Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Being asked to work for free - what to do? Thread poster: Mariela Jung
|
I recently applied for a job and got a reply today. They said that they liked my profile, but the job is actually a "volunteer" opportunity, for "respectable universities". With this, I would gain a certificate(!), and they would keep my CV for paid opportunities in the future. I wonder: what do you do when asked to work for free? Have any volunteer opportunity actually led to a paid job for you? Thank you! | | | Morano El-Kholy Egypt Local time: 09:40 Member (2011) English to Arabic + ... Yes, go for it, why not! | Feb 1, 2021 |
Dear Mariela Jung, Yes, why not. Go for it. This volunteer work may lead to well-paid jobs in the future. Who knows? You can try and see if everything is running smoothly and easily. I would like to encourage you especially if you do not have any work to do at the same time. This is much better than waiting for a potential job. Good luck ![](https://cfcdn.proz.com/images/bb/smiles/icon_smile.gif) | | | Mariela Jung Brazil English to Portuguese + ... TOPIC STARTER
Morano El-Kholy wrote: Dear Mariela Jung, Yes, why not. Go for it. This volunteer work may lead to well-paid jobs in the future. Who knows? You can try and see if everything is running smoothly and easily. I would like to encourage you especially if you do not have any work to do at the same time. This is much better than waiting for a potential job. Good luck Thank you! | | |
If you have time to volunteer and need more experience then go for it. It may result in paid work or at least a good reference. If you have other clients and may not be able to keep up with volunteer projects then explain the situation to your prospective 'employer'. They may change their job offer to paid work if they are seriously interested in hiring you. Have in mind that it could also be a scam or someone is trying to use you. At least, do not agree right away. Get... See more If you have time to volunteer and need more experience then go for it. It may result in paid work or at least a good reference. If you have other clients and may not be able to keep up with volunteer projects then explain the situation to your prospective 'employer'. They may change their job offer to paid work if they are seriously interested in hiring you. Have in mind that it could also be a scam or someone is trying to use you. At least, do not agree right away. Get them involved into discussion and try get as much details as possible so you can make a better informed decision. ▲ Collapse | |
|
|
Mariela Jung wrote: I recently applied for a job and got a reply today. They said that they liked my profile, but the job is actually a "volunteer" opportunity, for "respectable universities". With this, I would gain a certificate(!), and they would keep my CV for paid opportunities in the future. I wonder: what do you do when asked to work for free? Have any volunteer opportunity actually led to a paid job for you? Thank you! You're being scammed. Don't ever work for free. My advice. | | | Yes and no and everything in between and do not rule out a possible scam | Feb 1, 2021 |
Why not do it as long as it serves a purpose for you. If you want experience and/or references and/or practice, then it might be a good idea. Do make sure that you integrate a few protective measures in there for yourself. Remember that whether a job is unpaid or not, there is likely to be a deadline. Make sure that volunteer work does not prevent you from accepting paid work. One satisfied paying customer may order further work and tell business partners about your work. Passing on those opport... See more Why not do it as long as it serves a purpose for you. If you want experience and/or references and/or practice, then it might be a good idea. Do make sure that you integrate a few protective measures in there for yourself. Remember that whether a job is unpaid or not, there is likely to be a deadline. Make sure that volunteer work does not prevent you from accepting paid work. One satisfied paying customer may order further work and tell business partners about your work. Passing on those opportunities would be a shame. If you decide to do so, accept only very small jobs. By the way, the "certificate" thing sounds very odd. I translate for a couple of universities locally. In the past, universities offered terrible rates and paid so late! They now accept decent rates and pay within a week or two. There are some small universities providing interesting translation work and who pay well. Be wary of specialist areas too. Universities need translators for research papers being sent off to international publications that are generally subject to peer review. If you have no knowledge of the field concerned, is it realistic that you would be able to do a good job? Will it lead to paid work? Playing the devil's advocate here, with the same client, I would think that is unlikely you would get paid work as a result. Two reasons: - if you are happy to work on a volunteer basis, why should they pay? - you are probably not alone in accepting to do the work on a volunteer basis. The possibility of this being a scam cannot be ruled out. The "certificate" thing alerts me to this possibility. It may be someone intending to use your work as a pre-translation they will then sell themselves. Check out everything you can about the identity of the people asking you to do this work. Do they have a genuine academic email address? Can you reach them on the phone? Does their name match the field of expertise or that of a translation agency?
[Edited at 2021-02-01 22:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | | Samuel Murray Netherlands Local time: 08:40 Member (2006) English to Afrikaans + ...
Mariela Jung wrote: I recently applied for a job and got a reply today. They said that they liked my profile, but the job is actually a "volunteer" opportunity, for "respectable universities". With this, I would gain a certificate(!), and they would keep my CV for paid opportunities in the future. While I would have no objection to this type of "job", they should really have mentioned this in the job post. The fact that they did not mention it, is dishonesty on their part. Long ago, when I worked for a non-profit organisation and I had to post jobs here at ProZ.com, I made it very clear in the job post itself that those jobs were an unpaid, volunteer jobs. This forthrightness also ensures that the right kind of translator applies for the job. I agree with others, however: if you have time, do it. For all you know, the university will give you a glowing review with the agency, and they'll move you to the top of their list. | | |
I just had a quick look at your profile. Your ProZ profile is your "store window". From what I can see, you have a number of skills and a number of fields of expertise. You also have translation software. In addition, to stand out from the competition, it might help to provide some indication of your experience in those fields through relevant professional experience and training and/or academic language training and qualifications. Maybe you could look at other profiles in your language pairs a... See more I just had a quick look at your profile. Your ProZ profile is your "store window". From what I can see, you have a number of skills and a number of fields of expertise. You also have translation software. In addition, to stand out from the competition, it might help to provide some indication of your experience in those fields through relevant professional experience and training and/or academic language training and qualifications. Maybe you could look at other profiles in your language pairs and see how the "competition" is selling its services? Then ask yourself what would make a client choose you rather than the next person. ▲ Collapse | |
|
|
Felipe Lacerda Brazil Local time: 03:40 Member (2011) English to Portuguese + ... Tell them to go eat a bag of dicks. | Feb 1, 2021 |
"Thanks, but no, thanks. I will altruistically turn down this amazing career opportunity." | | | texjax DDS PhD Local time: 02:40 Member (2006) English to Italian + ...
"Respectable universities" don't exploit anyone. | | | Window dressing? | Feb 2, 2021 |
Samuel Murray wrote: Mariela Jung wrote: I recently applied for a job and got a reply today. They said that they liked my profile, but the job is actually a "volunteer" opportunity, for "respectable universities". With this, I would gain a certificate(!), and they would keep my CV for paid opportunities in the future. While I would have no objection to this type of "job", they should really have mentioned this in the job post. This is the aspect that struck me immediately too. The cynic in me suspects that they held back this information (about the lack of pay) deliberately so that some jobseekers would get interested in the work itself first, and would then be more willing to forego the idea of remuneration once they'd had some time to digest it and get their hearts set on it. For me, this raises a serious question as to whether the employer is acting in good faith. I also share Nikki's concerns about the certificate. It seems valueless to me, as a simple reference would do the same job, surely? It looks a bit like a marketing ploy designed to make what they're offering you seem a little more substantial: a piece of paper that you can hold in your hand, rather than nothing tangible at all. Then there's "respectable universities"... well, respectability is subjective, it's not something concrete. So I suspect there might be a bit of window dressing going on here, to make unpaid work seem more appealing. If they had mentioned in the job advert that the work is unpaid, would you have responded? Even if your answer is yes, it's worth asking yourself why they left out that rather important detail earlier. I think if you do decide to go for it, it's best to be realistic about the fact that it may not lead to anything. If you can live with that prospect and still want to do it, fair enough, but I wouldn't base my decision on the fact that someone assures me they're going to keep my CV, because they might keep a lot of other people's CVs as well, and it's possible that no paid work will ever materialise. | | | Jo Macdonald Spain Local time: 08:40 Italian to English + ... Promising a job = paid work, then asking you to do it for free | Feb 2, 2021 |
If they made it clear it was voluntary unpaid work from the start, they are acting in good faith. If they posted a job to get people interested then asked them to do it for free, they are not. Respectable universities? This "dangle a job like a carrot to get a freebie" strategy doesn't sound very respectable at all. I would gain a certificate? Certifying what exactly? "This sucker works for FREE, as certified." They are the ones who should be certified. Are they a... See more If they made it clear it was voluntary unpaid work from the start, they are acting in good faith. If they posted a job to get people interested then asked them to do it for free, they are not. Respectable universities? This "dangle a job like a carrot to get a freebie" strategy doesn't sound very respectable at all. I would gain a certificate? Certifying what exactly? "This sucker works for FREE, as certified." They are the ones who should be certified. Are they a certified charity? They would keep my CV for paid opportunities in the future. In other words we'll get you interested in a job, then get you to do it for free with the promise of "opportunities" in the future, maybe. What do you do when asked to work for free? If it's a certified charity and they are transparent about the voluntary work, and can prove they are a charity and help people in need, no problem. If it's tricksters I refuse to help them trick people by providing them with work for free = making their strategy work. Have any volunteer opportunity actually led to a paid job for you? No, never. I have done voluntary translation work for an organization that looked like an honorable one then ended up part of a big agency with a very bad rep, not doing that anymore.
[Edited at 2021-02-02 07:10 GMT] ▲ Collapse | |
|
|
jyuan_us United States Local time: 02:40 Member (2005) English to Chinese + ...
Samuel Murray wrote: For all you know, the university will give you a glowing review with the agency, and they'll move you to the top of their list. Why "will" the university give you a glowing review with the agency? Just because you work for them for free? Would such an agency need such a review? If the reason why "they'll move you to the top of their list" is you have worked for free for them, everybody who has worked for free for them would have already been at the top of their list. I just couldn't follow it. Did I misunderstand any point in here?
[Edited at 2021-02-02 08:18 GMT] | | | Baran Keki Türkiye Local time: 09:40 Member English to Turkish Charity and marketing | Feb 2, 2021 |
I don't know about the respectable universities, but I do see that some people are going out of their way to get that coveted "TWB" badge on their Proz profile. It makes you wonder, though, if you're being charitable and donating your time and effort to a good cause with no financial expectations, wouldn't it make sense to remain 'anonymous' rather than declaring to all and sundry that "I've translated 60k words for TWB" and using it as a 'marketing tool'? Apologies for straying fro... See more I don't know about the respectable universities, but I do see that some people are going out of their way to get that coveted "TWB" badge on their Proz profile. It makes you wonder, though, if you're being charitable and donating your time and effort to a good cause with no financial expectations, wouldn't it make sense to remain 'anonymous' rather than declaring to all and sundry that "I've translated 60k words for TWB" and using it as a 'marketing tool'? Apologies for straying from the topic. ▲ Collapse | | | Sheila Wilson Spain Local time: 07:40 Member (2007) English + ...
texjax DDS PhD wrote: "Respectable universities" don't exploit anyone. "Respectable universities" have budgets for translation work. | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Being asked to work for free - what to do? Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
| Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |