Poll: Do you find it difficult to say no to new work when you are already busy? Autor de la hebra: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you find it difficult to say no to new work when you are already busy?".
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That's a big problem for me. I often bite off more than I can chew. The incoming job is often harder than it looks at first glance. But taking on extra work when I haven't finished the current job ensures that I don't have any lull in between.
| | | | neilmac
España
Local time: 06:40
español al inglés
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If I'm really unavailable, I usually try to pass the work on to a trusted colleague, but most of the translators I know already have enough of their own.
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Yes, when the new work comes from one of my regulars. Usually, I’m a good time manager and I'm known to deliver ahead of time, but now and then I have bitten off more than I could chew and very occasionally I had to negotiate a new deadline. Anyway, the reason why I reject some jobs has much more to do with low rates than with unreasonable deadlines…
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| I try to negotiate | Jan 19, 2019 |
I try to negotiate a new deadline. Sometimes it works and is always worth trying. If the client can't accept a later delivery date then I have to decline the job - politely and with regret.
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I work only with a handful of returning agencies that are skilled and reasonable, and they are well aware that a 24/7 on-call service is (should be) expensive. As such, they plan enough lead time for translators to always feel comfy, apologise when it's kinda tight, have back-ups for when the first tier is not available and don't expect translators to be on call 24/7.
Of course this can't happen with word factories who buy and sell translations as commodities crafted by interchangeable "re... See more I work only with a handful of returning agencies that are skilled and reasonable, and they are well aware that a 24/7 on-call service is (should be) expensive. As such, they plan enough lead time for translators to always feel comfy, apologise when it's kinda tight, have back-ups for when the first tier is not available and don't expect translators to be on call 24/7.
Of course this can't happen with word factories who buy and sell translations as commodities crafted by interchangeable "resources".
To my utmost regret, I have to say No more than once a week to that handful of agencies on average, while always offering my nearest possible deadline. I find that staying in control of my schedule ensures that I keep my mental health to a satisfactory level.
The key to keep a low rate of "No" answers is to have prices that prevent work offers from raining onto you, while keeping your service attractive to agencies cost-wise. In fact, I find that the rate of "No" answers is a good indicator to gauge whether I should increase my rates.
Of course, it would be a different story with returning end customers. But then you wouldn't charge them what you charge agencies to become their always-there, ultra-dependable guy/gal. Or would you?
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ucrania
inglés al ruso
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| Just the answer, not naysay | Jan 19, 2019 |
Being one of four children, I learned to say 'No' far before going to elementary school. Actually, it's a prerequisite--one of the best skills in biz, especially for interpreters)
While for some (1) to deny a request or (2) be refused is a negative or even an offense, a rejection is as natural as a consent. Of course, even the very definition says A contract is an agreement between two or more parties with the veto right--right to decline a proposal Furthermore, I often meet allegedly good people who keep saying 'No' while abusing other timid souls for 'one more' favor...
Nowadays, besides time'n'face-saving little white lies, one can ethically ignore an offer, proudly pretend not receiving anything, just politically-correctly blacklist a sender or silently mark a proposal as spam
| | | | EvaVer (X) 
Local time: 06:40
checo al francés
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to whom. I have difficulty to refuse stable/good clients, none to send to *** occasional agencies proposing me nonsense jobs.
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Mario Freitas
Brasil
Local time: 02:40
Miembro 2014
inglés al portugués
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| I have to do it all the time | Jan 19, 2019 |
It's a lot better and more honest to say "no" than to accept something you can't handle or deliver something with a quality below your standards. I say "no, I can't" all the time.
However, I always try to negotiate deadlines with clients that allow some space for additional jobs in between, so I don't usually have to say "no" to regular clients. I can fit their jobs in.
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