Reviewing a CV - how much to charge? Thread poster: Sarah McDowell
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Sarah McDowell 
Canada
Local time: 13:49
Member (2012)
Russian to English
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Hello fellow editors/proofreaders!
I was wondering how you figure out how much to charge for editing someone's CV (it's already in English). Do you charge per word or use an hourly rate and then figure out how long it takes you?
I was going to charge per word but obviously the changes I would be doing would be more along the lines of formatting instead of just looking for spelling mistakes so it would be a more intense job.
So how can you decide on what the... See more Hello fellow editors/proofreaders!
I was wondering how you figure out how much to charge for editing someone's CV (it's already in English). Do you charge per word or use an hourly rate and then figure out how long it takes you?
I was going to charge per word but obviously the changes I would be doing would be more along the lines of formatting instead of just looking for spelling mistakes so it would be a more intense job.
So how can you decide on what the price should be? I am getting some requests for these lately and I need to figure out my price.
By the way, the CV appears to be quite well-written. I looked at it and there is not even one single spelling mistake. I think that if it was poorly written I would have to charge a lot more.
Does anyone have any advice on this?
Thanks,
Sarah ▲ Collapse
| | | | Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 20:49
German to Swedish
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If you've seen the document, and know what you'll do about it, I think you should offer a flat fee.
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But you cannot charge the same price to an individual and to a company. Working for individuals takes a lot of time, they want personal coaching and they'll always say you that you are too expensive.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 19:49
Member (2007)
English
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The only way to go is to charge for your time, but you can't leave it open-ended, that wouldn't be acceptable to a CV owner. So, you've seen it, you can estimate how long it will take, and then you translate that time into money, as Joakim says.
It's something I do a lot of too, Sarah. In fact, it's a service I offer to fellow translators, amongst others.
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Vitals
Lithuania
Local time: 21:49
English to Lithuanian
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| In fact, flat fee for any document of this type.. | Sep 3, 2012 |
Birth / divorce/ marriage certificates, diplomas, etc. - usually they do not even have an amount of words of one standard page (say, of about 300 words). Does that mean you have to do them almost for free? To my mind, you can not charge a 1-page-fee for that, it is most of the times more responsible - all those names and dates, etc. so the charge should be higher.
Flat fee for translation and reviewing/proofreading is one of the best methods for these.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:49
Spanish to English
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I bill that sort of thing per hour, according to the real time it takes me. You can set a minimum fee (e.g. 1 hour) to cover yourself.
| | | | | Do it for free | Sep 3, 2012 |
I do short CV-related jobs for free. On several occasions, after clients have landed their dream job and started wielding influence, they remember my kind deed and give me bigger jobs from their new employer. Overall the returns are worth it.
| | | | Ewa Olszowa
Canada
Local time: 14:49
Polish to English
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| Definitely paid job | Sep 3, 2012 |
Hi Sarah,
I would definitely charge at least your minimum charge.
You mentioned that the bigger job would be formatting but you still had to read the translation to make sure if it is written well - you can charge your minimum rate per word for proofreading the text and then per hour for formatting. Or apply the hourly rate to overall work.
In this case it should not matter if it is a private person or agency. The minimum rates apply to both regardless the length of the ... See more Hi Sarah,
I would definitely charge at least your minimum charge.
You mentioned that the bigger job would be formatting but you still had to read the translation to make sure if it is written well - you can charge your minimum rate per word for proofreading the text and then per hour for formatting. Or apply the hourly rate to overall work.
In this case it should not matter if it is a private person or agency. The minimum rates apply to both regardless the length of the job.
Regards,
Ewa
[Edited at 2012-09-03 14:10 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 13:49
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks everyone! | Sep 4, 2012 |
I would like to say thanks to everyone who responded to this post for all your great advice.
Thanks Stuart, for your suggestion of free CV editing. This is not something that I can afford to do at the moment as I am relatively new to freelance translation/editing. However, I will keep your suggestion in the back of my mind and maybe try something like this in the future. I think it would be an interesting way to get new clients/projects. I sometimes do quick volunteer editing work i... See more I would like to say thanks to everyone who responded to this post for all your great advice.
Thanks Stuart, for your suggestion of free CV editing. This is not something that I can afford to do at the moment as I am relatively new to freelance translation/editing. However, I will keep your suggestion in the back of my mind and maybe try something like this in the future. I think it would be an interesting way to get new clients/projects. I sometimes do quick volunteer editing work if it's for a charitable cause. But I think that it also communicates to the client that you don't value the quality of your work highly enough to charge for it. So there are two sides to offering to do something like this.
Once again, thanks all! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Just one more point of view... | Sep 4, 2012 |
Keep in mind that CV translation is by definition a small job, which is not the ideal type of job, as far as I am concerned. Furthermore, a CV can be much more time-consuming than a birth or marriage certificate (these are comparatively very cut-and-dry), for several reasons:
- Degrees/diplomas can vary greatly from one country to another, as can school systems in general, and finding the equivalents can take time (although you can learn a lot from this, as with all research);
... See more Keep in mind that CV translation is by definition a small job, which is not the ideal type of job, as far as I am concerned. Furthermore, a CV can be much more time-consuming than a birth or marriage certificate (these are comparatively very cut-and-dry), for several reasons:
- Degrees/diplomas can vary greatly from one country to another, as can school systems in general, and finding the equivalents can take time (although you can learn a lot from this, as with all research);
- The titles that people give to their jobs can be mysterious, and you'll sometimes need a job description just to figure out what they mean. Often even the descriptions are specialized, and there can be a high rate of jargon and abbreviations compared to other types of text. It is useful to be familiar with the person's field. If you aren't, you'll find yourself doing a lot of research, again;
- Formatting is time-consuming and not really part of translating at all;
- You'll need to keep in mind cultural differences. For example, on French CVs, it is custom to list family status, including the number of children, as well as the age of the person and other information that is quite taboo, for example, in the USA. You'll need to bring these to light and discuss how to handle the information with the client.
Which leads me to wonder... Who are these people trying to get jobs in a language that they do not master?
Anyway, I just wanted to point out these potential difficulties, as no one else has brought them up. Personally I don't bother with other people's CVs (except friends') and I am a bit of a procrastinator about getting my own up-to-date.
But never mind... Happy translating (er, editing)!
[Edited at 2012-09-04 15:26 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It is always a good idea to have a CV checked | Sep 4, 2012 |
verslanglais wrote: Which leads me to wonder... Who are these people trying to get jobs in a language that they do not master?
Even if you do master the language.
For all the reasons verslanglais mentioned, which might not occur to an ex-pat who was otherwise perfectly qualified for the job. Once you have your foot in the door, colleagues are often very nice about small cultural differences, and even find them interesting.
Especially if someone is employed to deal with customers abroad in the export department, whatever.
But it IS necessary to describe experience and qualifications correctly for the target culture.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 19:49
Member (2007)
English
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| It's a service, like any other | Sep 4, 2012 |
It can be a translation service. I refuse to translate CVs through an agency nowadays, although I don't mind doing it directly with the client if s/he won't or can't do most of the work. At least I can check the context, which is always sadly lacking in a CV.
It can be a proofreading service. Just like any other text, you can check the grammar and spelling etc. You may leave them with an abysmal CV, but at least it'll be "correct". ... See more It can be a translation service. I refuse to translate CVs through an agency nowadays, although I don't mind doing it directly with the client if s/he won't or can't do most of the work. At least I can check the context, which is always sadly lacking in a CV.
It can be a proofreading service. Just like any other text, you can check the grammar and spelling etc. You may leave them with an abysmal CV, but at least it'll be "correct".
It can be a revision service. This is what I offer and what I believe Sarah is offering (correct me if I've got it wrong, Sarah). This is valid for all people who are writing a CV in your native language, whether or not it's the writer's native language. Believe me, I've reviewed English CVs prepared by French people where I've had to correct some minor errors - inverted noun and adjective, teached in place of taught (remarkable frequent, that one) - but which have really been quite good and haven't taken long. And then I've reviewed CVs by native English speakers whose English is perfect but who have lumbered themselves with a totally lousy CV and (surprise, surprise!) haven't had so much as an interview in hundreds of applications. Reworking those CVs can take an age, and sometimes it's just too expensive, but those who can pay never regret it. Their revised CV can land them the job of their dreams, although many are just happy to get a job of any sort nowadays.
The ideal is a CV workshop like the one I used to run in France. Up to 15 job-seekers every month (not all French - in fact, there were at least 3 native English speakers in 6 years!), learning how to do the best possible job themselves, with individual attention for the checking phase(s). Made it worthwhile remuneration for me and cheap (or free) for them. It's the thing I miss most since moving to the Canaries. ▲ Collapse
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Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 13:49
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Sheila Wilson wrote: It can be a revision service. This is what I offer and what I believe Sarah is offering (correct me if I've got it wrong, Sarah ). This is valid for all people who are writing a CV in your native language, whether or not it's the writer's native language.
Yes, Sheila, it is a revision service since the CV is already in English. It's for an expat.
Thanks for your advice and to everyone for your help.
Cheers,
Sarah
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