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"This is only a 'potential' job" - your thoughts? Thread poster: Tom in London
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:39
Member (2008)
Italian to English
I get a lot of job notifications with that wording - inviting me to spend my precious time applying for non-existent "potential jobs" that will probably never materialise.
Why do agencies post so many "non-jobs" in that way?
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Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 11:39
Member
English to Turkish
| Where do you get those? | Mar 10, 2022 |
On the Proz job board?
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:39
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Baran Keki wrote:
On the Proz job board?
I'm signed up for email notifications of jobs - so I get those too.
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I also get those occasionally. As life is full of surprises (both good and bad) a dear long-standing client of mine sent last week a job that was ‘potential’… two years ago! In other words, one has to expect the unexpected.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 10:39
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
I get a lot of job notifications with that wording - inviting me to spend my precious time applying for non-existent "potential jobs" that will probably never materialise.
In your ProZ.com settings, somewhere, you can choose not to receive offers of "potential" jobs.
While some potential jobs are actually potential jobs, most of them are just a way for agencies to get the names of potential translators who would be willing to do such a potential job. I often suspect that posting potential jobs (and asking translators to sign up for their database) is just a way for agencies to show newly appointed PMs the ropes.
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Mihai Badea (X)
Luxembourg
Local time: 10:39
English to Romanian
+ ...
| Agencies looking for best rates | Mar 10, 2022 |
Most likely ...
Fortunately, not all agencies focus so much on rates.
Many, if not most of them focus on an optimat rate/quality ratio.
The decision to sign up for this kind of notifications might be worth reconsidering.
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 10:39
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| I don’t respond. | Mar 10, 2022 |
I don’t respond to those, but kudos to them for being honest.
There are many jobs that are potential, but are not labeled as such when published. That’s sneaky.
[Edited at 2022-03-10 13:27 GMT]
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:39
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Samuel Murray wrote:
In your ProZ.com settings, somewhere, you can choose not to receive offers of "potential" jobs.
Potentially, I might do that. 
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Would it not be daft of an agency to accept large or technical jobs from their client without knowing that they have someone who can actually do them?
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 10:39
French to English
Teresa Borges wrote:
I also get those occasionally. As life is full of surprises (both good and bad) a dear long-standing client of mine sent last week a job that was ‘potential’… two years ago! In other words, one has to expect the unexpected.
The difference being here that with a long-standing client, you don't mind doing an estimate that doesn't firm up into an order. When it's on Proz, it's much more impersonal and you have no idea whether you'll even be selected, let alone whether the job actually materialises.
Every time I get notification of a "potential" job I think damn, I'd better change my settings because I find it annoying to apply for something that's only potential. But I'm usually on my phone when I see them because I don't get a beep for them on my computer. And since I deal with my Proz profile on the computer rather than the phone, it just doesn't happen.
So like Tom, this is something I will potentially do!
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William Yang
China
Local time: 16:39
Member (2021)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| My recent reply to a so-called POTENTIAL client | Mar 10, 2022 |
Dear Sir or Madam,
I don't think it is workable I have to do test translation every time you have POTENTIAL projects.
I did one before, but no feedback. So please take time and explain a little bit.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:39
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
William Yang wrote:
I don't think it is workable I have to do test translation every time you have POTENTIAL projects.
Yes- I would draw the line at doing test translations for POTENTIAL projects that will probably never happen. I won't do them.
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William Yang
China
Local time: 16:39
Member (2021)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| It's a chance depending on situations, no sweat. | Mar 10, 2022 |
Tom in London wrote: William Yang wrote:
I don't think it is workable I have to do test translation every time you have POTENTIAL projects. Yes- I would draw the line at doing test translations for POTENTIAL projects that will probably never happen. I won't do them.
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Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 04:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Securing translators for potential jobs | Mar 10, 2022 |
Ice Scream wrote:
Would it not be daft of an agency to accept large or technical jobs from their client without knowing that they have someone who can actually do them?
This is really the main issue, I think.
"Agencies" (which might not specialize in the language pair needed for a particular project, and might not even be real agencies, but rather one- or two-person operations masquerading as agencies) are putting out feelers to see if there are potential takers for their potential jobs.
So you, as a freelancer, have to decide how much time you are willing to invest in such an airy prospect.
I would say it is worth no more than a couple of minutes of my time (with absolutely no guarantee of my availability, and with any quote being tentative and pending review of the actual document when the potential job becomes real, and a real deadline is agreed upon).
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William Yang
China
Local time: 16:39
Member (2021)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Dear Robert, if they can provide, that's not potential in the first place. | Mar 10, 2022 |
I have seen fewer in recent years.
Robert Forstag wrote: Ice Scream wrote:
Would it not be daft of an agency to accept large or technical jobs from their client without knowing that they have someone who can actually do them? This is really the main issue, I think. "Agencies" (which might not specialize in the language pair needed for a particular project, and might not even be real agencies, but rather one- or two-person operations masquerading as agencies) are putting out feelers to see if there are potential takers for their potential jobs. So you, as a freelancer, have to decide how much time you are willing to invest in such an airy prospect. I would say it is worth no more than a couple of minutes of my time (with absolutely no guarantee of my availability, and with any quote being tentative and pending review of the actual document when the potential job becomes real, and a real deadline is agreed upon).
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