| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Have you rejected any jobs this year? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you rejected any jobs this year?".
This poll was originally submitted by Elías Sauza. View the poll results »
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 01:04
English to French
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I am declining now the jobs I so much would have liked to have between 15 January and 20 March. Glad things are picking up...
[Modifié le 2011-04-21 08:19 GMT]
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Those which wouldn't pay my bills anyway.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 01:04
Spanish to English
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Mostly proofing jobs, which I have too many of lately. As a rule, I also tend to refuse any translation jobs involving anything handwritten or scanned; PDFs; formatting issues; anything that stipulates Trados as a prerequisite... etc.
I do try to pass on any work that I can't/won't take on board to friends or colleagues. The problem is that some are working mums who do translate, but whose daily routines preclude the kind of rush jobs that tend to come in from agencies who need eve... See more Mostly proofing jobs, which I have too many of lately. As a rule, I also tend to refuse any translation jobs involving anything handwritten or scanned; PDFs; formatting issues; anything that stipulates Trados as a prerequisite... etc.
I do try to pass on any work that I can't/won't take on board to friends or colleagues. The problem is that some are working mums who do translate, but whose daily routines preclude the kind of rush jobs that tend to come in from agencies who need everything "ASAP"... ▲ Collapse
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Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:04
German to English
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| I reject jobs virtually every day | Apr 21, 2011 |
Some pay too little, some aren't areas I'm comfortable in and others I just don't have the time for.
The poll seems a little odd, I'd be surprised if there were many full-time translators who hadn't turned down work this month, let alone this year.
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 01:04
Member (2006)
German to English
quite a few because I am just too busy and do not want to overload myself
| | | | | Of course - anything else would be irresponsible | Apr 21, 2011 |
Jobs in fields I do not know enough about, jobs into US English, and jobs from Swedish that were really too technical for my resources.
I have also turned down several that I did not have time for. There was one big job that I probably should have turned down, but there was nothing else in the in-tray that day. I took it on and battled with it for a fortnight. I was reasonably satisfied with the result, and the client accepted it, but meanwhile I had to turn down several others from... See more Jobs in fields I do not know enough about, jobs into US English, and jobs from Swedish that were really too technical for my resources.
I have also turned down several that I did not have time for. There was one big job that I probably should have turned down, but there was nothing else in the in-tray that day. I took it on and battled with it for a fortnight. I was reasonably satisfied with the result, and the client accepted it, but meanwhile I had to turn down several others from better-paying clients that were more within my fields.
It confirms my policy of turning down jobs when I am not certain of being able to do them well. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dave Bindon
Greece
Local time: 02:04
Greek to English
In memoriam
neilmac wrote:
As a rule, I also tend to refuse any translation jobs involving anything handwritten or scanned; PDFs; formatting issues; .
That would rule out at least 95% of the work I do! I don't recall a single job this year that wasn't a pdf or scan. My main, regular work (at least 50% of my income) is all handwritten (in the Greek alphabet, scribbled by doctors!!), and I did an additional 4 handwritten pages for another client yesterday.
To get back to the poll... Yes, I have turned down a few jobs (and there are many more Proz job offers that I didn't even submit a quote for). I turned down a job yesterday in fact (a fairly large volume of scanned documents requiring a lot of formatting, needed by this morning, for which the client was only willing to pay 70% of what I'd quoted).
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| True - a full time translator would reject a few jobs every week perhaps | Apr 21, 2011 |
Mary Worby wrote:
Some pay too little, some aren't areas I'm comfortable in and others I just don't have the time for.
The poll seems a little odd, I'd be surprised if there were many full-time translators who hadn't turned down work this month, let alone this year.
And I'd also like to add to jobs that have been rejected by me in April 2011-
- jobs requiring a large "sample" to be submitted first for the client to consider - I refer them to my Proz site and sometime provide samples from earlier work - but have resolved that I have enough work on hand to be wasting my time on samples
-a job which required me to carry out telephone interviews 
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I recently had to turn down an low-quality scanned PDF that wasn't in my field. Looking back I could have asked for twice my fee and a longer deadline to deal with it, but the wasn't-my-field part turned me off. I was working on something else at the time anyway.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 01:04
Member (2009)
English to German
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Interlangue wrote:
I am declining now the jobs I so much would have liked to have between 15 January and 20 March. Glad things are picking up...
[Modifié le 2011-04-21 08:19 GMT]
Sometimes too many come in at the same time - which is hard to handle with only 2 hands, though with 2 computers. It would be irresponsible towards the client to accept a project, knowing that there's no time to complete it.
Mary Worby wrote:
Some pay too little, some aren't areas I'm comfortable in and others I just don't have the time for.
The poll seems a little odd, I'd be surprised if there were many full-time translators who hadn't turned down work this month, let alone this year.
I couldn't agree more. There were several jobs here on PROZ and other sites that I didn#t even bid on for lack of time. Full-time translators cannot help but to turn down jobs.
[Edited at 2011-04-21 12:06 GMT]
| | | | | More than usual | Apr 21, 2011 |
Demand for translation seems to be riding a very high tide right now, though it's not a translation jobs Tsunami yet.
Lately I have been turning down more than my usual share of jobs I wouldn't take anyway, on account of rates too low, payment terms too long, and/or deadline too short. Yet I'm taking much more than my usual share as well.
Video translation requests seem to be on a steep rise. As these pro... See more Demand for translation seems to be riding a very high tide right now, though it's not a translation jobs Tsunami yet.
Lately I have been turning down more than my usual share of jobs I wouldn't take anyway, on account of rates too low, payment terms too long, and/or deadline too short. Yet I'm taking much more than my usual share as well.
Video translation requests seem to be on a steep rise. As these projects take a lot of time, there are just so many a translator can take at once. ▲ Collapse
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Mostly because rates offered were too low!
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 00:04
Member (2007)
English
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For all the reasons others have given, but perhaps most often due to too-short deadlines. I might read the offer within seconds of receiving it, but that doesn't mean I'm free to drop everything else and work non-stop on this new piece of work.
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a few because I was overloaded or the deadlines were too tight (european deadlines) and some because I was working on a large project....some because they were too technical and others because they were too small and not worth it.
I've also been slowing down a bit in the month of april so I can go apartment hunting and tend to other matters like taxes. Nothing drastic, but I don't want to be overloaded so i'm being a bit more selective. Also I was very busy in March and could use a ... See more a few because I was overloaded or the deadlines were too tight (european deadlines) and some because I was working on a large project....some because they were too technical and others because they were too small and not worth it.
I've also been slowing down a bit in the month of april so I can go apartment hunting and tend to other matters like taxes. Nothing drastic, but I don't want to be overloaded so i'm being a bit more selective. Also I was very busy in March and could use a bit of a reprieve. Interestingly enough, things have slowed on the other end and I have gotten fewer offers than normal since the beginning of april! ▲ Collapse
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