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Poll: Do you think a professional-looking profile photo helps in attracting clients?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 06:39
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No, definitely not! Jan 6, 2015

Tim Drayton wrote:

Why should it? I am not a photomodel. You can't tell anything about a person's translation skills from their physical appearance. That is why I do not display a photo. If, despite this, the answer to this question is indeed yes, it would only show what a crassly superficial era we live in.


Why is this even relevant? My physical appearance has nothing to do with my translation skills. People say I’m attractive and I was once considered a beauty, but my business is not about being pretty or looking good is about translating as well as I can…


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 06:39
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
He is sweet :) Jan 6, 2015

Mary Worby wrote:
For old time's sake! Although he seems to have stopped dancing ...

Thanks, Mary, for letting us have a look at him (is it really a "him"?). Christine seemed quite nostalgic about it.


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 08:39
Turkish to English
+ ...
How strange Jan 6, 2015

Max Deryagin wrote:

As an outsourcer, I have never hired and will never hire a person whose profile picture is a cute cat, baby, airplane or anything of the sort. I need to know who I am working with.


How strange. I once ran a small agency and worked with many translators whom I had never met, and never once wondered what they looked like.


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 08:39
Turkish to English
+ ...
You're hired Jan 6, 2015

Chris S wrote:

Let's see if I now get inundated with offers of work from serious, high-paying customers rather than the usual jokers that come through ProZ.

I never had a single sensible offer of work on here without a photo, so maybe this could be my big break.


You're hired.


 
Mary Worby
Mary Worby  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:39
German to English
+ ...
Oops Jan 6, 2015

Sheila Wilson wrote:

Mary Worby wrote:
For old time's sake! Although he seems to have stopped dancing ...

Thanks, Mary, for letting us have a look at him (is it really a "him"?). Christine seemed quite nostalgic about it.


Sorry, Sheila, it was Christine who mentioned him! (Definitely a him, I know not why!). He used to dance too, I guess he's getting old like the rest of us.

For a limited period only, the professional me will be back shortly!


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Would this be going too far? Jan 6, 2015

Tim Drayton wrote:

Chris S wrote:

Let's see if I now get inundated with offers of work from serious, high-paying customers rather than the usual jokers that come through ProZ.

I never had a single sensible offer of work on here without a photo, so maybe this could be my big break.


You're hired.


Now I'm wondering whether I should also change my tagline from

"Experienced central bank translator"

to

"Hot central bank translator"


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 08:39
Turkish to English
+ ...
Why not ... Jan 6, 2015

Chris S wrote:

Tim Drayton wrote:

Chris S wrote:

Let's see if I now get inundated with offers of work from serious, high-paying customers rather than the usual jokers that come through ProZ.

I never had a single sensible offer of work on here without a photo, so maybe this could be my big break.


You're hired.


Now I'm wondering whether I should also change my tagline from

"Experienced central bank translator"

to

"Hot central bank translator"


Why not just "Hot translator?" Who cares about silly, non-visual things like in-depth specialist knowledge?


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 15:39
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
I think I'll do the same Jan 6, 2015

Chris S wrote:

Tim Drayton wrote:

Chris S wrote:

Let's see if I now get inundated with offers of work from serious, high-paying customers rather than the usual jokers that come through ProZ.

I never had a single sensible offer of work on here without a photo, so maybe this could be my big break.


You're hired.


Now I'm wondering whether I should also change my tagline from

"Experienced central bank translator"

to

"Hot central bank translator"


Maybe "Hot and experienced pro - as featured on pros.com" might attract lots of offers - not exactly sure which kind, though.


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 07:39
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
To some - to a certain extent Jan 6, 2015

Teresa Borges wrote:

Tim Drayton wrote:

Why should it? I am not a photomodel. You can't tell anything about a person's translation skills from their physical appearance. That is why I do not display a photo. If, despite this, the answer to this question is indeed yes, it would only show what a crassly superficial era we live in.


Why is this even relevant? My physical appearance has nothing to do with my translation skills. People say I’m attractive and I was once considered a beauty, but my business is not about being pretty or looking good is about translating as well as I can…


I always thought that when I was hired it was for what's behind my face (knowledge, creativity & my grays) and not for my looks. Did I miss something?

Sure it's nice to see the one who's working for you, but is that any indication for skills? I don't think so. Also, how many of our clients "reveal" their faces? Very ferw, I'd say.

P. S. Yes, that elephant is cute. I'd hire him on the spot.

[Edited at 2015-01-06 12:31 GMT]


 
Al Zaid
Al Zaid
United States
English to Spanish
+ ...
HAHA!!! Jan 6, 2015

Terry Richards wrote:

My photo would be more suitable for repelling cockroaches than attracting clients


That's a good one.


 
Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 07:39
Member (2006)
Swedish to English
+ ...
No point getting a chip on our shoulders Jan 6, 2015

It doesn't matter how superficial our times may be. It doesn't matter that it is impossible to tell how well someone can translate based on his picture. That may be, but that should be addressed in some kind of op-ed piece or some kind of societal commentary forum or within the field of psychology.

The truth is that we are judged by how we look, and more importantly, what impression we give as to how we approach our work.

Now, when I say "judged by how we look", I am no
... See more
It doesn't matter how superficial our times may be. It doesn't matter that it is impossible to tell how well someone can translate based on his picture. That may be, but that should be addressed in some kind of op-ed piece or some kind of societal commentary forum or within the field of psychology.

The truth is that we are judged by how we look, and more importantly, what impression we give as to how we approach our work.

Now, when I say "judged by how we look", I am not talking about physical attractiveness either. If a picture shows someone who apparently has an alert look in his eyes and friendly face, as well as half decent clothing, I will respond positively to that. As a translator, I appreciate that at times we work in our pyjamas, have rings under our eyes as we pull an all-nighter and are not always in the mood to be strictly business-like in our demeanour, but if I see that a translator has tried to put his best face forward (literally), I will be impressed generally. After all, attention to detail is a very important part of this job. If we are not going to care about such details as our profiles, what does that say about our attention to detail in our writing?

Of course, those who say a photo says nothing about skill in writing are absolutely right, but why kill your chances to have an opportunity to prove yourself by scaring people away thanks to a non-serious photograph? Selling oneself is a complex package. Stores and restaurants need to be inviting to the eye to succeed no matter how good their products or their food are. Notice how no restaurants ever succeed on the moon? The food is great, but there is no atmosphere.



[Edited at 2015-01-06 12:55 GMT]
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 07:39
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Thanks for the smile! Jan 6, 2015

Mary Worby wrote:

...

For a limited period only, the professional me will be back shortly!


I used to be quite fascinated when he turned up ...


 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:39
Member (2004)
English to Italian
ahhh! Jan 6, 2015

Chris S wrote:


Now I'm wondering whether I should also change my tagline from

"Experienced central bank translator"

to

"Hot central bank translator"


I always thought you were a man...


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 06:39
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
ahhh! Jan 6, 2015

Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:

Chris S wrote:


Now I'm wondering whether I should also change my tagline from

"Experienced central bank translator"

to

"Hot central bank translator"


I always thought you were a man...


Me too, I believe he's just proving a point...


 
Frankie JB
Frankie JB
France
English to French
+ ...
Yes, to some extent Jan 6, 2015

But I would add "mostly with direct, uneducated clients", as it seems to me hard to deny that a decent photo, as described by Paul, is not a good way to instill confidence, to send a message "I'm not hiding, I'm a real person and I'm responsible". Of course, uneducated doesn't mean "so ignorant as to judge a book only by its cover", but when you know little on a subject, the cover may well be a difference-maker... (positive... or negative if you're a Quasimodo!)

With agencies, and m
... See more
But I would add "mostly with direct, uneducated clients", as it seems to me hard to deny that a decent photo, as described by Paul, is not a good way to instill confidence, to send a message "I'm not hiding, I'm a real person and I'm responsible". Of course, uneducated doesn't mean "so ignorant as to judge a book only by its cover", but when you know little on a subject, the cover may well be a difference-maker... (positive... or negative if you're a Quasimodo!)

With agencies, and more generally with informed clients, I think (and I hope) that the impact is minimal. There will be superficial people like Max (above) but hopefully those are few...

@Chris S:

You could add, "sexy rates", too!
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Poll: Do you think a professional-looking profile photo helps in attracting clients?






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