Would really appreciate some tips about getting started
Thread poster: ciansiemetzk (X)
ciansiemetzk (X)
ciansiemetzk (X)
Germany
German to English
+ ...
Nov 4, 2020

Hi all,

I’m 22 and was raised bilingually in English and German in the South of Germany. I graduated from high school but do not currently have any other degree. At the moment I travel a lot and so I’ve been wanting to become serious about earning money through translating for a while now. I’ve had some success on Upwork in the past few years but nothing that could have kept me going long-term.
Do you have any advice on what a good way to go about getting started here o
... See more
Hi all,

I’m 22 and was raised bilingually in English and German in the South of Germany. I graduated from high school but do not currently have any other degree. At the moment I travel a lot and so I’ve been wanting to become serious about earning money through translating for a while now. I’ve had some success on Upwork in the past few years but nothing that could have kept me going long-term.
Do you have any advice on what a good way to go about getting started here on Proz is in my situation?
Are there any obvious improvements I can make to my profile?
I really appreciate your time!! (:

Cheers,
Cian
Collapse


 
Edward Potter
Edward Potter  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 16:49
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Seach the forums Nov 4, 2020

It is all there.

Everything you need to know about being successful as a freelance translator is on this web site.

You will need to invest several hours of your time.

Good luck!


Michele Fauble
Dan Lucas
Sheila Wilson
Jorge Payan
expressisverbis
ciansiemetzk (X)
Sarah Maidstone
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:49
Member (2008)
Italian to English
One thing Nov 4, 2020

Cian Siemetzki wrote:

Hi all,

I’m 22 and was raised bilingually in English and German in the South of Germany. I graduated from high school but do not currently have any other degree. At the moment I travel a lot and so I’ve been wanting to become serious about earning money through translating for a while now. I’ve had some success on Upwork in the past few years but nothing that could have kept me going long-term.
Do you have any advice on what a good way to go about getting started here on Proz is in my situation?
Are there any obvious improvements I can make to my profile?
I really appreciate your time!! (:

Cheers,
Cian


1.

Since you're an expert in IT you should have no trouble finding clients - so long as prospective clients can find you. That's why your keywords are very important. At the moment you only have "German, English, Technology, Computers, Teaching, Tutor, Tutoring, Bilingual".

You need to think harder! And in both languages German/English. Add as many keywords as you can think of, in both languages, that a prospective client might put into a search engine. There is no limit to the number of keywords you can use, so use a lot!

2. Make your profile 100% complete, especially the "portfolio" section where you enter examples of your translation work.

3. Specialise, specialise, specialise. Rewrite your profile to put a clear, strong emphasis on ONE FIELD in which you translate where you will have as few competitors as possible. At the moment it's too generic.

4. Wait patiently. It may be a long time before anyone contacts you, but when they do, it will be because they are specifically looking for a translator who offers that special thing you do that few others offer.

[Edited at 2020-11-04 21:34 GMT]


Christine Andersen
Ivana Kahle
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Josephine Cassar
Elena Aclasto
Sheila Wilson
Morano El-Kholy
 
Ivana Kahle
Ivana Kahle  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:49
Member (2007)
German to Croatian
+ ...
Have a look at the Guidance Center Nov 4, 2020

https://www.proz.com/guidance-center

Sheila Wilson
expressisverbis
ciansiemetzk (X)
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:49
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
All good advice from Tom Nov 5, 2020

I just want to pick up on the last two:

Tom in London wrote:
3. Specialise, specialise, specialise. Rewrite your profile to put a clear, strong emphasis on ONE FIELD in which you translate where you will have as few competitors as possible. At the moment it's too generic.

4. Wait patiently. It may be a long time before anyone contacts you, but when they do, it will be because they are specifically looking for a translator who offers that special thing you do that few others offer.


As he says in (3), your marketing effort needs to be 100% clear and unambiguous: "I can do XXX for you better than just about anyone else because YYY and ZZZ." There's really no point telling them you can do everything as that just puts you on the same level as every other translator in your pair (and there are a lot of them!) and therefore competing mainly on price. Everything you write -- your "about me" text here, your CV, quotes, profiles on LinkedIn etc., website... -- should all give the same clear message. It's not that you shouldn't mention anything else but that the message that sticks in the reader's mind should be the XXX one. BTW, social networking is the big thing nowadays for landing new clients, so I hope you're up to speed on that. At 65 I rely on showering business cards around wherever I go, but you should be doing the equivalent on Twitter, Instagram and others I've never heard of.

(4) is the ideal scenario: you get contacted by someone wanting XXX. You can afford to quote a little higher, negotiate from a stronger position. But don't sit back doing nothing or you'll end up needing to get a job flipping burgers. Just because you market yourself as an XXX specialist doesn't mean you can't actively pursue other jobs. Here on ProZ.com, for example, you should -- if you aren't busy working your socks off -- apply for anything you feel you could do competently. And you should approach agencies as an XXX specialist but accept their general jobs. Sometimes, specialisations arise that way -- an agency keeps sending jobs on a particular topic, you get really good at them through research and you enjoy them, so you start to specialise in them as well/instead.

It seems to me that a potential useful step for you would be to get some sort of credential in your pair. It's one thing you're lacking at the moment. It won't have an instant and massive effect, as most clients put more store on experience than qualifications, but some will see it as important, and anyway, it's a filter that clients can use when searching the register here. If they search for an XXX specialist but also tick the "credentials" box, your name won't be put forward at the moment.

That's one example of how to get your profile to work for you at ProZ.com. Others are getting KudoZ points and having clients leave testimonials (called WWA). You've been given the guidance centre link. Check out the free "Meeting Clients" webinar too.


Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Morano El-Kholy
expressisverbis
ciansiemetzk (X)
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Ivana Kahle
 
freezone (X)
freezone (X)
United Arab Emirates
focus on your goals Nov 5, 2020

You just got to figure out what it is that matters to you and what is important to you. Then start doing things that will lead you to your goals.

 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:49
German to English
Don't take any wooden nickels Nov 6, 2020

That is, don't fall for any scams. Read the "Scams" section. Most of the translation scams follow a similar pattern: query by a person not logged onto Proz using a free e-mail service, provision of a document already translated on the internet, request for personal details, payment in advance in excess of the costs of the translation.

Kay Denney
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 


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Would really appreciate some tips about getting started







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