Informations missing in job descriptions for translators

[r_satta]

A lot of times, when you search for translation jobs, there are a lot of description with these elements missing:

- Amount of work (pages, words, anything);
- Type of tranlsation (economic, literature, anything);
- Sample of the original document attached.

I mean, most of the times a description is only "I'm looking for a translator for an ongoing project". Nothing else, just this. Now I'm gonna pay every connect I use, why these FUNDAMENTAL informations aren't mandatory in a job description? It will be useful to Upwork too, the more connects I use, the more I buy.

[prestonhunter]

Not every client is perfect, and not every client knows how to write a perfect (or adequate) job proposal. If you see a job proposal that doesn't meet your requirements, just ignore it.

Upwork has many ongoing efforts intended to improve job postings.

But you are correct if you have concluded that not every job posting is right for you.

[r_satta]

Don't misunderstand me, I have nothing against you, but your comment is actually not in the slightest useful to the discussion. You're welcome to improve the discussion if you have actually something to say.

By the way, it's obvious that I ignore those post but even if I do it doesn't mean they are going to disappear. This trend is growing every day, that's why I wanted to point out the problem. I know that every client is not perfect, that's why Upwork has to guide them.

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Roberto S wrote:

I know that every client is not perfect, that's why Upwork has to guide them.

---

Well said and I completely agree.

As an alternative to ignoring vaguely-worded projects (which doesn't solve the problem), if you see a fixed-price project that contains so little information that it's impossible to estimate your time, click the "flag as inappropriate" button and select "There's no clear, defined deliverable". If we all keep doing that, Upwork might eventually do something about it.

[wlyonsatl]

Roberto,

Every type of project here has this kind of job posting. I don't know what Upwork can do to force clients to provide a better description of their project, but, at l least in my area of specialty, minimal descriptions of new jobs available are often minimal because the client doesn't really know the details of what they need.

This probably isn't so true in language translation projects, so this may be a case where Upwork could provide the client with a template of minimal information, making it clear to the client that they do not have to use the template, but if they do they are more likely to get precise offers from freelancers. 

Under the current system, which you cannot expect to be changed any time soon, one thing you can do is include in your profile the five or six standard questions you need answered before accepting a job offer. This shows you know what you're doing and have expectations the client also needs to fulfill in order for the project to be successful.

I would not recommend ignoring all minimalist job postings. If you ask precise questions in your proposals and provide detailed information that helps the client better understand their own project and how you are the right translator for them, you'll convince them you're the expert they need. And you don't worry about being the cheapest option they'll find on Upwork.

If some of these clients just want to find the cheapest translator possible, they won't take the time to answer your questions, eliminating them from further consideration by you.

Over the long run, better clients will pay you higher rates, which, you'd hope, more than offsets the additional cost you've had in buying more connects to find these better jobs.

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Will L wrote:

Under the current system, which you cannot expect to be changed any time soon, one thing you can do is include in your profile the five or six standard questions you need answered before accepting a job offer. This shows you know what you're doing and have expectations the client also needs to fulfill in order for the project to be successful.

---

Will, this made sense when connects were free, but I now resent being put into the position of having to write the clients' project briefs for them. For example, I saw a PowerPoint design project listed with a fixed price of $400. I bid on it thinking that that was a reasonable budget for the average presentation of 30 slides or so, but after asking the client how many slides he needed, it turned out that he was expecting something like 200 slides for that price. If he had posted that information in his RFP in the first place, I wouldn't have wasted my time and connects. I don't see why I should have to go digging for information - and now have to PAY to go digging for information - when there's a simple solution available. Just because it isn't a problem for you and Preston doesn't mean that it isn't a problem for other freelancers.

[wlyonsatl]

Christine,

If you thought I was unsympathetic to the frustrations of other freelancers in my prior post, that was not my intention.

I think Upwork gets lots of things wrong. For example, I just made a very small change to my profile picture - same picture, slightly different perspective - and Upwork immediately locked up my account until I had a video chat with a very nice lady to prove I am me. If Upwork had warned me in a pop-up box that this insignificant little change would create this problem, I wouldn't have made the change in the first place.

If so much of Upwork's efforts were not necessary to fight fraud, maybe we'd see more emphasis put on site development that benefits honest freelancers, even in minor things like this. Even better if Upwork would make a real effort to fix the problem with insufficient information in new job descriptions.

I also have to deal with one sentence descriptions of jobs for work that will require mutiple weeks and many hours to complete to a professional level. But that's part of the Upwork landscape that Upwork is probably afraid to change because it might reduce the number of jobs posted, which may not help Upwork improve its profitability and may also not be good for at least some freelancers.

Charging freelancers more for applying for jobs, whether through having to pay for connects to use on projects that are not attractive once fully understood by the freelancer, is going to be part of Upwork's solution to trying to eventually be profitable - and even higher costs may be in most freelancers' future here.