Should you accept to conduct a translation test or no ? Thread poster: Altin Guberi
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Altin Guberi
Albania
Local time: 10:55
English to Albanian
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I am just wondering whether it's normal to conduct a translation test from a new company whom seem potentially interested in you.
[Edited at 2021-08-02 08:16 GMT]
| | | | Tony M
France
Local time: 10:55
Member
French to English
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SITE LOCALIZER | Maybe, if you're just starting out. | Aug 2, 2021 |
I personally refuse to do them, unless they are paid. I have over 25 years of experience in translation and a wealth of customer testimonials to prove my competence.
I believe there is something unhealthy in an agency that asks for translation tests — wit the possible exception of those where it is a requirement coming from their end client. Generally, it reflects an attitidue of "wanting to be in control" in a situation where it is almost impossible to be!
In all my years as a tra... See more I personally refuse to do them, unless they are paid. I have over 25 years of experience in translation and a wealth of customer testimonials to prove my competence.
I believe there is something unhealthy in an agency that asks for translation tests — wit the possible exception of those where it is a requirement coming from their end client. Generally, it reflects an attitidue of "wanting to be in control" in a situation where it is almost impossible to be!
In all my years as a translator, I have done tests in the past, and have almost never actually got a job through them! Now I don't think this means I'm a poor translator! Plenty of ther people give me work, and become repeat customers.
I think the whole premise of test translations is flawed:
1) The translation agency is often not itself in a position to judge the quality of the result, nor even, sometimes, the end client; one "solution" they try is to have your translation back-translated to see if it exactly matches the original — of course, it almost never will, and such a simplistic check is worse than useless.
2) Any extract of the source text is unlikely to be truly representative of the text as a whole, where terminology or other issues may lie just around the corner. An example: I was once asked to translate a text, and the test piece was a beautifully-crafted foreword to the document as a whole; it was a plesure to translate and my test was accepted. But when the document arrived, it turned out to be a careless compilation of verbatim lecture transcrips of highly variable quality — a real pig's ear which was a nightmare to translate, and indeed, the American checker ultimately rejected my translation, which was as much her fault (poor command of English!) as mine! In many instances, she expected me to to have re-written the source text to mean what she thought it ought to mean!
3) Inevitably, with a short text extract, one is labouring under the lack of context that would probably be revealed in the document as a whole; I have in the past asked agencies (indeed, some have done it of their own accord) to send me the whole document and just tell me which part to translate!
4) Also, for a free test, one cannot afford to spend as much time research terminology etc. as one would do for the full, paid job. I have often sent back tests littered with comments / annotations, explaining my reasoning and the lack of time to do proper research.
5) Some unscrupulous agencies send different extracts of a text to the various applicants, in the hope of getting their entire document translated for free! We've seen this in a number of test cases, where translators have got together and "compared notes"!
6) Having myself been asked to assess test translations, I have consistently observed that they tend to be of overall poor quality; either because only desperate translators with no work resort to doing them, or because they fail to put in the time necessary to do a proper job. One woman submitted a machine translation for her test; when challenged, she airily replied that she "knew it was going to be proof-read afterwards anyway"!
For all these reasons, I prefer to establish a relationship with a new agency, for example, by offering to do a small job for them with a money-back guarantee if they're not satisfied; or I am prepared to do a small proof-reading job, so they can learn a bit about my style and way of working. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Inga Petkelyte 
Portugal
Local time: 09:55
Lithuanian to Portuguese
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| Translation samples | Aug 2, 2021 |
I very much agree with Tony. Loved this: "something unhealthy in an agency": straight to the core.
Myself, I used to provide test translations in the beginning; later, I included several sample translations in my profile and refer to them whenever someone comes up with an idea of test translations. Good or poor, the samples should be sufficient to indicate whether the level is workable or not for the specific project.
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As I’ve been translating full-time since 1985 I always find amusing when I’m asked for a free test, though I understand that sometimes it might be useful to see how a translator treats this or that particular sentence (in literature or journalism, for instance). If I’m really interested in that job or in that client I'll be happy to do a short unpaid translation test (300/400 words maximum), providing we have already agreed on price and payment and there is no deadline set for the test, so... See more As I’ve been translating full-time since 1985 I always find amusing when I’m asked for a free test, though I understand that sometimes it might be useful to see how a translator treats this or that particular sentence (in literature or journalism, for instance). If I’m really interested in that job or in that client I'll be happy to do a short unpaid translation test (300/400 words maximum), providing we have already agreed on price and payment and there is no deadline set for the test, so I can do it at my own pace. I would rather do a translation test for free than sending diplomas, references and the like and having to fill endless forms. Anyway, that’s how I got some of my best clients (direct clients and translation agencies) and some of my highest-paid assignments. ▲ Collapse
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Abba Storgen (X)
United States
Local time: 03:55
Greek to English
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| What they actually do | Aug 2, 2021 |
1. Translator receives a 300-word test. Finishes it on Google Trans. Sends it.
2. Agency "A" forwards the test to me. Surprisingly I find more errors (not stylistic stuff, actual errors) than Google Trans would have made. I note them under the category "sloppy, careless, not professional work".
3. The agency recruitment department gets annoyed by this, they need the bonuses that come with hiring lots of people. They send the test to another editor, who's too bored to wo... See more 1. Translator receives a 300-word test. Finishes it on Google Trans. Sends it.
2. Agency "A" forwards the test to me. Surprisingly I find more errors (not stylistic stuff, actual errors) than Google Trans would have made. I note them under the category "sloppy, careless, not professional work".
3. The agency recruitment department gets annoyed by this, they need the bonuses that come with hiring lots of people. They send the test to another editor, who's too bored to work for anything that's $20 pre-tax. Approves the test 90%. The candidate gets the job.
4. Depending on how much the PM will like the new translator, he/she may even be considered an "expert" within 2-3 weeks. That's what they tell the client.
The only tests I agree to do is when I know the PM from previous projects, and I know the rater too. Because the rater can easily be "just another guy with 3 months experience".
If only end-clients knew how this industry works (anonymous editing, recruitment on steroids based on bonuses, personal PM preferences ruling most aspects, new PMs having no idea of historical data, etc), most of them would flock to Google Trans themselves and use agencies only for proofreading. As a matter of fact many are already doing it, and they see improved results at a fraction of the cost! ▲ Collapse
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unless it is in exceptional circumstances. It is just another example of how translators are held in low esteem. I don't call a plumber or a solicitor and say 'just do this small job and we'll see how you get on'.
| | | | | Can be worthwhile for both parties, with caveats | Aug 2, 2021 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
As I’ve been translating full-time since 1985 I always find amusing when I’m asked for a free test, though I understand that sometimes it might be useful to see how a translator treats this or that particular sentence (in literature or journalism, for instance). If I’m really interested in that job or in that client I'll be happy to do a short unpaid translation test (300/400 words maximum), providing we have already agreed on price and payment and there is no deadline set for the test, so I can do it at my own pace. I would rather do a translation test for free than sending diplomas, references and the like and having to fill endless forms. Anyway, that’s how I got some of my best clients (direct clients and translation agencies) and some of my highest-paid assignments.
My experience has been similar to Teresa's. I did them every once in a while when I was starting out, and gained some long-term clients and quite a lot of business that way, so it was worth my while. Nowadays, I am rarely asked and wouldn't agree unless I was sure the potential client is someone I'm interested in working for (and I'm very fussy!) Insisting on a generous deadline, or no deadline at all, makes it less likely that the agency will be able to make money out of your labour by selling the translation!
And like Teresa, I see tests as a reasonable alternative to providing references, which I am loath to give as that means bothering someone I know every time I sign up with a new agency, not that I sign up with many new ones nowadays.
While I share Tony's reservations as to the premise of tests to some degree (apart from no. 4 - if a test translation requires research, I do it no matter how long it takes, as I want the result to reflect my normal working methods - surely that's the whole point?), I would question whether many agencies think that deeply about them. From their point of view, many translators look good on paper, but how can you really tell who is good and who isn't? A translator can have qualifications and diplomas coming out of their ears, yet still not deliver good work. The proof of the pudding really is in the eating. I've assessed tests myself, and I feel that they can help to filter out particularly poor candidates. For that reason, I can understand why agencies continue to set them. Often, they wouldn't stop to think about how meaningful or representative a short text is.
So, should we do unpaid tests? I agree that they can be worthwhile when you're starting out, but tend to be less so later on, when you already have a client base and your time really is money.
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| For one-off nobodies or for a potential heavy long-term direct client? | Aug 2, 2021 |
Nobodies:
Point me to an article on your topic and I will provide a random paragraph of my choice* as a sample.
Potential:
1 page
PS * - this is important. Lots of sample-stitching thieves out there these days.
[Edited at 2021-08-02 17:52 GMT]
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June Wang
China
Local time: 16:55
Member (2021)
English to Chinese
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| A paid transation test is good | Aug 16, 2021 |
When a client hadn’t asked me to do a test before we started a collaboration. I felt kinda respect for my experience. Then I received an editing task and found the translation was in a mess, just a result of Google Translate. I sent it back with a suggestion that they should find a qualified translator. They said they had been in a long-term cooperation and internally, they didn't have anybody speaking Chinese. So this is not just about a test. They don't have a test because they cannot separa... See more When a client hadn’t asked me to do a test before we started a collaboration. I felt kinda respect for my experience. Then I received an editing task and found the translation was in a mess, just a result of Google Translate. I sent it back with a suggestion that they should find a qualified translator. They said they had been in a long-term cooperation and internally, they didn't have anybody speaking Chinese. So this is not just about a test. They don't have a test because they cannot separate the wheat from the chaff. Anyway, they don't care about the quality, either.
After this twist, I can accept a paid test in case I run across another terrible work.
[修改时间: 2021-08-16 13:27 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It's up to you if you want to accept it but it goes both ways, you know. | Aug 16, 2021 |
I don't mind testing, because the agency tests me and I test them. The way they handle this short test, which takes very little time to complete, would be the way they would handle an extended project.
I also get to see if they have competent people checking the work in my pair, which is super important if I will attempt to work with them.
As anyone will tell you, most people serious about hiring you will test you through a smaller job you do for them and you go from th... See more I don't mind testing, because the agency tests me and I test them. The way they handle this short test, which takes very little time to complete, would be the way they would handle an extended project.
I also get to see if they have competent people checking the work in my pair, which is super important if I will attempt to work with them.
As anyone will tell you, most people serious about hiring you will test you through a smaller job you do for them and you go from there, but I do not mind unpaid tests (150-300) words. Completing them isn't high on my priority list, but if I can manage to squeeze it in, into my workday, I will test for a position.
People who ask for them are few and far between and we really test each other. ▲ Collapse
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Good morning,
I agree with Tony, if a potential client asks for a test, I accept it but I invoice the test as a normal job.
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