Poll: How often are you asked to submit a sample translation before starting work with a potential client? Tópico cartaz: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often are you asked to submit a sample translation before starting work with a potential client?".
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neilmac
Espanha
Local time: 07:12
espanhol para inglês
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But I'm reluctant to provide samples nowadays and wll only do so if I really want the job for some reason.
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neilmac wrote:
But I'm reluctant to provide samples nowadays and will only do so if I really want the job for some reason.
Same here. My hands are pretty full already.
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Marjolein Snippe 
Holanda
Local time: 07:12
Membro (2012)
inglês para holandês
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And if the client seems serious and interesting, I am happy to provide a sample translation, provided there is no firm deadline and the translation is not too long.
I prefer requests for sample translations over requests for references as I tend to assume my references have enough to do without discussing my services with potential new clients.
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We don't get many new customers and they normally come through word of mouth. Most would not be in a position to assess our translations anyway.
Tests and samples are of limited value IME. Back when we subcontracted work, we found the only reliable way of telling whether people were any good, whatever their credentials, was to give them a few paid translations and see how it went. Cleaning up the mess was sometimes very time-consuming, but eventually we built up a good little team.... See more We don't get many new customers and they normally come through word of mouth. Most would not be in a position to assess our translations anyway.
Tests and samples are of limited value IME. Back when we subcontracted work, we found the only reliable way of telling whether people were any good, whatever their credentials, was to give them a few paid translations and see how it went. Cleaning up the mess was sometimes very time-consuming, but eventually we built up a good little team.
Your average agency isn't going to make that investment, but quality mattered to us. ▲ Collapse
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They rarely ask for samples, and a lot more often for free tests.
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Sheila Wilson
Espanha
Local time: 06:12
Membro (2007)
inglês
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I think it's a fair request when working in the field of marketing. You could give out 20 tests and get back 15 perfectly accurate translations, but it's perfectly possible that 10 would be in a non-marketing style. Of the remaining 5 some would be marketing-speak yet not really in tune with the way the company wants to be seen. Although style can change if you're given a very detailed spec, it's always better to choose a copywriter or translator whose natural style is a perfect fit.
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Thayenga
Alemanha
Local time: 07:12
Membro (2009)
inglês para alemão
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Muriel Vasconcellos wrote: neilmac wrote:
But I'm reluctant to provide samples nowadays and will only do so if I really want the job for some reason. Same here. My hands are pretty full already.
Only if I really want the job, and definitely not just to register with any translator pool.
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Julian Holmes
Japão
Local time: 14:12
Membro (2011)
japonês para inglês
| In Japan - more often than not | Nov 17, 2014 |
And, I might have to do more from here on.
Because my main customer has just notified me that a 1-month project that I had been slated to start next week - that I kept my schedule open for - has been put back till 4 or 5 months time and other work from the same client is delayed, as well.
This year has been been one nasty roller coaster with more downs than ups. Back to square one! 
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M. Anna Kańduła wrote:
They rarely ask for samples, and a lot more often for free tests.
Like Marjolein, I prefer requests for sample translations over requests for references. What I can't understand is when a client asks for a diploma I obtained over 40 years ago...
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And they don't get one.
I have no time for freebies.
Most of my potential clients have received my name through colleagues in other language pairs who recommended me, so they don't ask.
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DianeGM
Local time: 08:12
Membro (2006)
holandês para inglês
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| Not often ... | Nov 17, 2014 |
Although having said that, exceptionally, I did do one a couple of weeks ago as the client came to me on the recommendation of an existing client and I never heard anything back - not even confirmation of receipt.
It reinforced the conclusion that I came to long ago which was that if agencies have work for you - they send work, if not they send 'tests'.
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| sort of "not applicable" | Nov 17, 2014 |
Occasionally I get a request like that, usually from agencies who contact me along with others (often as "undisclosed recipient"). I don't do sample translations. When I used to do them in my first years and "passed", I never got work by "passing".
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EvaVer (X)
Local time: 07:12
tcheco para francês
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Teresa Borges wrote:
Like Marjolein, I prefer requests for sample translations over requests for references. What I can't understand is when a client asks for a diploma I obtained over 40 years ago...
Or, in my case, a diploma I don't have. Providing samples (or test translations) is to my advantage, as I am pretty good, but my CV doesn't look impressive. And I don't like to have my referees bothered too often.
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