ProZ.com frequently asked questions

1 - Posting jobs at ProZ.com

1.1 - Who can outsource via ProZ.com?

Any business or individual can outsource via ProZ.com. If the posting method is used, certain contact information is required: name, email, phone, country, etc. For InstantJobs, payment must be made in advance by credit card.

1.2 - What kind of jobs can be posted at ProZ.com?

Translation, interpretation, localization and other jobs requiring the services of multilingual professionals or companies may be posted.

1.3 - Can I use the job posting form to advertise my services?

No. There is no possibility that you will find a client using this form. Instead, you will only inconvenience fellow service providers, who expect only legitimate job opportunities to come via this form. Your right to enter quotes on jobs will also be revoked.

1.4 - What type of jobs are not allowed at ProZ.com?

Please refrain from posting job notices that do not specifically require the services of multilingual professionals. Also, job postings may not contain content of an adult nature.

1.5 - What are the fees I will have to pay?

There are no fees for posting jobs at ProZ.com. There are also no commissions. This is possible because ProZ.com charges a yearly subscription fee to the service providers.

1.6 - How are prices and deadlines set for jobs?

The ProZ.com job form will only help you to meet service providers. Project details—work content, payment, deadline, etc.—must be agreed upon between you and the service provider directly.

1.7 - Where do I enter rates information?

First enter details related to the job, providing as much detail as possible. If among those who meet the criteria there are ProZ.com members who prefer to take your budget range into consideration when deciding whether or not to quote, you will be given an opportunity to provide a budget range.

1.8 - I posted a job and no opportunity was provided for me to enter a budget range. Why?

This means that none of the professionals who meet your job criteria has a habit of considering client budgets before quoting. Any quotes you receive will have been based on the information you supplied in the job posting.

1.9 - Why was the option to enter rates information from the start removed?

To reflect the fact that the individual translator is in the best position to determine what he or she needs to charge on a given job. For more information, see: About > Job posting changes.

1.10 - What if no one quotes within my budget range?

ProZ.com is home to the world's largest network of professional translators. If none is willing to work within your budget, you may want to consider either increasing your budget or seeking alternatives. For more information, see: Translation: Determining what service you need and what it will cost.

1.11 - When I am given an opportunity to indicate a budget range, how should I go about estimating?

If you have no experience in pricing translation, you might want to pass on entering a budget range. If you do decide to enter a range, consider consulting the guide: Translation: Determining what service you need and what it will cost. That document links to data on the rates charged by translators registered with ProZ.com.

1.12 - Should I enter a budget range that is a bit lower than what I can actually afford to pay?

That is up to you, but entering your real maximum helps ensure that the job is visible (and appealing to) a larger group of professionals.

1.13 - I offer a service for translators seeking jobs. Can I post?

No. The job posting form is for proposing business arrangements of one type: job poster paying posting recipient to perform services. Web portals, those selling databases of translators, etc., or anyone suggested an arrangement whereby the recipient of a posting would be paying the poster, will be regarded as an illicit advertiser. The posting will be removed, associated memberships will be revoked, and you will be banned from future postings.

1.14 - For what reasons can a job poster be banned from ProZ.com?

Please refer to the ProZ.com termination policy.

1.15 - I've posted a job but it is not visible yet.

If you are a basic user of the site, your job posts will require vetting. This is usually done within 12 hours of the entry being posted. You may also want to check to make sure you have provided complete and correct contact details. If your job hasn't appeared after a 24-hour period, please submit a support request.

1.16 - Why do my job postings require staff approval?

Job postings will require staff review in the following cases:

1.17 - Can I request to be added to the job posting whitelist?

Yes. To submit a request to be added to the job posting whitelist, you must meet the following conditions:

1.18 - What are the keys to getting a good response to my posting? What else should I bear in mind?

When posting a job, it is important to be as descriptive as possible with regard to the nature of the work, as well as your requirements for service providers.

In addition, it is very important that you supply complete information about yourself and/or your company. The best service providers are in high demand, and will generally not pursue jobs with questionable clients. Complete contact details, and perhaps a brief history of your company, may help you to kick off mutually beneficial relationships with top professionals.

Jobs posted should respect the principle of equal opportunity.

Please do not post jobs on behalf of third parties.

Please note that the contact details marked as mandatory on the Job Posting Form must be completed in each case - job postings with incomplete details will be removed by ProZ.com staff.

Where possible, jobs involving multiple language combinations should be aggregated using the corresponding function available on the Job Posting Form.

1.19 - How will service providers contact me?

You may indicate your preferred method of contact (email, phone, online application form, etc.) Service providers are encouraged to respect your preferred method of contact; some outsourcers consider it a bad omen when a service provider ignores contact preferences, and will not work with those service providers.

1.20 - How quickly will I hear from translators (or interpreters)?

When a job is posted and approved by site staff, email notification is sent to each professional whose profile matches the requirements of your job. Depending on how unique or general your job requirements are, you may expect to begin hearing from service providers within minutes.

If your job is in a common language pair —European languages, Arabic, Chinese, etc.— you are encouraged to be very specific in your demands related to subject area expertise, etc. This will help to ensure you get the most suitable quotes from a manageable number of service providers.

1.21 - Will service providers be quoting against each other?

No, those who contact you will not have seen quotes from others. Service providers are encouraged to offer rates and turnaround times that allow them to offer their best work. Use your judgement in deciding whether a quote may be unreasonably low (thereby making it difficult to deliver careful work), or unreasonably high.

1.22 - How can I be sure a given translator is reliable?

Consider the professionals' training and degrees, years in the field, credentials earned, membership in professional associations, references, etc. Professional experience outside of translation may also be relevant. You may want to discuss the content of your job with the translator in order to assess their understanding of the material. It is not unusual for a client to ask for a short excerpt from a job—100 words or so should be enough to get an idea—before assigning work to a new translator. (Note that some translators include samples of their work in their profile 'portfolios'. In addition, looking at a translators' KudoZ history is sometimes useful in understanding a translators' style or approach to terminology.) Lastly, you may want to consider working with a ProZ.com Certified PRO.

1.23 - If I post a job and find a great translator, can I work with him/her directly next time?

Absolutely. Once you have established a relationship with a ProZ.com translator or interpreter, you may find it is in your best interest to continue working only with that person. Nurturing a long-term service arrangement will bring benefits over time, as the service provider will be able to deliver high quality work in a shorter period of time, as he or she becomes increasingly familiar with terminology and information specific to you or your company.

1.24 - I don't have a specific job —but I would like to increase my database of translators.

You may post once a month, with a maximum of five job postings each time. Repeatedly posting calls for translators, without actual jobs, is regarded as intrusive by many professional service providers. For this reason, your potential posting may not be made visible on the ProZ.com homepage.

When posting a call for CVs for potential future projects, it is very important that you post complete information about your company and the types of jobs you tend to obtain. Your posting may be removed if such information is not provided.

1.25 - I don't want to announce my job—its confidential. What can I do?

If your job is confidential, do not use the job posting form. Consider using the ProZ.com directory to find service providers who meet your requirements. When you find a suitable service provider in the directory, you can contact him or her directly.

1.26 - What can I do if I need to edit the information on my job posting?

Before the job posting has been vetted, there is an edit job button at the top of the job posting which will allow you to edit your listing. However, once your job has been vetted and is visible by the public, you will not be allowed to edit your job posting. But, if you need to add anything to your job posting, you may still add an addendum to it instead.

1.27 - How can I close a job posting I've made?

As the outsourcer, you can close your job posting on one or more language pairs, or close the posting entirely.

1. Use the View quotes button while viewing the job posting, or follow the link provided in the email notification you received after posting the job
2. Below each language pair, there is a Click to close link. Clicking this will close the job to further offers in that pair (it can be re-opened later using the same method).
3. When all pairs have been closed, the entire job is closed.

1.28 - What does it mean for a job to be funded by a non-profit group?

A non-profit group is an organization which exists for educational or charitable reasons, and from which its shareholders or trustees do not benefit financially. Some translators are willing to reduce their rates when working for a non-profit group they deem worthwhile. Jobs posted on behalf of non-profit organizations should include the name of the group, and a publicly visible link to a website with further information about the organization. Jobs marked as non-profit that do not meet these requirements will be removed by site staff.

Government organizations and similar entities are not covered by this definition; jobs funded by such entities should not be posted as 'non-profit'.

1.29 - What relation is there between job posting and the Blue Board?

Job posters may be added to the Blue Board.

1.30 - What is job posting history (Previous job postings)?

The job posting history page lists the most recent 100 jobs posted by an outsourcer (based either on outsourcer's Profile or email address). Potential candidates can view the past job postings made by an outsourcer using the 'Previous job postings' link in the 'About the outsourcer' box when viewing a job. Outsourcers may view their own job postings using the same link when viewing a job they've posted, or by using this page: Job posting history.

Job posting history is a members-only feature. Here is an example:

1.31 - I need to edit my name in a posted job. How can I do this?

To edit a job which was not vetted visit a job page and click on Edit job. In edit mode, check if your contact details are full and correct as requested in the job posting rule #9. Note that you can make your real name invisible to potential candidates just by entering the title of the position you occupy in your company. To do so, un-check the Show publicly option next to the real name field in the job posting form and select I represent a company. A new field will show up as Contact person's job title .

Make sure you report your company name in the Company name field.

1.32 - Once I choose "Accept quote" does this mean I am awarding the job to this one vendor?

Not at all. You can select as many quotes as you need to implement the project. It is possible to select all necessary quotes at once and save changes or select quotes and save changes on a step by step basis. Once you select a service provider’s quote and save changes you will see a note on a selected quote like This quote was accepted. Upon quote acceptance a notification will be sent to a service provider. After accepting quotes you might wish to discuss project details with service providers.

Note: A job will not be closed once you select a quote(s). It can be closed by you manually (if you want so) or it will be closed automatically due to expiration of its quoting deadline time.

1.33 - Where can I see quotes received?

To see a list of jobs quotes you have received, go to My posted jobs from the Jobs & directories tab, find a job you are looking for and click on [View quotes] on your right. A list of all quotes will be opened.

2 - Finding jobs at ProZ.com

2.1 - How are jobs passed?

There are three distinct ways in which jobs are passed at ProZ.com:
(1) Posting a job / posting a quote for a job
(2) Direct contact (outsourcer contacts single pro)
(3) InstantJobs: outsourcer posts text, prequalified pros are invited automatically

Method (1) is the only visible method of job matching; jobs of the other form are passed privately. Method (2) accounts for about half of all jobs passed.

2.2 - Who can receive jobs?

Any registered user of ProZ.com can receive jobs. However, job posters may choose to restrict a job to those meeting certain criteria. See this FAQ for more information about restricted jobs.

2.3 - How do I get jobs at ProZ.com?

The main channel to get jobs in ProZ.com are direct searches in the directory. The best strategies to get jobs are:

a) A good profile.

b) Membership, as members are ranked ahead of non-members in the directory.

c) KudoZ PRO points in your language pairs and fields of expertise, as this is how search results are ranked among the first group (members) and the second group (non-members).

d) Specialization. Make sure to have on top your main language pair and your main field of expertise, get KudoZ in this combination, show that specialization in each area of your profile.

For more information on ProZ.com directory, see this FAQ section.

2.4 - Why don't I see payment information in job postings anymore?

Certain changes were recently made to the job posting system to reflect the fact that the translator is in the best position to determine what rate he or she needs to charge on a given job. Budget / pricing information is only shown to logged in users that meet the requirements of the job. You may choose if you would like to show or hide budget / pricing information for jobs where you meet the requirements. For more information, see: About > Job posting changes.

2.5 - I am an experienced translator, but I am new to freelancing. How do I go about determining what I need to charge on a given job?

For guidance on this topic, see the article Determining your rates and fees as a translator.

2.6 - I've indicated a preference to see client budgeting information before deciding whether to quote, and as as a result I sometimes see that information. Do I have to quote within the client's budget range?

No. The budget range provided by the client is strictly for use in determining whether or not you will take the time to quote. When quoting, you should never offer to do a job for less than the amount you need to deliver work at the quality level that is required, irrespective of the budget range specified.

2.7 - Is it safe to consider the budget ranges entered by clients as indicative of the going rates in the market?

No. Clients budget ranges often fall below the going rates.

2.8 - What if after I quote the client comes back and offers me less than the rates I have determined I need to charge?

Turn it down. Only you can know what you need to charge to deliver work at the quality required on an ongoing basis. Ultimately, it is your responsibility -- to colleagues and clients -- not to charge less than that amount.

2.9 - Are the translators who give the lowest quotes always the ones selected?

No. Experienced clients know that it is not possible to deliver quality consistently when rates are below a certain level. Therefore, the translators who are successful in connecting with new clients via ProZ.com tend to be those who quote within the normal range for professionals.

2.10 - I understand all of this in principle, but I am not sure I can do this on my own.

You're not alone! Reach out to other ProZ.com members via the site or at a local powwow. You are sure to find loads of support.

2.11 - How can I quote on job offers?

Note that not all job postings accept quotes. Some outsourcers prefer to be contacted directly via email, an URL, or the profile messaging option; and so their contact information is made visible in the Contact information section of the job posting (and so the Submit quote button is not visible).



However, when the particular job posting you are interested in is accepting quotes, to begin the process you need to click on the Submit Quote button at the top or bottom of the posting to be able to enter your proposed rate. Once you are on the quoting form, you will be able to submit the rate that you are willing to work for, provide additional information and attach your curriculum. If you are unsure of what to write in your quote to the outsourcer, this article may be of help.

Once you submit your quote to the outsourcer, they are given the option to select No action, No thank you, or Accept regarding your quote.



To view past quotes, please click on My quotes in the Jobs & directories drop-down menu in the navigation bar.



As of 2020, non-members can quote on job offers using their wallet funds. The cost for quoting is 1U$D. It was announced in 2016 that, in the future, it may no longer be possible for non-members of the site to use cash to quote on jobs. In other words, the ability to reply to a job posting for which the specified contact method is to submit a quote through the site may become a members-only service. This change has not been implemented yet.

2.12 - Can I edit a job quote after I submitted it?

No. Job quotes cannot be edited once they have been submitted. However, you may add a note to your quote and enter any other relevant information.

2.13 - Where can I see my job quotes history?

To see a list of jobs quotes you have submitted, go to My quotes from the Jobs & directories tab. Please bear in mind that only ProZ.com members can see their own job quotes history. That information is not available to other ProZ.com users or outsourcers.

2.14 - How can I control what is posted on my quote form?

If you go to your edit personal data you are able to control the information that will be entered on the quote form regarding the name, address, phone/fax number, etc.

2.15 - Can I withdraw a quote I submitted for a classic job?

Yes. You can remove a quote submitted for any classic job by clicking on Delete next to the quote you would like to withdraw in the My quotes page.

2.16 - What are the ProZ.com fees associated with jobs?

Direct jobs: Outsourcing is entirely free. So is maintaining a profile for the purpose of obtaining direct jobs.

Posted jobs: Posting a job is free. Answering and posting a quote is free and unlimited for ProZ.com members.

On Instant Jobs, a commission on the overall value of a job is taken by ProZ.com. The payment shown for Instant Jobs is the payment available to the service provider; the commission has already been subtracted.

2.17 - What is a "potential" job?

A "potential" job is any job posted without defined scope and/or details; in particular, calls for CVs or similar general invitations to establish a business relationship.

2.18 - Who sets the payment and delivery terms of each job?

All the terms of each job are worked out by direct negotiation between clients and service providers. ProZ.com staff play no role in setting terms or verifying that they are met.

2.19 - Does ProZ.com verify information in posted jobs and job descriptions against poster websites, online information or other sources?

Basic information is verified by site staff (contact information, for example) to ensure that job posts are within site rules. ProZ.com does not ascertain the veracity of outsourcer web site descriptions or other information; each translator interested in working with a given outsourcer is expected to investigate potential clients to the fullest extent possible before deciding whether or not to work for them.

2.20 - Does ProZ.com check job postings to filter-off jobs posted by potential scammers?

The job posting system was designed to enable outsourcers to post their job offers to the ProZ.com community. While any business or individual can outsource via ProZ.com, jobs posted by basic site users (non-logged-in users and non-members) are checked by site staff before being made visible.

In many cases the information included in a posted job is enough to identify a scamming operation, or a job posted by an oursourcer banned from ProZ.com,and the job posts are quietly deleted. In other cases the posted information will not be enough to to identify a scammer and the job is approved, and at this point the translators' risk management procedures should begin.

Risk management should be a set of processes including the positive identification of the "client" (contact data verifiable and verified) and the verification in risk management resources such as the Blue Board, among other steps.

If you would like to learn more about how to manage risks, I invite you all to attend an upcoming free webinar offered by site staff on "Risk management for freelance translators and interpreters".

ProZ.com members can also subscribe to translators scam alert reports.

2.21 - What payment types may I accept from outsourcers?

First off, when an outsourcer and a translator meet via ProZ.com and agree to do business, all details are agreed upon between the two parties, and ProZ.com is not involved in any way. So it is up to you to negotiate with your business counterpart concerning payment method and terms.

That said, there are several common methods in use for payments. Wire transfer is one method of making payment, checks are another. PayPal and Moneybookers are online services that facilitate cash transfer. There is also Western Union. Each of these payment methods has benefits and drawbacks, and one may be suitable for a small project, another for a large project. Where you live is also a factor.

This topic has been discussed frequently in the ProZ.com forums, which are freely searchable. I suggest you begin by browsing the Money matters forum.

2.22 - I have a question about a particular job posting. Who should I contact?

You should contact the poster of the particular job directly. ProZ.com does not have any more information on jobs than what the poster chose to enter. It is the responsibility of the job poster to enter correct contact information. ProZ.com cannot respond to reports of job postings with incorrect links or lack of proper contact information; we have only as much information as the job poster chose to enter.

2.23 - Do I have to pay to quote?

As announced in here, it will soon no longer be possible for non-members to pay in order to submit quotes for jobs posted on ProZ.com. For unlimited access to quoting, consider becoming a site member

2.24 - If I quote on the job and don't get it, will I be informed? How soon?

The outsourcer will review all the quotes they receive. It may take a couple of days before they do that—it will depend on the deadline for the project. The outsourcer is asked to send a note saying No action yet, No thank you or Accept to all people who quoted on the job. Note that the outsourcer is not required to do this, and if they choose not to, then you will not receive any notification on whether you were chosen or not.

2.25 - Where can I see an outsourcer's job posting history?

ProZ.com members can see a list of jobs posted by an outsourcer by clicking on Past job postings at the bottom of the Job posted by box in job postings or else by clicking on More info » at the bottom of the Past job postings section of the outsourcer's Blue Board record.

2.26 - Should I use the quote form to express my interest in a job, or should I write to the client directly?

You should follow the client's direction. When none is given, use the quoting form.

You should never contact a client directly, or call, if the client asks that you do not. Doing so reflects poorly on you, on the ProZ.com community, and results in an inconvenience that almost certainly ensures you *will not* get the job. If ProZ.com staff receives complaints of a user contacting an outsourcer directly, against that clients' instructions, the user's profile may be limited or removed.

2.27 - Where do I insert the translation of the sample text in my quote?

Please note that outsourcers have 2 options when including a sample text in a classic job:

• Require that the translation of the sample is sent together with the job quote.
  
• Do not require the translation of the sample text but just provide it as a reference material.
  

2.28 - The job page says I meet the criteria for quoting on the job, but I cannot see the "Submit quote" button. Why?

If the message box at the top of the job posting says you meet the criteria for quoting on the job and you still cannot see the Submit quote button, check the job's quoting deadline to make sure the job is not closed or else check the very top of the job posting page to make sure no This job has been closed message shows:



If you confirm the job is still open, then check the Contact method section of the job posting to make sure the outsourcer has not requested to be contacted directly. In such case, the outsourcer's email address or a link to contact the outsourcer via email will be shown (and no Submit quote button will be present):



If the job is open and you still cannot see any option to quote for the job, then submit a support request. You can do so by clicking on the Contact site staff if there is a problem with this job posting link at the bottom of the job posting. This will help support staff look into the issue further.

2.29 - The native language and the language pairs in a job posting are not consistent. What should I do?

First of all, notice that the native language required for a job may not always be one of the languages involved in the project but many times it may be the outsourcer's native language. Many outsourcers feel comfortable when doing business only in their own native language.

This being said, you may submit a support request to ask staff to check this with the outsourcer to make sure there is no mistake in the selection of the native language and edit the native language for the job posting if the outsourcer confirms it is not the correct one.

2.30 - Why am I not allowed to quote on certain jobs?

Job posters have been given the option to restrict who can submit quotes for their jobs based on certain criteria from user's profiles. These criteria are general fields of expertise, specific fields of expertise, credentials, software knowledge, location, native language. You will not receive notifications for jobs you cannot quote on. Job posters can also restrict users from submitting quotes based on their ProZ.com membership status. This, however, does not prevent you from receiving any job notifications.

To know exactly why you are not allowed to submit a quote for certain jobs, check the informational box at the top of the job posting page:



This box should clarify the requirements selected by the outsourcer and that do not match the information in your profile. You will also be given the option to visit your Profile updater and "[Edit]" the information in your profile accordingly.

2.31 - Why are some jobs marked members-only?

Job posters may, at their own discretion and for their own reasons, limit their job postings by certain criteria, including membership level (other criteria: country, tools, etc.)

Some clients choose to be contacted only by paying members. Others choose to open up the jobs to non-paying users after a certain period of time has elapsed.

Times shown for job postings and member-only periods, like other times shown throughout the site, are expressed in Greenwich Mean Time.

2.32 - What does the "Note: Job is more than 30 days old" message mean?

Please note that you cannot quote on a job that is more than 30 days old. For jobs which have been posted for more than 30 days, and specify Direct contact (email) as the contact method, the outsourcer contact information will be hidden.

If you cannot see the contact information for a job that is not 30 days old and for which you meet the criteria specified by the outsourcer, please submit a support request and provide the particular job URL for the job. Be sure to check the Contact method section of the job to make sure the outsourcer has not specified to be contacted via ProZ.com ('Quote' button) first.

2.33 - My quote was accepted but I never heard back from the outsourcer...

ProZ.com does not take a hands-on role in jobs.

Receiving an email from the outsourcer means that your quote has been accepted and the outsourcer would like to assign the project to you.

2.34 - I have not received payment for a job I have done. What can I do?

ProZ.com is not legally and/or professionally involved with any transactions/contracts between service providers and outsourcers. The site is only a venue.

However, if non-payment is involved in 1) commissioned work that was done and 2) delivered on time, and 3) without quality complaints, you are welcome to register this issue along with an LWA entry on the Blue Board.

Outsourcers are subject to the Termination policy.


Note: If you report a non-payment issue, you may be later asked to substantiate that your entry is in line with Blue Board rules.

2.35 - Why doesn't ProZ.com set a minimum rate for translation?

At times, the suggestion has been made that site staff institute some form of technical mechanism to dictate minimums. Although ProZ.com has instituted certain mechanisms which may help to stabilize rates (see the FAQ on rates), ProZ.com has no intention of instituting a minimum rate mechanism in the near future, for the following reason:

We believe that each member should be entitled to set his or her own minimum rates. We provide a rates calculator to assist site users in making the necessary considerations, and provide optional filters so that in effect, a site user can set his/her own minimum rate. This is in line with the site's philosophy of not interfering in members' businesses.

If that is not reason enough, consider that:
(1) Even if it were conceptually possible and advisable to set a minimum rate, we would not currently have a means of enforcing it.
(2) Whether attempting to set a minimum is legal or not is an open question, and not one on which we have had adequate advice (comments from lawyers are welcome: http://www.proz.com/support )
(3) Other sites have attempted to set minimum rates, with no apparent effect.

It is in the interest of translators, and ProZ.com, for rates charged to be consistent with the demands of our challenging profession. To that end, ProZ.com's staff has welcomed and encouraged legal communication and cooperation among translators. But we believe that control of rates does (and should!) reside in the hands of service providers.

2.36 - What are Automatic Referrals?

Automatic Referrals appear to an outsourcer after they have posted a job. The ProZ.com system automatically selects the top five ProZ.com members that best match the criteria for the specific job. The outsourcer is presented with the list of these translators and a direct link to contact them. Outsourcers save time and hassle, and ProZ.com members receive more exposure that turns into more job offers.

Example of Automatic Referrals:

2.37 - Does ProZ.com offer text ads (like Google), so that I can advertise my freelance services?

Text ads may be purchased on the directory page. To get info, go to "My ProZ.com" > "My Text Ads" > "Info"

Many of those who have purchased these text ads have renewed, so it may be that they are producing results. The starting price is $20. Please consider giving them a try.

2.38 - There is a job posting in which the outsourcer's budget is below the legal minimums in certain countries. Can it be removed?

If the violation is direct (ex. 2 units per hour where the minimum wage is 4 units per hour), please enter a support request so that staff members can consider removal. (A job posting can not be removed on the basis of assumptions as to work rate, however.) If you suspect a violation of this policy, please report it via the online support system (links are provided at the bottom of each job posting to facilitate this).

The the "legal minimums" policy might apply, for instance, to an in-house position, where the concept of wages is clearly appropriate. While in most cases the policy may not apply to freelance workers, it was implemented in order to help cover the legal aspects of retribution to language professionals.

The ProZ.com team is aware that the policy will apply to very few cases, but it is another way of building a structure of respect for the income of language professionals.

The policy is not intended, and should in no way be used as a "benchmark" or measurement of what a freelancer should be charging or making on any given job-- far from it.

An article has been started in the ProZ.com Wiki, Minimum wage by country, which references existing documentation on minimum wage allowed by law in different countries. Translators are encouraged to reference this information and add to it where needed.

2.39 - Can I edit a job quote after submitting it?

No. Job quotes cannot be edited and, if removed, they cannot be re-submitted. However, If you made a mistake in your original job quote or you forgot to add important information, you can make an addendum by visiting the "My job quotes" page, selecting the specific quote and entering the new information in the write-in field available at the bottom of the quote page.

2.40 - How can I find out what the real going rates are?

The article Determining your rates and fees as a translator. has links to rates data compiled at ProZ.com, by industry associations, etc. A methodology for working out what you need to charge to meet your own income needs and objectives is also provided in the guide.

2.41 - If I am free to quote whatever price I want, why would I even look at the client's budget range?

You don't have to. Some people prefer to know the client's budget range so that they don't spend time quoting when there is little or no chance that the client will pay the rates they charge.

2.42 - A job was posted with a language variant that, in my opinion, does not exist. Is this allowed?

According to point 6 of the ProZ.com guiding principles, job posters are the ones who define the way they present their needs to the community. Academic consideration on the existence or not of a given language variant are not relevant here, this is simply a channel for an outsourcer to further specify a translation request. Information in this field is not used to filter translators, so nobody will be excluded from the job.

3 - Private job postings

3.1 - What are private job postings?

Private job postings are similar to other ProZ.com job postings except that they are visible only to a specific list of eligible service providers. Others will not see any identifiable information about the job posting (though certain generalized information such as language pair and field of expertise may be listed publicly, in order to show general market activity and trends).

3.2 - What is the purpose of private job postings?

In some circumstances, outsourcers who might otherwise post a job at ProZ.com refrain from doing so because they don't want their search activity to be publicly visible (ex. to their clients or competitors). Private job postings allow outsourcers to make these job opportunities available to eligible service providers at ProZ.com. While this might decrease the number of job postings that are visible to any particular user, the goal is that it will increase the overall number of jobs passed through ProZ.com, and improve the relevance of job postings accessible to each provider.

3.3 - How are eligible providers for a private job posting determined?

The outsourcer may explicitly specify providers who are eligible. The system can also attempt to automatically identify eligible providers, if the outsourcer allows it. To do so, the system searches for providers with relevant language pairs, native language, field of expertise, etc., taking into account provider job notification preferences. Prior relationships between the outsourcer and provider are also considered, including the feedback they have recorded about each other.

3.4 - How can I be considered eligible for more private job postings?

Make sure your profile is complete, so that the system can find you when searching for eligible providers with your qualifications. (Having a completed profile is also important to help potential clients to find you via the ProZ.com directory, Internet search engines, etc.)

3.5 - Why can't I access a particular private job posting? I think I meet the eligibility requirements.

Outsourcers have a fine-grained control over the list of eligible service providers for their job postings. An outsourcer may choose to direct a job posting to a specific list of providers, regardless of their profile information.

3.6 - Are private jobs also subject to vetting?

Yes. Private jobs are vetted by ProZ.com staff, in line with site rules for job posting. Private job postings are identical to other classic job postings, except that only eligible providers are allowed to access them.

3.7 - What are social network private jobs?

Social network private jobs are job postings generated semi-automatically from job offers made in social networks to give these offers better exposure and reach more suitable service providers than they could reach in the noise of social networks.

For the time being, only job offers made through the the ProZ.com translators and interpreters Facebook group are brought to the site in the form of job postings. Just as jobs posted privately through ProZ.com, social network private jobs are only visible to a specific list of eligible service providers (selected based on language pairs, native language, field of expertise, etc.)

4 - Job notifications

4.1 - I am not getting any email notifications of jobs.

If you are not getting job alerts at all, and you have never gotten them, check the settings in your profile page. You will not get any notifications if:
- you have entered no language pairs
- you have entered no fields of expertise
- you have not selected Job email notifications in your email preferences.

If you had been receiving notifications, and without anything changing stopped receiving them, there could be several causes:
- previous messages to you bounced, and your email address was 'stamped' bad (check the personal data in your profile page; the characters 'xxx ' will have been added before your address
- there is a problem with ProZ.com email notifications. (Check the site status page for info)
- you or your ISP has changed or added filtering, and that filtering is preventing the alerts from reaching you (there is a known problem with terra.es, for example)

If after checking the above you can not find the problem, enter a support request with a link to at least one job of which you should have been alerted.

4.2 - What is the criteria taken into account for classic jobs notifications?

Classic jobs notifications are sent taking into account the following fields in a job posting, apart from jobs notifications preferences:

# Language pair
# Service type
# Subject Field
# Rates

However, note that outsources may also restrict their jobs using the following criteria:

# Membership
# Account type
# Native language
# Software
# Credentials
# Location
# Specific field
# Expertise

Thus, when receiving a job notification what you are receiving is an alert that a job was posted in the language pair reported in your profile, in one of your fields, within your rates and looking for one of the services you offer. But this is just an alert. To the see the job's details, you must visit the job posting.

4.3 - I am not getting all the email alerts I should be for jobs.

When email alerts go out for jobs, among the criteria considered are: language pair, subject area, tools required, geographical speculations, credentials required, rate offered. If you have not received email notification of a job, make sure that your profile settings and email preferences are such that you should have received it. In particular, you should consider checking the following:

4.4 - Why am I not notified of all jobs in my language pair?

Even when your email preferences specify that you would like to be notified of "all" jobs in your language pair, there are a number of criteria used by the system to determine who to notify of new job postings. For example, outsourcers may specify that they only want to notify translators in a certain country, or those with certain software. Selecting "all notifications" only ensures that you will receive the job notification if the outsourcer did not specify any such detailed restrictions.

4.5 - Why are job alerts sent to me some time after they were posted? There seems to be a delay.

Some job posters are able to post jobs that appear immediately. Posting made by others require vetting. Email alerts can not be sent until the time such jobs are vetted. This is why the time you receive an email may be several hours later than the time the job was posted. When notifications are sent, they are sent to all users fairly; normally all notification emails leave our servers within 5 minutes.

Another factor to consider is the difference in timezones. By default, times are shown on the site in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Therefore, depending on your geographical location, it is possible that the time on your job notification compared to the job posting time will appear to be different; however, if you take into consideration the difference between the time displayed by the site and your email client, you will see that the email notification was actually sent out minutes after the job was vetted and made public.

If you are experiencing delays not explained by the above, please submit a support request, including the URL of the job for which your email was delayed. We will be able to look up the exact time the message left our servers.

4.6 - What are "Classic" job posting notifications for Business members?

As of May 2016, Business members have the option to receive notifications based on the fields declared in their company profiles.

Business pages are not bound by requirements that only make sense when the service provider is just one person, such as "Native language".

With this tool, Business members can choose to be notified of all the job postings that they can submit a quote on. This is done by comparing the requirements in the job posting with the working languages that they have declared that their company provides services in.

4.7 - I received a job notification through ProZ.com that did not come through the directory, direct profile contact or from a ProZ.com job post, what is it?

An interface ("API" or Application programming interface) is being developed which allows clients to search for and contact ProZ.com members for paid work from their own translation platforms. In essence, this interface represents a potential additional channel of client contact for ProZ.com members. The interface is currently being tested with a limited group of volunteers.

Translation clients can use the interface to look for language professionals based on various search parameters, much in the way clients use the ProZ.com directory. Clients may then select candidates to contact for potential work through their translation platform. Initial contact is handled via an invitation which the language professional receives through email. The recipient is given information regarding the client and project, and may respond by email. The recipient's contact email is not disclosed unless they choose to respond to the invitation.

Potential clients who use this interface to search for language professionals will only see a sub-set of the information that you have chosen to make public in your ProZ.com profile, similar to the data that is shown in the ProZ.com directory. No information which you have not made expressly public in your ProZ.com profile is shared with potential clients unless you choose to do so.

Work relations beyond the acceptance of an invitation to collaborate are the responsibility of the the client and the service provider. When considering working with any new client, service providers are encouraged to perform adequate screening and risk management.

Remember that, similarly to the ProZ.com directory and the jobs posting system, certain information you enter in your ProZ.com profile can help better connect you with the kind of potential clients you are seeking. Declaring your rates (even if you choose to keep them private) will help prevent client contact from those seeking translation services below your rates, for example.

For more information on how this works, see:

• ProZ.com TPX API FAQs


• ProZ.com 2.0 API documentation

4.8 - What is the RSS feed for jobs?

RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication, a family of Web formats used to publish frequently updated content such as news headlines or blog entries in a standardized format and that allows users to subscribe to it.

A feed reader is client software or a Web application that is used to subscribe to and collect syndicated web content in a single location for easy viewing.

You can track job postings matching your preferences in your RSS feed reader by clicking the orange button in the jobs page to get started (your feed will be based on your advanced search settings there). To see the complete job description and to quote, you will need to visit the full job page using the link in the feed item.

The feed contains the basic information about the job, including the link to the job, the job title and short description, and the job requirements (including language pairs and field of expertise). The feed updates once every five minutes.

You will notice that the URL for the feed contains your entity_id and a unique token that allows you to view job summaries that match your preferences without logging in. You cannot use this token to log in or to access any part of the site. Additionally, the token and feed does not contain any personally identifiable information about the subscriber.

You can subscribe using any news reader that you would like. If you encounter any encoding issues or have questions, comments or concerns, please contact site staff via a support request.