Poll: Do you ask your clients to provide you with WWA entries? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you ask your clients to provide you with WWA entries?".
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I have never asked a client for a WWA entry and the ones I have were given spontaneously. They are quite handy when a potential client asks for references. On the other hand, no one has ever said that they were contacting me because of my WWA entries. I have to say also that I am very skeptical of translators with a long list of WWA entries. Anyway, in my book, repeat business is a better compliment than a WWA entry, though my ego seems to have an appetite for nice, laudatory comments!
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 05:04
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Like Teresa, I have never requested any WWA entries, and the few ones I received were provided freely.
For example, I do not think it is appropriate to ask for feedback about you as a translator if you only completed one (first) job for a client or an agency.
On the other hand, I believe that a good professional cannot be judged by the number of WWA entries he/she receives or asks for.
If I get a WWA entry I must earn it because I'm good at what I do, and not ask for it.
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colleagues who have worked for me have asked me for them. The practice does kind of put one in a spot.
[Edited at 2021-08-23 10:35 GMT]
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| It depends on your own preferences/case of cooperation | Aug 23, 2021 |
Some prefer to ask clients to provide them with WWAs as a way to document his/her professional work history, especially for long-term cooperation while others prefer to make it up to the clients themselves to give such WWAs spontaneously especially for the first time cooperation.
[Edited at 2021-08-23 10:49 GMT]
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I don't give good blue board reviews nor ask for WWA entries. I do not praise the PMs I've a working relationship with, though they are well deserving of it. The reason being that not all agencies want to reveal they work with a freelance translator or even which one. To a point that some, not all but some, NDAs I've signed state that the very fact we are working together is part of the nondisclosure I am obligated to.
I do note the subpar cooperation but these are few and far betwe... See more I don't give good blue board reviews nor ask for WWA entries. I do not praise the PMs I've a working relationship with, though they are well deserving of it. The reason being that not all agencies want to reveal they work with a freelance translator or even which one. To a point that some, not all but some, NDAs I've signed state that the very fact we are working together is part of the nondisclosure I am obligated to.
I do note the subpar cooperation but these are few and far between. I could write much more very positive blue board entries but I don't feel there is a need for that. Like others said, repeated work is the best praise we can give each other. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 08:04
Member
English to Turkish
| I wonder where you got that idea | Aug 24, 2021 |
Korana Lasić wrote:
The reason being that not all agencies want to reveal they work with a freelance translator or even which one. To a point that some, not all but some, NDAs I've signed state that the very fact we are working together is part of the nondisclosure I am obligated to.
Almost every translation agency whose website I've visited says something to the effect of "we have an extensive database of/work with expert native linguists". Now, since a translation agency located in Budapest (or anywhere for that matter) wouldn't be able to employ/house in-house translators of 100 or so languages which they advertise on their website, it only stands to reason that they work with freelance translators located in different countries regardless of whether or not they want to reveal this fact. It's pretty much self evident, it would be illogical to hide/not want to reveal this fact.
As for NDAs, I'm sure if you write them a nice BB review they wouldn't care much about confidentiality and nondisclosure.
| | | | | Good old I scratch your back you scratch mine ! | Aug 24, 2021 |
Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
colleagues who have worked for me have asked me for them.
[Edited at 2021-08-23 10:35 GMT]
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| I honestly did say where I got the idea, Baran | Aug 24, 2021 |
Baran Keki wrote:
Korana Lasić wrote:
The reason being that not all agencies want to reveal they work with a freelance translator or even which one. To a point that some, not all but some, NDAs I've signed state that the very fact we are working together is part of the nondisclosure I am obligated to.
Almost every translation agency whose website I've visited says something to the effect of "we have an extensive database of/work with expert native linguists". Now, since a translation agency located in Budapest (or anywhere for that matter) wouldn't be able to employ/house in-house translators of 100 or so languages which they advertise on their website, it only stands to reason that they work with freelance translators located in different countries regardless of whether or not they want to reveal this fact. It's pretty much self evident, it would be illogical to hide/not want to reveal this fact.
As for NDAs, I'm sure if you write them a nice BB review they wouldn't care much about confidentiality and nondisclosure.
I might start writing BB reviews yet. I am still fairly new to proz.com. The question wasn't what I think of people who write WWA and BB reviews and of the practices, and I am not at all against the practices. I do check the Blue Board when I am about to start working with a new agency. We also all know some people do ask for WWA, some get their friends who aren't even on proz or LSPs to give them good reviews, some agencies have good BB reviews and bad business practices...etc
I still am not against the practices, I just disagree that anything in our line of work is ever as simple as self-evident.
Edit: I guess I'm still feeling around this freelancing thing and I'm sorry if I had sounded as if I am strongly against BB and WWA entries. I'm not.
[Edited at 2021-08-24 16:52 GMT]
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 08:04
Member
English to Turkish
| Nothing to do with Blue Board | Aug 24, 2021 |
Korana Lasić wrote:
You probably have a point about Blue Board reviews. Still, what is self evident to you as an insider doesn't have to be self-evident to every end client of every agency.
Every translation agency lists the languages they work with and advertises the fact that they're working with native translators of those languages. This is intended for their clients.
In other words, a company looking to get their website/press release/product catalogue translated into several languages goes to a translation agency's website and see that message for themselves (they don't have to be an 'insider' to see/know that). They probably work out the fact that no agency in the world could employ Korean, French, Swahili, Danish, Kurdish and Slovenian in-house translators in a single office, so that the agency must be working with freelance translators from different countries.
To this day it's never occurred to me that working with freelance translators might be a trade secret for some translation agencies (when almost 99% of them advertise this very fact on their websites) which might cause inconvenience if revealed, but if you believe that's the case based on your interpretation of the NDAs you've signed (I personally never bother to read them), I'll take your word for it.
Btw this reminds me of some dear colleagues who list the translation agencies they've worked a few times as their "employers" on their LinkedIn profiles.
Now surely, this way of 'marketing oneself' must be more embarrassing than asking for WWA entries from translation agencies, as 'uncool' as it sounds...
| | | | | Yah, I understand your point | Aug 25, 2021 |
Baran Keki wrote:
Korana Lasić wrote:
You probably have a point about Blue Board reviews. Still, what is self evident to you as an insider doesn't have to be self-evident to every end client of every agency.
Every translation agency lists the languages they work with and advertises the fact that they're working with native translators of those languages. This is intended for their clients.
In other words, a company looking to get their website/press release/product catalogue translated into several languages goes to a translation agency's website and see that message for themselves (they don't have to be an 'insider' to see/know that). They probably work out the fact that no agency in the world could employ Korean, French, Swahili, Danish, Kurdish and Slovenian in-house translators in a single office, so that the agency must be working with freelance translators from different countries.
To this day it's never occurred to me that working with freelance translators might be a trade secret for some translation agencies (when almost 99% of them advertise this very fact on their websites) which might cause inconvenience if revealed, but if you believe that's the case based on your interpretation of the NDAs you've signed (I personally never bother to read them), I'll take your word for it.
Btw this reminds me of some dear colleagues who list the translation agencies they've worked a few times as their "employers" on their LinkedIn profiles.
Now surely, this way of 'marketing oneself' must be more embarrassing than asking for WWA entries from translation agencies, as 'uncool' as it sounds...
I understand that there's a fair and sensible assumption that most agencies in this day and age work with freelancers. Not denying that. I don't understand what's wrong with me revealing as little as possible about who I work with just to be cautious? Especially, since I've been freelancing for less than two years now. Most people I'd praise already have stellar BB reviews anyway, so there's that. Some of the people I work with find me through word of mouth and either aren't on proz, or have a rather inactive profile here. So, I'd feel I can praise some of the professionals I work with but not the others...etc
We all have unique situations and business models. I'm not contradicting what you said, if anything I mostly agree with you. You have probably been doing this for quite a few years now and are assuming I have the same clarity of the freelancing universe and consequences of some of my actions that you do. I don't, so I err on the side of caution. That's all.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 02:04
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
To every single one of them, and I also asked old clients. That's why I have more than 100 positive entries. Some people don't believe it, but many clients check that and it helps a lot getting new clients.
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