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Job requests and contacting privately
Thread poster: Brian Seimandi
Brian Seimandi
Brian Seimandi  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 07:55
English to Spanish
+ ...
Mar 10, 2023

Hello, everyone.

I'm new to the community (and the translation industry as a whole). Aside from the customary "I look forward to participating alongside you all" of course, I'm curious about something: when accepting a job, is it common practice to both send a quote through ProZ AND contact the potential client privately, or is that considered "spammy"?

I apologize in advance if anything about this post is out of place. I'm still exploring the website and figuring thin... See more
Hello, everyone.

I'm new to the community (and the translation industry as a whole). Aside from the customary "I look forward to participating alongside you all" of course, I'm curious about something: when accepting a job, is it common practice to both send a quote through ProZ AND contact the potential client privately, or is that considered "spammy"?

I apologize in advance if anything about this post is out of place. I'm still exploring the website and figuring things out.

Thank you for your time. ▲ Collapse
 
Dr. Tilmann Kleinau
Dr. Tilmann Kleinau  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:55
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
Not both Mar 12, 2023

You do either this or that, it depends on what the client prefers.

Dalia Nour
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
Michael Newton
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:55
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Brian Mar 13, 2023

Brian Seimandi wrote:
When accepting a job, is it common practice to both send a quote through ProZ AND contact the potential client privately, or is that considered "spammy"?

When a client posts a job, he expects to receive lots of mail, so a few extra mails from freelancers who use both methods of communication won't really make a difference. That said, I think your quote via ProZ.com is more likely to be read or given attention, because it uses the subject line that the client expects for this job.

Geoffrey Black
Vladimir Pochinov
MassimoA
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:55
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Brian Mar 13, 2023

Both? Please no...

One thing a client is always looking for is someone who can read instructions and follow them.

expressisverbis
Vladimir Pochinov
 
Brian Seimandi
Brian Seimandi  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 07:55
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you! Mar 13, 2023

When a client posts a job, he expects to receive lots of mail, so a few extra mails from freelancers who use both methods of communication won't really make a difference. That said, I think your quote via ProZ.com is more likely to be read or given attention, because it uses the subject line that the client expects for this job.


I will take this into consideration in the future. Given the built-in quote system, it did throw me off initially when I saw that most job posts urge you to contact them via email.

[Editado a las 2023-03-13 17:32 GMT]
 
Olga Korlevic
Olga Korlevic  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 20:55
Member (2016)
English to Russian
+ ...
From the point of view of a client Mar 14, 2023

From the point of view of a client, I would expect the translators to only quote in Proz.com. The client receives multiple quotes, and it's easier to track them in one place. I usually ignore the ones sent by email.
Therefore, as a translator myself, I only submit quotes in the system and consider sending an email a waste of time and find it a bit spammy.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 


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