Getting my first Job Here Thread poster: ERICK ATANDA
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ERICK ATANDA
Kenya
Local time: 04:45
Member (Apr 2024)
Dholuo (Lwo) to English
+ ...
Hello fellow translators, I have been in this forum for now almost three years but nothing yet in terms of Job follows. Would you please advice me on how to get hooked to these jobs especially in my language pairs, that is English > Swahili, Swahili > English among other East African local dialects. Thanks and i will highly appreciate your feedbacks even if it is hooking me up to the available jobs.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:45
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Mcatanda wrote:
Hello fellow translators, I have been in this forum for now almost three years but nothing yet in terms of Job follows. Would you please advice me on how to get hooked to these jobs especially in my language pairs, that is English > Swahili, Swahili > English among other East African local dialects. Thanks and i will highly appreciate your feedbacks even if it is hooking me up to the available jobs.
I suggest you complete your profile. Also make sure that your "Availability" calendar is always showing and is always up to date. Doing this will improve your visibility.
Take a look at my profile for an example of 100% complete profile. Agencies often contact me, having found me through my Proz profile.
Good luck !
[Edited at 2016-06-04 12:59 GMT]
P.S. I suggest you change the primary language of your profile to Swahili - or at least make sure the info about you appears in both languages in your profile.
Also: the keywords you use are very important. If anyone does a Google search for the word (for example) such as "English" "Swahili" "translator", Google will find those words if you have put them in your profile. You can use as many keywords as you want to.
[Edited at 2016-06-04 13:03 GMT]
| | | | Kevin Fulton 
United States
Local time: 21:45
German to English
| Contact the consulates in your country | Jun 4, 2016 |
Local consulates and trade missions are frequently contacted by companies needing services in countries with less highly-developed commercial infrastructures (compared to countries in Europe/US). Trade missions should be able to provide you with a list of companies doing business in Kenya/East Africa.
| | | | | Fill up your profile page | Jun 4, 2016 |
first of all, Mcatanda, fill up your profile page which does not say much about you. Just having 'software tools i.e.trados, etc' does not reveal much. Neither 'communication skills-at least explain how these help you in your translation or put what helps you in your translation. That is for starters. Maybe you do not have qualifications which are relevant to translation but you might have worked somewhere and thus built up your speciality fields-as you have become an expert in some field-expan... See more first of all, Mcatanda, fill up your profile page which does not say much about you. Just having 'software tools i.e.trados, etc' does not reveal much. Neither 'communication skills-at least explain how these help you in your translation or put what helps you in your translation. That is for starters. Maybe you do not have qualifications which are relevant to translation but you might have worked somewhere and thus built up your speciality fields-as you have become an expert in some field-expand on that. Say something about yourself that helps people get to know how they are going to benefit from your translations or what kind of translations they can expect from you. Your profile page does not make you stand out, so you need to work on that first. Good luck. Hope others pitch in too. ▲ Collapse
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 02:45
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| You need to be pro-active in your use of the site | Jun 4, 2016 |
There are 101 ways to improve your visibility and to encourage clients to choose you. At the moment you have no real identity here. You don't use your real name, your "about me" says little about you, and your CV screams "generic". Instead, you need to use the site to prove to potential clients that it's you personally that meets all their requirements. In short, you need to sell yourself. That's true of all freelancers, whatever their line of business.
Bear in mind that there are p... See more There are 101 ways to improve your visibility and to encourage clients to choose you. At the moment you have no real identity here. You don't use your real name, your "about me" says little about you, and your CV screams "generic". Instead, you need to use the site to prove to potential clients that it's you personally that meets all their requirements. In short, you need to sell yourself. That's true of all freelancers, whatever their line of business.
Bear in mind that there are particular ways to make the site work for you. Key is the fact that the majoriy of jobs are never posted on the public board. Instead, clients do a search of the directory for a filtered list of those most suitable. To appear top of their list you need to have a good profile etc. Then, for jobs that are posted publicly, there's a period restricted to quotes from paying members. By the time the job is opened to registered users it's very often already taken.
So, the Site Guidance Centre section of the site is the place to turnaround your site experience. Learn how to complete a strong profile and climb the directory. Never forget to look at your profile, CV and letters from the client's viewpoint. Why should they choose you? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:45
Member (2008)
Italian to English
PS
Mcatanda: it is considered inadvisable to attach your CV directly to your Proz profile. Apparently CVs are sometimes stolen by unscrupulous people, for nefarious purposes. The usual advice is to write "CV available upon request" in that part of your profile.
| | | | John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 21:45
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
| Proactive marketing | Jun 4, 2016 |
As others have said, you need to be proactive with marketing. For example, google "translation agency swahili" and you will get a number of translation agencies that specialise in Swahili. Get your site profile and CV in tip-top shape and contact these agencies directly.
| | | | Huw Watkins
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:45
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
| Get active on Kudoz too | Jun 5, 2016 |
In addition to all the great advice about completion of profile and openness of identity above, I would also start answering any kudos questions that come in your language. If your answer gets selected as the best, you get points and that moves you up the visibility rankings. It also shows you are using the site and have genuine language skills.
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