On sending CVs Thread poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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I know times are difficult for some, but dear fellow translators could you please do your homework before sending your CVs? Even though my website and all the platforms and associations I belong to say clearly that I only translate from and into European Portuguese, in the past 36 hours my inbox has been flooded with CVs (52 in total so far) from translators all over the world: English-Korean, English-German, Italian-English, Norwegian/Swedish-English, German-English, English-Japanese, English-S... See more I know times are difficult for some, but dear fellow translators could you please do your homework before sending your CVs? Even though my website and all the platforms and associations I belong to say clearly that I only translate from and into European Portuguese, in the past 36 hours my inbox has been flooded with CVs (52 in total so far) from translators all over the world: English-Korean, English-German, Italian-English, Norwegian/Swedish-English, German-English, English-Japanese, English-Slovak, Polish-English, German-Italian, English-Chinese, you name it! What’s the use of sending CVs indiscriminately? Isn’t that a complete waste of time? Curiously enough, some claim having 25 years of experience, shouldn’t they know better? I really needed to get this off my chest. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton 
United States
Local time: 09:28
German to English
| You may be on a list | Aug 26, 2020 |
There are individuals peddling lists with the details of thousands of agencies / contacts to the unwary. Your details have have been harvested from the membership roster of an association you may have joined long ago, or even recently.
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 07:28
Dutch to English
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| It happens to all of us | Aug 27, 2020 |
It's just spam. Most of these emails have the word 'translator' in the subject line, in contrast to legitimate inquiries that usually say 'translation project'. By consistently sending these emails to my junk folder, my email program now does that automatically.
| | | | | Kenvin + Tina | Aug 27, 2020 |
My point was not that. My point was about the uselessness of sending CVs without doing the necessary homework; I mean what’s the point of sending your CV to someone who does not work with your source and target language(s)? I do outsource occasionally but exclusively from and into European Portuguese and I welcome those CVs...
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 09:28
German to English
| Dubious advice given | Aug 28, 2020 |
Back before the internet revolutionized the translation industry, there was a hard copy (!) publication for translators called "Glenn's Guide" which listed agency contact details, as well as specialties (languages, subject matter, etc.). This was when LSPs tended to specialize, and there were few quality agencies offering "all languages, all subjects". The publication also offered advice on how to approach LSPs. One suggestion was that translators might sent their CVs to agencies that did not ne... See more Back before the internet revolutionized the translation industry, there was a hard copy (!) publication for translators called "Glenn's Guide" which listed agency contact details, as well as specialties (languages, subject matter, etc.). This was when LSPs tended to specialize, and there were few quality agencies offering "all languages, all subjects". The publication also offered advice on how to approach LSPs. One suggestion was that translators might sent their CVs to agencies that did not necessarily offer services in their language or specialty, in the hope that the agency might someday need the services of a translator with a different language combination or expertise.
Teresa's experience, as well as my own to a lesser extent, is evidence that this scattershot approach is still used, unfortunately. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 07:28
Dutch to English
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Teresa Borges wrote:
My point was not that. My point was about the uselessness of sending CVs without doing the necessary homework; I mean what’s the point of sending your CV to someone who does not work with your source and target language(s)? I do outsource occasionally but exclusively from and into European Portuguese and I welcome those CVs...
Of course it's useless and therefore not worth looking at or thinking about, let alone replying to.
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Until recently both my inbox and my spam box kept being flooded with a torrent of CVs from EU translators and very occasionally from Japanese translators but now it looks that Chinese translators are also interested in working with BPT… Who’s next?
| | | | | Maybe extend your services | Jan 28, 2021 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
Until recently both my inbox and my spam box kept being flooded with a torrent of CVs from EU translators and very occasionally from Japanese translators but now it looks that Chinese translators are also interested in working with BPT… Who’s next?
I have a genuine question , if you have a lot of Translators why don't you add more language combinations that your agency can handle ?
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| Thank you, but no! | Jan 28, 2021 |
Mohamad Alayoubi wrote:
Teresa Borges wrote:
Until recently both my inbox and my spam box kept being flooded with a torrent of CVs from EU translators and very occasionally from Japanese translators but now it looks that Chinese translators are also interested in working with BPT… Who’s next?
I have a genuine question , if you have a lot of Translators why don't you add more language combinations that your agency can handle ?
Because my agency has enough work as such and because since the very beginning (in 1985), for a question of quality control, we decided to translate exclusively from and into European Portuguese. I‘m not interested in growing more: Small is beautiful!
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 15:28
Spanish to English
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Dear Teresa,
I am glad to have the chance to catch you here. As you are aware, I have sent you my CV no fewer than 100 times within the last year. You never reply, so I send it again and again and again. You can imagine how frustrated I feel. Is there any reason for this totally disparaging attitude?
[Edited at 2021-01-28 11:23 GMT]
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Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Dear Teresa,
I am glad to have the chance to catch you here. As you are aware, I have sent you my CV no fewer than 100 times within the last year. You never reply, so I send it again and again and again. You can imagine how frustrated I feel. Is there any reason for this totally disparaging attitude?
[Edited at 2021-01-28 11:23 GMT]
Thank you, Mervyn!
| | | | | Thank you for the reply | Jan 28, 2021 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
Mohamad Alayoubi wrote:
Teresa Borges wrote:
Until recently both my inbox and my spam box kept being flooded with a torrent of CVs from EU translators and very occasionally from Japanese translators but now it looks that Chinese translators are also interested in working with BPT… Who’s next?
I have a genuine question , if you have a lot of Translators why don't you add more language combinations that your agency can handle ?
Because my agency has enough work as such and because since the very beginning (in 1985), for a question of quality control, we decided to translate exclusively from and into European Portuguese. I‘m not interested in growing more: Small is beautiful!
Thank you so much for the reply , great insight and i hope that you get rid of this problem ( i know it's impossible ) .
Kind regards.
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