| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] > | How bad is declining job after accepting it Thread poster: Annett Roessner
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Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:29
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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Baran Keki wrote: Hayley Wakenshaw wrote:
But if some of the texts I’ve revised are anything to go by, many translators are not honest about their limits or capabilities. So a good PM will appreciate a translator who is honest about what they can and cannot do.
So you're able to demonstrate such poor translations to the PMs, because everybody in the world can speak and understand English. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to do the same with Turkish to a Danish or American PM. Some people get away with murder..
True, that's why I use images to show what the translator said: (image), what the original text said: (image). Even when doing that, I had PMs coming back to me to re-explain the error and I literally drew it for them (two images that have nothing to do with each other).
[Edited at 2023-12-07 09:32 GMT]
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It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen. Contact the client as quickly as possible and explain that the text is not what you were expecting. In the best case, they will be understanding and grateful for your honesty. If it damages your relationship, I think you have to question whether this is the kind of client you want to be working for.
In future, if you accept jobs on this basis I think you need to add a proviso that your acceptance is subject to the t... See more It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen. Contact the client as quickly as possible and explain that the text is not what you were expecting. In the best case, they will be understanding and grateful for your honesty. If it damages your relationship, I think you have to question whether this is the kind of client you want to be working for.
In future, if you accept jobs on this basis I think you need to add a proviso that your acceptance is subject to the text being suitable. It's not in anybody's interests for you to be forced to translate texts you are completely unsuited to. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:29
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Rachel Waddington wrote:
It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen.
You are just talking about 99% of translation projects, it means the majority of people would never accept any project. Talking about translation agencies of course. Direct clients show you everything and ask you to hop on a phone call to lead you through their key terminology.
[Edited at 2023-12-07 09:44 GMT]
| | | | monica.m
Italy
Local time: 17:29
Member (2011)
German to Italian
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| Never complain never explain | Dec 7, 2023 |
Tell them you have a personal issue, you can't go on.
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Lingua 5B wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote:
It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen. You are just talking about 99% of translation projects, it means the majority of people would never accept any project. Talking about translation agencies of course. Direct clients show you everything and ask you to hop on a phone call to lead you through their key terminology. [Edited at 2023-12-07 09:44 GMT]
This doesn't tally with my experience. I always see the files (or at least a sample) before I accept a job. This includes agencies. How can you know whether you can do a job you haven't seen?
| | | | | Surprised to know | Dec 7, 2023 |
That a lot of agency clients won't show you the work before you agree to do it. I always had an opportunity to first review the source text as a freelancer. My clients knew that I wouldn't accept anything medical (without lots of grumbling, that is) and usually honored this dispreference, and also usually tried to keep my order flow within the specialist areas I'd mentioned in my CV. Horse trainers' trainers' qualifications? No thanks, I'd probably say no to this one (anything that has to do wit... See more That a lot of agency clients won't show you the work before you agree to do it. I always had an opportunity to first review the source text as a freelancer. My clients knew that I wouldn't accept anything medical (without lots of grumbling, that is) and usually honored this dispreference, and also usually tried to keep my order flow within the specialist areas I'd mentioned in my CV. Horse trainers' trainers' qualifications? No thanks, I'd probably say no to this one (anything that has to do with horses is a quagmire for a translator who is not familiar with the subject). However, in my current work situation, I do have to tackle orders from areas I know little about. The managers seem to think I can translate anything (or fix a botched translation of anything), which is simply not true. However, it usually takes a couple of minutes to determine if you're up to a certain job, so if I were in the OP's situation, I'd write back to the PM in approximately that amount of time
[Edited at 2023-12-07 10:11 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:29
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Lingua 5B wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote:
It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen. You are just talking about 99% of translation projects, it means the majority of people would never accept any project. Talking about translation agencies of course. Direct clients show you everything and ask you to hop on a phone call to lead you through their key terminology. [Edited at 2023-12-07 09:44 GMT]
I would never hop on a phone call.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:29
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Rachel Waddington wrote:
This doesn't tally with my experience.
Nor mine, and my clients are all agencies.
Dan
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:29
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Tom in London wrote: Lingua 5B wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote:
It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen. You are just talking about 99% of translation projects, it means the majority of people would never accept any project. Talking about translation agencies of course. Direct clients show you everything and ask you to hop on a phone call to lead you through their key terminology. [Edited at 2023-12-07 09:44 GMT] I would never hop on a phone call.
Why, it made things easier, the client explained their project through a screen share, it was worth it for a $5k project. Why not. I liked the screen share because you get a picture of the whole project really quickly directly from the author, it's priceless. Certainly better than tapping in the dark through vague explanations by underqualified project managers. But not all direct clients are that reasonable, of course.
| | | | | Career progression | Dec 7, 2023 |
Rachel Waddington wrote: Lingua 5B wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote:
It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen. You are just talking about 99% of translation projects, it means the majority of people would never accept any project. Talking about translation agencies of course. Direct clients show you everything and ask you to hop on a phone call to lead you through their key terminology. [Edited at 2023-12-07 09:44 GMT] This doesn't tally with my experience. I always see the files (or at least a sample) before I accept a job. This includes agencies. How can you know whether you can do a job you haven't seen?
This thread shows very clearly how we all operate in very different ways and in very different markets.
From generalists working with a million agencies and happy to take whatever they can get, to specialists who pick and choose like divas.
Ironically, my own career has progressed to the point where I rarely see jobs before accepting them, because they're booked in advance, but I know exactly what I'm getting into.
I would never accept something completely unknown without seeing it first.
PS Nobody ever talks me through terminology. It's my job to know/decide it...
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Tom in London wrote:
I would never hop on a phone call.
In case you lose your balance, I presume?
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:29
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Yes, of course I figure out my own terminology (that's a given?) | Dec 7, 2023 |
But it was a good experience to see the client explaining their terminology first-hand, in the context of their website and UI/UX. It's a totally different perspective, the angle is definitely different. Not only do you get the what, you also get the why and some new layers.
Nope, you will never get that from a project manager at a translation agency. Some even make you first sign an NDA before they can show you any sample.
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Annett Roessner
Australia
Local time: 01:29
Member (2017)
English to German
TOPIC STARTER | Agency has been contacted | Dec 7, 2023 |
Hi all,
Thank you so much for your responses and reassurance.
I basically sent a very apologetic, remorseful email to them straight away after posting here letting them know that I don't feel confident with the subject matter. This client is extremely fussy and has very high quality expectations so submitting an almost good enough translation is not an option at all. I feel in this instance asking for more time is not really helpful because even with more time I would s... See more Hi all,
Thank you so much for your responses and reassurance.
I basically sent a very apologetic, remorseful email to them straight away after posting here letting them know that I don't feel confident with the subject matter. This client is extremely fussy and has very high quality expectations so submitting an almost good enough translation is not an option at all. I feel in this instance asking for more time is not really helpful because even with more time I would still struggle with the text. I had to basically search up almost every single certification because there is no other context given. Why didn’t I notify the agency right away? Initially, I thought I would get faster with the text but this didn’t happen because this file contains everything from highly specialised trade qualifications to IT-Specialisations. And yes, often they are just a number of nouns per line that because of the way the German language works I can’t translate without knowing what this qualification is exactly for. I feel it is less damaging pulling the string now than submitting a terrible translation.
I’m still waiting to hear back from them.
The time difference probably works in the agency’s favour because the agency has now all day in Europe to place this with a better suitable translator. Lesson learnt: From now on I will ask to have a look at the text first for these if the name of the file suggests the subject matter is different to the usual work I receive from them.
What a day this has been.
Best,
Annett ▲ Collapse
| | | | Annett Roessner
Australia
Local time: 01:29
Member (2017)
English to German
TOPIC STARTER | Lesson learnt | Dec 7, 2023 |
Rachel Waddington wrote:
It's not reasonable to expect you to accept a job you haven't seen. Contact the client as quickly as possible and explain that the text is not what you were expecting. In the best case, they will be understanding and grateful for your honesty. If it damages your relationship, I think you have to question whether this is the kind of client you want to be working for.
In future, if you accept jobs on this basis I think you need to add a proviso that your acceptance is subject to the text being suitable. It's not in anybody's interests for you to be forced to translate texts you are completely unsuited to.
Thank you, Rachel.
I will definitely do this going forward. Going by the title I assumed the text would be about internal compliance training and not a list of over 1,800 education certificate titles.
I contacted them right away after posting here so they have all day UTC to reallocate the file.
Best,
Annett
| | | | Annett Roessner
Australia
Local time: 01:29
Member (2017)
English to German
TOPIC STARTER | The whole text is terminology | Dec 7, 2023 |
Lieven Malaise wrote: Christopher Schröder wrote:
I think Lieven’s advice is dangerous. It depends on your approach. I also sometimes struggle with a text, but that doesn't mean that I will return the job. Most terminology is out there and if you really can't find it, that's a good time to contact your client to ask for help with the terminology or to make a list with all terminology you're not sure of and send it with your translation. Worked evey single time in the past 23 years.
Hi Lieven,
The problem with this text is that the whole text is highly specialised terminology. Over 1800 segments of highly specialised education certificate names. I should have asked to see the text first for such a large project. Lesson learnt.
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