German Translation Market

mallam wrote:
I heard this thing about German companies that they only work with native translators, or translators that are residing in Germany...

Do you have any information regarding this?

mallam wrote:
and if you please can advise me on how to approach German companies to offer my freelance translation services from German/English to Arabic.

mallam wrote:
I heard this thing about German companies that they only work with native translators, or translators that are residing in Germany...

mallam wrote:
I heard this thing about German companies that they only work with native translators, or translators that are residing in Germany...

Питер wrote:


I know of many German companies that work with non-Germans from all over the world.

If they post a job it often means that they want to be approached with offers for personal services. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think proz.com now allows you to indicate on your profile whether or not you want to be contacted with such offers. In fact, I want to activate this option on mine.

All the best!

Siegfried Armbruster wrote:

they try to find the best translator for a given job for the best rate. But being a German agency, why should I offer you a job, your profile is empty. There is no information in your profile that will allow me to judge if you are the right person for the jobs we might have.

[Edited at 2012-12-19 14:49 GMT]

mallam wrote:


Thanks Питер, about that option I think you can find it in your account setting under Jobs settings

mallam wrote:
By German companies did you mean translation agencies or end clients? Because I was asking about German manufacturers...

Sheila Wilson wrote:


I would say that German agencies probably look for the best they can get and, with certain notable exceptions, the best is thought to come from translators translating into their native language. So in that, German companies certainly won't be alone. But if you are proposing to translate from German to Arabic, wherever you live, then I'm sure at least some of them will be interested.

One way of applying is to visit the "Applications" page here: http://www.proz.com/blueboard/?sp_mode=applications . You'll find a list of all the agencies you are eligible to apply to and you can easily send your applications from there. Note that you shouldn't just contact every agency: these are the ones who are willing to accept applications. Of course, many of the agencies registered on this site give a link to their website, which often has an area for applications.

I'd like to take this opportunity of welcoming you to the site and would urge you to let us know a little more about you. Of course, as Siegfried (a potential client of yours) says, you won't get any work here if you don't complete your profile very fully and take all the other action necessary to appeal to agencies and direct clients. See the Site Guidance Centre for some help: http://www.proz.com/guidance-center . Even if you just want to give/get advice, it's not so easy when we don't know anything about you.

Sheila Wilson wrote:


I would say that German agencies probably look for the best they can get and, with certain notable exceptions, the best is thought to come from translators translating into their native language. So in that, German companies certainly won't be alone. But if you are proposing to translate from German to Arabic, wherever you live, then I'm sure at least some of them will be interested.

One way of applying is to visit the "Applications" page here: http://www.proz.com/blueboard/?sp_mode=applications . You'll find a list of all the agencies you are eligible to apply to and you can easily send your applications from there. Note that you shouldn't just contact every agency: these are the ones who are willing to accept applications. Of course, many of the agencies registered on this site give a link to their website, which often has an area for applications.

I'd like to take this opportunity of welcoming you to the site and would urge you to let us know a little more about you. Of course, as Siegfried (a potential client of yours) says, you won't get any work here if you don't complete your profile very fully and take all the other action necessary to appeal to agencies and direct clients. See the Site Guidance Centre for some help: http://www.proz.com/guidance-center . Even if you just want to give/get advice, it's not so easy when we don't know anything about you.

Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:


Yes to the first thing: of course German companies (or a company in any country, for that matter) will expect that you are a native translator of the target language. This is just like any other market, I reckon, and it is simply sensible.

No to the second statement: I work regularly for German companies, both agencies and direct customers, in Spanish translations and they are perfectly aware that I live in central Spain.

mallam wrote:
Thanks Tomás, that's what i wanted to make sure of, but can you please tell me if you correspond with direct customers in English or in German, and if they ask for certain field specialization i.e. 10 years of technical translation experience?