Can we please make an end of dubious job announcements?

On 2002-04-14 17:15, kerrigan wrote:

I agree with all of the above! In fact, there is something else that I\'ve had on my mind about proz, and I think this might just be the place to post it. I think it was a great idea to give only paying members the option to bid on jobs. But what about the postings that call for bids from proz members to send in their bids by e-mail (and the address is visible to paying and non-paying members). Not that fair to us platinum members, is it?



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Having to pay US$60.00 or 120.00 for a whole year up front and a reasonable (small) amount per posted job would certainly be a rational course of action.


The low-bidding \"trashlator\" has nothing to fear now and neither does the \"agency\" that hires him/her. The difficult part of the translation will be done on the KudoZ site by unpaid professionals!


However, there also is a responsibility on the part of translators:

Do not bid on job postings that

• look unprofessional (an agent should be able to describe a job without too many mistakes).



• call for CVs to fill their databases over and over and over again.



• do not allow decent charges/word



• ask for so much information, that they appear to look for full-time, long-time employees with 6-figure incomes. I bid on a job, I will not beg for it.



• Do not accept job changes (volume or charge/word) after lengthy negotiations. Accepting disrespect is not the beginning of a good relationship.



I am sure, more could be added. Professions do not flourish, when professionals are weak.

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... The thing I find hard to believe is that more than 60 people have either paid $1 or 100 Kudoz to bid on this. Just what did they think they were bidding on? I guess it\'s true, people will bid on anything, even something that\'s not a job.



To address the other point made in this thread, if Proz were to start making outsourcers pay, maybe they just wouldn\'t post jobs at all. Outsourcers wouldn\'t have accumulated Kudoz to use as currency and imagine those agencies that find themselves in a bind, turn to Proz to get a job done and then would have to go through a whole long process to register and pay to post a bid. They probably wouldn\'t bother. That\'s something to think about...







1. Registering with ProZ (free or not) should be easy enough for an agency or bidder.

(Someone who \"misunderstands\" the words \"bidding\" and \"posting\", should not work as a translator. He will look before he pays!)



2. If agencies want to hire someone, they should be willing and able to pay a nominal fee (filter).



3. However, if \"agents\" look for cheap \"trashlators\", having nothing but a sloppy website, one or two maybe-potential-\"clents\" and no \"resources\" to pay a small fee, then I do not want them to post \"jobs\".



Paying ProZ members would wind up applying to a non-expert (see: http://www.xpert.tk, now: 449 bids - who offers translations to his clients for 0.07-0.10 Euros/word).



4. It would also discourage people who do nothing but accumulate translator databases (to sell them). (The internet is a marvellous and dangerous place all at once. Some \"entrepreneurs\" respect nobody\'s privacy but their own!).



5. The idea is, in fact, to exclude some \"bidders\" and some \"agencies\" for the sake of professionalism.


If you were an established agent with legit jobs, would you put your posting in line with nonsense (see above), knowing that most people bid indiscriminately?
[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-04-15 04:58 ]

[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-04-15 06:12 ] ▲ Collapse