Is there a minimum time for which a job post must stay open? (If not, shouldn't there be?) Thread poster: Sweetie
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Sweetie
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
Member (2008)
English to Albanian
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A few weeks ago a job was posted which was closed within an hour with just one recorded quote. It went on the site while I was out, and as it was over the weekend I wasn't obsessively checking email. By the time I got home and learned of it, it had been closed for half an hour - and therefore I didn't even get to see who had posted it.
Now admittedly it was a fairly speedy job, some 4500 words for two days' time. Nevertheless it really stands out from all the other jobs I've seen... See more A few weeks ago a job was posted which was closed within an hour with just one recorded quote. It went on the site while I was out, and as it was over the weekend I wasn't obsessively checking email. By the time I got home and learned of it, it had been closed for half an hour - and therefore I didn't even get to see who had posted it.
Now admittedly it was a fairly speedy job, some 4500 words for two days' time. Nevertheless it really stands out from all the other jobs I've seen in my 14 years at ProZ.com, in terms of the extreme speed with which it was taken down, presumably as soon as a single quote was received. I like to think that that happened only because that one quoter offered a silly rate to close the deal (or because they didn't know better).
Nevertheless, isn't there something against the spirit of a professional website if a poster isn't even required to give reasonable time to be able to compare a few quotes and see which translator looks best suited to their requirements? To allow posters to close a job after a single quote just covertly communicates the idea that all translators are really the same.
What do forumites think? And, is there any ProZ policy about this? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Jobs can be (and should) be closed at any time | Dec 20, 2014 |
Many job posters close jobs as soon as someone good and/or cheap enough sends a bid. In large, heavily populated language pairs (such as Fr-En) one can often see incredible numbers of bids listed even for minor or what should be highly specialised jobs. Everyone can do everything, no need to see the text first..... So naturally this stampede of eager beavers could prove very annoying to the job poster. Imo that is why some jobs are closed very quickly. Other jobs stay open because 1. they are j... See more Many job posters close jobs as soon as someone good and/or cheap enough sends a bid. In large, heavily populated language pairs (such as Fr-En) one can often see incredible numbers of bids listed even for minor or what should be highly specialised jobs. Everyone can do everything, no need to see the text first..... So naturally this stampede of eager beavers could prove very annoying to the job poster. Imo that is why some jobs are closed very quickly. Other jobs stay open because 1. they are just a cattle call so all the job poster wants are names and (low) rates, 2. the job poster can't be bothered to close it and/or 3. They are still waiting to see who will come up with the fastest delivery time and cheapest rate.
I do find it annoying that all information about the job poster is hidden once the job is closed but I can imagine that's to protect the all important client from getting inundated with non-stop emails of people trying to sell their services.
Better luck next time. That's just the way things go. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | They just need ONE who can do it | Dec 20, 2014 |
If they are happy with what they've got, why should they waste others' time in bidding?
I think it's quite considerate that they close the job as soon as they've made a decision.
Quite often I see job ads reposted one or two days later. It always reminds me of the divorcee explaining it as "we married too young".
What would be the point in insisting when the job has already been assigned to someone else?
Conversely, if you happened to be the "l... See more If they are happy with what they've got, why should they waste others' time in bidding?
I think it's quite considerate that they close the job as soon as they've made a decision.
Quite often I see job ads reposted one or two days later. It always reminds me of the divorcee explaining it as "we married too young".
What would be the point in insisting when the job has already been assigned to someone else?
Conversely, if you happened to be the "lucky" (???) one selected, what would you think if they called you a couple of hours later, saying "Stop all work at once, and send us what you have done so far immediately. If you do so right now, we'll pay for that. We just found someone cheaper and better qualified to do it."? ▲ Collapse
| | | | jyuan_us 
United States
Local time: 07:27
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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| It could have been an erroneous job posting | Dec 21, 2014 |
and the poster did the right thing to close it soon after they found the job shouldn't have been posted.
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 13:27
Member (2009)
English to German
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| Closing job ads | Dec 21, 2014 |
As soon as an outsourcer has found the suitable translator (either a specialist or perhaps the cheapest), the job post should be closed. This way everybody knows that the job has been assigned, as not to waste their time on bidding for a job that's no longer available.
| | | | | It should be possible to close jobs at any time | Dec 21, 2014 |
I entirely agree with José Henrique Lamensdorf and Thayenga.
If an outsourcer has found THE translator or proofreader to do the job, it's only fair to close it so that others do not waste their time on bidding.
| | | | | No point in specualting, Sweetie | Dec 22, 2014 |
How do you know how many other channels they use to find the translator? Even if they got just one applicant here, they may have hired someone else from another source.
ProZ is not the entire World.
| | | | alex suhoy
Ukraine
Local time: 14:27
English to Russian
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ProZ is not the entire World.
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