Have you ever posted a job on ProZ.com and wondered why you didn’t get as many quotes as you had expected?
With over 150 jobs posted in a day you need to make sure you get the attention of the right professionals.
Here are a few common mistakes you may not realize you're making when it comes to advertising your job:
Not providing full and accurate contact information
A common mistake many outsourcers or even freelancers make when posting a job is not providing full and accurate information in the contact section: name (first and last name), address (street, number, city, postal code and country) and full telephone number (country code, state/province/region code and phone number). If you don't want to make some of this information public, you might choose to mark it as private:
Site staff reviews jobs, and will contact the poster if there is something missing or inconsistent, which can result in time lost if you’re on a tight deadline.
Why is this important when it comes to getting quotes, then? The sooner your job gets approved, the sooner freelancers and potential candidates see it and send you their quotes! Also, job posters that consistently post jobs with full and correct information, have their jobs posted right away.
Not providing detailed information about the project
A second error is not providing the necessary information for a language professional to understand what the project is about and what is required of them. Just imagine yourself in the shoes of a freelancer who comes across these two descriptions:
“Translation English>Spanish, novel, XXX words”
versus
“Translation English>Spanish. Period novel, England 15th century, XXX words.
Previous experience translating literature required. Deadline xx/xx/xxxx, X chapters per month delivery required.”
(Information about your company is a plus if you’re posting on behalf of a company!)
Which job poster would you feel more inclined to send your quote to?
Not all projects need to be "exciting" if they're actually not
When writing your job description, be careful not to fall into the trap that a project needs to be exciting to get attention. There are, of course, projects that are exciting right off the bat: who wouldn’t want to lend a hand during a hard time; and who wouldn’t want to work for an established, world-known company or brand?
However, let’s try not to pass off a divorce settlement as exciting, unless there are some Kardashian-esque details that make you want to take out the popcorn.
Sometimes, knowing that an outsourcer or company is dependable beats exciting and refreshing… which brings us to the next mistake:
Not keeping your Blue Board record updated
Keep your Blue Board record updated! On ProZ.com there’s no better presentation card than a complete business page and a Blue Board record full of good (and let’s not forget recent) reviews.
Your potential candidates check these things: they feel uneasy working for a new company without recommendations; and the Blue Board is like their best friend in that sense. If they see glowing 4 and 5 star reviews, they jump on board; if they see a list of 1s and 2s, then they might want to skip that potentially interesting job offer.
The same thing happens when they see a few good reviews from five years ago or when there is no Blue Board for the company. The good news is that you can create one or request new entries with just a couple of clicks. If you have any questions or need help doing this, don’t forget that the support team has your back.
So now that you got this far, why not head to the modernized ProZ.com job posting form and give it a try?
Extra tip: if your preferred contact method is sending out private messages, try writing a more personalized message. Just like you enjoy getting quotes specifically written for the job you are advertising, translators like feeling that they are not just one more faceless potential service provider.
This post was created by former site staff member Rocío Tempone.
