| Număr de pagini: < [1 2 3] > | Use by agency of translator CVs in bidding for tenders Inițiatorul discuției: Neil Coffey
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| Many members' profiles have a button for downloading their CV's | Nov 14, 2010 |
And I belong to such members.
What prevents the agencies from acting in that manner?
It is for end client to be vigilant. If he is foolish enough to be hoodwinked by the agency in question with such CV's only to have his work handed over by the agency to cheap translators, he only is to blame and deserves to be cheated in that manner.
Regards,
N. Raghavan
| | | | | How can I see if an agency has won a bid, after I sent them my CV? | Nov 14, 2010 |
Neil's original question made me remember that this summer I was also requested by an agency to provide my CV, so that they could participate in a tender by the EU where translators in my area of expertise were needed.
Now my question: is there a way to see which agency has won this bid? I browsed a little in the link provided by Susan Hamer, but could't find any useful indication.
thanks
Paola
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X) 
Franţa
Local time: 07:00
din franceză în germană
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| For a positive change... | Nov 14, 2010 |
I would like to read from some colleagues who were "hired" by an agency after an EU tender or a part thereof was won.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
Statele Unite
Local time: 22:00
din engleză în germană
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In Memoriam
Laurent KRAULAND wrote:
I would like to read from some colleagues who were "hired" by an agency after an EU tender or a part thereof was won.
Two projects totaling 300k, I set up teams of 3 and 4 additional translators, we were walking on our gums at the end but it was a full success.
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Laurent KRAULAND (X)
Franţa
Local time: 07:00
din franceză în germană
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| Thanks, Nicole! | Nov 14, 2010 |
Nicole Schnell wrote: Laurent KRAULAND wrote:
I would like to read from some colleagues who were "hired" by an agency after an EU tender or a part thereof was won. Two projects totaling 300k, I set up teams of 3 and 4 additional translators, we were walking on our gums at the end but it was a full success.
| | | | Sara Freitas
Franţa
Local time: 07:00
din franceză în engleză
| Please DO NOT do this! | Nov 15, 2010 |
Why would you want to help an agency win government contracts (using YOUR qualifications and YOUR stellar résumé) when you can band together with freelance colleagues and respond directly?
In France the laws governing public contracts actually favor small businesses (in other words, being small can't keep you out of the running). I attended a presentation earlier this year where a project manager at a government agency actually said they WANT to work with freelancers and form lon... See more Why would you want to help an agency win government contracts (using YOUR qualifications and YOUR stellar résumé) when you can band together with freelance colleagues and respond directly?
In France the laws governing public contracts actually favor small businesses (in other words, being small can't keep you out of the running). I attended a presentation earlier this year where a project manager at a government agency actually said they WANT to work with freelancers and form long term relationships, but no freelancers actually respond to their RFPs, so they end up giving the work to agencies for better or for worse.
Another myth about these RFPs is pricing. The cheapest service provider doesn't always win, so don't think you need to undercut agency prices to be selected.
We (our three-person translation company) personally only bid when a public-sector client specifically invites us to do so (we find more lucrative work in the private sector given our speciality fields so we don't tend to monitor what's out there for government contract opportunities), but government contracts can get you guaranteed work over several YEARS, so the work applying can be worth it.
FWIW, my position on résumés is pretty extreme...we are selling a service, not looking for work, so I don't feel we should even HAVE résumés. I begrudgingly keep one semi-updated (for government RFPs only) but I NEVER send it to agencies or any other client for that matter. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jehanne Henin
Belgia
Local time: 07:00
din engleză în franceză
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| Contractor lists for previous calls for tenders | Nov 15, 2010 |
Paola Battagliarini wrote:
Now my question: is there a way to see which agency has won this bid? I browsed a little in the link provided by Susan Hamer, but could't find any useful indication.
The lists of contractors for previous calls for tenders can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/workwithus/calls/closed/index_en.htm
| | | | | Well, "banding together" may not work | Nov 15, 2010 |
Sara Freitas-Maltaverne wrote:
Why would you want to help an agency win government contracts (using YOUR qualifications and YOUR stellar résumé) when you can band together with freelance colleagues and respond directly?
There are many reasons why you would "want to help an agency win government contracts", here are some:
- EU tenders usually require EU domicile. Freelancers outside of the EU are not qualified to submit bids, unless they are subcontracted by an EU agency
- These tenders often require proof of financial viability (high amounts secured in the bank or professional indemnity insurance), audited balance sheets etc. - which may be an issue for freelancers
- These tenders often require services dealing with many languages at the same time - it seems to me that a proper agency is in a much more viable position to offer such services than a freelancer
- Tenders sometimes require ISO or similar certifications - again, an obstacle for freelancers
- "band together" will not work when these tenders either require proof of being a sole proprietor, or a registered company (documents with articles of incorporation, etc.)
Agencies are not necessarily evil, and working with agencies can be a successful, productive business relationship. The key is to assess whether the actual agency is a candidate for such relationship.
Katalin
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Tom in London
Regatul Unit
Local time: 06:00
Membru (2008)
din italiană în engleză
| On the internet | Nov 15, 2010 |
If your Proz.com profile is complete, it will also have a link to your CV and anybody in the world can download it and use it for any purpose whatsoever, legimitate or illegitimate, whether you give your agreement or not.
Désormais - c'est la vie !
| | | | | @Attila and Tomas | Nov 17, 2010 |
Attila Piróth wrote:
It is much more than emailing a cv – emailing my degree and/or documents proving my experience of having translated 1500 pages in the given field. Plus quite a few forms.
Fair enough, I wouldn't put that much time and effort in either, but the original question only talked about sending a CV, which is all I've ever been asked to submit, and that takes two seconds.
| | | | Sara Freitas
Franţa
Local time: 07:00
din franceză în engleză
| Getting organized | Nov 17, 2010 |
Katalin Horvath McClure wrote: Sara Freitas-Maltaverne wrote:
Why would you want to help an agency win government contracts (using YOUR qualifications and YOUR stellar résumé) when you can band together with freelance colleagues and respond directly?
There are many reasons why you would "want to help an agency win government contracts", here are some: - EU tenders usually require EU domicile. Freelancers outside of the EU are not qualified to submit bids, unless they are subcontracted by an EU agency - These tenders often require proof of financial viability (high amounts secured in the bank or professional indemnity insurance), audited balance sheets etc. - which may be an issue for freelancers - These tenders often require services dealing with many languages at the same time - it seems to me that a proper agency is in a much more viable position to offer such services than a freelancer - Tenders sometimes require ISO or similar certifications - again, an obstacle for freelancers - "band together" will not work when these tenders either require proof of being a sole proprietor, or a registered company (documents with articles of incorporation, etc.) Agencies are not necessarily evil, and working with agencies can be a successful, productive business relationship. The key is to assess whether the actual agency is a candidate for such relationship. Katalin
Whoooa there. Never said agencies were evil. Don't know about translators outside the EU, but here inside the EU the industry conferences and panel discussions I've attended seem to suggest that freelancers do have access to government contracts, are even desirable candidates, and should get organized to apply. For translators outside the EU, I don't know if legally it is possible to form an economic interest group with Europe-based colleagues as a solution? My point is freelancers don't NEED agencies to gain access to this type of work. And sending a CV is about a lot more than the two seconds it takes to click "send". It's about letting a (low-added-value?) middleman profit from your "brand" name. If you feel you are justly compensated for your experience, expertise, and -- yes -- talent each time you send a CV, then good for you, keep on doing it.
| | | | | I don't bother anymore | Nov 17, 2010 |
I have responded to requests like these once or twice, but nothing came of it. Recently, I was asked again, but the subject matter wasn't an appropriate fit with my experience. I would reconsider if asked by an established client, but at this time, I still have enough other work, so I'm not interested in going to the extra effort for unknown-to-me agencies just for the possibility of more work (probably paid lower than my regular rate).
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Nicole Schnell wrote: Laurent KRAULAND wrote:
I would like to read from some colleagues who were "hired" by an agency after an EU tender or a part thereof was won. Two projects totaling 300k, I set up teams of 3 and 4 additional translators, we were walking on our gums at the end but it was a full success.
Is that 300k words, Nicole? Nice.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
Statele Unite
Local time: 22:00
din engleză în germană
+ ...
In Memoriam
Daina Jauntirans wrote: Nicole Schnell wrote: Laurent KRAULAND wrote:
I would like to read from some colleagues who were "hired" by an agency after an EU tender or a part thereof was won. Two projects totaling 300k, I set up teams of 3 and 4 additional translators, we were walking on our gums at the end but it was a full success. Is that 300k words, Nicole? Nice.
Yes, 300,000 words of well written, highly sophisticated text. Well paid, no discounts. As Katalin mentioned earlier, as a US company we could never get hold of such a project.
| | | | | Susan, Atilla and Co. | Nov 17, 2010 |
I answered calls from two agencies bidding on the same EU tender (previously I asked if they had any problem with that).
Not only did they want a full CV, but they also wanted me to backup my experience with proof of every word translated to sum up to the 1500 minimum. Getting all the supporting documents (PO, invoices, emails, etc) together, scanning, organizing them in a clear way and filing them so I could send them off took me over a whole day.
I haven't heard of them sin... See more I answered calls from two agencies bidding on the same EU tender (previously I asked if they had any problem with that).
Not only did they want a full CV, but they also wanted me to backup my experience with proof of every word translated to sum up to the 1500 minimum. Getting all the supporting documents (PO, invoices, emails, etc) together, scanning, organizing them in a clear way and filing them so I could send them off took me over a whole day.
I haven't heard of them since. For this large job I offered them an extremely low fee, Euros 0.05 per word.
1) If some other agency won the tender then it must have been thanks to a lower bid, because I can't believe that translators with the same or a better background than me in environmental issues would charge less than 0.05 euros. If that is the case, then I will have no respect for EU tenders as most probably they are in search of poor quality whatever the price.
2) When any potential client posts a job on Proz com I don't expect him to send me a mail saying: "sorry but I gave it to someone else", but in this case (Tenders) where one is part of a team working on a project (even if one is subcontracted as a freelancer), I find it is very discorteous not to send an e-mail saying: "sorry but we didn't get it, maybe next time".
3) From now on if any agency asks me to send them my full file of documents, even if now it won't take me so much time, I won't do it unless the pay me a administrative fee beforehand. ▲ Collapse
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