Comments on: A few thoughts on test translations

By: Corinne McKay

Corinne McKay — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:41:18 +0000

Kerilyn, thanks for your comment. This topic (related to ISO) actually came up at a recent ATA conference, I believe it was New Orleans. It’s an odd situation, when agencies then come back and ask translators who have worked for them for many years to be tested; in one sense it’s a little illogical, in another sense refusing might put you in an awkward position with a longstanding client. If I recall correctly, the presenter who addressed this at the ATA conference agreed with you; that agencies are required to have some sort of process for evaluating the skills of their translators, but that this doesn’t necessarily mean testing each and every one. Also, as Simac commented, if the agency is willing to spend some time up front and look at each translator’s qualifications, the small amount of money they would paid for a test translation seems like it should fall into the category of “cost of doing business.” Thanks for your comment and do keep reading!

By: Corinne McKay

Corinne McKay — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:37:13 +0000

Simac, I think that the excellent point you make is that when other professionals give some amount of free time to a potential client, it’s not a test of their skills, it’s a consultation. For example when I went for a consultation with a financial planner, it wasn’t to ask her to look at my retirement accounts, it was to find out if she and I were a good fit. Likewise, I can’t imagine any translator refusing to talk to a potential client on the phone for a few minutes or answer an e-mail about the translator’s background, but an unpaid test translation comes closer to the “how about you write a one-page brief for free” scenario you describe.

By: Simac

Simac — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:10:12 +0000

Any translation company can pay a translator $30 or $40 for a test translation; if the people who run the translation company do their homework and evaluate the candidate’s resume and references properly, they can afford to test only likely qualified people and not break the bank doing so.

Unpaid translation tests are an insult to anyone with a sense of professionalism. (Sadly, however, I suppose it is the frequent lack of professionalism among some translators that create the environment where unpaid tests even exist.)

Imagine asking a lawyer, “I’d like you to write a one-page brief for me for free before I decide whether to use you,” or asking a licensed massage therapist, “I’d like you to work the crick out of my left shoulder before I pay you to do my right shoulder.” Absurd.

By: Kerilyn Sappington

Kerilyn Sappington — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:48:01 +0000

Thanks for this discussion.
My general stance has been that other professionals (lawyers, physicians) are not required to take tests prior to receiving work. Why should translators have to take tests in order to get work? Potential clients respond that ISO requires testing of vendors but they interpret the standards too literally. It is my understanding that ISO is a set of guidelines rather than a strict requirement for all vendors to submit to testing. I believe that an individual company may, at its discretion, assess translator quality based on previous work performance.
My position has softened somewhat, and on rare occasions I do consider taking tests for new clients.
Shockingly, I have had previous clients come back to me and ask me to be tested (because they are now implementing the ISO standards), even though I have already worked for them! Those tests I refuse to do.

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:27:48 +0000

I fully agree. I find I’m usually too busy to take a translation test, but if I can squeeze one in I limit it to 250 words and make sure my rates are compatible with the agency’s rates. Been there, done that and learned from my mistakes.