Please, critique my profile Thread poster: Bogdan Doicin (X)
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Bogdan Doicin (X)
Local time: 22:01
English to Romanian
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I guess the title says it all. I am a complete beginner in serious freelance translating, although I do translations in my daily life very often, during and outside my normal profession.
So, I would like you to take a look at my profile and give me your feedback. What's good, what's bad (and what's ugly, if there is any).
More info I won't say right now, so as not to influence any opinion. However, more will be provided if necessary.
Thank you very much.
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Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:01
German to English
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| Empty calendar | Jul 7, 2011 |
From a purely personal perspective, I am always a little dubious about a completely free calendar as it suggests no work at all! I'd either hide the calendar or tweak the availability a bit!
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Manuela Junghans
Germany
Local time: 21:01
Member (2004)
English to German
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| My first impression | Jul 7, 2011 |
would be that you should maybe consider translating into your native language, which I understand is Romanian.
I´m not a native English speaker myself, and I certainly couldn´t judge your French, however, from what you´ve written in English on your profile page I would say that it´s easily recognisable that this isn´t your native language.
Maybe just something to consider.
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 20:01
Member (2007)
English
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| Do what you do best | Jul 7, 2011 |
Hello Bogdan,
Welcome to ProZ.com and to freelance translating.
You say you already have experience in translating but not as a translator as such. It's true that companies will often use employees to translate their material into other languages. Here in France, much of the translation into English is done be employees who learnt English at school and are willing to "have a go". They are often in my pre-intermediate language classes and although they get by in English ... See more Hello Bogdan,
Welcome to ProZ.com and to freelance translating.
You say you already have experience in translating but not as a translator as such. It's true that companies will often use employees to translate their material into other languages. Here in France, much of the translation into English is done be employees who learnt English at school and are willing to "have a go". They are often in my pre-intermediate language classes and although they get by in English they never, repeat never, do a professional job of translating.
You can clearly communicate perfectly happily in English but, as Manuela has said, professional translators only translate out of their native language for one or two particular reasons: either they have spent so long living in the country where the language is spoken that they are native-equivalent level or there are very few native speakers of the language with sufficient abilities in the source language. The latter is true of, for example, the Chinese to English pair - but in this case a native proofreader should always be used to ensure the text reads naturally. Remember that every translation you produce must be as near perfect as possible. Can you be sure of producing written English and French that is as good as a native speaker with translation skills can produce?
Your "about me" text sounds quite appealing. One thing I noticed is that you are a poker player. There is a large amount of work in this area at the moment, if advertised offers are anything to go by. Perhaps it would be worth your while specialising in this area. There may be a good niche market there in English/French to Romanian.
By the way, you should be careful of the quality of translation samples as there is a marked difference in quality between the two you have posted and this would no doubt ring alarm bells.
Like Manuela I feel sure that your real strength lies in translating into Romanian. Whatever you decide to do, you clearly have the right attitude and I wish you well in your career. Staying here at ProZ.com and being involved in the community (I see you already have KudoZ recognition) will be a good move.
Sheila ▲ Collapse
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ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 22:01
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
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You can provide (a link to) your CV/resume in your profile. I understand that CV/resume is a major item in itself.
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Kate Chaffer
Italy
Local time: 21:01
Member (2009)
Italian to English
| Sample translations | Jul 7, 2011 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
By the way, you should be careful of the quality of translation samples as there is a marked difference in quality between the two you have posted and this would no doubt ring alarm bells.
With me it rang alarm bells that made me Google the first 'translation'. I found this:
http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/2859513/ExxonMobil-updates-Montana-oil-spill-response.html?Print=true
I hope it's just an error on the original poster's part and he meant to put the English text as the source and the Romanian as the translation.
Going on the quality of the second sample. I would join the others in encouraging you to translate only into your native language.
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Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:01
Italian to English
I agree with the previous posters.
Here are some suggested improvements to your About me section (without comment on the content).
• ... soon to be an assistant what – roadsweeper?
• I also speak English and French fluently, languages that I have used almost daily in my life for more than 12 years.
• I very much enjoy reading, cycling ....
• I am an extrovert, loyal, honest and fun-to-be-with person, who likes to have lots of friends
• ...... See more I agree with the previous posters.
Here are some suggested improvements to your About me section (without comment on the content).
• ... soon to be an assistant what – roadsweeper?
• I also speak English and French fluently, languages that I have used almost daily in my life for more than 12 years.
• I very much enjoy reading, cycling ....
• I am an extrovert, loyal, honest and fun-to-be-with person, who likes to have lots of friends
• ... and am constantly working to expand my sphere of knowledge
• I believe in / demonstrate observance of deadlines, professionalism, accuracy, attention to details, quality and speed.
• ... and Computers/Software, with 4 years.
• If you are looking for a long-term association, you have come to the right place. I believe that no task is impossible and that you will be 100% satisfied. It all begins with a message to me...
Good luck ▲ Collapse
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Bogdan Doicin (X)
Local time: 22:01
English to Romanian
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TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for feedback | Jul 7, 2011 |
Wow! I got so many quality answers and I deeply thank you, ladies and gents. I had modified my profile according to your recommendations.
@Mary: your first impression is correct, about the calendar. So far, nobody is overwhelming me with offers, so, technically, my calendar is 100% free. I hid it, though.
@Manuela and Sheila: you told me a thing that I would have never imagined: that professional translators only translate from the foreign into the native ... See more Wow! I got so many quality answers and I deeply thank you, ladies and gents. I had modified my profile according to your recommendations.
@Mary: your first impression is correct, about the calendar. So far, nobody is overwhelming me with offers, so, technically, my calendar is 100% free. I hid it, though.
@Manuela and Sheila: you told me a thing that I would have never imagined: that professional translators only translate from the foreign into the native language. I thought that it was enough to know two languages and you can successfully do the translation job, as far as I see, it doesn't cut it, quality wise. In conclusion, I modified my profile so as I translate from English and French into Romanian. And so, the jobs got less ) Well, more time for KudoZ and Brownies and for self-improvement.
@Sheila and Kate: both of my sample translations are "authentic" meaning that I did them (and not Google Translate). The link that Kate posted is the link from a piece of an article from HP, that I decided to sample translate from English into Romanian. If this is not OK, let me know and I'll change the source to something that I have 100% copyright on. Yes, it was an error: I meant to put English as source and Romanian as destination.
Q: Why does it ring alarm bells?
@Atil: I don't plan to upload a CV or a resume because it is not relevant to the translation stuff. One can see is my qualifications in Petroleum and Chemical Engineering and that I am a small computer-nerd. The only relevant qualification that I've got was a TOEFL test that I took in 2002. But that's too far away to even mention, right?
@Russell: Thank you for the suggested improvements.
You are all invited to take a look at Bogdan's profile, version 1.1 and hit me with your best shots.
PS: @Sheila: Thank you for your wishes. ▲ Collapse
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Bogdan Doicin (X)
Local time: 22:01
English to Romanian
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TOPIC STARTER
I will add here, because I don't see the need to open up another topic.
Yesterday, I added a CV to my profile and I would like some feedback on it. What do you like, what you don't like, if you would hire me... you know the drill.
Thank you.
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| Availability | Dec 28, 2011 |
Mary Worby wrote:
From a purely personal perspective, I am always a little dubious about a completely free calendar as it suggests no work at all! I'd either hide the calendar or tweak the availability a bit!
I say I am available 24/7, which is the truth. However, this status changes when I least expect/want it to. For example, I send in a translation before I go to bed late at night and I wake up thinking I have a free morning ahead of me. While I'm having breakfast, I receive a translation - anything from 200 to 20,000 words, which changes everything.
I prefer to say I am available and if when I receive work I discover I can't do it, then I explain I have received a text from someone else.
[Edited at 2011-12-28 12:40 GMT]
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