How to read an advertisement…
Rather than ranting and raving about the problems we have on a daily basis, I thought it may be useful to give freelance linguists an insight (and yes, I mean linguists and not specifically translators, editors or proofreaders) that could maybe help you to get prospective clients to do more than skim over your CV in an attempt to find a needle in a haystack!
Let me tell you what happened a few days ago and I hope it will help to put many of you on track… We put an advertisement on ProZ for a copywriter/editor for a specific field of specialization. As a result we received dozens of responses announcing rates and the number of words that applicants could translate per day. What–you are probably wondering–do I want to know? First and foremost you should tell me about yourself and why you feel you are suitable for this particular project. Give me facts. Make us want to work with you.
Many of the applications had the adverse effect and I just hit ‘delete’. Some applicants praised their excellent translation skills… but they missed the point which was that we were looking for a copywriter! I thought that I may not have been clear enough and posted a second advert and took care to describe the project more precisely.
Applications continued to pour in and I skimmed some of the attached CVs. There was hardly a mention of the required field of specialization and only one applicant purported to have some experience in copywriting! Several claimed to be bilingual and said that they also translate into English. In several cases their written English was, to put it mildly, some kind of pidgin and was full of errors. There is nothing more irritating than receiving an email full of grammatical and syntactical errors from someone claiming to be able to translate competently into English! I simply hit the delete button, time and again, and continued to search through the endless incoming emails.
There were also some beautifully written applications. Most of them were from people who did not claim to translate in both directions. One email was rather bittersweet… the applicant gently tried to correct my spelling by informing me that their partner is an expert in “copyrights”. Well, this is a far cry from copywriting…
Finally I discovered a gorgeous ray of sunshine amongst literally dozens of applicants. One person had made the effort to read the project description, understood exactly what we needed, and suggested that a colleague of theirs may be suitable. I contacted them immediately and we discussed the project via Skype. They both evaluated it and it looks as though they will be doing the job for us…
My advice is to read adverts very carefully and only to apply if you have the relevant experience. Don’t apply for a copywriting job if you are a translator. Remember, the client is looking for an experienced copywriter. Also don’t try to cash in on an advert just because you think it may be an ideal opportunity to get your foot in the door. It simply doesn’t work that way. Anyone who rides on an advert by submitting their CV on the tail of one of our ads is simply ignored. The reason for this is easy to understand: while we are looking for a new linguist for a specific project we do not have time to consider anyone for hypothetical jobs.
In between times I may come across excellent CVs and I note that I should add them to the database when I have a minute to spare… and I do so. Sometimes it may take me over a year to contact someone who has sent me a well-written email with their CV attached. These are usually from people whose email and CV impressed me, and whose details I added to the database, and whose profile may well fit the bill for a new client…
Good luck!
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