: 14:51
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
| ProZ Membership | Feb 25, 2014 |
branglish wrote:
Having read around on here, I think I should get pro membership and start answering Kudoz questions, hopefully that will draw people to my profile and maybe some jobs will come to me. Is that a realistic possibility?
Yes, I believe that is a realistic possibility. I can not know about your finances, of course. It is usually a good investment to buy ProZ membership. The chances that you will get a job are higher than when you are not a paid member. However, the real factor is the effort you spend looking for jobs at ProZ. By the way, ProZ membership fees are increasing over time. When I became a ten-year member, I remember I paid $750.00 at that time. Right now, a ten-year membership costs how much? Definitely way above $750. So, keep in mind that ProZ membership fees are increasing.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 12:51
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Some thoughts | Feb 25, 2014 |
Hello Tom,
It does always take a while to become established as a freelancer, not just as a freelance translator, so don't be too worried that you're not yet working flat out. Having said that, if you are getting less than 10,000 words a month to translate after very nearly a year, then you do perhaps need to re-examine your marketing.
Full membership of ProZ.com is certainly one way to improve your visibility and be in a position to quote early for the most interesting... See more Hello Tom,
It does always take a while to become established as a freelancer, not just as a freelance translator, so don't be too worried that you're not yet working flat out. Having said that, if you are getting less than 10,000 words a month to translate after very nearly a year, then you do perhaps need to re-examine your marketing.
Full membership of ProZ.com is certainly one way to improve your visibility and be in a position to quote early for the most interesting jobs posted here. However, 'full' isn't just about paying on ProZ.com (although that payment is certainly a key factor). It's a translators' community rather than just a job board, and you really need to play a full role in the community if you want to come to the attention of a large number of potential clients (and in particular those who are serious about quality work for reasonable rates). There's an area of the site specifically designed to help you get the maximum benefit from ProZ.com: http://www.proz.com/guidance-center. Take the time to go through all the advice and then implement the most relevant. You'll certainly want to attend the free webinars, maybe get into a mentoring programme, and start building up KudoZ points.
Clients here on the site may be a little put off by the fact that your profile is trying to represent two people, hence the use of we/our/us in your user message. I think it might help if you kept your profile for yourself, perhaps under your real name, with a message somewhere to the effect that you work in partnership with xxx, and give a link to their own profile. I think you can also set yourselves up as a team, probably once you have full membership, but I don't know anything about that feature.
I also think you're giving a rather confused message regarding specialisations. I imagine you don't really have enough experience or enough work to restrict yourself to your preferred specialisation, and this is why there's a lack of experience in this area in your CV. Maybe at the moment you're more of a generalist, aiming to become an IT specialist with an IT background. I think that's likely to be why agencies specialising in technical translations may be a little put off. But I'm speculating really, as I haven't even seen the emails you send. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Brazil local payment | Feb 25, 2014 |
Hello Tom!
I'm also starting as a freelance translator; in fact, today I bought my ProZ membership! I also live in Brazil and I just wanted to let you know that there's a special price for payments in Brazil. You can check it here: http://www.proz.com/join-local/professional.
Good luck!
Catalina
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Tom Jamieson
Brazil
Local time: 08:51
Portuguese to English
TOPIC STARTER
Sheila, thanks for the comments. I've modified my profile now to make it a little more personal, and will sign up for full membership to try to get my profile more noticed. I must say that 10,000 words a month would be great for me right now, I wish I was getting that many!!
Catalina thanks for the link, you just saved me some money
| | | | Tom Jamieson
Brazil
Local time: 08:51
Portuguese to English
TOPIC STARTER
I'm looking for more advice on this topic. Specifically, how people get work BESIDES ProZ. I've got full membership now, updated my profile, am answering Kudoz questions and joining the mentor program.
But there must also be other ways to find work/clients?
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 19:51
Chinese to English
Outside of Proz, all my good jobs have come through networking. I get to know a colleague who knows a colleague...
My major source of contacts has been through formal programs. I did an interpreting qualification, and got to know good people there (instructors and fellow students). Online, literature forums have helped me, even though I don't translate much literature. Perhaps IT fora would help you: where do the Brazilian employees of Google and Microsoft chat? If you know how to f... See more Outside of Proz, all my good jobs have come through networking. I get to know a colleague who knows a colleague...
My major source of contacts has been through formal programs. I did an interpreting qualification, and got to know good people there (instructors and fellow students). Online, literature forums have helped me, even though I don't translate much literature. Perhaps IT fora would help you: where do the Brazilian employees of Google and Microsoft chat? If you know how to find them, and can talk intelligently with them, then they'll know your name. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Diana Obermeyer
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:51
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Is Brazil not running a major start-up accelerator program to draw IT talent into the country?
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229849
Surely that must create a market for IT translations.
Hang out in the coffee shops in the right suburbs and try to actually network in person, that usually sticks in people's heads.
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Roy OConnor (X)
Local time: 13:51
German to English
| Direct approach | Apr 3, 2014 |
I'm not sure what the market is like in Brazil regarding translation work in your IT speciality, but I would have thought it well worth your while contacting IT companies directly. Make a list of the relevant companies and contact them, preferably by phone, to find out who is responsible for the documentation. Be quite open and present yourself as an IT specialist producing English language translations. You could even offer to produce a sample translation of some of their technical literature. ... See more I'm not sure what the market is like in Brazil regarding translation work in your IT speciality, but I would have thought it well worth your while contacting IT companies directly. Make a list of the relevant companies and contact them, preferably by phone, to find out who is responsible for the documentation. Be quite open and present yourself as an IT specialist producing English language translations. You could even offer to produce a sample translation of some of their technical literature. It's hard work, but well worth the investment as you will only need a small number of direct customers to keep you busy and reasonably well off financially.
My experience is that once a company has found someone who can understand their products they turn out to be very loyal customers!
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
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