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ilannamandel
Community Member

What is wrong with some people?

I have been communicating with this person today who posted that they wanted a "medical writer". Be careful of this individual. I responded due to my expertise in the healthcare sector. They proceeded to ask me what kind of an article could I write for them about knee replacement surgery. So, I gave them a few ideas. Then, they asked about how to proceed with such an article. After several back and forth messages, they said this wasn't an article at all but a research proposal. They wanted to know what kind of research could I suggest. I finally told them this had nothing to do with me and what I would or could suggest, that this is their project and not mine. They wouldn't take the hint. They still wanted to know. 

Of course, this was about someone pretending to have a project but they're basically looking for someone to tell them what to do so they can submit their proposal. I'm inclined to report them. But, I'm seeing this a lot more lately. People posting and asking me what I think they should do. Goodness - I'm their writer, not their therapist!

Are other people seeing this too?

p.s. sorry for the rant 

3 REPLIES 3
pudingstudio
Community Member


ILANNA M wrote:

I have been communicating with this person today who posted that they wanted a "medical writer". Be careful of this individual. I responded due to my expertise in the healthcare sector. They proceeded to ask me what kind of an article could I write for them about knee replacement surgery. So, I gave them a few ideas. Then, they asked about how to proceed with such an article. After several back and forth messages, they said this wasn't an article at all but a research proposal. They wanted to know what kind of research could I suggest. I finally told them this had nothing to do with me and what I would or could suggest, that this is their project and not mine. They wouldn't take the hint. They still wanted to know. 

Of course, this was about someone pretending to have a project but they're basically looking for someone to tell them what to do so they can submit their proposal. I'm inclined to report them. But, I'm seeing this a lot more lately. People posting and asking me what I think they should do. Goodness - I'm their writer, not their therapist!

Are other people seeing this too?

p.s. sorry for the rant 


Yes, we do.

Luckily, we have this forum to 'rant', to ease ourselves.

Hope it worked for you at least a bit (to went and to know that you're not alone).

prestonhunter
Community Member

Ilanna:

I am sorry you experienced this.

You encountered an unethical person who was wasting your time.

 

You will need to give some serious thought to how to handle situations like this.

 

As a freelancer, it is your responsibilty to prevent clients (or fake "clients") from wasting your time.

 

It can take thought and practice to be able to successfully and consistently prevent time-wasters from doing something like this with you. Think about how you can quickly move clients into a paid contract where they pay you for your time, or end a conversation.

Oh I did. The entire exchange was no more than 4 min. or so. I knew quickly what
was going on and just wanted to disengage nicely.
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