先知道价格,再决定是否参加测试,要求合理吗?
Thread poster: Caroline717
Caroline717
Caroline717
Canada
Local time: 16:30
English to Chinese
+ ...
Jun 17, 2017

一般的程序是先测试,再谈价格。我觉得这样浪费时间:好不容易测试通过了,万一价格太低,不是白白浪费时间吗?有一次,我先问价格,对方不回答,说通过测试后再谈合作。我觉得最好先知道价格,如果低,就不去测试了。我的要求合理吗?谢谢!

 
Preston Decker
Preston Decker  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 19:30
Chinese to English
Negotiating Tactic Jun 17, 2017

Caroline717 wrote:

一般的程序是先测试,再谈价格。我觉得这样浪费时间:好不容易测试通过了,万一价格太低,不是白白浪费时间吗?有一次,我先问价格,对方不回答,说通过测试后再谈合作。我觉得最好先知道价格,如果低,就不去测试了。我的要求合理吗?谢谢!

It's a very reasonable and good idea Caroline, and I usually do this myself when asked to take a sample test. For a long time I couldn't figure out why most agencies wait until after the test to discuss rates, but I think the answer is actually quite simple: it's a negotiating tactic. Once you've spent two or three hours on a sample test, you actually have something invested into making the deal work, and it's a lot easier for the agency to get a discount. The same thing goes with contract clauses. Many agencies will wait until after the test to send their contracts, knowing that the translator is much less likely to quibble over outrageous clauses once they've invested their time into making the relationship work.


 
Caroline717
Caroline717
Canada
Local time: 16:30
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
先问价格,再发简历 Jun 17, 2017

谢谢Preston!就是应该先问价格,再测试。或者应该先问价格,再发简历。

 
Jiaying Ma
Jiaying Ma
Australia
Local time: 10:30
English to Chinese
+ ...
我每次都是先问价格再测试 Jun 20, 2017

个人认为很合理,也不浪费彼此的时间。

 
Caroline717
Caroline717
Canada
Local time: 16:30
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
竞争激烈 Jun 21, 2017

Jiaying Ma wrote:

个人认为很合理,也不浪费彼此的时间。

竞争激烈。如果先问价格,人家可能就不联系你了。有很多人会降低价格屈就。


 
Jiaying Ma
Jiaying Ma
Australia
Local time: 10:30
English to Chinese
+ ...
关键是你自己有一个价格底线吗? Jun 22, 2017

我知道很多译者仍然会接价格相对低一点的活,但是现在的翻译市场这么混乱,价格很低很低的都有,你总要有个底线吧

可以委婉向对方询问大致的价格范围,并且说明你不接非常廉价的稿子(这样也能让对方觉得你真的有实力,因为只有没有能力的人才会做那些千字三四十的稿子)


 
Rita Pang
Rita Pang  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 19:30
Member (2011)
Chinese to English
+ ...

Moderator of this forum
What Jiaying said Jun 23, 2017

Jiaying Ma wrote:

我知道很多译者仍然会接价格相对低一点的活,但是现在的翻译市场这么混乱,价格很低很低的都有,你总要有个底线吧



So what if competition is fierce? If they asked you to work for 1 cent a word and you ended up taking the project, you'll probably hate yourself after. What's the point then? When you're starting out running ANY business on your own, you need to have a secondary source of income - precisely to avoid this type of situations.

Even if it's not ideal, if cash flow is an issue, go find part-time work while you build your career as a translator. Go work in a cafe. Pick up some part-time job. For the first two years in translation, I worked in a call centre (hated it but it was easy money), as front desk staff, barista and event staff. Is it ideal? Heck no, not at all. But with a BA in History of European Medicine, there was little I could or wanted to do after my graduation. It's working out for me now, but trust me when I say those first 12-16 months weren't easy at all.


 
Sihua Yang
Sihua Yang  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 07:30
English to Chinese
俺也是这么做的 Dec 1, 2018

不浪费时间,所以一般先问对方能提供的价格是不是在能接受的范围内。如果过低,直接就不做了。

 
ysun
ysun  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 18:30
English to Chinese
+ ...
说得太对了 Dec 1, 2018

Rita Pang wrote:

When you're starting out running ANY business on your own, you need to have a secondary source of income - precisely to avoid this type of situations.

Even if it's not ideal, if cash flow is an issue, go find part-time work while you build your career as a translator. Go work in a cafe. Pick up some part-time job. For the first two years in translation, I worked in a call centre (hated it but it was easy money), as front desk staff, barista and event staff. Is it ideal? Heck no, not at all. But with a BA in History of European Medicine, there was little I could or wanted to do after my graduation. It's working out for me now, but trust me when I say those first 12-16 months weren't easy at all.


这是个感人的励志故事。

BTW,突然发现 Rita 亮出了新玉照。与以前相比,平添了几分成熟,必须点个赞!


QHE
 
Xiaodong Du
Xiaodong Du
Local time: 07:30
English to Chinese
+ ...
挺合理的。 Mar 4, 2019

挺合理的。
能否达成合作是双方互相选择的结果。


 
rosenstolz
rosenstolz
China
Local time: 07:30
完全合理,否则浪费双方时间 Mar 4, 2019

完全合理,否则浪费双方时间,可能现在供需关系有点畸形,如果对方要求译文品质高,也会给出不错的薪资。

 


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先知道价格,再决定是否参加测试,要求合理吗?






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