As a freelancer looking for opportunities on ProZ.com, your professional profile is your most important tool. Here are some ideas to take your profile from good to great, and attract clients' attention at a higher rate.
The first thing you need to know is that, while many agencies and end clients post public job openings on ProZ.com, the great majority (up to 80%!) of the work volume that flows through the site actually comes from job offers sent privately via profile messages.
What most clients do is search for a small pool of translators that meet their needs, using the ProZ.com directories —so you want to stand out there! If you conduct a search on the Find directory, the left column will let you know where you are in the search, and how to improve your ranking position.
Here's a more detailed insight on how to improve your position in directories.
The basics
Having your real name, a good photo and a stand-out tagline are key to catch potential clients' attention. These are the things that people see on the directory and on job quotes, and they might define whether somebody clicks on your profile or not. Use your tagline to shine a light on what sets you apart from other translators!
And, if you need a hand, here's a very complete article on how to pick the best possible picture and tagline.
Bio
This space can also be used to upload images showcasing the covers of books you’ve translated, big brands you may have worked with, recognitions you may have received, etc. As of now, it can be formatted using the embedded "WYSIWYG" editor, or HTML5.
If you want some ideas to get started, here's a great and really short guide on how to write a good Bio.
CV/resume
You should also keep in mind that your CV will likely be stored by the project and vendor managers who receive it, and may be indexed by search engines if you make it public on your profile. This is why you might be careful with your personal information: your name and email should suffice, though some translators are comfortable sharing their phone number too.
A targeted resume can make a big difference. Many project managers use a simple keyword search mechanism when trying to find a translator from their database, running all downloaded CVs through a filter that searches for relevant terms such as "legal" or "proofreading" or "Trados". Having a specialized translator resume can make it so a contact that doesn't turn into actual work now, can be an offer a few weeks or months from now.
Click here to upload your CV (or CVs!) to your ProZ.com profile.
Translation samples
You can add your samples in simple text form, here.
Calendar
Outsourcers can choose to only see translators who are set as available in their calendar when they conduct directory searches, so if you want to land more opportunities, let potential clients know your availability here.
Feedback
Use this form to request feedback from your clients and colleagues, in or out of the site.
Rates
If you are not sure of what rates you should set, ProZ.com offers a rates calculator to help. And, once you are ready, here you can set your rates.
Working fields
Make sure your working fields are in the right order and up to date, here.
Data security
For most fields, you can consider yourself covered with a standard text like: I take care to prevent confidential project files and content from being accessed by unauthorized parties, I do not discuss confidential project content with unauthorized parties, and I delete project files upon completion of work, or am willing to do so upon request. Further security measures are available upon request.
Let your clients know of your security procedures, here.
Keywords
For these reasons, consider entering as many words/combinations as you think necessary, in all of your language pairs and, also, generating smart combinations —try to think how a potential client would search for a translator with your specialties on the web.
Here's some insight on how to come up with the best possible keywords for you.
Content localization
To add an "About me" in a different language, just click on the "New" button over the text box. Then, you'll be able to add a new, translated version of your bio. Free users are able to have two different versions of their bio, while professional members can localize it into as many languages as they want.
And you can also add localized versions of your tagline, user message, and keywords from the Localize your content tab of your Profile Settings —as with the bio, restrictions based on membership may apply.
For more information on how to get the most out of your ProZ.com profile, check out this video:
This blog post was originally published by Mariano Marchesini.