Feedback on my profile and CV Thread poster: GHANIA Khalifa
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Hello, dear translators and interpreters
Could you please give notes and a piece of advice about my personal Profile and CV.
http://www.proz.com/profile/2031569
Sincerely,
GHANIA Khalia
[Edited at 2015-08-11 14:04 GMT]
| | | | | Min rate per source word $0.02? | Aug 11, 2015 |
Really?
Is life so easy in Algeria?
| | | | Jeffrey Henson
France
Local time: 13:57
Member (2015)
French to English
| Some constructive criticism | Aug 11, 2015 |
Hello Khalifa,
Ok, I'd like to to give you some constructive criticism and I hope you don't mind brutal honesty as I'm not going to hold back any punches :
If you want to be taken seriously, you should not be offering translations INTO English. In just the short two-line presentation on your Proz profile page I saw at least 5 or 6 flagrant mistakes, the worst being "my language services is" (service is, or services are). Even the parts where there were no mistakes did not soun... See more Hello Khalifa,
Ok, I'd like to to give you some constructive criticism and I hope you don't mind brutal honesty as I'm not going to hold back any punches :
If you want to be taken seriously, you should not be offering translations INTO English. In just the short two-line presentation on your Proz profile page I saw at least 5 or 6 flagrant mistakes, the worst being "my language services is" (service is, or services are). Even the parts where there were no mistakes did not sound natural and flowing enough for you to propose services where English would be the target language.
Also, my gut feeling is that you should either remove the photo in your CV, or if not, change it to one where you do not look so angry. There are also too many "bullets" on your CV, which I personally found very distracting.
Please take these comments in the spirit they were intended, to help you improve your profile and CV. I am not criticizing just to be unpleasant.
Best of luck to you.
[Edited at 2015-08-11 15:58 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Sorry, but working...
- 7 days a week
- including the week-end
- very hard to satisfy my clients
- with a translation tool
and charging the min. rate of $0.02 per source word must be a fake !
Can't believe this !
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Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 12:57
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| You don't want a job-seeker's CV | Aug 11, 2015 |
There are very few absolute rules about what a freelancer's CV should look like. Nobody can say it has to have this or that without knowing you - except I imagine we should all be mentioning two languages, at least. However, there are many pieces of advice in books and articles on CV writing which may apply to a job-seeker but which a freelancer would do well to ignore.
Why on earth would a client be interested in your date of birth? An employer might be, if you have to fit in with ... See more There are very few absolute rules about what a freelancer's CV should look like. Nobody can say it has to have this or that without knowing you - except I imagine we should all be mentioning two languages, at least. However, there are many pieces of advice in books and articles on CV writing which may apply to a job-seeker but which a freelancer would do well to ignore.
Why on earth would a client be interested in your date of birth? An employer might be, if you have to fit in with a team or they have quotas to fulfil, but it doesn't matter tuppence to a client. The same with marital status. Of course, those personal facts are frowned on in most countries nowadays as potentially discriminatory. We don't have to worry about that but we do have to grab and hold the attention of very busy clients who want just one thing from us: a professional quality translation of their text.
As a starter, there's a Wiki aticle here: http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Creating_an_effective_CV_/_resume ▲ Collapse
| | | | GHANIA Khalifa
Algeria
Local time: 13:57
Arabic to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I have no idea | Aug 11, 2015 |
Grace Shalhoub wrote:
Really?
Is life so easy in Algeria?
Hello,
Actually I am not sure about the rate. I will check about that.
Thanks
[Edited at 2015-08-11 23:10 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-08-11 23:11 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-08-11 23:11 GMT]
| | | | GHANIA Khalifa
Algeria
Local time: 13:57
Arabic to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you so much | Aug 11, 2015 |
Jeff Henson wrote:
Hello Khalifa,
Ok, I'd like to to give you some constructive criticism and I hope you don't mind brutal honesty as I'm not going to hold back any punches :
If you want to be taken seriously, you should not be offering translations INTO English. In just the short two-line presentation on your Proz profile page I saw at least 5 or 6 flagrant mistakes, the worst being "my language services is" (service is, or services are). Even the parts where there were no mistakes did not sound natural and flowing enough for you to propose services where English would be the target language.
Also, my gut feeling is that you should either remove the photo in your CV, or if not, change it to one where you do not look so angry. There are also too many "bullets" on your CV, which I personally found very distracting.
Please take these comments in the spirit they were intended, to help you improve your profile and CV. I am not criticizing just to be unpleasant.
Best of luck to you.
[Edited at 2015-08-11 15:58 GMT]
Hello, Jeff
Thank you so much for this constructive criticism because I am very happy to learn and to take notes from professional translator like you. It is an honor to hear this from you. I am not professional translator, yet I will be one day by training, hard work and experience. I will do my best to avoid any flagrant mistakes by checking and proofreading my writing. Finally, I want to repeat that I am so thankful to read your criticism.
[Edited at 2015-08-11 23:12 GMT]
| | | | GHANIA Khalifa
Algeria
Local time: 13:57
Arabic to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Helga Lemiere wrote:
Sorry, but working...
- 7 days a week
- including the week-end
- very hard to satisfy my clients
- with a translation tool
and charging the min. rate of $0.02 per source word must be a fake !
Can't believe this !
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback. It is not fake, yet there is a little exaggeration at ( 7 days a week - including the week-end).
Helga Lemiere wrote:
- very hard to satisfy my clients
- with a translation tool
This is okay because my goal is to satisfy my clients. Do you think that is there anyone does not care about client's satisfaction?
Helga Lemiere wrote:
and charging the min. rate of $0.02 per source word must be a fake !
Can't believe this !
You must believe that for two reasons. First of all I am beginner at this field and this my first three months at freelancing and working. Secondly, during my study, I used to apply in Upwork and Guru and many other websites with so low prices so I adapted this way of providing low price.
I short, I should check about the rates in forums of Proz.com in order to be aware of this.
Merci beaucoup
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| Free webinar | Aug 11, 2015 |
Hi!
Concerning your profile you may want to participate on a free webinar "Meeting clients at Proz.com"? I found that really helpfull...
| | | | GHANIA Khalifa
Algeria
Local time: 13:57
Arabic to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for article | Aug 11, 2015 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
There are very few absolute rules about what a freelancer's CV should look like. Nobody can say it has to have this or that without knowing you - except I imagine we should all be mentioning two languages, at least. However, there are many pieces of advice in books and articles on CV writing which may apply to a job-seeker but which a freelancer would do well to ignore.
Why on earth would a client be interested in your date of birth? An employer might be, if you have to fit in with a team or they have quotas to fulfil, but it doesn't matter tuppence to a client. The same with marital status. Of course, those personal facts are frowned on in most countries nowadays as potentially discriminatory. We don't have to worry about that but we do have to grab and hold the attention of very busy clients who want just one thing from us: a professional quality translation of their text.
As a starter, there's a Wiki aticle here: http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Creating_an_effective_CV_/_resume
Thank you so much.
You are totally right.
Thank you for Wiki article.
I wish you all the best.
| | | | GHANIA Khalifa
Algeria
Local time: 13:57
Arabic to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Yes, I will do | Aug 11, 2015 |
Andrea Halbritter wrote:
Hi!
Concerning your profile you may want to participate on a free webinar "Meeting clients at Proz.com"? I found that really helpfull...
Hello,
Thank you so much. I am a new member and a beginner translator. I am getting better by learning every day a new idea, a technique, a lesson and so on. As you know; step by step go far as in French is: petit à petit l'oiseau fait son nid
I wish you all the best Andrea.
[Edited at 2015-08-11 23:06 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-08-11 23:07 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-08-11 23:16 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 13:57
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| You can't negotiate your rate upwards, only downwards | Aug 12, 2015 |
GHANIA Khalifa wrote:
Helga Lemiere wrote:
...and charging the min. rate of $0.02 per source word... Can't believe this!
First of all I am beginner at this field and this my first three months at freelancing and working. Secondly, during my study, I used to apply in Upwork and Guru and many other websites with so low prices so I adapted this way of providing low price.
If you choose to mention your rates on e.g. ProZ.com or in your résumé/CV, you should mention a rate that is similar to other translators in your field, or even slightly higher, even if you are willing to work for much less. If you mention a high rate and a client wishes to negotiate something lower, then that is easily accomplished, but if you mention a low rate, you will never get a higher rate. The average rate for French/Arabic and Arabic/French on ProZ.com is USD 0.08 per word (though I can't tell how many of those are from Algeria).
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 12:57
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| You WILL earn less as a beginner | Aug 12, 2015 |
GHANIA Khalifa wrote:
I am beginner at this field and this my first three months at freelancing and working. Secondly, during my study, I used to apply in Upwork and Guru and many other websites with so low prices so I adapted this way of providing low price.
I short, I should check about the rates in forums of Proz.com in order to be aware of this.
Of course it's only right that you earn less as a beginner. Otherwise there'd be no incentive to become established and experienced - it would just be a job and not a life-long profession.
Let's start with the average rate taken from ProZ.com, i.e. €0.11: http://search.proz.com/employers/rates. That's going to be average to low, as very few of the costliest translators will be posting their rates here, whereas many of the ones coming from your background (i.e. generalist freelancing portals) will post very low figures. So, an established professional, working within their comfort zone in a subject area where they've had several years' experience, and who has built up an extensive TM and associated glossaries, may charge €0.11 per word.
Why should you charge €0.11, too? Because the established pro will zip through maybe 300-400 words in one hour if their TM and glossaries are a great aid, so will earn €33-44 in one hour (if no fuzzy match discounts are applied, of course). Whereas you, as a beginner, will have to do a great deal of research and will take longer to proofread your work to ensure that you're delivering high quality. You may well only be able to deliver 150 words in an hour. That sets your hourly income at just €16.50. So you have everything to gain from working hard to build your knowledge base and gain skills and experience. Meanwhile, if your client receives good quality, why shouldn't that client pay the average rate?
If you feel happier quoting a little less then feel free - shave a cent or two off that rate. But please don't quote "peanut" or "hobby" rates on a site that's supposed to be for professionals. That doesn't do any of us any favours. But bear in mind two things:
1. Raising your rates once you've started working with a client gives that client a powerful incentive to look for alternatives;
2. The notorious "bottom-feeding" agencies may promise at least some income but in reality the experience is often an unhappy one: ridiculous deadlines forcing you to churn out 500wph throughout the night; discounts demanded as they claim poor quality; refusal to pay before 90 days have elapsed; or maybe they just go bust and you can wave goodbye to any payment. All of this is a lot less likely if you set your rates correctly and then stick to them and act professionally. That way you'll mainly be dealing with respectable agencies who have a reputation to keep.
| | | | | Proofread your own texts! | Aug 15, 2015 |
Hi Khalifa,
I skimmed through your sample translations on your profile and I found something rather worrisome: you have several spelling errors, grammar errors, and other errors too in them (especially your first one). This is serious, because it will be one of the first things a potential recruiter will look at when they see your profile. Your sample translation should be your flagship when it comes to your translation skills. As it stands now it does not look professional.
... See more Hi Khalifa,
I skimmed through your sample translations on your profile and I found something rather worrisome: you have several spelling errors, grammar errors, and other errors too in them (especially your first one). This is serious, because it will be one of the first things a potential recruiter will look at when they see your profile. Your sample translation should be your flagship when it comes to your translation skills. As it stands now it does not look professional.
[Edited at 2015-08-15 16:34 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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