Mikhail Kropotov Russian Federation Local time: 08:43 Member (2005) English to Russian + ...
Oct 29, 2010
Today I received the following invitation through ProZ.com Connect:
Good morning,
we are loooking for an experienced English to Russian translator for some translation projects. Trados is preferred.
Pls send your full cv via mail to xxxx@yyyy.com
Pls state your rate in the subject as follows:
EN>RU 0.00 Euro/w
As we expect to receive lots of applications we will only reply to those relevants.
Thank you and Best Regards
X Y
Project Manager
As you can see, this email doesn't mention any qualifications besides rates, nor any areas or fields or subject matter preferred. And I hope 0.00 is for format purposes, not their target rate!
This would be more or less par for the course for a regular job ad, though even then it wouldn't be exactly appealing.
I thought the Connect system was meant for premium jobs, more or less. Am I wrong? If so, what difference is there between Connect and regular job ads, if outsourcers can send out generic invitations like this?
Thanks for any comments.
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That was the intention, but today the difference is small
Oct 29, 2010
That was the intention initially. And in fact, it worked to some degree, for a while. (When we had a full time salesperson dedicated to calling on certain types of clients to encourage them to use Connect. There were also certain triggers; job postings with higher than average rates were treated differently than those with average rates or lower.)
The policies for Connect are different now (we are exploring other, hopefully more effective ways to bring clients with desirable projects to the site.) There is still some carryover -- companies offering good work who are in the habit of using Connect -- but at this point it is fair to say that the distinction is small.
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Laurent KRAULAND France Local time: 06:43 Member (2007) French to German + ...
My findings...
Oct 29, 2010
The contacts I had through Connect were completely different from Mikhail's ones. Normal prices, some information about the topic, straightforward communication and so on.
However, and to partially agree with Henry, I have found that outsourcers using the standard job postings were sometimes better (or at least as good) in every respect as those using Connect.
So I think some redefinition of Connect would be welcome.
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Robert Forstag United States Local time: 00:43 Member (2003) Spanish to English + ...
Very little difference
Oct 29, 2010
At least in my experience and in my pair, I found very little difference in terms of either rates offered or likelihood of having my bid accepted.
A difference is only a difference if it makes a difference.
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Mikhail Kropotov Russian Federation Local time: 08:43 Member (2005) English to Russian + ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks
Oct 29, 2010
Thanks Henry, Laurent and Robert. From now on I will treat Connect jobs as regular ones, unless or until they improve.
I was hoping to draw attention to this kind of ad as bad practice, regardless of what venue it's posted through. Which I'd like to see eliminated. I guess the chances are slim.
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Laurent KRAULAND France Local time: 06:43 Member (2007) French to German + ...
Bad practice/abuse
Oct 29, 2010
Mikhail Kropotov wrote:
I was hoping to draw attention to this kind of ad as bad practice, regardless of what venue it's posted through. Which I'd like to see eliminated. I guess the chances are slim.
Personally, Mikhail, the e-mail you quoted in your OP reflects bad practice (I mean: on a general level) from my personal point of view.
I don't know what ProZ.com thinks of it, but to some degree it could be seen as bypassing guidelines and abusing the distinction between regular job offers and Connect offers.
What happened in your case, I guess, is that this outsourcer tried to use a psychological ploy on you by contacting you through Connect (which, they probably felt, would "flatter" you).
I would not throw the baby with the bath-water and am actually expecting more from Connect, although this does not mean outsourcers should not be checked.
[Edited at 2010-10-29 19:08 GMT]
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