Call for comments on ProZ's Profile
Thread poster: Linh Hoang
Linh Hoang
Linh Hoang  Identity Verified
Vietnam
Local time: 00:39
Member
English to Vietnamese
+ ...
Nov 26, 2013

Hi all,

I've spent hours updating my Profile. I just want to make it look professional and attractive to potential clients.

I highly appreciate if you could have a look at my profile: http://www.proz.com/translator/1325977 and give any comments on its appearance, contents &
... See more
Hi all,

I've spent hours updating my Profile. I just want to make it look professional and attractive to potential clients.

I highly appreciate if you could have a look at my profile: http://www.proz.com/translator/1325977 and give any comments on its appearance, contents & wording.

You can write to me at [email protected] or reply here.

Thank you so much for your kind support.
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Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 18:39
English to Polish
+ ...
Looks good Nov 26, 2013

It looks good, and it certainly stands out (some good photoshopping skills there! and the thought was remarkable). It probably makes a powerful impression on your visitors. I would only rephrase (and definitely proofread) the part about your translation team and perhaps also edit the part where you mention collaborating with your wife as your proofreader to make it sound less private and more official. For example, I'd cut '(no rate negotiation & free of charge!)' altogether and replace: 'Her as... See more
It looks good, and it certainly stands out (some good photoshopping skills there! and the thought was remarkable). It probably makes a powerful impression on your visitors. I would only rephrase (and definitely proofread) the part about your translation team and perhaps also edit the part where you mention collaborating with your wife as your proofreader to make it sound less private and more official. For example, I'd cut '(no rate negotiation & free of charge!)' altogether and replace: 'Her assistance makes my services better and better,' with something along the lines of 'crucial part', 'constant improvement', pursuit of perfection etc.Collapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:39
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Hmm Nov 26, 2013

Hi Linh

We are all operating in a highly competitive market, and we all need to do whatever we can to attract customers.

Your colourful "shop window" layout may attract some people and persuade them to hire you, although I think that this same approach may tend to exclude you from the higher end of the market where linguistic ability counts more than party balloons, bells, and whistles.

At that end of the market, some may be put off by such statements as "
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Hi Linh

We are all operating in a highly competitive market, and we all need to do whatever we can to attract customers.

Your colourful "shop window" layout may attract some people and persuade them to hire you, although I think that this same approach may tend to exclude you from the higher end of the market where linguistic ability counts more than party balloons, bells, and whistles.

At that end of the market, some may be put off by such statements as "I will response to you at the soonest", which suggests that you have an imperfect grasp of basic English, and by some of the terms in your glossary (to which you have given the curious and incomprehensible title "Terms of Highway") such as "Final finalization".

I appreciate that you have put a great deal of effort into designing your "shop window". Full marks for that, but if what you're aiming for is visibility then you should ensure that your Proz profile is 100% complete; at present this is not the case.
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:39
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
The window dressing is very good Nov 26, 2013

Tom in London wrote:
Your colourful "shop window" layout may attract some people and persuade them to hire you, although I think that this same approach may tend to exclude you from the higher end of the market where linguistic ability counts more than party balloons, bells, and whistles.

I agree that your "About Me" section looks very good, Linh, and will tempt many potential clients who visit your ProZ.com profile. Of course, they have to find their way there, but that's a different problem that you may or may not be tackling. But I agree with Tom that it might just be a little OTT (over the top) in places. I'm afraid that top-end clients may find it attractive at first sight and then be put off, either because there's rather too much unimportant detail or because of the many typos and the poor English (both in the profile and in the CV).


 
Lucia Leszinsky
Lucia Leszinsky
SITE STAFF
A few tips... Nov 26, 2013

Hi Linh,

Before posting here some tips on how to make your profile look even better, let me first say congratulations on understanding the importance of a complete profile and spending time on improving it! Your profile --just as other members' profiles-- is your public face at ProZ.com, so once you attract potential clients' attention from the directory for instance, you will want to keep that attention.

Now, I see that you completed all required and encouraged profile
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Hi Linh,

Before posting here some tips on how to make your profile look even better, let me first say congratulations on understanding the importance of a complete profile and spending time on improving it! Your profile --just as other members' profiles-- is your public face at ProZ.com, so once you attract potential clients' attention from the directory for instance, you will want to keep that attention.

Now, I see that you completed all required and encouraged profile fields. Good job! Completing profile fields available is important as this ensures that potential clients will be able to find the information they need when they visit your profile. However, keep in mind that while completing profile fields is important, what's even more important is to complete them with relevant information.

Hence, initially, I'd suggest the following for your profile:

  • Take a pass at your "About me" section. Try to get rid of information that already has a dedicated profile field so as to avoid duplication. "Software and CAT tools", "Rates and payment", "Recent projects" and what you included under "Others" already have a section in profiles ("Software", "Rates", "Payment methods accepted", "Project history" and "Articles" respectively). Have in mind that some potential clients may not have the time to read certain pieces of information, not even once!
  • Take some time to proofread the information you've entered. There are a few mistakes in there that if corrected would give a more professional impression.
  • How about including a list of clients in a separate tab (with logos as well) instead of showing their logos running through your "About me" section? This would give profile visitors the option to see them or not depending on their interest.
  • As for ProZ.com local payment options for Vietnamese professionals and companies, you may simply include a direct link to http://www.proz.com/join?viewPage=local_payment&locale=vn
  • And last, but not least, how about localizing your profile content instead of adding an extra "Tiếng Việt" tab for Vietnamese clients only, http://www.proz.com/?sp=profile&eid_s=1325977&sp_mode=settings&sp_submode=localize ?

Hope these tips help. Just let me know if you need any help with completing or editing your profile and I'll be glad to help.

Keep up the good work!

Kind regards,

Lucia
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Linh Hoang
Linh Hoang  Identity Verified
Vietnam
Local time: 00:39
Member
English to Vietnamese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all Dec 3, 2013

Thanks to Łukasz, Tom, Sheila and Lucia for your comments on my "shop window". Those are so helpful for me. I'll have all the "errors" fixed soon.

Thanks again for your help...


 
Eugenia Isakova
Eugenia Isakova  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:39
English to Russian
Profile advice Apr 29, 2014

Hi All,

I am new to this website as well as to translation industry. I am now looking for ways to build up my portfolio and to find my first clients. I have recently filled my profile and would very much appreciate if someone more experienced could have a look at it. As I don't have much relevant experience, I tried to provide additional information regarding my previous positions to point out some transferable skills. I will be grateful to hear any remarks or advice.

[Edited
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Hi All,

I am new to this website as well as to translation industry. I am now looking for ways to build up my portfolio and to find my first clients. I have recently filled my profile and would very much appreciate if someone more experienced could have a look at it. As I don't have much relevant experience, I tried to provide additional information regarding my previous positions to point out some transferable skills. I will be grateful to hear any remarks or advice.

[Edited at 2014-04-29 14:53 GMT]
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:39
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
I think you'd have been better off starting a new thread but seeing as you're here... Apr 29, 2014

Hello Eugenia,

I think you've done a good job of leveraging your past experience; in fact I don't think you need to come across as a new translator, so I'd personally remove the bit about needing clients.

The only part that I find a little contradictory is this:
Areas of specialization: management, banking, finance, economics, sales, marketing, tourism, hospitality, civil engineering, property, photography, social sciences, contracts

Specialisations covering the creative area of marketing, all business and finance areas, legal terminology and even dabbling in engineering? That doesn't sound at all specialised to me. Do you really specialise in all of them, or would some be more accurately called your working fields? I'm just thinking of it from the eyes of a client, who could see you as a "Jack of all trades, master of none".

I would imagine it may be perfectly OK to be a generalist in your language pair (I really don't know), but even so it's useful here on ProZ.com to prioritise. You need to bear in mind how clients use the directory search. They often select on very narrow criteria first to bring up the real specialists, and only if that isn't successful do they widen their search. Of course, it isn't so important for publicly posted jobs, but they aren't often the best - the best clients will normally choose their potential translators rather than asking for quotes from maybe hundreds of hopefuls.

You have a lot of profile fields that you haven't completed, and maybe you can't complete them all at the moment. But do try to complete your profile as fully as possible as that pays dividends here.

One last comment: client place a lot of importance, quite rightly, on your native language and your language of everyday use. If, like me, you live somewhere you don't actually speak the lingo well, then that's got to be seen as a negative. In your case, I'd briefly highlight the fact that you are fully immersed in your source language and translating only into your true native language (I'm assuming you spent your formative years speaking Russian). That's a 100% positive specialisation in almost all cases, although there are the inevitable exceptions.


 
Eugenia Isakova
Eugenia Isakova  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:39
English to Russian
thank you Apr 30, 2014

Thank you for such a detailed answer, Sheila, it's been really helpful! I guess I will need to reconsider my specialization areas and focus on fewer subjects. To be honest, I put every subject I have ever translated into my specializations area, and I am certainly not an expert in all of them. I was assuming this way I could attract more customers, but I now understand it actually works the other way round.

 


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