Could we have a yellow board for rating time-waster agencies? ناشر الموضوع: Christine Andersen
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If I have never worked for an agency, I cannot rate them on the Blue Board. That is fair enough in many ways.
But time and time again, I have wished I could warn others not to waste time on an agency - they are never going to send any work or you would not want to work for them if they did.
I have often checked out an agency and decided not to work for them. I have corresponded with PMs or mailed to ´talent managers´ or ´linguist leads´ or whatever the... See more If I have never worked for an agency, I cannot rate them on the Blue Board. That is fair enough in many ways.
But time and time again, I have wished I could warn others not to waste time on an agency - they are never going to send any work or you would not want to work for them if they did.
I have often checked out an agency and decided not to work for them. I have corresponded with PMs or mailed to ´talent managers´ or ´linguist leads´ or whatever they call themselves, and gained an impression of the agency. At some point there has been a red light, and I know that either there will be no work, or there will be trouble.
These agencies are not direct scammers. They are just a pain to work with!
I propose a Yellow Board where we can rate onboarding routines and warn colleagues of the time wasters, especially the ones you would never want to work for!
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Some time ago I was contacted by an agency in Ireland. I did not reply immediately, but they sent a reminder. There was something odd from the start - the person who contacted me had a very strange name, but after more due diligence they appeared to be legitimate. I filled in their brief registration form with details like my mail address, languages and specialist areas and waited ...
Deep silence for several weeks. Then last week they asked me to check my profile on a new hub or portal. It simply froze and would not accept my details. I don't hjave an Irish bank account, and the details for a non-Irish account are apparently in the wrong format. I exchanged a few mails with the agency, which did not help. I told them politely that freelancers hate those portals - we don't get paid for the time we waste on them!
They also offer ´free webinars´, so I can learn how to work with them. Honestly, by now I know I am being a real sucker, and should have dropped them long ago.
In theory this Irish portal links translators and jobs, and everyone is happy. I have no idea what the webinars are about, but after more than 20 years freelancing, I am not about to spend several hours finding out, before I get paid for a single job!
OK, rant over, and if you have read this far, thanks for your patience! ▲ Collapse
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Excellent idea! I would add to the Yellow Board an American translation agency which first of all asked me if I was willing to do a short medical test. After this was done and approved, asked for a photo (?), a signed NDA and a long list of other requirements and to top it all emailed me a so-called welcome pack having 34 pages for me to read, sign and return. After all that, have I received work from them? Of course I haven’t! A total time-waster...
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Christine Andersen wrote:
I propose a Yellow Board where we can rate onboarding routines and warn colleagues of the time wasters,
In fact, the very use of the word 'onboarding' by the agency is already a red flag
| | | | Johan Beyens
بلجيكا
Local time: 12:41
عضو (Oct 2024)
أنجليزي إلى هولندي
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Anton Konashenok wrote:
In fact, the very use of the word 'onboarding' by the agency is already a red flag
Only if the process is needlessly complicated and then they go quiet or reject you without any human feedback, which seems to be the typical modus operandi of the big agencies. But I have had a good experience with a mid-tier agency. Yes, I had to sign up on their portal, submit my CV and do a generic test. The Vendor Manager contacted me to follow their "onboarding program", which was basically an introduction to their CAT platform and linguistic instructions for specific clients - useful stuff. All in all it took about one afternoon, and I have been getting work from them regularly. YMMV, I guess.
[Edited at 2024-12-04 11:47 GMT]
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Christine Andersen 
الدانمرك
Local time: 12:41
عضو (2003)
دانماركي إلى أنجليزي
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بادئ الموضوع | Fortunately, most agencies have reasonable procedures | Dec 4 |
I dislike the word onboarding, but it is a term people use. Often it simply covers the exchange of information that the agency and translator agree on, and perhaps an NDA. Some administration is unavoidable, but it should not be excessive!
I would like to specify on this Yellow Board precisely why I would not work for a given agency, so that others can decide for themselves.
Payment terms might be acceptable for some people and not for others - and vary according to cur... See more I dislike the word onboarding, but it is a term people use. Often it simply covers the exchange of information that the agency and translator agree on, and perhaps an NDA. Some administration is unavoidable, but it should not be excessive!
I would like to specify on this Yellow Board precisely why I would not work for a given agency, so that others can decide for themselves.
Payment terms might be acceptable for some people and not for others - and vary according to currency, banks and other factors.
People have different views on other aspects of the agreement: insisting on a specific online CAT, for example, is an absolute show stopper for me. I work with my CAT or no CAT, and I can still translate without it if I have to! But if you can work happily with the agency´s CAT, good for you!
So-called NDAs often go way beyond non-disclosure of confidential material. They are contracts which might or might not stand up in court, but some place limitations and liabilities on the translator which are quite unreasonable.
- Auditing the translator's computer - big red flag.
- Liability to 'each and every' person affected by a translation error - big red flag
- Liability of any kind - check your insurance policy if you have one, and see what is realistic before you sign.
Never just sign and hope it will not happen to you. Probably not, but you do not have time to be taken to court and go through all the proceedings if anything does go wrong.
Tests are a red flag for some translators.
And so on. I am not sure how this idea would work in practice, but there is plenty of food for thought! ▲ Collapse
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As someone who's been in this business for longer than I'm ready to admit, I can tell you that this onboarding, NDAs and so on thing is relatively new. With my oldest client, with whom I've worked regularly (projects every month except August) for over 20 years, everything is done on the basis of an email: ‘Are you available? When can you deliver?’, without ever having signed any contract, NDA or the like. The invoice is issued at the end of the month and paid like clockwork the next day. I ... See more As someone who's been in this business for longer than I'm ready to admit, I can tell you that this onboarding, NDAs and so on thing is relatively new. With my oldest client, with whom I've worked regularly (projects every month except August) for over 20 years, everything is done on the basis of an email: ‘Are you available? When can you deliver?’, without ever having signed any contract, NDA or the like. The invoice is issued at the end of the month and paid like clockwork the next day. I have some good clients, but how I wish I had another like this one... ▲ Collapse
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