Recruiting freelance translators is easy. Outsourcing work to freelance translators is easy. Paying freelance translators is easy. But what about recruiting, outsourcing and paying other translation companies?  By Christina@Wocintechchat In an ideal world, a database would be 20% freelance translators and 80% translation companies. It would make things so much easier! Project Managers could allocate entire projects to one supplier, without worrying about splitting files, coordinating deliveries, lengthy quality checks etc. Unfortunately, that is not how it usually happens in the real world. Working with translation companies can get very messy and stressful for a Project Manager. A small mistake can leave you with thousands of words untranslated the day before the deadline. It is true that this can also happen when working with freelancers, but the amount of work allocated to a freelancer is usually much smaller.  While working at Xerox, I resourced a job to a company that dea...

While browsing the Internet, I came across a list of attributes that a successful Vendor Manager should have, and I found it very interesting. Some of these skills are also important for other roles, but I find them especially important for any role within the translation vendor management field.  👋Excellent communication skills👋 Vendor Managers need to communicate with different parties: teammates, colleagues, suppliers and clients. Being the administrator of the database gives the Vendor Manager a lot of knowledge about the company’s suppliers (or what is missing), so they are the best people to answer their colleagues' questions. For example, when the sales team wants to check the number of resources the company has for certain language combinations, or when project managers can't find a suitable supplier for their job. 😀Ability to develop and maintain strong and successful working relationships😀 This is one of the main duties of the Vendor Manager. Recruiting suppliers ...

Keeping your suppliers engaged can be tricky. They may be too busy, or not very interested in engaging with your company. Coming up with new and interesting content can also be difficult. However, in order to keep your suppliers interested in working with your company (apart from being a good client), I would like to give you some recommendations you may want to try. Social media group I got this idea from the GALA blog, where the author talked about her experience of using a Facebook group as a way to engage with her company’s suppliers. While working for Webcertain, I took the idea and created a Facebook profile through which suppliers could interact with employees of the company. I posted industry news, company-related news and pictures of company events. It helped boost the company’s brand among our current suppliers and their immediate connections, as well as strengthen the company’s relationship with their suppliers. Achievement certificates I absolutely love this idea, and try t...

I would like to share with you the seven main attributes a Vendor Manager wants to see when working with freelance translators, as well as the language combination and subject area. (No, "cheap rates" is not one of them!)  Good time management: All clients expect their vendor to meet all project deadlines. If this is not possible, I would advise the translator to reject the task, and wait for the next offer. Missing a deadline will discourage the LSP from sending the translator additional work, but rejecting an offer won't affect their chances of getting project offers in the future. Time management and multitasking are skills that can be easily learned and adapted to your way of working. Understanding the LSP's process and hierarchy: Addressing the wrong person and replying to the wrong email thread when contacting an LSP could mean your message never reaches the intended receiver or is not understood correctly. Make sure you know who is who to ensure the quickest re...

In the translation industry, negotiation is sometimes a daily practice; vendor managers negotiate with potential suppliers, project managers negotiate with freelance translators and clients negotiate with LSPs to get the best deal possible.  I used to be the kind of person who shied away from negotiating at all costs. I felt uncomfortable and overpowered when trying to negotiate. That is why, in 2017, I attended a short negotiation course, and I realised that everyone in the room that day had the same problem as me. This course taught me some basic principles, so that I was able to build   my negotiation skills at my own pace. The truth is that the more you negotiate, the better you get at it.  In my opinion, preparing for a negotiation is key in order to get the best outcome. What could you do to prepare for a negotiation?  Learn as much as you can about the person/company you are going to talk to.  Think about the relationship you have...

Translation Vendor Management Group

As a Vendor Manager, I probably post about 5 adverts per month in order to cover my company's needs for translators. I will be honest and admit that Proz.com is my go-to website to recruit translators in most cases. With each advert posted, I receive between 20 to 60* emails applying/bidding for the project advertised. However, I would generally choose around 5 translators to onboard per language combination. A high volume of applications is great news for any Vendor Manager, but it means some translators will pass unnoticed and won't be successful on their application for this particular opening. So, how to make your application stand out from the crowd as a freelance translator? Don't start your email with "Dear Sir/Madam, Sirs, hiring manager". Always find the name of the person hiring and address them directly wherever possible. Whenever I advertise a position, my name and position are always clearly stated, but if you are still not sure, check the profile and...

I have been working in Vendor Management for 4 years now, and checking CVs/applications is now an automatic task in my brain. Much like driving, my eyes are trained to scan the document or email looking for the key information I need. In my previous article on this topic, I focused on the content that is necessary (or not) in a CV, so in this one I would like to talk about formatting and presentation of the information. As you already know, being a freelancer looking for new clients, you can’t afford to appear unprofessional to your clients and peers. Your CV is the first impression your new client will have of your business. Therefore, you want to make it count. The layout of your CV has to adapt to the content you are including in it, this means you can't use a CV template that is designed for people looking for a full time position (for example Europass), because you will find yourself deleting most of the default fields trying to make it work. I always recommend Canva.com, whic...

Most of my daily work involves recruiting freelance translators. I send hundreds of emails and screen dozens of CVs every week. I have held the role of Resource Administrator for a year and during this time I have been able to interact with translators from all around the globe. This has given me an overview of how freelance translators present themselves to their potential clients. Recruiting freelance translators is not an easy job. The market is endless and finding the right freelance translator for your projects can seem like finding a needle in a haystack. Personal impressions play a big part in the recruitment process. We all have different personalities, priorities and goals and this should be clearly shown on your CV. Together with your introductory e-mail, this is the first impression your new client will have of your business. Therefore, I would like to share with you my opinion of what makes a successful freelance translator CV. As a freelancer, you are not applying for any ...

                                               Now is a time of great change in the world, and in business. Many companies will need to re-invent themselves, people will change careers, and others will continue as before. Workload is always somewhat uncertain in our industry, but I think it will fluctuate more than usual during the next six months. Are you already seeing any trends among your clients? Is it time to diversify your books? Have you considered working for clients in a different time zone? Here is your chance. Agencies will be looking to recruit new translators, and freelancers will be looking for new clients. The start of a new partnership is always exacting, but it can also be a period of adaptation, to ensure both partners can (and will) work smoothly together. I would like to highlight five points that, in my opinion, are often unde...

Talking about rates can be a delicate subject for many people in the translation industry. Pricing the services you offer is a very personal (and sometimes difficult) thing, both for freelance translators, and for agencies. Am I bidding too low? Will the client agree to my rates? How low am I ready to go? Per word or per hour? Before diving in, consider, have you got the same rate for each of your clients? Do you offer discounts and surcharges on specific projects? Do you offer a different rate for each subject matter which you translate? Do you offer a customised rate for each project? End clients set a yearly budget to spend on translation services. This starts what could feel like a race to find the supplier with the cheapest rates. Translators working with both end clients and translation agencies might see the difference between the rates paid. Translation agencies will use a fraction of the total paid by the client to cover the supplier's costs. However, this doesn't alwa...

One of the most controversial topics in the translation industry comes up when the Vendor Manager asks for a translation test. Whether it is a specific sample for client, or a test during the recruitment process, we can not make up our minds about it. Is it necessary? Should it be paid? The purpose of a test translation, as it names entails, is to test the quality of the translation the vendor can supply. However, each company uses their own methods and focuses on different things when assessing a test translation, so what might be acceptable to one company, doesn't necessarily mean it is for another. The quality of the translation is assessed against the standards of the company, so what the company and their clients think is a good quality translation may vary. I mention this in particular because not all the companies might be a good fit for you as a freelancer and not all the freelancers that answer your company's advert are a good fit for your company. As a Vendor Manager ...