| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Unusual: weeks without a (decent) job Thread poster: JAN SNAUWAERT
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JAN SNAUWAERT 
Belgium
Local time: 22:54
Member (2008)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Hi all,
First of all: I have thirteen years experience as a translator, so I am not a newbie.
Since the end of January however, I experienced a severe dip in assignments, that remembers me of the first, difficult year I had, starting up my business.
I translate from German, English and French into Dutch. Normally, these are very good language combinations, highly in demand. I wonder if this a more general phenomenon or just something that happens to me, a bad period that... See more Hi all,
First of all: I have thirteen years experience as a translator, so I am not a newbie.
Since the end of January however, I experienced a severe dip in assignments, that remembers me of the first, difficult year I had, starting up my business.
I translate from German, English and French into Dutch. Normally, these are very good language combinations, highly in demand. I wonder if this a more general phenomenon or just something that happens to me, a bad period that I have to sweat out. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Unusual: weeks without a (decent) job | Feb 17, 2022 |
iqcservices wrote:
Hi all,
First of all: I have thirteen years experience as a translator, so I am not a newbie.
Since the end of January however, I experienced a severe dip in assignments, that remembers me of the first, difficult year I had, starting up my business.
I translate from German, English and French into Dutch. Normally, these are very good language combinations, highly in demand. I wonder if this a more general phenomenon or just something that happens to me, a bad period that I have to sweat out.
You are not alone.
It's getting a bit better now, but only on the audio recording side, translations are still lacking.
| | | | | Nothing new under the sun... | Feb 17, 2022 |
It happens! December and January were very slow, I had work the first days of February, followed by no work at all until the 10th and after that suddenly all hell broke loose…
P.S. I translate from English, French, Spanish and Italian into Portuguese and I have been translating for over 30 years.
[Edited at 2022-02-17 10:06 GMT]
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The only phenomenon I have noticed over the years is that a down cycle is always followed by an up cycle as if clients agreed among themselves to flood you with work at the same time just to see how resilient you are…
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Jo Macdonald
Spain
Local time: 22:54
Italian to English
+ ...
| Slow since December | Feb 17, 2022 |
Think it's a combination of:
December/January can often be slow
the pandemic, is over...or is it?
war is coming scare-warmongering
no right to work in Italy if you refuse vaccination
PEMT for €0.02/word sold as the best thing since toast
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
Are you heavily dependent on a single client/agency, an industry, or an end client for your workload?
Sometimes, it literally comes down to one person or one system bringing huge chains to a stop. Some bureaucrat gets replaced or goes away on a ridiculously long civil servant vacation and thousands of documents end up unsigned/unstamped/unforwarded, some government body's or industry giant's server gets its shoelaces tied together, some essential waypoint that all documents move thr... See more Are you heavily dependent on a single client/agency, an industry, or an end client for your workload?
Sometimes, it literally comes down to one person or one system bringing huge chains to a stop. Some bureaucrat gets replaced or goes away on a ridiculously long civil servant vacation and thousands of documents end up unsigned/unstamped/unforwarded, some government body's or industry giant's server gets its shoelaces tied together, some essential waypoint that all documents move through on their way to you gets locked down, quarantined, or moves offices, etc. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 22:54
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
iqcservices wrote:
Since the end of January however, I experienced a severe dip in assignments, that reminds me of the first, difficult year I had, starting up my business.
I'm reminded of the English expression "when it rains, it pours". Sometimes, I get so much work that I can barely keep up with it. At other times, I go without work for an entire week or sometimes even more. My month-to-month income truly isn't predictable. Some translators experience "slow" months of the year, but I don't. Sometimes my Decembers are very quiet, and sometimes it is the busiest time of the year.
Unless there is a very good reason why you're not getting any work (e.g. an industry or economy collapsed, or an upstream client suddenly uses an entirely different sent of middle-men), this is simply part of the unpredictability of being a freelance translator. But I understand that this can be quite frightening if you don't have sufficient buffers to keep you going.
Now is the time to do extra marketing or extra training. If you work for agencies, go through the Blue Board's list of agencies and write to as many of them as you can.
[Edited at 2022-02-17 11:18 GMT]
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 16:54
German to English
| No explanation | Feb 17, 2022 |
My regular customers are in unrelated industries (manufacturing and publishing), and if the number of jobs they send on an annual basis were averaged out over the course of the year, I wouldn't have any slow periods. Nevertheless there are sometimes gaps lasting weeks during which they send me no work. If these lacunae were predictable, I could plan vacations or at least short trips away from the office without worrying about additional loss of income. Since this seems to be unavoidable, I've st... See more My regular customers are in unrelated industries (manufacturing and publishing), and if the number of jobs they send on an annual basis were averaged out over the course of the year, I wouldn't have any slow periods. Nevertheless there are sometimes gaps lasting weeks during which they send me no work. If these lacunae were predictable, I could plan vacations or at least short trips away from the office without worrying about additional loss of income. Since this seems to be unavoidable, I've stopped worrying about it. ▲ Collapse
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roeland
Netherlands
Local time: 22:54
Member (2008)
German to Dutch
+ ...
| Sounds familiar | Feb 17, 2022 |
This started, at least for me, around november 2021 already. I talked to a few of my regular clients, there is simply not much demand for Dutch at the moment. They expect it to pick up once the C19 restrictions are over and people head back into the office. That could be any day now...;-)
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:54
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Waste of time | Feb 17, 2022 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
....., go through the Blue Board's list of agencies and write to as many of them as you can.
I've tried that, a couple of times, in the past, without result. I was very methodical, carefully seeking out the agencies to contact, specially preparing a good CV, and keeping a record of all the ones I'd contacted. The response was total silence. So it pains me when I see less experienced translators advised to do this as a good way of marketing themselves.
[Edited at 2022-02-17 13:54 GMT]
| | | | | Then, what is the best way of marketing ourselves? | Feb 17, 2022 |
Tom in London wrote: Samuel Murray wrote:
....., go through the Blue Board's list of agencies and write to as many of them as you can. I've tried that, a couple of times, in the past, without result. I was very methodical, carefully seeking out the agencies to contact, specially preparing a good CV, and keeping a record of all the ones I'd contacted. The response was total silence. So it pains me when I see less experienced translators advised to do this as a good way of marketing themselves. [Edited at 2022-02-17 13:54 GMT]
| | | | Jelena Delibasic
Serbia
Local time: 22:54
Member (2020)
English to Serbian
+ ...
I'm experiencing the same thing, which could be explained by the fact that Serbian is actually a small market. However, I also agree with Samuel. It happens. It's the nature of business. It's simply unpredictable.
I'm also thinking about what steps to take.
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JAN SNAUWAERT
Belgium
Local time: 22:54
Member (2008)
French to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Good to know. | Feb 17, 2022 |
Good to know. I am reassured. Thanks.
| | | | JAN SNAUWAERT
Belgium
Local time: 22:54
Member (2008)
French to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Yes, it happens | Feb 17, 2022 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
It happens! December and January were very slow, I had work the first days of February, followed by no work at all until the 10th and after that suddenly all hell broke loose…
P.S. I translate from English, French, Spanish and Italian into Portuguese and I have been translating for over 30 years.
[Edited at 2022-02-17 10:06 GMT]
Thank you Teresa for your reply. Yes, it happens. But I have been spoilt the last couple of years; last year was my best year ever and suddenly, it seems to collapse for no reason. I am confident now that the assignments will crank up again.
| | | | JAN SNAUWAERT
Belgium
Local time: 22:54
Member (2008)
French to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Jo Macdonald wrote:
Think it's a combination of:
December/January can often be slow
the pandemic, is over...or is it?
war is coming scare-warmongering
no right to work in Italy if you refuse vaccination
PEMT for €0.02/word sold as the best thing since toast
Hi Jo,
Yes, it could very well be a combination of these (and other) factors. Thanks.
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