Why would a job poster choose "only to Platinum members..."? Thread poster: Paulo Sergio
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I have a doubt. What is the benefit for an outsourcer to choose to post a job only to Platinum members? Most jobs posted (English Portuguese) I receive in my email box are always restricted to Platinum members.
So, what's the benefit for an outsourcer to restrict jobs to Platinum members? Are they more professional or have more experience ?
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2007-07-11 05:40]
| | | | Fabio Descalzi 
Uruguay
Local time: 17:54
Member (2004)
German to Spanish
+ ...
| Boa noite Paulo | Jul 11, 2007 |
The reason for the job poster to limit quoting to Platinum members is the following.
Some language pairs have much traffic. So the job poster prefers to restrict quoting to Platinum members, just because that way the quantity of ProZians quoting will be less than if he allowed anybody to quote.
This isn't always necessary. Sometimes the job poster asks for a rather uncommon language pair (say: Chinese into Lithuanian), so he need not restrict anything. Or: perhaps the job poster is a... See more The reason for the job poster to limit quoting to Platinum members is the following.
Some language pairs have much traffic. So the job poster prefers to restrict quoting to Platinum members, just because that way the quantity of ProZians quoting will be less than if he allowed anybody to quote.
This isn't always necessary. Sometimes the job poster asks for a rather uncommon language pair (say: Chinese into Lithuanian), so he need not restrict anything. Or: perhaps the job poster is asking for a language pair with many potential candidates... but with a very specific skill (say: the translator must be an expert in nuclear physics and have worked at least 5 years in an international organization).
In any case: being Platinum always will allow for more advantages than not being Platinum.
[Edited at 2007-07-11 02:57] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paulo Sergio
Local time: 17:54
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER
You explanation is interesting, but I don't believe it would be a wise way to use this criterion to receive less quotes. Maybe there will be a very good translator with great experience and expertise for that specific field that the outsourcer needs, but he/she is not a Platinum member....what will happen? Probably the outosourcer will never receive a quote from that translator in time for the job.
I think that the BEST way to limit quoting is to establish criteria to define who bes... See more You explanation is interesting, but I don't believe it would be a wise way to use this criterion to receive less quotes. Maybe there will be a very good translator with great experience and expertise for that specific field that the outsourcer needs, but he/she is not a Platinum member....what will happen? Probably the outosourcer will never receive a quote from that translator in time for the job.
I think that the BEST way to limit quoting is to establish criteria to define who best matches the outsourcer's needs, such as credential, years of expertise, country, native language and the like.
This "Platinum restriction" sounds more like to make us all want to buy the membership in order send more quotes. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | You are both right | Jul 11, 2007 |
Fabio Descalzi Sgarbi wrote:
The reason for the job poster to limit quoting to Platinum members is the following.
Some language pairs have much traffic. So the job poster prefers to restrict quoting to Platinum members, just because that way the quantity of ProZians quoting will be less than if he allowed anybody to quote.
Fabio's explanation is a good one. The ability to restrict quoting to members was requested by outsourcers and seems to be an effective way to limit the candidate pool to a manageable (but apparently adequate) size.
You are correct, too, Paulo. The fact that some outsourcers choose to limit quoting to paying members of the site creates a benefit for current members and an incentive for other translators to join.
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| Reply - and question | Jul 11, 2007 |
I of course understand the point of restricting some jobs (totally or partially) to Platinum members, the most logical thing is that they must get some kind of "added value" for the money they pay. I also wouldn't like to make any assumption on Proz's policies or on the outsourcers' intentions, but I wonder whether the form to post a job gives the outsourcer enough information that he's restricting his job only to Platinum members - a community which, in some language pairs, can be quite reduced... See more I of course understand the point of restricting some jobs (totally or partially) to Platinum members, the most logical thing is that they must get some kind of "added value" for the money they pay. I also wouldn't like to make any assumption on Proz's policies or on the outsourcers' intentions, but I wonder whether the form to post a job gives the outsourcer enough information that he's restricting his job only to Platinum members - a community which, in some language pairs, can be quite reduced?
There's a job which appeared in one of my pairs on Sunday. The ad was posted at noon (GMT time) and required about 8 translators to deliver a job urgently on Monday morning. The pair was not Eng > Spa, but another one with Spanish as the target language which is however not so crowded. The job had a 12-hour restriction for non-Platinum members which means that, when non-Platinums could bid, the deadline would be imminent and thus it would make no sense to apply.
What strikes me is that, about 6 hours after the first ad, two more ads appeared with the same job description looking yet for 2 or 3 translators, which, as I understand it, means that the first ad was unsuccesful in attracting the 8 Platinum members which were needed. These 2 new ads were also Platinum-members only.
I am only reporting this as an example (again, I'm not judging the outsourcer's intentions), and it is perfectly possible that the outsourcer was consciously restricting his search to Platinums for whatever reason, but is the scope of this restriction sufficiently explained when the outsourcer posts a job? I sometimes get the impression -for example in cases with very tight deadlines, or in cases where volunteer translation (!) is involved- that outsourcers didn't mean to place any restrictions on the job, but they were not familiar enough with the system and thus didn't realize that the jobs' form has "Members only"as its default setting (and I'm guessing here - I posted a small job long ago, but I think things have changed since them).
Thanks for your attention and regards,
Eva ▲ Collapse
| | | | Natalie
Poland
Local time: 22:54
Member (2002)
English to Russian
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MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER
You can easily check what does the outsourcer posting a job see, just go to Jobs > Post job.
Next to the option "Limit this job to (paying) members of ProZ.com?" there is a clearly visible notification highlighted with blue: Limiting a job to paying members results in fewer quotes.
Natalia
[Edited at 2007-07-11 10:44]
| | | | Yolande Haneder (X)
Local time: 22:54
German to French
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When a job is offered to many, many translators, the "Members only" limit is automatically set and even for an urgent translation there is not chance to offer it to non member.
I think the best way would then be to make two jobs, giving a chance of the not crowded pair maybe not to underly this limit.
I have seen some agencies trying to give hints of themselves in the text to give the non member a chance to contact them, but filters had been set to hide particular info... See more When a job is offered to many, many translators, the "Members only" limit is automatically set and even for an urgent translation there is not chance to offer it to non member.
I think the best way would then be to make two jobs, giving a chance of the not crowded pair maybe not to underly this limit.
I have seen some agencies trying to give hints of themselves in the text to give the non member a chance to contact them, but filters had been set to hide particular informations as well
[Edited at 2007-07-11 11:01] ▲ Collapse
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Yolande Haneder (X)
Local time: 22:54
German to French
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| This IS correct | Jul 11, 2007 |
I had to suffer from it.
A couple of times I had an urgent easy job so didn't set any filter except for the mother tongue. I set "no, allow non-members to express interest" and once I finished the job, I got the message, there was too many recipients and it was sent to members only.
I suffered from it as I went from member to non member, seems to be like to force me to get the membership but restricting me on this way will only end up that I only contact the non-members... See more I had to suffer from it.
A couple of times I had an urgent easy job so didn't set any filter except for the mother tongue. I set "no, allow non-members to express interest" and once I finished the job, I got the message, there was too many recipients and it was sent to members only.
I suffered from it as I went from member to non member, seems to be like to force me to get the membership but restricting me on this way will only end up that I only contact the non-members through the directory if I have something urgent (usually they have more capacity). ▲ Collapse
| | | | Roberto Rey
Colombia
Local time: 15:54
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
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Yolande Haneder wrote:
..I suffered from it as I went from member to non member, seems to be like to force me to get the membership but restricting me on this way will only end up that I only contact the non-members through the directory if I have something urgent (usually they have more capacity).
I also posted a job a a non member and tried to make it available to non-members but by default Proz limits it. One thin I did not like because as a non member I want to give a chance to non members also and not have them wait for 48 hours..I don't like that about the job posting. Maybe next time I should post somewhere else.
| | | | | Jobs posted by non-members sometimes are temporarily restricted to members | Jul 11, 2007 |
This feature was announced in March 2006 at http://www.proz.com/post/320701#320701
When a sufficient number of members is present, job postings made by non-members may be automatically restricted to members for a certain period of time. (In other words, either the poster or the quoter should be a member for matching to happen quickly.) This would represent yet another competitive advantage for member translators, and now, member outsourcers.
Regards,
Enrique
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| A problem... and a proposed solution! | Jul 12, 2007 |
emoreda wrote:
I sometimes get the impression -for example in cases with very tight deadlines, or in cases where volunteer translation (!) is involved- that outsourcers didn't mean to place any restrictions on the job, but they were not familiar enough with the system and thus didn't realize that the jobs' form has "Members only"as its default setting (and I'm guessing here - I posted a small job long ago, but I think things have changed since them).
I think you are correct. I see so many "carelessly posted" jobs that it makes me wonder if so many prospective clients really bother to learn how to use all the Proz features.
The most typical case, just to illustrate, is that client who sounds desperate enough to get a translation finished in, say, 4 hours, but restricts non-paying members from bidding for the next 6 or 12 hours.
I understand that Proz needs a lot of Platinum members to go on, but IMHO this is not the way to do it. One possible way to ADD VALUE to the Platinum membership would be to set a minimum stated rate (per word or whatever, TBA by Proz marketing gurus) to automatically enable the Platinum-only restriction for the job poster, if they choose to use it. Otherwise it will remain be disabled. This should make the more pricey translators to swarm into becoming Platinum. If my math is right, they should be able to afford it. It's a win-win!
| | | | skazakis
Local time: 23:54
English to Greek
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| many reasons, i.e. one! | Jul 19, 2007 |
I registered with proz.com a few years ago but only decided to become a fully paying member yesterday (July 18, 2007). During my virtual presence in this site it so happened that I never got a job for various - personal - reasons. However, I have posted quite a few jobs during these years. So, why did I restrict my jobs to platinum members only?
One reason: To shorten the selection process. Having to select translators about a job in many languages for tens or hundreds of thousands ... See more I registered with proz.com a few years ago but only decided to become a fully paying member yesterday (July 18, 2007). During my virtual presence in this site it so happened that I never got a job for various - personal - reasons. However, I have posted quite a few jobs during these years. So, why did I restrict my jobs to platinum members only?
One reason: To shorten the selection process. Having to select translators about a job in many languages for tens or hundreds of thousands words is a very painful job on its own. So, I decided to restrict it to paying members only, in order to have less (but still enough and valid) options among people who, in my view, contribute to a market place that - simply - makes their (and my) life much easier!
During my job posts, I have also received e-mails from non-platinum members on my personal e-mail (obviously after a google search). I have found these offers utterly irritating and - very simply - decided to ignore them because (1) they are trying to bend the rules (site rule 2.2) and (2) they obviously can't read the specs so why trust them with a translation job
Thanks to my long involvement with IT companies, I understand the mechanics behind the jobs feature of proz.com. I appreciate the workload to setup and maintain this website and the resources it takes (or took at some point) to create a mechanism to forward e-mails, select people from the database, handle the logistics etc.
These are also the reasons I decided to go "platinum". I feel that proz.com is very useful to me (from kudoz to jobs to forums to meeting people!) so I might as well give something back to the community.
Sakis ▲ Collapse
| | | | zsuzsa369 (X)
Local time: 21:54
English to Hungarian
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| Correct me if I'm wrong.... | Jul 19, 2007 |
but can't the outsourcers select an option that allows members as well as non-members to contact them directly? I've seen a few ads displaying direct contact details. Is this option only open to certain outsourcers?
Zsuzsa
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