job postings and jobs that could turn into non -or late payments Thread poster: Bernhard Sulzer
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After having seen a job posting for a translation @ EUR .09/word for about 13000 words (sensational offer compared to other job posts but still much less than what would have been an average rate 10 years ago), I checked the blueboard entry of the company and found no entry. However, I have become wary of any company and indeed, there was a link on the blueboard page to another blueboard page. On that one, a company with a different name showed one entry with a "1" rating due to non-payment. The... See more After having seen a job posting for a translation @ EUR .09/word for about 13000 words (sensational offer compared to other job posts but still much less than what would have been an average rate 10 years ago), I checked the blueboard entry of the company and found no entry. However, I have become wary of any company and indeed, there was a link on the blueboard page to another blueboard page. On that one, a company with a different name showed one entry with a "1" rating due to non-payment. The two blueboard pages had been linked because their contact address and names had been deemed one and the same by proz.com staff.
You will only find this out if you actually go to the blueboard page instead of simply "accepting" the job poster's blueboard record of "no entry" as shown on the job posting page.
So, not checking the "clean" or "empty" blueboard record could become a costly adventure.
Any experiences or additional advice (short of recommending not to accept any jobs) on how to avoid financial headaches or traumas are appreciated.
Bernhard
[Edited at 2009-06-04 00:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | The Misha
Local time: 20:12
Russian to English
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| Trust your gut feeling and manage your risks | Jun 4, 2009 |
Personally, I do not accept any jobs from countries or areas where I have no reasonable legal recourse against non-payment - which in my case narrows the field down to the US and UK - unless these jobs come in indirectly, through other translators I know and try. Sure, it keeps me underemployed for the most part, but it beats the heck out of working for free.
| | | | conejo 
United States
Local time: 19:12
Japanese to English
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| Trust your gut | Jun 4, 2009 |
Luckily, with the help of the blue board (and careful inspection of the other links, like you mentioned), I have so far not had a problem with any non-payment or late payment past a month late or so. *knock on wood*.
I would also say, trust your gut feeling. There have been a lot of times when I have turned down jobs from agencies that otherwise looked okay (or agencies that were not rated on the blue board), when I had a funny feeling in my stomach that something wasn't quite right... See more Luckily, with the help of the blue board (and careful inspection of the other links, like you mentioned), I have so far not had a problem with any non-payment or late payment past a month late or so. *knock on wood*.
I would also say, trust your gut feeling. There have been a lot of times when I have turned down jobs from agencies that otherwise looked okay (or agencies that were not rated on the blue board), when I had a funny feeling in my stomach that something wasn't quite right. This is because, when I did take jobs from such agencies when I had a 'funny feeling' in the past, usually something unpleasant did occur during the project. So trust your intuition. If your intuition says not to trust them or not to take the job, listen to it.
I would also make sure to ask the payment terms in advance of accepting the job (X days after invoice date, etc.). That way, you won't find out that they don't pay for 90 days when you were expecting 30, after you've already agreed to the job.
This is not really related to nonpayment, but I also look carefully at an agency's communication style and responsiveness in the initial few emails when I decide if I want to work with that agency or not. If I ask them questions and they don't reply, or they seem to want to only ask me questions and not answer the ones I ask them, or seem evasive in any way, I avoid them like the plague.
Hope this helps. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Check the sources of BB comments, too | Jun 4, 2009 |
When you get that "too good to be true" feeling and the BB entries are good, take a fast look at who posted them. Member since? 0-50 browniez? A supposedly "international" agency gets its positive ratings from "tranalators" located in the same town in India? (not picking on India-based agencies, just happened to notice this situation twice, some time ago. One translator lived at the agency's former address).
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conejo
United States
Local time: 19:12
Japanese to English
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| Wow that's a good idea | Jun 4, 2009 |
RichardDeegan wrote:
A supposedly "international" agency gets its positive ratings from "tranalators" located in the same town in India? (not picking on India-based agencies, just happened to notice this situation twice, some time ago. One translator lived at the agency's former address).
It had not occurred to me that agencies would create bogus blue board entries. That is another thing to watch for...
| | | | Shannon H.
Australia
Local time: 10:12
English to Chinese
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| and pretend to be employees of other companies | Jun 5, 2009 |
As I found out recently. Some Outsourcers publish proper looking addresses and phone numbers, but are actually faking using details of other companies.
[Edited at 2009-06-05 10:58 GMT]
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