Eduard P.
Software Development and Localization for Desktop IP and Mobile phones
Do you do/ask_for sample free translations?
Our company is asked for sample translations by some customers and is not asked by North America or Europe customers.
What is your business practice for sample free translations?
Do you reject such contracts? Another approach?
We came to the practice doing one A4 page translation sample as a maximum. In most cases we ask for a small (about 10 pages) payable project as a start.
Clarification added March 26, 2010:
Want to join the discussion :-)
For translators - I think it is OK an agency like we, SoftDrom, asks for a simple translation. Once. We do the same and all our current 80 translators came thru it. But, for us as an agency it is not very good to do lot of for free translations every month because they are not free for us - we do pay to our already trusted translators.
We have spent lot of money for "free" translations and, if a customer asking for another one, we suggest our already done sample translations.
Again - every new translator who is going to work with us, has to go thru free for us translation for 1 or 2 A4 pages. Maybe more if the candidate is going to work for several areas like medicine, IT, fashion, etc.
Clarification added April 1, 2010:
Just extended this question to one more week as it is very high visited and answered.
Answers (19)
Martin T.
Crisis Management§Interim Executive
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I have a test piece for my Arabic/English translators that I use. It's about 2 sides of A4 in English. It's a difficult colloquial piece of Arabic and hard to render into coherent English. I have a similar piece going the other way.
It's not foolproof but has done well for me over the last few years.
If the piece is a good translation but I don't give them the job I do however pay for the time. It's nominal but it shows goodwill and I may need them later. It's how I got my top flight Farsi translator - rejected his Arabic but the Farsi was excellent .
Bernard G.
Programme, Project & Change expert
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I've had to get translations on a few occasions and have to say the quality is very variable, sometimes to the point of unusable. If I had to do so again I'd certainly want a smaple first!
Andres H.
President, ForeignExchange Translations
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Hi Eduard,
It's a perennial point of contention. As far as we're concerned, we view test translations as a necessary, even good, part of our business. Take a look at our blog post <a href="http://blog.fxtrans.com/2009/08/test-translations-suck-it-up-or-step.html">Test translations - suck it up or step aside</a> for more details.
Good luck!
Andres
Links:
Dear Eduard,
At our translation company we are giving free translation up to 300 words (aprx 1 A4). This is not only good for the costumer because he learns how our company works and of course what the quality could be, but its also good for us because we can start to search for the right translators for this project and like this we are buying time. Win Win situation. In Holland is common to ask for test translations.
Best regards,
Frank
I'm sometimes asked to do one, and I simply refuse. If it is a paid one, maybe I will do it, depending on the company.
Do you ask an architect to to a "sample house" when you hire one? Or do you ask a dentist to do a "sample extraction" when you need the services of one?
Damian S.
Translation Services, Website and Document translation services director. Managing Director STAR Dublin
Very interesting question. The answer is "yes" and "no".
I agree with the sentiments that you can't ask a builder for a sample house and the thoughts behind this.
However you do sometimes have to check that a company can do what it says. We specialise in technical translation services so if someone is looking for translation of documents about metrology, we have to show that we know their business and their target languages.
There is always the argument that test translations are a chap way to get a few words translated - which we have certainly experienced in the past.
So we do some free translation depending on who is asking the question, why they asked the question and the effort involved. Retricting test translations to a single page is a great idea. It is enough to show your core skills.
As a business owner free translaiton is free for the client, but not the translation company. We still have to translated, check and proofread the translation. So this costs money, which means we can't do it for everyone who wants it. Your idea of a paid 10 pager is excellent and one we would support. It would be great if everyone did this, but its not always supported by the industry.
I also like the idea that vendors have a few test pages - where they already have the source and target translated. So they can review our translations against something they see as being already good. Its very simple and effective.
Damian Scattergood
STAR Translation Services
http://www.star-ts.com
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I think that a test translation of aprox 300 words it is absolutely acceptable. As an ENG<>SPA translator I do not get offended when an agency asks me to take a test, as a matter of fact I view it as something positive. However, if the test is longer than the 300 words I do get very suspicious and I ask much more questions. Unfortunately there are agencies that would like to have the job done without having to pay a penny and I find that unprofessional and unethical. With the agencies that I work with in NYC I took a translation test and a proof reading test. I think the more versatile you are the better opportunities may come your way.
SDL Plc is one of the biggest providers of Business to Business translation services and as such we often participate in RFP's. There is quite often a test translation that we have to complete as part of the RFP. If as a company we have already made the decision to go for an RFP, this normally means there is significant revenue to be won and generally worth us perfoming this so that the clients can understand the levels of our translation. However, we do look very carefully at the size of the sample to be translated and the number of languages requested. We generally feel a 500 word sample is acceptable. However there are lots of pit falls in performing tests and it is questionable that it really provides the client with the information they need. A normal translation project with a large client involves lots of steps to determine the quality including terminiology approval, liason with client reviews, style guidelines and most importantly understanding what a client likes and dislikes. When a test is performed, we normally have to guess this and work on industry standards. Tests are often littered with 'traps' where the client has had issues in the past, but unless we understand what a client is looking for this can be very difficult. Ideally a test should be accompanied with a brief. Most importantly the best way for a prospective client to determine quality is talk to a vendors references ideally those from a similar field as themselves whose quality they admire.
We only perform tests for serious clients whom we have had dialog with. As already stated these cost us money and normally more so than a normal translation due to the issues outlined above.
I have worked with a few translation companies and I always ask for a sample translation. I provide the original content and asked for it to be translated into the target language. I think it is a necessary part of due diligence and frankly if you work in a larger organization you'll need to prove you've done some sort of checking.
On the client side I would suggest that the sample should be representative of the project and should not be burdensome. On the vendor side, I'd suggest you provide it for free, however, you may want to set some limitation on the length of the sample if you are having an issue with providing samples.
If you choose not to provide free samples, you're likely turning off prospects and there is a great deal of competition for engagements. Having stated that, you may need to vet your prospects and the size of the potential project and make the appropriate decision.
Eduard,
Simply put, you must provide samples of your services to prospective clients. Most companies that seek these services will expect this and will not want to see a "stock" sample of a translator's work. Customers want to see sample translations of the material they will submit (a few paragraphs to a page will generally be enough). Expect your prospective customers to compare the translations you provide to those of competitor translators.
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Perhaps agencies should charge for them.
Free translations are a very bad habit.
Let's make us free us of them!
I did a few free sample translations for agencies and publishers when I was just starting out. That was years ago. Nowadays I'm too busy with paid work to have time for freebies, with the exception of one large institutional client whose bidding process involved a test translation. In that particular instance, the client's proven reliability, the volume of work to be gained and the guarantee of getting the price I was quoting tipped the scale. Otherwise, customers who want to know about the quality of my work can ask other customers (the references on my website) or see my published work.
Thor K.
Owner, Turvasana Tmi
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I charge for the services I provide. If a client requires a sample translation, I recommend using the first page(s) of the actual source text.
"Free" translations would lead to price increases, which would be unfair towards other clients.
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Eve L.
Localization Consultant, Strategist & Experienced L10N Project Manager (PM)
Regarding the example below of "Do you ask an architect to to a "sample house" when you hire one? Or do you ask a dentist to do a "sample extraction" when you need the services of one?" Well, in fact, before using a builder, I would indeed look at and review his/her previous work. I would, in the case of a dentist, ask friends and colleagues for referrals. In the case of a translator, one could ask for referrals and/or for a test. I think translators who refuse to take tests, for certain jobs (not all jobs), miss the business case.
I had a project to offer of 600,000 words over several months. I had a potential vendor refuse to take a test to quality to be placed on this project. In that case, it was a bad business practice on his part. Was it really not worth 1 hour of his time to show me he was a good candidate for such a huge project? I found it absurd.
That said, my take on "test or not test" is that is is a negotiation between the translator and the agency (or end client). Translators tend to make it too personal. Either do it or don't, but don't take it personally. An agency, or end client, has a right to ask for certain proof of concept and define what they think that to be. If you are not interested in taking the test, if that is a condition of getting a project or into someone's database, then move on to another client who is a better fit for you, and do not take it personally. Don't waste everyone's time arguing with the potential client that you won't take their test for such and such a reason.
That being said, some agencies/clients have very poorly constructed tests that waste everyone's time. If an agency's test pass rate is under, say 25%, or even 50%, they are not screening candidates well enough. Some agencies use the TEST as the sole criteria as opposed to looking at other qualifications FIRST, and this is a mistake. As a translator, don't take a test from a potential client in whom you do not have confidence as an ethical (and organized) business entity.As an agency, make sure you do your due diligence on candidates and do not test every person that sends you an email or a resume, as that is unethical for your own clients and a real waste of time.
Alex P.
Business developer at Perfect Plastic Cards - printing all kinds of plastic cards to help our clients increase profits
I ask for maximum 300 words of sample translation if project is big (thousands of words). As a translator I agree to test translations if I know they have big project. I don't do test translations as a part of the procedure of applying to translation agency.
Catherine J.
French to English freelance translator. Every word matters. Chaque mot compte.
I am a French to English freelance translator and I would be willing to do a free test translation of up to 300 words. Alternatively, any potential direct clients or agencies could of course view my translations which have already been published. I would be more than happy to provide the links. All professional translators have several samples of work they are proud of.
Links:
"I think translators who refuse to take tests, for certain jobs (not all jobs), miss the business case."
I have to strongly disagree with that. As a freelancer myself, here's my policy (and one that's worked very well over the years).
Prospective clients get to view past samples of work done for others in my portfolio and / or speak to referrals (depending on whether or not they came through one). Any serious buyer can make a hiring decision based on a portfolio, as long as an adequate portfolio is made available.
If the buyer is still concerned and they want a custom "sample," then they can place a one-time order for a single small project. We move forward with the larger project they need completed after the small project is finished and they're satisfied.
Now, I work as a freelance writer (and as a freelance consultant before that). That isn't terribly different than translation work when it comes to pre-hiring evaluations. In fact, being asked for free samples (or even ones where someone might volunteer a nominal fee not equivalent to the providers actual rates) is considered a scam in many freelance circles. What buyers sometimes do is get a "sample" from freelancer A and another "sample" from freelancer B until their whole project is completed for free.
Are all buyers like that? Absolutely not. But if someone wants to hire a professional in a service-oriented field, they'd better be willing to compensate them for their time in full (and I don't know... maybe that's what you meant about paying for samples if you don't hire them, but it's not the impression I got). Expecting to be paid rather than have your otherwise billable time go to free custom work is not "missing the business case" as you put it. It's just smart business. There are other ways to offer free resources, showcase your work, make the case for hiring you, etc. without creating custom samples for nothing (or next to nothing).
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Hey!
Well I don't send any samples unless I want to work on a bigger project like translating a book or something like that! Then I do send like sample of previous translations I have done if they are not secret! like general news paper articles or so...
Other wise I do more consecutive translations or simultaneous translations :)
Jeff A.
Sr Expert: engineering tools/methods, solution integ (BI, PM, MT, TM, speech), ISO9001, musician/sound technologies
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Hi Eduard,
You need to join the Localization Professional LinkedIn group and go read this specific thread:
What do you think about sample or test translations requests? Wouldn't examples vs. samples make more sense?
It currently has nearly 70 comments and does a excellent job of addressing your exact question.
I have a lot to say on this topic from much experience in it, but I'll just direct you to that thread (1st link below) where much is already stated.
Also see pages 11 - 14 of link 2 below where I provide direct links to specific pages at over 30 language service providers who all state about 80% of the same advice on how to approach this topic.
Jeff
