Poll: European linguists: How do you respond to "pool expansion" emails from Asian agencies? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "European linguists: How do you respond to "pool expansion" emails from Asian agencies?".
This poll was originally submitted by Kristina Radziulyte. View the poll results »
| | | | Lieven Malaise 
Belgium
Local time: 13:07
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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I ignore every request from agencies outside of Europe. I will continue to do that as long as my European customers offer me enough work.
It's not that I'm not interested per se, but I think that 99% of all requests I receive mention bottom rates or are about "jobs" I'm not interested in because they have little or nothing to do with translation.
| | | | | I treat them as potential new clients | May 26 |
I treat them as potential new clients, with the reservation that in fact most fall through and never actually send any work.
I have occasionally worked with Asian agencies, usually after they have teamed up with European agencies I already know. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but for one reason or another I drop many new agencies at the due diligence stage.
They may be scared off by my rates, too. The cost of living in Northern Europe and the structure of ... See more I treat them as potential new clients, with the reservation that in fact most fall through and never actually send any work.
I have occasionally worked with Asian agencies, usually after they have teamed up with European agencies I already know. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but for one reason or another I drop many new agencies at the due diligence stage.
They may be scared off by my rates, too. The cost of living in Northern Europe and the structure of some of the languages means that the rate for 1000 source words strikes many people as high. (1000 source words translate into 20-30% more words in English, and the difference is even greater with some languages.) ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 07:07
Japanese to English
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| "pool expansion" from Asian agencies | May 26 |
American linguist here: expanding the translator pool is just an attempt to tell the client "over 50,000 linguists work with us!" This task is most likely assigned to some lower-level peon. I think Asian agencies shun European/American linguists they feel are over-qualified. The English language abilities of these agencies and their PMs leaves much to be desired. There is one Asian agency that recruits specialists in various academic disciplines. I hear that the translators' texts with grammati... See more American linguist here: expanding the translator pool is just an attempt to tell the client "over 50,000 linguists work with us!" This task is most likely assigned to some lower-level peon. I think Asian agencies shun European/American linguists they feel are over-qualified. The English language abilities of these agencies and their PMs leaves much to be desired. There is one Asian agency that recruits specialists in various academic disciplines. I hear that the translators' texts with grammatically correct grammar and syntax and correct specialized terminology are routinely sent back by their "editors" for "revision". This is a con game. The more corrections the "editors" make, the longer they stay with the agency. Needless to say, translators don't last long with them. The agencies don't care. They are constantly trolling for new victims, er, talent. Ads for this agency pop up about once a month on proz. ▲ Collapse
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| Straight to the bin | May 26 |
I do work with agencies outside of Europe, but I never reply to such mass mailings, and I don't accept any work from agencies in particular countries that I have gotten to know for low rates, micromanagement practices and late payments.
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The rates are usually abysmal and I have no way of knowing if they are reliable or not.
Anyway, I am not interested in joining a "pool".
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How do I respond?
1. I treat them as potential new clients. But «pool expansion» usually means just adding one more name to a roster of freelance translators. So, it’s a no, no for me
2. I don’t care where my clients are based, provided they pay my rates. I have been working occasionally with a Hong-Kong agency.
3. I do work with some agencies and clients based outside Europe (USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia)…
| | | | | a complete waste of time | May 26 |
I haven't responded to these kinds of "invitations" for years, regardless of the agency's location—Asia, Europe, or anywhere else. Let's just say that, at least for me, filling out those forms with professional information in their "talent pool" is a complete waste of time. It's often effort with no return. I've never gotten a job because of that.
Very disappointed.
[Edited at 2026-05-26 11:31 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 13:07
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Depends if I have time | May 26 |
Pool expansion emails are simply practice emails from new project managers. They rarely result in jobs. It's just a new PM being taught business communication by their more experienced colleagues. But: they sometimes lead to jobs. Plus, you can see this as a training opportunity for yourself: to improve your own business communication skills and to ensure that you have everything ready (e.g. résumé etc.) in case a real opportunity presents itself.
Added: This has nothing to do... See more Pool expansion emails are simply practice emails from new project managers. They rarely result in jobs. It's just a new PM being taught business communication by their more experienced colleagues. But: they sometimes lead to jobs. Plus, you can see this as a training opportunity for yourself: to improve your own business communication skills and to ensure that you have everything ready (e.g. résumé etc.) in case a real opportunity presents itself.
Added: This has nothing to do with European vs Asian. European agencies do the same thing.
[Edited at 2026-05-26 12:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Luis M. Sosa
Ecuador
Local time: 06:07
English to Spanish
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| Sorry. Not from Europe, but thought it was a good idea to jump into the conversation. | May 26 |
I have a client from Asia. They send regular and interesting jobs at good-to-excellent rates. In Asia, there agencies and agencies.…it depends where they come from (as impolite as it may sound).
In general, “pool expansion” invitations do not land you jobs, but can also come from Asia, Europe and the United States.
Since data is a new class of asset, it’s your data they are looking for. Many translators end up “selling” their data (volunteering) in “exchange” of pot... See more I have a client from Asia. They send regular and interesting jobs at good-to-excellent rates. In Asia, there agencies and agencies.…it depends where they come from (as impolite as it may sound).
In general, “pool expansion” invitations do not land you jobs, but can also come from Asia, Europe and the United States.
Since data is a new class of asset, it’s your data they are looking for. Many translators end up “selling” their data (volunteering) in “exchange” of potential new jobs. In some cases, LSPs participate in government bids, and they need to fatten their database in order to meet requirements or qualify for the bids. And yes, please apologize for sounding conspirative, but in some cases there might well be intelligence agencies behind LSPs, or else outright crooks.
I elaborated a bit further elsewhere:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-translators-must-protect-data-luis-m-sosa-jngoc/?published=t ▲ Collapse
| | | | | We're all globalized now | May 27 |
I didn't see any difference in modus operandi between a Chinese agency and Chinese PMs working for a European agency. In general, I was happy with how they gave me all the information I needed up front and enabled me to work during their nighttime.
I've also worked for an Irish agency which employed Brazilian and Turkish PMs and was later acquired by a Polish company, which moved their headquarters to the US. Can you still talk about any national culture then?
On the ot... See more I didn't see any difference in modus operandi between a Chinese agency and Chinese PMs working for a European agency. In general, I was happy with how they gave me all the information I needed up front and enabled me to work during their nighttime.
I've also worked for an Irish agency which employed Brazilian and Turkish PMs and was later acquired by a Polish company, which moved their headquarters to the US. Can you still talk about any national culture then?
On the other hand, I tended to ignore Indian agencies who offered ridiculously low rates. I still ended up working with Indian PMs located in India after accepting a job from an American company. That project involved three PMs, who still relied on me to find other freelancers. ▲ Collapse
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 07:07
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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Why were only European linguists called into attention? This is a concern for every translator, regardless of their time zone. Why were Asian agencies specifically mentioned? Asian agencies are not the only ones that send "pool" expansion" emails.
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 07:07
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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| They are being honest | May 27 |
At least they made it clear that there might be no job for you to do immediately. They are more ethical than those agencies which would make you think they will assign you tasks soon but their intension is only to use your CV to expand their "pool".
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 13:07
English to French
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Michelle den Boer wrote:
I didn't see any difference in modus operandi between a Chinese agency and Chinese PMs working for a European agency. In general, I was happy with how they gave me all the information I needed up front and enabled me to work during their nighttime.
I've also worked for an Irish agency which employed Brazilian and Turkish PMs and was later acquired by a Polish company, which moved their headquarters to the US. Can you still talk about any national culture then?
On the other hand, I tended to ignore Indian agencies who offered ridiculously low rates. I still ended up working with Indian PMs located in India after accepting a job from an American company. That project involved three PMs, who still relied on me to find other freelancers.
If their brains of the operation are in Asia, then we can talk about a specific culture. Regardless of their other branches.
And no, never have I received "expanding our pool" from a French or German agency (local agencies, not global agencies with a fake digital address in France).
I don't send them to the bin, because I want to be able to track them. I send them to a specific inbox folder with a specific name.
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