Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
Poll: What has been your longest period of "famine"?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Nov 25, 2016

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What has been your longest period of "famine"?".

This poll was originally submitted by Alan Corbo, CT. View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:09
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Nov 25, 2016

10 days, always followed by a very busy time...

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 13:09
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Nov 25, 2016

I don't recall. Nowadays it'd be a relief to find an empty inbox for a few days. I usually have a backlog of non-urgent texts waiting anyway, to revise/edit for when the usual constant onslaught of "urgent" translation jobs is done. For example, if nobody sends me any translations today, I'll still have about nine academic texts to check if I get bored over the weekend or early next week...

 
Béatrice DEZERALD
Béatrice DEZERALD  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:09
Member (2008)
English to French
+ ...
I voted "1 month" but Nov 25, 2016

in fact it was 3 weeks without a single job.
It happened only once.
I sometimes have very calm periods, once or twice a year, but always with several little jobs and never longer than 1 week.


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:09
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
One or 2 weeks Nov 25, 2016

I went almost 4 years with almost no breaks at all, but this year I had to turn down work to travel to Brazil on family business and take care of other issues that came up. By the time I was ready to work full-time again I had dropped off my clients' radar and ended up waiting a couple of weeks before the work started rolling in again.

I have a theory: jobs are most likely to appear when we're already working--lik the person with the full-time desk job who gets more offers than the
... See more
I went almost 4 years with almost no breaks at all, but this year I had to turn down work to travel to Brazil on family business and take care of other issues that came up. By the time I was ready to work full-time again I had dropped off my clients' radar and ended up waiting a couple of weeks before the work started rolling in again.

I have a theory: jobs are most likely to appear when we're already working--lik the person with the full-time desk job who gets more offers than the person who is unemployed. The opportunities seem to come more often when we're already employed than when we're looking for work.
Collapse


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:09
English to Spanish
+ ...
Several months, in 2001 Nov 25, 2016

Remember the recession of 2001? The dotcom bust happened. Lost my good job and, not having more than two or three clients made it very hard to get back into the swing of things.

But let's remember that periods of famine, long or short, may have little or nothing to do with you and a lot to do with factors and circumstances beyond your control.

Of course, members of the school of American perennial happiness and success will tell you otherwise.


... See more
Remember the recession of 2001? The dotcom bust happened. Lost my good job and, not having more than two or three clients made it very hard to get back into the swing of things.

But let's remember that periods of famine, long or short, may have little or nothing to do with you and a lot to do with factors and circumstances beyond your control.

Of course, members of the school of American perennial happiness and success will tell you otherwise.


Collapse


 
Francesca Ciet
Francesca Ciet  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 13:09
Member (2020)
English to Italian
+ ...
One week today Nov 25, 2016

It is one of those periods right now. I can't wait it to finish...

 
Cécile Gaultier
Cécile Gaultier  Identity Verified
Member (2012)
English to French
+ ...
Little story before the weekend to my fellow colleagues Nov 25, 2016

One month. No work for one month. I told myself, after a week or two... I am not going to worry, I will be just fine. And then, as three weeks went by, I had a very hard time keeping that positive attitude. After four weeks, I received a call from an acquantaince of mine offering a very nice position in a company (not at all as a translator), well-paid, 5 mn away from home.

I thought long and hard over the weekend and asked the opinion of my O so wise 87 year-old grandfather ... wh
... See more
One month. No work for one month. I told myself, after a week or two... I am not going to worry, I will be just fine. And then, as three weeks went by, I had a very hard time keeping that positive attitude. After four weeks, I received a call from an acquantaince of mine offering a very nice position in a company (not at all as a translator), well-paid, 5 mn away from home.

I thought long and hard over the weekend and asked the opinion of my O so wise 87 year-old grandfather ... who said (in French) "You do not kill your dog for a bad year". So I refused the offer and guess what? The next day, I was overwhelmed with work for the weeks to come.

Ever since I have been telling myself: Merci Papy !

Have a nice weekend everyone.

[Modifié le 2016-11-25 10:20 GMT]
Collapse


 
Nina Khmielnitzky
Nina Khmielnitzky  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 08:09
Member (2004)
English to French
A week or so, but.... Nov 25, 2016

Back in 2008, with the financial crisis, all freelancing work stopped for several months, as my clients were cutting their spending. The problem was that I had had a great year before, so the government sent me a massive bill to pay the taxes they thought I would owe in 2008, based on how much I had earned the year before.
Luckily, my freelancing was just extra revenue at the time. I was working as an in-house translator, so I had a regular revenue.


 
Paulo Caldeira
Paulo Caldeira  Identity Verified
Portugal
English to Portuguese
+ ...
It depends to the Dollar Nov 25, 2016

Well,
Jobs are not a problem.
The problem is to be paid in Dollars.
Actually, to get my money in Euros I have to pay conversion taxes and Euro is a weak currency.
I hope this change soon.
I have "famine" of an Euro with power.


 
cloudhunter (X)
cloudhunter (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:09
English to German
+ ...
Other Nov 25, 2016

Both me and my husband are freelancers so if one of us has a worse period, the other one does just fine and we manage.

This November has been a pretty calm month for me, where I totalled only about 70% of my average. Until today, where two very nice jobs came in.

I will be facing a "planned famine" though since I will be having a child some time in December so I am taking as much as I can handle now between buying and organising stuff and trying not to fall asleep or d
... See more
Both me and my husband are freelancers so if one of us has a worse period, the other one does just fine and we manage.

This November has been a pretty calm month for me, where I totalled only about 70% of my average. Until today, where two very nice jobs came in.

I will be facing a "planned famine" though since I will be having a child some time in December so I am taking as much as I can handle now between buying and organising stuff and trying not to fall asleep or die of back pain.
Collapse


 
R. Alex Jenkins
R. Alex Jenkins  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:09
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
+ ...
It happens from time to time... Nov 25, 2016

At first it's a relief that you've got some time off to do your own thing, but that can quickly turn to boredom and depression if there's no work for a week or more.

One thing I've learned over the years is to treat every day of the week as just another working day. I don't have a fixed weekly schedule or pattern - if work comes in on Thursday and requires working over the weekend, big deal, it's just four days of work. That's the way I've learned to get on with being a freelancer o
... See more
At first it's a relief that you've got some time off to do your own thing, but that can quickly turn to boredom and depression if there's no work for a week or more.

One thing I've learned over the years is to treat every day of the week as just another working day. I don't have a fixed weekly schedule or pattern - if work comes in on Thursday and requires working over the weekend, big deal, it's just four days of work. That's the way I've learned to get on with being a freelancer over the years - to open my mind and live for each day. Honestly, I don't think I could go back to the fixed 9-5 monthly salary, although sometimes I muse about how nice and secure it would be.
Collapse


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:09
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
1 or 2 weeks, but... Nov 25, 2016

I'm considering slow periods with a few very small jobs as "famine", not only days with zero jobs.

 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:09
French to English
It's been seven hours and fifteen days... Nov 25, 2016

Or more...

[Edited at 2016-11-25 22:45 GMT]


 
Luiz Barucke
Luiz Barucke  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:09
Spanish to Portuguese
+ ...
A few hours Nov 25, 2016

Not considering weekends, of course

 
Pages in topic:   [1 2] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: What has been your longest period of "famine"?






TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »