Poll: Out of 10 projects you bid for, how do many you usually get? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Out of 10 projects you bid for, how do many you usually get?".
This poll was originally submitted by Davor Ivic. View the poll results »
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I don't bid on projects. I wait for them to "come in over the transom" from my regular clients. That keeps me as busy as I want to be.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:10
Member (2008)
Italian to English
none.
But fool that I am, I keep falling for their seduction.
Never mind.
[Edited at 2022-01-28 08:59 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:10
Spanish to English
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I don't bid for jobs. Clients come to me and if they're lucky, I can fit them in. I had to refuse one yesterday simply because I'm booked up for the next couple of weeks and they were in a hurry.
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Agneta Pallinder 
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:10
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
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| Other - zero | Jan 28, 2022 |
I don't bid for projects any longer. Like others I can rely on enquiries coming in from old and new clients. But when I first started on ProZ, back in 2014, I bid on projects and I suppose got about one in four awarded. I have a feeling, though, that agencies were more serious in their project advertising then: not just a rush for the cheapest translator with the fastest turnaround time.
| | | | | For specific projects ... | Jan 28, 2022 |
... I think 10-20%. This includes bidding on the ProZ job board and to direct clients through LinkedIn. I am very selective and only bid on projects that are a good match to my skills. The usual reason for not accepting my proposal (if they contact me at all; usually direct clients do and agencies do not) is: too expensive.
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 04:10
Japanese to English
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| Bidding for projects | Jan 28, 2022 |
zero. The whole bidding set-up is a scam.
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I only bid on jobs posted on Proz very occasionally as more often than not rates “offered” are much lower than mine. I prefer being contacted directly and providing a quote for a specific job.
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I usually try to guess why they made a job posting instead of picking someone from the existing directory, if it's a unique skill or combination of skills that they're looking for, I might bid, if it's just a race to the bottom though, I mostly avoid.
[Edited at 2022-01-28 12:02 GMT]
| | | | matt robinson
Spain
Local time: 10:10
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
I don't usually bid directly for jobs these days, but I sometimes make a note of potential clients and contact them at a later date.
| | | | | | | Win About 4 Or 5 Out Of 10 Bids | Jan 28, 2022 |
I prefer to bid on projects, since, by now I am, just about exclusively, a literary translator for direct clients. That said, at least two of the authors who asked for bids and ended up selecting me must have been happy with my services because they used them, in ongoing fashion, with almost no let-up at all, over a period of several years, or at the least, asked me to do other projects for them, which, unfortunately, I had to turn down more than once because of other ones I was working on. Anyw... See more I prefer to bid on projects, since, by now I am, just about exclusively, a literary translator for direct clients. That said, at least two of the authors who asked for bids and ended up selecting me must have been happy with my services because they used them, in ongoing fashion, with almost no let-up at all, over a period of several years, or at the least, asked me to do other projects for them, which, unfortunately, I had to turn down more than once because of other ones I was working on. Anyway, I prefer to work directly with clients, rather than with middle-man agencies (I prefer to be independent of all of that) who offer book translations, or publishers, esp. since projects offered by the latter are so few and far between (although I have done work for one in the past). So as one can see, in my specific case, making bids on projects has worked out quite well, and has even resulted in some wonderful friendships with people who were, in the first place, clients.
[Edited at 2022-01-28 13:02 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 05:10
Portuguese to English
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I do bid but never get the jobs. Too much competition, the other day there was a job with over 500 bidders. There is always someone willing to do the work cheaper.
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Direct enquiries and proz.com Job Board bids combined, I send about 20-30 offers to unknown prospects each year.
It appears that I invoice nearly one new client (agency) each year, essentially stemming from direct enquiries for a specific project through my proz.com profile.
I haven't had any success on the Job Board for a long long time, likely more than a decade.
My hard core of returning agency clients account for the bulk of my sales, and I'm awarded 100% of the jobs... See more Direct enquiries and proz.com Job Board bids combined, I send about 20-30 offers to unknown prospects each year.
It appears that I invoice nearly one new client (agency) each year, essentially stemming from direct enquiries for a specific project through my proz.com profile.
I haven't had any success on the Job Board for a long long time, likely more than a decade.
My hard core of returning agency clients account for the bulk of my sales, and I'm awarded 100% of the jobs they send me (availability allowing)!
Philippe ▲ Collapse
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