In general, the criteria used by translation agencies and end clients for choosing the appropriate translator or interpreter for a given job are well-known: specialization in a given language pair and field of expertise, years of experience, rate range, availability, credentials and client feedback, among others. But outsourcers are not the only ones in a position to set the parameters for a given job and working relationship. Translators and interpreters too can –and actually should– have their own set of parameters to decide when to accept a job offer made by a new client or decline it.
Author: Lucia Leszinsky
On taking a professional translator / interpreter career a step further 2
Something that cannot be said about the translation or interpretation profession is that it is a static one. Translation and interpreting –and the way these two activities are performed– have evolved throughout the years and continue to evolve, allowing language professionals to seek new challenges, inviting them to review their career plans from time to time.
Even if most language professionals feel good about what they have achieved, they may also feel compelled now and then to take their careers a step further. However, this step further may not always be that clear, and there are several options available that go beyond translation and interpreting.
One option translators and interpreters have if they feel like taking their careers a step further is the expansion of the services they offer. Expanding the list of services you offer to clients may involve learning a new language, adding a new field of expertise and even learning additional techniques such as subtitling or desktop publishing (DTP). Of course, adding a new service, like investing in anything else, means devoting time –and usually money– to getting it ready.
The ProZ.com mentoring program has reached 50 mentors in 125 different language pairs and 50 languages Reply
The ProZ.com mentoring program, an initiative intended to provide a means for site members to meet other members who are well-established enough to take on an apprentice, work together and build translation teams, has finally reached 50 active mentors in 125 different language pairs and in 50 different languages.
The program is particularly useful for members who, for example, have completed formal training in translation or who have acquired translation knowledge, but have a lack of practical experience. Site members just seeking advice on translation business-related issues are also welcomed.
For mentors, the program represents a useful means not only of sharing their experience and promoting themselves as experts, but also of finding new partners for growing translation teams.
Participation in this program is open to ProZ.com members, with members of the Certified PRO Network fulfilling the role of mentors.
If you would like to meet a mentor and acquire more experience, click here to see a complete list list of active mentors and contact them directly. If you and your mentor agree to work together, simply report your pairing to site staff and you are ready to go!
If you are a member of the Certified PRO Network and you would like to become a mentor and further promote yourself, just submit a support request.
Congratulations to the mentors and apprentices who are making this possible!
ProZ.com Certified PRO Network: applications from translation companies now accepted Reply
The ProZ.com Certified PRO Network, an initiative of the ProZ.com community that has the purpose of identifying qualified translators and providing them with the option of networking and collaborating while distinguishing themselves as professionals, is now open to translation companies willing to demonstrate their unique capabilities in keeping with published industry standards.
The ProZ.com Certified PRO Network keeps growing.
Allowing translation companies to apply for inclusion into the network is expected to have, among others, the following benefits:
- Network expansion.
- More successful service provider-outsourcer working relationships.
- More room for direct communication and collaboration between service providers and companies.
- A better understanding on the part of outsourcers of what being a Certified PRO means.
- Extended network promotion.
Translation companies willing to enter the ProZ.com Certified PRO Network will be required to prove that they meet or exceed minimum professional standards in two screening areas: (1) business reliability and (2) good citizenship.
Information that screeners will check when reviewing company applications includes Blue Board record history and payment practices, number of years in the translation industry, client feedback, standards or certifications, quality processes followed and ProZ.com activity. Other data, such as services offered and capacity, may also be taken into account.
If you run a translation company, consider applying for inclusion into the Certified PRO Network by completing your online application.
More information about PRO certification is available in the Certified PRO Network FAQs section (recently updated).
Application from freelancers are also being reviewed on a daily basis. So, if you are a freelancer and you would like to enter the network, apply now.
Thank you to ProZ.com site moderators, class of 2011-2012 1
Like referees in sports, ProZ.com moderators help to ensure fair play by enforcing a specific set of rules in a uniform manner.
The ProZ.com moderator class of 2011-2012 is coming to an end, but before this happens, ProZ.com would like to thank all of those members who have given of their time to help maintain a positive, results-oriented atmosphere on the site. Each person in the class has made valuable contributions to ProZ.com, and some of them even beyond the moderator program.
ProZ.com moderators are volunteer members who have benefited from ProZ.com and have chosen to give something back by playing their part, in turn, in a system put in place to ensure fair play. Their role is to foster and protect the positive, results-oriented atmosphere that makes ProZ.com possible, by:
- Greeting and guiding new participants, and helping them to properly use and benefit from what is available to them at ProZ.com.
- Enforcing site rules in a consistent and structured manner to maintain a constructive environment.
The moderator class of 2011-2012 is certainly a very good example of the role. Thank you mods!
The moderator class of 2012-2013 is scheduled to begin in August. So, if you are a ProZ.com member and would like to volunteer for a one-year term as site moderator, please visit http://www.proz.com/moderators or contact site staff through the support center.
Looking forward to receiving lots of applications!
Lucía
ProZ.com Certified PRO Network: 3,000 members and counting! Reply
The ProZ.com Certified PRO Network, an initiative of the ProZ.com community to provide qualified translators and translation companies with an opportunity to network and collaborate in an environment consisting entirely of screened professionals, has reached 3,000 members and more and more applications are being submitted every day.
Members of the ProZ.com Certified PRO Network have the benefit of networking with other screened professionals while distinguishing themselves as PROs. Many program participants view this also as an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the industry. Other benefits members of the program have include:
- a distinguishing Certified PRO seal shown next to their name throughout the ProZ.com site;
- a printable and downloadable certificate available in their ProZ.com profiles;
- a special search option in the ProZ.com directory of freelance translators and interpreters, ProZ.com’s main source of jobs;
- exclusive access to a personal workspace and to a Certified PRO Network private forum;
- special discount on selected ProZ.com training sessions and events;
- a distinguishing Certified PRO seal in in-person event name badges;
- access to periodically organized virtual powwows for members of the network;
- a Certified PRO logo to be used in personal websites, email signatures, blogs, etc.;
- full access to ProZ.com virtual events;
- the possibility to join Translators without Borders without going through their screening process;
- the option to share glossaries with other members of the network;
- the possibility to become ProZ.com mentors;
- and more!
To enter the Certified PRO Network, ProZ.com members must complete an online application and submit it for review to prove they meet or exceed minimum professional standards based on the EN15038 standard for quality in translation and in three screening areas: translation ability, business reliability and online citizenship.
The ProZ.com Certified PRO network is being provided as a service to ProZ.com full professional members only (non-members can still complete and submit their applications for review). If admitted, members pay no additional fees.
Click here to start completing your application.
More information about the ProZ.com Certified PRO Network is available here.
Congratulations to the over 3,000 ProZ.com members who are further differentiating themselves professionally and taking networking and collaboration to a new level!
Risk management in translation: ProZ.com knowledge base for translators, translation companies, and others in the language industry 2
Every business type is exposed to risks influenced by numerous factors and the translation and interpretation business is no exception. Regardless of the type of activity involved, everyone either offering language services or looking for language service providers is exposed so several types of risks that should be acknowledged if a reliable and successful service provider-outsourcer relationship is desired.
With this in mind, ProZ.com has been creating content and developing new tools with the purpose of helping translators, translation companies, and others in the language industry to learn about the different risks involved in doing business online and how to prevent them.
One of these resources, and probably the most widely used by service providers when assessing risks, is the ProZ.com Blue Board. The Blue Board record is the complete, searchable database of records made up of feedback entries posted by language service providers in connection with outsourcers they have worked with. For service providers, the Blue Board record has proved to be a great tool for assessing the reliability of specific outsourcers before accepting a job offer from them. For outsourcers, being listed in the Blue Board record with a good number of positive entries from service providers represents a great marketing tool. Outsourcers with a good Blue Board record report a higher degree of trust and shortened project launch cycles among those service providers who reference the Blue Board. More information about using the Blue Board record is available here.
Another great source of information in connection with business risks in translation is the ProZ.com Wiki. The ProZ.com translation industry wiki is an ever-evolving collection of articles about relevant, industry related topics, written and updated regularly by translators themselves. In this wiki, there are several articles on risk management, addressed both to language professionals and to outsourcers. Risk management-related wiki articles include the following:
- Risk management for translators and interpreters
- Risk management for outsourcers
- Risk management: Email
- Risk management: the Blue Board
For more information about the ProZ.com industry wiki, visit this page.
A recently released scam alert center is another potentially valuable resource for those seeking to manage risk when it comes to false job offers and other scams. The Translator scam alert center is an area used to provide organized, concise information regarding false job offers or requests and other scams which may be aimed at or are affecting language professionals and outsourcers. Information provided in the center is based in part on reports made by ProZ.com members through the online support system and in the ProZ.com Scams forum, and ProZ.com members have the option of subscribing to receive useful news and alerts of new scams as they are detected. The scam alert center is available here.
Finally, ProZ.com also offers its members a free webinar on “Risk management for translators and interpreters” on a monthly basis. This training session enumerates and explains risk management procedures that translators and interpreters should follow as part of their everyday professional activities. The schedule for these webinars is available here.
Regardless of the number of years a service provider or an outsourcer has been in the translation industry, risks are everywhere when doing business. However, the above-listed resources and tools have been made available by ProZ.com to promote not just professional practices, but also clear and concise information on the steps that should be taken to avoid risks when participating in the language industry. If you have any questions about these tools and resources, or if you need assistance with using them, contact site staff through the support center.
