Please critique my profile bio Thread poster: Jennifer Barnett
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Happy New Year!
Starting it off by vigorously pruning and hopefully improving my profile bio.
My occasional efforts at gaining new clients have been 100% unsuccessful in recent months, not even a reply to say 'no thank you'. Perhaps it is how I present myself, but, then again, when I started out back in 2008, I had many more positive responses and much more work. I am beginning to suspect that my age (71 years) is a problem, but, then again, there are 'mature' translators here... See more Happy New Year!
Starting it off by vigorously pruning and hopefully improving my profile bio.
My occasional efforts at gaining new clients have been 100% unsuccessful in recent months, not even a reply to say 'no thank you'. Perhaps it is how I present myself, but, then again, when I started out back in 2008, I had many more positive responses and much more work. I am beginning to suspect that my age (71 years) is a problem, but, then again, there are 'mature' translators here. I really must update my photo to reveal how ancient I am, but keep putting it off. Oh vanity...
If you have the time, please cast an eye over my profile bio to detect anything that would be off-putting or boring. And then tell me what you think. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | bio profile on Pro | Jan 12, 2023 |
Dear Jennifer,
Happy New Year to you too. Your photo is great!
I think a mature person has a better impact on the target audience as a translator (I'm mature too .
I don't think that's the point. Demand has decreased overall for an infinite number of general reasons (pandemic, economic, wars...) but also for the state of our sector (increased use of AI tools, downward competition - ma... See more Dear Jennifer,
Happy New Year to you too. Your photo is great!
I think a mature person has a better impact on the target audience as a translator (I'm mature too.
I don't think that's the point. Demand has decreased overall for an infinite number of general reasons (pandemic, economic, wars...) but also for the state of our sector (increased use of AI tools, downward competition - many, even major companies, they no longer look for quality and are satisfied with approximate and often incorrect translations, to save money!).
To this I would add that our category has done little to promote itself and place itself, as other professionals have been able to do, in a better market position. The single translator has difficulty emerging, even when he is very good and has years and years of experience and never-ending training behind him, enriched by his own work but also by transversal experiences in other sectors. Over the years, unfortunately, I have not seen any trade association trying to "educate" the target or promote the category, the benefits of turning to their translators... they have only contented themselves with increasing the number of members and have many annual membership fees.
These are the causes that affect all of us and it is a long speech of which I have only mentioned the "peaks".
But going back to your Proz profile question, while I don't have a very elaborate profile, I can tell you that the best thing is to look at other profiles by selecting the most active ones in your languages combinations. I'm sure you'll find many ideas to improve yours. Also, you could share more about you and your experience as translator, add competences.
In addition, there are also other strategies such as having a website (even a page is enough), a profile on LK and on other community sites for translators such as Proz.
Here too the discussion is very broad and deserves more space.
I decided to write you as I liked your request for an opinion and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.
I conclude by telling you that, although I am never satisfied with what I have done/do for myself, I share your desire and desire to improve. I am sure that this can only help to reach potential customers even in a difficult situation.
I hope to have been of help.
Good luck!
Nona ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Not nice: not even a reply to say 'no thank you' | Jan 12, 2023 |
Hi Jennifer,
definitely it's not nice to be totally ignored.
How did you address your new potential clients?
Postal letter or email, unsolicited application or in reply to any request for proposal?
Via [email protected] to any unknown persons or did you directly contact [email protected] to reach some people in power?
... See more Hi Jennifer,
definitely it's not nice to be totally ignored.
How did you address your new potential clients?
Postal letter or email, unsolicited application or in reply to any request for proposal?
Via [email protected] to any unknown persons or did you directly contact [email protected] to reach some people in power?
Last not least: What exactly did you write them to promote yourself in an optimum way?
Did you ask some friends for their opinion before you spread your willingness to work?
Occasional efforts at gaining new clients...
Maybe you should ask yourself: Why should they want to hire you (rather than someone else)?
Did you clearly bring out all your personal strengths?
Tricky.
How to say: Please choose me, though I'm not desperately seeking?
Yet asking for fair wages: If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
Good luck!
All the best for 2023,
Bernd ▲ Collapse
| | | | Manuela C.
Local time: 09:41
English to French
+ ...
Dear Jennifer, your age is not a problem. Your photo looks great and so do you.
I improved my profile and cv a few years ago based on advice from a recruiter working for a translation agency.
Ande here are a few ideas:
- Numbers, names of clients and specific projects are very important.
Recruiters don't have time to read even the most beautiful and well written presentation/bio.
- List your diplomas and fields so that everybody could quickly understand who ... See more Dear Jennifer, your age is not a problem. Your photo looks great and so do you.
I improved my profile and cv a few years ago based on advice from a recruiter working for a translation agency.
Ande here are a few ideas:
- Numbers, names of clients and specific projects are very important.
Recruiters don't have time to read even the most beautiful and well written presentation/bio.
- List your diplomas and fields so that everybody could quickly understand who you are, what you worked/are working on and what your academic background is. Select two/three main fields, this is more reliable.
- Make short entries and listing with bullets, they are easy to read. Long sentences tend to make recruiters skip important ideas. They are busy and the pressure is huge. Most recruiters and project managers are not translators; our beautiful translation world is made of words, but theirs is made of figures and money.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
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| About "not nice, not even a reply to say 'thank you!' " | Jan 12, 2023 |
About the general assumption that “it’s not nice not to replay with at least a ‘no, thank you’”:
Despite the fact that our company is not advertising for translators (we do all our work internally, or with the help of a very few trusted colleagues we have known for years), every day we receive a few dozen new messages from translators offering their services.
I reply personally to all messages that are addressed to me personally, as they show that the writer a... See more About the general assumption that “it’s not nice not to replay with at least a ‘no, thank you’”:
Despite the fact that our company is not advertising for translators (we do all our work internally, or with the help of a very few trusted colleagues we have known for years), every day we receive a few dozen new messages from translators offering their services.
I reply personally to all messages that are addressed to me personally, as they show that the writer at least went to the trouble of doing a bare minimum of research about our company (enough to find my name). That means that I reply about once every five hundred messages I receive.
The rest: all the messages addressed to “To whom it may concern”, “Dear client” (I’m not your client), “Dear PM” (I’m not a PM), “My Dear” (very unprofessional), “Hi!” (ditto), and several other variations of the same, are automatically filtered to the trash folder.
Why?
- Because they are all about the writer, and never about what problem I may have they that they could help me solve (“I’m an excellent translator” vs “If you need an EN>ITA translator with five years of specialization in user agreements for the XYZ industry I could help your company”)
- Because they are too generic (“EN>ITA translator specialized in contracts and corporate policies” is much more interesting than “Italian translator”)
- Because they show that the writer never even bothered to learn anything about our company, the languages we offer or the fields in which we work
- Because often they don’t even mention which language combinations they offer
- Because they come with attachments, and I don’t open or want to receive attachments that I do not expect (email attachments are a prime vehicle for malware)
- Because they clearly show that the writer isn’t qualified to translate (spelling errors, grammar errors, usage errors)
- Because they advertise such low rates that clearly could not be sustained by a professional translator
- Because if I devoted time to answer them, even sending just a canned response, I would have to spend a minimum of an hour every day doing just that
- Because I didn’t ask for them (they are spam)
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| | | | | Change the focus? | Jan 12, 2023 |
Jennifer Barnett wrote:
Happy New Year!
Starting it off by vigorously pruning and hopefully improving my profile bio.
My occasional efforts at gaining new clients have been 100% unsuccessful in recent months, not even a reply to say 'no thank you'. Perhaps it is how I present myself, but, then again, when I started out back in 2008, I had many more positive responses and much more work. I am beginning to suspect that my age (71 years) is a problem, but, then again, there are 'mature' translators here. I really must update my photo to reveal how ancient I am, but keep putting it off. Oh vanity...
If you have the time, please cast an eye over my profile bio to detect anything that would be off-putting or boring. And then tell me what you think.
Hi Jennifer and Happy New Year,
I would try to change the focus a bit so that your profile is more about what you can do for your client and less about you.
Your ideal client couldn't care less that you have always loved reading and writing, or that you used to be an English teacher. To be honest, they've probably stopped reading after that first sentence - you don't get long to grab someone's attention.
What does your ideal client care about, and how can you help them with that? I would try to figure that out and start from there.
(By the way, I don't think you are too old - the market is just getting tougher and what worked in the past doesn't necessarily work any more. I think lots of translators are struggling at the moment).
Rachel
| | | | Jennifer Barnett 
France
Local time: 09:41
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Proz profile guide | Jan 12, 2023 |
I should add that I followed the Proz guide for the profile bio. Hence information about yourself. It is a bio, after all.
Must admit that I try to compensate for not having a formal translation training by mentioning the English teaching and love of reading and writing. Perhaps better left out altogether.
Thank you all very much for your comments.
[Edited at 2023-01-13 08:18 GMT]
| | | | Marina Steinbach
United States
Local time: 03:41
Member (2011)
English to German
Hi Jennifer,
Jennifer Barnett wrote: Happy New Year!
I wish you a happy new year too!
Starting it off by vigorously pruning and hopefully improving my profile bio.
My occasional efforts at gaining new clients have been 100% unsuccessful in recent months, not even a reply to say 'no thank you'. Perhaps it is how I present myself, but, then again, when I started out back in 2008, I had many more positive responses and much more work. I am beginning to suspect that my age (71 years) is a problem, but, then again, there are 'mature' translators here. I really must update my photo to reveal how ancient I am, but keep putting it off. Oh vanity...
I was just thinking of the German saying "Man ist so alt wie man sich fühlt", i.e. in English "You're as old as you feel“.
If you have the time, please cast an eye over my profile bio to detect anything that would be off-putting or boring. And then tell me what you think.
Wow, your profile has received 131 visits in the last month from a total of 51 visitors! That is a lot, considering that I only received 36 visits in the last month from a total of 27 visitors...
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Don’t let age discourage you from giving translation another shot! I started translating rather late in life and I’m still here kicking it. Age means experience and knowledge. As the saying goes: “Age is just a number”… I wish you the best of luck!
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Jennifer Barnett wrote:
I should add that I followed the Proz guide for the profile bio. Hence information about yourself. It is a bio, after all.
Must admit that I try to compensate for not having a formal translation training by mentioning the English teaching and love of reading and writing. Perhaps better left out altogether.
Thank you all very much for your comments.
[Edited at 2023-01-13 08:18 GMT]
Hi again Jennifer,
That's fair enough, and it was only a suggestion. If you ask for feedback you will get all kinds of opinions, some of them contradictory!
Rachel
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I would maybe put what you offer nearer the beginning.
It reads nicely and I would use you, although a pedant could pick a couple of holes in the grammar.
I don't know if that matters, though, as I doubt anyone reads these things anyway.
| | | | Jennifer Barnett
France
Local time: 09:41
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks very much for the feedback | Jan 14, 2023 |
Thanks very much everyone. Much appreciated!
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Marina Steinbach
United States
Local time: 03:41
Member (2011)
English to German
| @Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida | Jan 16, 2023 |
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
Don’t let age discourage you from giving translation another shot! I started translating rather late in life and I’m still here kicking it. Age means experience and knowledge. As the saying goes: “Age is just a number”… I wish you the best of luck!
Your post regarding "Age is just a number" reminds me of a terribly old German song "Das Alter ist nur eine Zahl" sung by Harald Walz...
| | | | Nikolay Novitskiy
Russian Federation
Local time: 12:41
Member (2018)
English to Russian
| Highlight key words and headlines in your profile | Jan 16, 2023 |
Hi Jennifer!
Another tip: you could highlight key words, topics and HEADLINES with different colors, font sizes and other means the HTML editor offers. It will make visitors navigate better through your profile.
[Edited at 2023-01-16 12:12 GMT]
[Edited at 2023-01-16 12:28 GMT]
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