Making a living during COVID-19

frasco_chicoBy now, the entire world knows that the current Covid-19 outbreak has --and will continue to have--  an enormous impact on freelance financial lives. However, language professionals who usually work on-site --interpreters, project managers, teachers-- don't necessarily have to live off savings during the current quarantine. ProZ.com has a few tricks up its sleeve to make money starting this weekend and while at home, and supplement your income during these uncertain times.

Get money for sharing your expertise

Are you an expert on a given field? Do you know how to use software that others may not know? Are you good at promoting your services? Or do you remember a few tips from when you got started in the industry? Start getting paid for sharing valuable information. ProZ.com provides two channels for doing so:

ProZ.com training. ProZ.com training courses are specifically designed for language professionals. To start making money as a trainer, choose a format for your training course (video, webinar, self-paced, on-line, one-to-one) and submit content for review. Once site staff approves the proposal, your training will be added to the list of upcoming training sessions and you will earn profit on sales per event conducted.

Propose training course »

ProZ.com mentoring. Use the ProZ.com exchange system to offer, among other things, mentor services. If a site member is in need of what you offer, they will contact you. If you agree to pair up, both will be required to report the pairing to site staff through the support center.

Post a mentor offer »

Offer immediate services through your profile

If you are in a position to offer interpreting services or other immediate service, enable real-time calls from your ProZ.com profile.

Click to call

 

Enabling this "click to call" feature lets authorized users call you--from your profile page and from the directory when used on the ProZ.com Mobile app-- without revealing your phone number. 

Update your communication settings »

Update your services »

Get paid what you are owed

Have you completed and delivered a project for which payment is overdue? Create and send a formal  invoice to your clients using ProZ.com invoicing, a tool designed to help you easily create, send, and track invoices online. This tool allows you to send invoices and also reminders.

Invoicing

Create and send an invoice now »

Sell your stuff

We all have stuff that we do not use at home, and if you are a language professional, you may even have a few books and dictionaries, glossaries and TM that you know you will never put into use. After all,  one man's trash is another man's treasure, specially at these very difficult times.

Publish your items for sale or exchange in the ProZ.com exchange section mentioned above. You may offer translation memories, CAT tools, software, books and glossaries. There are currently 11 requests for TMs, more than 80 requests for CAT tools, and over 50 requests for books. Who knows, maybe you have one of these at home.

Post an item for sale or exchange »

Complete your profile and earn jobs online

And last, but not least, take this precious time to complete your ProZ.com profile with the purpose of attracting potential clients. When doing so, keep these basic rules in mind:

  • You are completing your profile to attract clients, not for you. So use content that will be relevant for someone looking to hire you --save personal content for social networks.
  • Less is more. If you show samples of your work, include a few lines instead of full texts. If you describe yourself and what you offer, focus on what makes you different from the rest.  Reliability, professionalism, punctuality won't get you the job more than it will get it to someone else. Your specialization, your credentials, your past client feedback will.
  • Make it easy for clients to contact you quickly. Complete all you contact information and enable real-time communication through your profile.
  • Be viral. This doesn't entail exposure to Covid-19 --please don't!-- but making sure your name and your services circulate rapidly and widely on the Internet. How? By...

...answering term help questions →ProZ.com profile

...proposing  translations for and GBK terms →

...sharing what you are working on →

...participating in forum discussions →

...proposing or attending a virtual powwow →

...setting up a team of experts in a given field →

...participating in translation contests →

...posting feedback on your past clients →

...virtually attending industry events →

...joining a pool of professionals →

...sharing your success story →

Complete your ProZ.com profile »

What else?

The ProZ.com team is working on improvements to site tools and services to empower members to achieve your business objectives and realize your full potential, while collaborating with like-minded professionals from every corner of the world, and having fun at the same time --yes, even today.

Check the new ProZ.com Covid-19 resource center »

So, please, just stay safe and let us know what else we could do to support you during the current pandemic.


What strategies are you applying to earn money at home while practicing safe social distancing?

Share below.

Topics: freelancer, language jobs, freelancer, interpreter, Powwow, translation events, marketing for language professionals, jobs, networking, translation contests, clients, events, meetings, invoicing, translation, ProZ.com, translation industry, Blue Board, community, language industry, COVID-19, ProZTV

Lucía Leszinsky

Written by Lucía Leszinsky

Lucia Leszinsky is an English and Spanish writer, translator, voice talent and story-teller. She's been working as part of the ProZ.com site team for over fifteen years, communicating with members, developing new features and helping industry players to get the most out of the profession.

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