Poll: Do you mostly wait for or look for jobs?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Feb 17, 2014

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you mostly wait for or look for jobs?".

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Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 23:44
Member (2006)
German to English
Other Feb 17, 2014

Fortunately, neither.

I am in the very happy situation that I have my regular customers that keep "feeding" me.


 
Carmen Grabs
Carmen Grabs
Germany
Local time: 23:44
Member (2012)
English to German
+ ...
I thought that's what they meant with "wait" Feb 17, 2014

I selected "wait", although luckily I don't have to wait Long.

 
Elina Sellgren
Elina Sellgren  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 00:44
Member (2013)
English to Finnish
+ ...
Currently mostly wait but also look Feb 17, 2014

I am currently mostly waiting for my regular clients to send me work, but I am also on the lookout for new clients, mainly because it's easier to raise rates that way, and I'm also too dependent on one client in particular.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:44
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Feb 17, 2014

Like Michael, I'm fortunate that I don't have to "wait" for jobs, as my inbox is almost always overflowing. I'm always waiting/hoping for a break.

 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 23:44
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
I don't have to wait long! Feb 17, 2014

Usually I have plenty of paid work in the pipeline, but I always have a 'to do' list of important things like invoicing, tidying up my mailbox and elsewhere...

Or getting away from the computer for some fresh air!

I only have to start looking at that sort of thing, it seems, before a mail comes in and I'm back in business.

I do make an effort, all the same, to keep my favourite clients happy and approach promising new ones now and then.


 
DianeGM
DianeGM  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:44
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Neither ... Feb 17, 2014

I'm kept pretty busy.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:44
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Ditto! Feb 17, 2014

Michael Harris wrote:

Fortunately, neither.

I am in the very happy situation that I have my regular customers that keep "feeding" me.


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 23:44
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
It varies Feb 17, 2014

Most of the time I'm being kept busy by my regular customers. But once in a while it happens that they all seem to be on vacation, since hardly any work comes in. Then I usually either look for work or use that free time otherwise.

 
Erzsébet Czopyk
Erzsébet Czopyk  Identity Verified
Hungary
Local time: 23:44
Member (2006)
Russian to Hungarian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
same to me Feb 17, 2014

Thayenga wrote:

Most of the time I'm being kept busy by my regular customers. But once in a while it happens that they all seem to be on vacation, since hardly any work comes in. Then I usually either look for work or use that free time otherwise.


My regular clients are feeding me but I am happy for any new job


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:44
English to Spanish
+ ...
What would my dentist say? Feb 17, 2014

Sometimes we translators think we are unique in the way our business evolves and that the feast and famine times, the ups and downs, are exclusive of our work.

It's not like that.

Doctors, mechanics, dentists, pet groomers, carpenters, accountants, financial planners, etc. they all have to go through similar cycles.

Does a dentist with no patients sit on a chair by the phone?

Oh, wait, but many of you will say Unlike a dentist, I don't keep
... See more
Sometimes we translators think we are unique in the way our business evolves and that the feast and famine times, the ups and downs, are exclusive of our work.

It's not like that.

Doctors, mechanics, dentists, pet groomers, carpenters, accountants, financial planners, etc. they all have to go through similar cycles.

Does a dentist with no patients sit on a chair by the phone?

Oh, wait, but many of you will say Unlike a dentist, I don't keep an office separate from my living quarters, out in downtown! Fair enough. Still, putting a regular effort in marketing and advertising is part of the business of translation. I don't mean the marketing and advertising that some self-appointed gurus in our industry talk so often about.

I find a lot of inspiration in nature: how predators, for example, hunt and collect, like a certain artic fox, who will grab more than one dead bird in his muzzle to carry to his puppies. Or the chickadee (a bird in North America) whose amygdala grows temporarily before winter, so that it collects seeds and hides them in different places. The enlarged part of his brain gives him a better spatial memory.

Can you imagine if we humans had to hibernate?

Whenever I had a full-time job, I would stop looking for jobs or clients, but I'd welcome smaller jobs in order to gain and retain new clients. Then, when the full-time job ceased, I could resort to those new clients for additional work.
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vixen
vixen  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 00:44
English to Dutch
+ ...
Other Feb 17, 2014

Like some of the other posters, I have a few regular clients who keep supplying me with a steady flow of work. Whenever things appear to be slowing down, and I'm starting to think about archiving, clearing out, reorganising, cleaning and so on, there's usually several translation requests coming in from different sides.

 
Alexandra Smirnova
Alexandra Smirnova
Local time: 01:44
English to Russian
+ ...
About a freelancer's vacation... Feb 21, 2014

I've started to work as a freelance translator not long ago, before that I was an in-house translator in one company. At first I had to do some efforts to find clients, now I am quite comfortable with the jobs coming from my regular customers.

But... recently I thought about the freelancers' vacations. And I would be grateful for any advices or ideas from more experienced colleagues in this question. I am just wondering how can I manage my vacation (about 2-3 weeks abroad) with reg
... See more
I've started to work as a freelance translator not long ago, before that I was an in-house translator in one company. At first I had to do some efforts to find clients, now I am quite comfortable with the jobs coming from my regular customers.

But... recently I thought about the freelancers' vacations. And I would be grateful for any advices or ideas from more experienced colleagues in this question. I am just wondering how can I manage my vacation (about 2-3 weeks abroad) with regular job mails coming to my e-mail. I am a bit afraid to lose my regular clients... How do you handle this problem?
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Poll: Do you mostly wait for or look for jobs?






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