Poll: When working on a large job, do you usually take on small jobs in between? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When working on a large job, do you usually take on small jobs in between?".
This poll was originally submitted by Norman Buhagiar. View the poll results »
| | | | | Yes, all the time! | Dec 28, 2015 |
As a freelance translator it’s not easy to have a control over the workflow. I work both with large, medium and small jobs and to manage all of them and keep clients happy and loyal I have some kind of a strategy. For large projects, I never schedule more than 2,000 words per day, leaving a couple of hours for smallish jobs from those regular clients that keep me working all year-round. This strategy has been working fine. I very rarely turn jobs down from regular clients (I do turn down a lot... See more As a freelance translator it’s not easy to have a control over the workflow. I work both with large, medium and small jobs and to manage all of them and keep clients happy and loyal I have some kind of a strategy. For large projects, I never schedule more than 2,000 words per day, leaving a couple of hours for smallish jobs from those regular clients that keep me working all year-round. This strategy has been working fine. I very rarely turn jobs down from regular clients (I do turn down a lot of jobs from potential clients for other reasons: low rates, bad BB entries, etc.). ▲ Collapse
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Most of my jobs are large, and I usually manage to sandwich in several as I go along - but not always. It depends on my deadline and the nature of the "small job."
Like Teresa, I allow 2,000 words a day for large jobs. I usually don't accept a large project if the deadline is much tighter. That allows me the luxury of working in other assignments as I go along. But there are always exceptions. Sometimes the rate is so good that I can't say "no" to a large job with a tight deadline.<... See more Most of my jobs are large, and I usually manage to sandwich in several as I go along - but not always. It depends on my deadline and the nature of the "small job."
Like Teresa, I allow 2,000 words a day for large jobs. I usually don't accept a large project if the deadline is much tighter. That allows me the luxury of working in other assignments as I go along. But there are always exceptions. Sometimes the rate is so good that I can't say "no" to a large job with a tight deadline.
There should have been a category for "usually, but not all the time."
[Edited at 2015-12-28 08:51 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 18:57
French to English
However fascinating the biggie might be, I need to do other stuff to stave off boredom. And (irrationally) I fear that if I concentrate on just one topic, I'll get rusty in others.
Besides, I very often find after a while that I get into a groove with the biggie and and it flows smoothly, so I get ahead of schedule and can easily fit more stuff in.
And I hate to turn clients down too.
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| Almost always | Dec 28, 2015 |
For me a large job is anything over about 5 000 words.
Most of my jobs are small, but they frequently link up with others, so I prefer to keep the continuity. I can usually negotiate a deadline that allows me to fit them in.
If I take on a really big job (for me) - more than 10 or 15 thousand words - then I insist that it must be possible to take on some small ones as well.
Many of the small jobs are for my regular clients, and the bigger ones are usually f... See more For me a large job is anything over about 5 000 words.
Most of my jobs are small, but they frequently link up with others, so I prefer to keep the continuity. I can usually negotiate a deadline that allows me to fit them in.
If I take on a really big job (for me) - more than 10 or 15 thousand words - then I insist that it must be possible to take on some small ones as well.
Many of the small jobs are for my regular clients, and the bigger ones are usually for newcomers who have to take their place in the queue. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ventnai
Spain
Local time: 18:57
German to English
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| Almost always | Dec 28, 2015 |
I usually try to leave a little leeway when doing a larger job of some 10,000 words or more, so that I can keep my other clients happy. I won't accept anything if I can see that time is short.
| | | | | Exactly like that | Dec 28, 2015 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
As a freelance translator it’s not easy to have a control over the workflow. I work both with large, medium and small jobs and to manage all of them and keep clients happy and loyal I have some kind of a strategy. For large projects, I never schedule more than 2,000 words per day, leaving a couple of hours for smallish jobs from those regular clients that keep me working all year-round. This strategy has been working fine. I very rarely turn jobs down from regular clients (I do turn down a lot of jobs from potential clients for other reasons: low rates, bad BB entries, etc.).
My strategy is exactly the same as yours Teresa!
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 12:57
English to Spanish
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But what about the really microscopic jobs?
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Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 13:57
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| All the time | Dec 28, 2015 |
I have regular clients that send me small jobs practically every day. A big job is very welcome, but the regular clients are just as important. I must take care of both things, which is no big deal when the "big" client agrees with the deadlines you suggest (it usually happens).
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