Poll: Do you write responses to job inquiries from scratch?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Apr 28, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you write responses to job inquiries from scratch?".

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Nikolay Novitskiy
Nikolay Novitskiy  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 04:07
Member (2018)
English to Russian
Lots of templates Apr 28, 2020

I have lots of templates (and CVs) for different jobs. I just modify one slightly and send it to the outsourcer. Why not?

Ventnai
Ricardo Suin
Cheemanum
Clement Cheung
Aline Amorim
 
Ventnai
Ventnai  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:07
German to English
+ ...
Fishing Apr 28, 2020

As most enquirers are usually fishing around for low(er) rates, there is no point in sending anything other than a standard email. On the rare occasion that an enquiry looks promising, I will probably make an effort and write a personalised reply.

Josephine Cassar
svetlana cosquéric
Clement Cheung
Kaisa I
Abdulrahman Adam
Leighton Jacobs
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 23:07
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes, some of them Apr 28, 2020

I have a good collection of templates I have been using over the years, but once in a while a potential client has special requirements that I have to respond from scratch.

Nikolay Novitskiy
 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 00:07
English to German
In memoriam
All of them (if I respond at all) Apr 28, 2020

If it looks interesting and if the inquirer at least took the time to address me by name, I write a personalised reply. If not, I don't respond.

Dan Lucas
Liena Vijupe
Anja Hajek
Clement Cheung
Alexandra Speirs
Kaisa I
writeaway
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 16:07
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Some of them Apr 28, 2020

I ignore any of them with low rates, which means most of them. If I'm interested, I will always write a personal response, even if it's similar to what I usually write. Templates worry me because they may not respond to the questions that were asked. With any email, I always double-check to make sure that I'm responding to all the points that were raised.

Clement Cheung
Kaisa I
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 00:07
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
I use templates ... Apr 28, 2020

... but always personalise them.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Nikolay Novitskiy
Aline Amorim
Mariana Borio
Annemarie Avezaat
 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:07
French to English
Other Apr 28, 2020

See title

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 20:07
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Most of them Apr 29, 2020

But I do have a couple of templates for specific purposes, like ProZ replies, and for clients that ask specific questions about prices, experience, etc.

[Edited at 2020-04-29 04:24 GMT]


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:07
German to English
+ ...
didn't quite understand the question Apr 30, 2020

If a client asks whether I can do a given translation, how much I will charge, and by when it will be done, then I have to respond to that specific query with a specific answer. There may be things I need to ask or comment on after examining the text. So how could one not write an individualized answer ("from scratch")? There may be something I am missing.

If the client is new to translation and/or to how I work, there will be additional information I need to provide. I suppose
... See more
If a client asks whether I can do a given translation, how much I will charge, and by when it will be done, then I have to respond to that specific query with a specific answer. There may be things I need to ask or comment on after examining the text. So how could one not write an individualized answer ("from scratch")? There may be something I am missing.

If the client is new to translation and/or to how I work, there will be additional information I need to provide. I suppose I could create a kind of template to cut and paste in for that part.
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Poll: Do you write responses to job inquiries from scratch?






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