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Lost in a database
Thread poster: Juan Pablo Sans
Juan Pablo Sans
Juan Pablo Sans  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 03:30
English to Spanish
+ ...
Aug 13, 2012

Hi,

I don't know if it hwas happened to you that you do a 300-word test, and then you are obliged to sign all the agreements with an agency, and then.... puf!! Just gone. Never hear of them again, you are never included in their projects, and you can even see them posting jobs on Proz.com or the other site on your combination, on your specialization, and they did not even consult you.

What can be happening? Am I lost in their database? How can they remember that I EXIST... See more
Hi,

I don't know if it hwas happened to you that you do a 300-word test, and then you are obliged to sign all the agreements with an agency, and then.... puf!! Just gone. Never hear of them again, you are never included in their projects, and you can even see them posting jobs on Proz.com or the other site on your combination, on your specialization, and they did not even consult you.

What can be happening? Am I lost in their database? How can they remember that I EXIST? By sending them e-mails that they will never reply?

I would like to know your experience, because it has happened to me a lot of times.

Thanks ▲ Collapse
 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:30
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Then don't! :-) Aug 13, 2012

juanpablosans wrote:
I don't know if it has happened to you that you do a 300-word test, and then you are obliged to sign all the agreements with an agency, and then.... puf!! Just gone.

This is why I am happy to do a test if I have the time... but never sign any documents, fill questionnaires, or enter information in a database until there is an actual job at hand. When the prospect says that I will not even be considered for jobs unless I sign the documents first, I thank them for getting in touch and wish them good luck.

Signing an agreement with no real work at hand would be a bit odd, to say the least: being bound by a contract with no compensation at all. We all know it is stupid, and yet we do it.
 
Terry Richards
Terry Richards
France
Local time: 09:30
French to English
+ ...
Rule 1 Aug 13, 2012

Any agency that wants you to do a test, fill out forms, sign NDA's, etc. just to "be in their database" when they don't have an actual job for you is a waste of time and can safely be ignored.

Why they do it is a mystery to me.
 
Juan Pablo Sans
Juan Pablo Sans  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 03:30
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Solution Aug 13, 2012

Once I did a test and the guys told me it had been assigned to another translator, although it was very good. Never heard from them again, but made me waste my time.

From that moment on I apply this rule: you want me to take a test, I will do it! However, I want an insurance: I will be chosen for the job in case it is OK or I will be paid for it! I has turned out OK and I have been given projects.
 


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