"We'll keep you in our database for the future"
Thread poster: Kristen Canavan
Kristen Canavan
Kristen Canavan
French to English
+ ...
Aug 27, 2020

Feeling discouraged after taking a translation test and receiving positive feedback but ultimately, not getting the gig. The client told me that they would let me know if they had future projects in my language pair.

Do they ever call back in the future? Or do you sit in heir database pool, never hearing from them again?


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 20:52
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Kristen Aug 27, 2020

My experience is that in almost 99% of the cases you’ll never hear from them again, but then there is that 1% exception that proves the existence of the rule. Patience is the name of the game...

Rachel Waddington
Christel Zipfel
Morano El-Kholy
Philip Lees
Joe France
Elías Sauza
Daniela Slankamenac
 
Anne Maclennan
Anne Maclennan  Identity Verified
Local time: 21:52
Member (2010)
German to English
+ ...
There is hope! Aug 27, 2020

One of my regular clients sent me that mesage when I applied to do a translation. Two years later she contacted me and asked if I would mind translating for her and apologising for not accepting me in the first place as she had found her chosen translator unsatisfactory.

So, some clients do contact you - eventually.

Sometimes I get a request out of the blue from someone I have forgotten I even applied to.

Keep hoping and applying for work!


Rachel Waddington
Adam Dickinson
Morano El-Kholy
Kristen Canavan
Veronica Montserrat
Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
Philip Lees
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 20:52
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
You can help yourself to some degree Aug 27, 2020

Kristen Canavan wrote:
The client told me that they would let me know if they had future projects in my language pair.

Do they ever call back in the future? Or do you sit in heir database pool, never hearing from them again?

-- Keyword searches are often what bring your CV back to the top of the pile so bear that in mind when writing your CV, filling in application forms etc.
-- Individual PMs on a daily basis will contact the person whose name springs to mind. So bring your name to mind occasionally. Don't spam them, obviously, but let them know when you add a new specialisation or service, gain new experience or skills, get some credential or other...
-- One time when all new translators have the best chance of getting a foot in the door is before major holiday periods, especially July/August and the turn of the year, when many of an agency's preferred suppliers will be unavailable. If you're going to be around, let them know shortly before.

But occasionally you'll find that a PM sends an email out of the blue, even though you've done none of the above. Normally it's for ridiculous rates, a subject that's well outside your comfort zone, and sometimes even for languages you don't speak ).


Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
Ivana Kahle
Elías Sauza
Christine Andersen
 
Kristen Canavan
Kristen Canavan
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
This is encouraging! Aug 27, 2020

Sheila Wilson wrote:
Do they ever call back in the future? Or do you sit in heir database pool, never hearing from them again?
-- Keyword searches are often what bring your CV back to the top of the pile so bear that in mind when writing your CV, filling in application forms etc.
-- Individual PMs on a daily basis will contact the person whose name springs to mind. So bring your name to mind occasionally. Don't spam them, obviously, but let them know when you add a new specialisation or service, gain new experience or skills, get some credential or other...
-- One time when all new translators have the best chance of getting a foot in the door is before major holiday periods, especially July/August and the turn of the year, when many of an agency's preferred suppliers will be unavailable. If you're going to be around, let them know shortly before.



Thanks so much for your words of wisdom, Sheila! This is encouraging


 
Kristen Canavan
Kristen Canavan
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Optimism Aug 27, 2020

Anne Maclennan wrote:

One of my regular clients sent me that mesage when I applied to do a translation. Two years later she contacted me and asked if I would mind translating for her and apologising for not accepting me in the first place as she had found her chosen translator unsatisfactory.

So, some clients do contact you - eventually.

Sometimes I get a request out of the blue from someone I have forgotten I even applied to.

Keep hoping and applying for work!


Oh wow, that's great to hear! I will keep on trucking and keep applying


 
Mair A-W (PhD)
Mair A-W (PhD)
Germany
Local time: 21:52
German to English
+ ...
depends Aug 27, 2020

Kristen Canavan wrote:

Feeling discouraged after taking a translation test and receiving positive feedback but ultimately, not getting the gig. The client told me that they would let me know if they had future projects in my language pair.

Do they ever call back in the future? Or do you sit in heir database pool, never hearing from them again?


In general, once you get added to a database, you might, possibly after months or even years, hear from them, probably with an urgent project that they haven't been able to place with one of their regular translators. If you can squeeze in time for that project -- despite the short deadline -- then your name will be moved up their lists and you might get more (perhaps even less urgent) projects from them after that...

... however, in this case, from your brief description, "... positive feedback but ultimately, not getting the gig" it sounds as though you (were told you) were doing a translation test **for a specific project**, which you then weren't assigned?

This seems unusual if you received positive feedback, unless you were undercut on price, in which case ... probably you won't hear from the agency again.


Robert Rietvelt
 
TranslateWithMe
TranslateWithMe
Poland
Local time: 21:52
English to Polish
+ ...
Databases Aug 28, 2020

Usually, translation agencies add you to their databases as backup in case their regular translators are too busy/go out of business/go on long holiday/are unavailable for some other reasons.

I hava a list of translation agencies to which I've sent any CVs or done tests, there are like 300 of them and I work with like 2-3 on a more regular basis.


Cheers,
K.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 21:52
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
It varies a lot Aug 31, 2020

If a specific job was named, then the agency probably sent tests to several translators, and obviously, only one gets it on that occasion.

In my case, many agencies do not have jobs involving my source language, Danish, every month so I may have forgotten all about them if they come back, and many never do.

However, the advice about taking rushed jobs if you can rings true. In holiday periods or extra busy periods, the ´usual´ translators may be booked or not availab
... See more
If a specific job was named, then the agency probably sent tests to several translators, and obviously, only one gets it on that occasion.

In my case, many agencies do not have jobs involving my source language, Danish, every month so I may have forgotten all about them if they come back, and many never do.

However, the advice about taking rushed jobs if you can rings true. In holiday periods or extra busy periods, the ´usual´ translators may be booked or not available, and time goes, even if it was not a rushed job in the first place, while the PM searches for someone to take on the job. Several good clients have found me that way, as I have no small children, a tolerant husband and a flexible private life, so I can squeeze jobs in.

Don't overdo it, however... Your quality suffers when you are overtired, and you need to impress these clients, or they disappear as fast as they come!
Best of luck!



[Edited at 2020-08-31 12:28 GMT]
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Stephen Lavelle
Stephen Lavelle
United States
Local time: 16:52
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Re: Agency Databases Aug 31, 2020

Greetings! In my experience and research I have found that many agencies like to maintain a large number of translators in their databases while only giving work and projects to a select few. This may mostly be for marketing purposes as agencies can advertise that they have a large pool of translators. Although this can be frustrating for translators, particularly those just starting out, I would say that it doesn't hurt to have your information in these databases as it still gives you a chance ... See more
Greetings! In my experience and research I have found that many agencies like to maintain a large number of translators in their databases while only giving work and projects to a select few. This may mostly be for marketing purposes as agencies can advertise that they have a large pool of translators. Although this can be frustrating for translators, particularly those just starting out, I would say that it doesn't hurt to have your information in these databases as it still gives you a chance to find jobs. A small chance of finding work through these channels is better than no chance at all. Just be aware of agencies that seem to be less than legitimate. Best of luck! - StephenCollapse


 
conejo
conejo  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:52
Japanese to English
+ ...
Database recruiting doesn't produce many jobs Sep 12, 2020

Typically there are 3 types of contact from agencies:
1. Recruiting translators for a database
2. Trying to find translators for a "potential" job that may never actually exist (the end client has not officially given that job to the agency yet)
3. Trying to find translators for an actual job that does exist (the agency has already been given that job)

Out of these, only contact for actual jobs has any real likelihood of you getting a job. The likelihood of this i
... See more
Typically there are 3 types of contact from agencies:
1. Recruiting translators for a database
2. Trying to find translators for a "potential" job that may never actually exist (the end client has not officially given that job to the agency yet)
3. Trying to find translators for an actual job that does exist (the agency has already been given that job)

Out of these, only contact for actual jobs has any real likelihood of you getting a job. The likelihood of this is much, much higher than the other two. Potential jobs are largely a waste of time because the end client is still shopping around, and the agency is also shopping around. If the agency does actually get the job you may get a chance to have it, but most of the time "potential jobs" are a waste of time and don't result in anything.

Out of these, database recruiting is the least likely to result in a job. But, you never really know. So we do need to submit our information to databases because you don't know how likely it is that they will have jobs in that language pair, and they don't always make that clear. Some agencies do ask you to do tests to get into the database, and it can be disheartening if you never get a job even though you passed the test.

So... the answer is you don't really know for sure. Actual jobs are the most likely to result in work, and database recruiting is the least likely unless they state it is for a job. But it's good to submit to databases unless they are requiring a crazy amount of paperwork or a test that is unreasonably long.
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Kevin Fulton
 


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