Finding work through fellow translators

Rita Translator wrote:



I'm glad to hear your daughter didn't need to be admitted and hope she recovers quickly.

I was surprised to hear you say that you would have been fired for taking off work too often for a sick child. In the US that would not have surprised me at all, but it does in the EU. I looked it up, and at least on paper, Romania seems to have a pretty lenient policy for sick leave for children: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1126&langId=en&intPageId=4750 It looks like up to 45 days / year at 85% of your regular pay. Now, I understand that the realities of the workplace are not always in line with what legislators claim to be fact, but I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of in-house employment out of hand.

Remote work might be another great possibility. You can work "in-house" but not actually need to be present and, in some cases, can adapt your hours flexibly to your needs. This will depend on your employer, but I have had such a situation in the past, and when I've needed to take a sick child to the pediatrician, I've just let my colleagues know I'll be gone for an hour or two, and then I tacked those hours on to the end of the workday or later in the evening when the kids were in bed. That's one of the great things about being a translator - generally even for in-house positions people don't care *when* the work is done as long as it's done by the deadline.

You seem to be quite pessimistic and are shooting down everyone's suggestions. I understand you have reasons for doing so, but if you think it's impossible for you to be able to work reliably enough for an employer, that's not exactly going to endear you to the fellow translators you're asking for work. I don't work in your language pair, so it's irrelevant, but if a colleague were saying that they would never be able to hold down a regular job because they are constantly dealing with emergencies at home, and then in the same breath they asked me to send them work, I would be very hesitant to do so. I'd be afraid they'd leave me or my clients in a lurch.

Edit: typo

[Edited at 2023-10-19 06:10 GMT]

Manuela C. wrote:

Just to clear things up, I sent Sorana a few tasks when I had more projects than usual and when it was possible to work without invoice and she did an excellent job, she is a very skilled, professional translator able to work with tight deadlines and applying all instructions. But lately I had a regular work load, so I could not keep on doing that.
I am considering Sorana for other jobs and I really recommend her for the quality of her work.
(...)

Rita Translator wrote:



I'm glad to hear your daughter didn't need to be admitted and hope she recovers quickly.

I was surprised to hear you say that you would have been fired for taking off work too often for a sick child. In the US that would not have surprised me at all, but it does in the EU. I looked it up, and at least on paper, Romania seems to have a pretty lenient policy for sick leave for children: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1126&langId=en&intPageId=4750 It looks like up to 45 days / year at 85% of your regular pay. Now, I understand that the realities of the workplace are not always in line with what legislators claim to be fact, but I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of in-house employment out of hand.

"This service provider is not currently displaying positive review entries publicly."
You should check facts before judging and also your ironic replies are not helping this thread. I just explained that I had indeed worked with Sorana : and I felt it was a right thing to mention her professional qualities. As far as I am concerned, she worked according to suggested deadlines and if she was not available, she mentioned if from the beginning, which is extremely useful and professional. There are many people that accept work and then do not deliver on time.
There is nothing illogical. You don't need to be ironical.
I did not mean in any way to recommend here in this forum her services, this is your assumption and assumptions are not the best friend of the reason. I just explained what had happened meanwhile.

Remote work might be another great possibility. You can work "in-house" but not actually need to be present and, in some cases, can adapt your hours flexibly to your needs. This will depend on your employer, but I have had such a situation in the past, and when I've needed to take a sick child to the pediatrician, I've just let my colleagues know I'll be gone for an hour or two, and then I tacked those hours on to the end of the workday or later in the evening when the kids were in bed. That's one of the great things about being a translator - generally even for in-house positions people don't care *when* the work is done as long as it's done by the deadline.

You seem to be quite pessimistic and are shooting down everyone's suggestions. I understand you have reasons for doing so, but if you think it's impossible for you to be able to work reliably enough for an employer, that's not exactly going to endear you to the fellow translators you're asking for work. I don't work in your language pair, so it's irrelevant, but if a colleague were saying that they would never be able to hold down a regular job because they are constantly dealing with emergencies at home, and then in the same breath they asked me to send them work, I would be very hesitant to do so. I'd be afraid they'd leave me or my clients in a lurch.

Edit: typo

[Edited at 2023-10-19 06:10 GMT]