Official Academic Certificate as an Onboarding Translation Test Thread poster: Andrew Zink
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Andrew Zink
United States
Local time: 03:48
French to English
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Hi everybody,
I was just contacted by an agency wanting to add me as a freelancer. Everything was completely normal until they sent along the actual translation test. The translation test sent to me is a PDF scan of an official academic certificate with names, signatures, etc. Due to the nature of the document, I can't help but feel like this is less a test and more an attempt at getting free labor.
Has anyone ever been asked to translate an official certificate as the... See more Hi everybody,
I was just contacted by an agency wanting to add me as a freelancer. Everything was completely normal until they sent along the actual translation test. The translation test sent to me is a PDF scan of an official academic certificate with names, signatures, etc. Due to the nature of the document, I can't help but feel like this is less a test and more an attempt at getting free labor.
Has anyone ever been asked to translate an official certificate as their onboarding test? Based on my own logic and instincts, translation tests should be relatively general in nature (obviously depending on the area of specialization) to properly assess a translator's ability, so the fact that the test is an official document does raise a few red flags.
This is the first time I've ever seen this, so I thought I'd crowdsource to get fellow translators' opinions. What do you all think?
Thanks!
Andrew ▲ Collapse
| | | | mohamed Adan 
Kenya
Local time: 13:48
Member (2021)
English to Somali
SITE LOCALIZER
Tests should not contain private info or anything in that manner!
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It’s quite odd as a test, unless they deal exclusively with official documents. Have you searched the Internet to see if it is an actual official document belonging to a real person or did they build it from scratch looking official?
| | | | | I smell a rat... but why not? | Apr 18, 2023 |
That's sound a bit fishy indeed.
As our colleague Mohamed Adan said, no translation agency is supposed to disclose any sensible data regarding a private person, EVEN in the frame of a so-called translation test and EVEN if they deal exclusively with official documents (as Teresa rightfully suggested).
I never have been asked to translate such an official certificate as an onboarding test either. However, I would tend to say : It's just a question of translating a few wo... See more That's sound a bit fishy indeed.
As our colleague Mohamed Adan said, no translation agency is supposed to disclose any sensible data regarding a private person, EVEN in the frame of a so-called translation test and EVEN if they deal exclusively with official documents (as Teresa rightfully suggested).
I never have been asked to translate such an official certificate as an onboarding test either. However, I would tend to say : It's just a question of translating a few words. What is at risk for you, save for wasting a little free time for nothing at the end of the day? And so what? Isn't that a part of our profession to market and drag new clients? I know full well it's time-consuming and mostly discouraging, but it's ultimately paid off.
In other words, I don't think you won't be constrained to sell your soul to the Devil by tempting this onboarding test. But you will have just been warned...
[Modifié le 2023-04-18 19:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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