How to work for free in order to get quick references to increase credibility ? Thread poster: Vitor Pinheiro
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The hard way seems to be manually respond job offers from several freelancer translating sites stating that i can work for free on some small projects. But i'm wondering if there isn't alredy a proper area/forum/site designed for asking for donated translations. Or if there is at least a better way to donate translations for references.
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
| My two cents | Mar 28, 2022 |
Vitor Pinheiro wrote:
The hard way seems to be manually respond job offers from several freelancer translating sites stating that i can work for free on some small projects.
Yeah, don’t do that.
Or if there is at least a better way to donate translations for references.
Only, ONLY agree to do volunteer jobs for well-known international NGOs such as Translators without Borders, The United Nations, or TED Talk. You can also do volunteer works for the reputable NGOs in your national level. I don’t know what your options are in Brazil. But as an example in the US, St. Jude Children Research Hospital occasionally offered such jobs for translators to donate.
The point I’m trying to make, is how would those volunteer jobs make your CV to look more appealing for potential outsourcers. Think about it, if you were in their shoes, would you be more interested in hiring someone who did volunteer works for the UN, or someone who volunteered for some random agencies you have never heard of.
Also, I don’t know if you are already aware about this, but I’ll say it anyway for the sake of PSA.
Beware of wolves. Some freelance translators take advantage of newcomers by offering them volunteer jobs. But what actually happens is that they disguised the projects they managed to win from their clients and subcontract them for free. So they can get paid in full while taking all the credits for themselves. What’s worse is that they bid for jobs in language pairs they don’t speak or in fields of expertise they know nothing about (which makes sense, they won't do that if the projects were within their reach legitimately).
Also also, whenever you hand over any of your personal files to an outsourcer (like your CV), always protect them from unauthorized copy, print, and modification. This is to prevent your career achievements from being stolen. The most popular office suites should have this feature. And while it’s not foolproof, it is still better than nothing.
Godspeed.
[Edited at 2022-03-28 05:06 GMT]
| | | | Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 21:35
Member
English to Turkish
Vitor Pinheiro wrote:
But i'm wondering if there isn't alredy a proper area/forum/site designed for asking for donated translations. Or if there is at least a better way to donate translations for references.
As far as I know TwB does just that. And those donating their translations proudly show off their badges on their profiles (for whatever good that does).
If I were you (that is if I'm right in understanding that you're a beginner and you want some experience and recognition for your resume) I'd apply for an in-house position. Work as an in-house where you can learn your trade and have the chance to specialize in certain areas (because you'll most likely receive work on a daily basis in various fields) before considering freelancing in a highly saturated language pair. Don't take too long though, 1 or 2 years as an in-house will make you a seasoned and competent translator than a Dip Trans graduate or a TwB donator.
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... take all offers by agencies that offer post-editing. These jobs are almost for free now and you can gain experience as much you want to.
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Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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Because nobody uses references.
Good proper clients don't give them, normal translators don't use them, and the people that DO provide them collect them from their mother's schoolmates or the neighbor's dog.
If you find some NGO to localize a website or pamphlet for, you could maybe use that...
But, otherwise? Nope.
[Edited at 2022-03-28 09:05 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 20:35
French to English
Please don't offer to work for agencies for free, for the reasons given above.
There's tons of advice on this website for getting started. There are courses you can take, and you might also want to look for posts by Sheila Wilson in these forums, because she always gave excellent advice and was always very patient. She's retired now so you won't get an answer from her, but believe me, you'll find plenty of posts from people who needed tips on getting started and some are bound to b... See more Please don't offer to work for agencies for free, for the reasons given above.
There's tons of advice on this website for getting started. There are courses you can take, and you might also want to look for posts by Sheila Wilson in these forums, because she always gave excellent advice and was always very patient. She's retired now so you won't get an answer from her, but believe me, you'll find plenty of posts from people who needed tips on getting started and some are bound to be relevant to you. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dalia Nour
Egypt
Local time: 21:35
Member (2018)
English to Arabic
+ ...
| Translators without Borders | Mar 28, 2022 |
I see working for TWB is good for two reasons:
1- You will gain experience and you will get references as you want.
2- You will help many people who really need your work.
I have started working as a volunteer for TWB but I still love working for them for the second mentioned reason.(when I'm available)
I hope this helps!
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