Note: if you are a freelance translator or interpreter, please see Getting the most out of ProZ.com: A guide for translators and interpreters.
As the world's leading platform for the exchange of language and translation services and resources, ProZ.com is an ecosystem of rapidly and continually interacting translators, LSPs, and end clients.
What is ProZ.com?
The term "ProZ.com" is used to refer to the translation workplace at www.proz.com, the community that uses it, and the (for-profit) company behind it. The ProZ.com community is the largest translator community in the world.
The largest network of language service providers on the web
ProZ.com maintains the web's largest network of translators, interpreters, translation companies, and other language service providers.
Just like a telephone directory, in the ProZ.com directory service providers pay to be listed prominently, and those looking for service providers can browse the directory for free.
A collaborative translation workplace
But ProZ.com is more than a directory; it is also a translation workplace that leverages Internet technologies to help translators collaborate for mutual benefit. By providing tools and opportunities for translators to work together, ProZ.com helps translators to do better work. At the same time, as translators participate in the translation workplace, individual expertise can be revealed.
Workplace tools help demonstrate and quantify translator expertise
As translators collaborate within ProZ.com's structured system, they accumulate points and other metrics that can help to quantify their expertise in specific areas. At the same time, they build a body of sample work that can be used as a basis for evaluating their skills.
A platform for finding linguists
ProZ.com provides a number of tools to help outsourcers find and contact language service providers.
Use ProZ.com Connect! to find specialized translators for premium projects
Connect! is ProZ.com's next-generation sourcing platform, designed to help serious outsourcers find specialized linguists for their premium projects, quickly and efficiently. It provides access to a broader pool of desirable candidates, because "premium" opportunities can capture the attention of more linguists than run-of-the-mill job postings. At the same time, Connect's advanced filtering tools allow you to drill down through the universe of possible candidates to target and attract only those specialists who match your ideal requirements.
If you need to source a "premium" language job (i.e. one that pays market rates or better), Connect! is the most effective way to do it.
Learn more about ProZ.com Connect!
Use the directory to contact service providers matching specific criteria
If you want to find service providers matching specific criteria and contact them directly, use an appropriate directory from the list below. To contact service providers you find in the directories, click their name to visit their profile page, and contact them from there.
- ProZ.com Connect! PowerSearch - The PowerSearch feature of ProZ.com Connect! allows you to search for linguists using more detailed criteria than are available in the standard directories, and offers advanced tools to annotate, sort, evaluate, and contact the linguists you find.
- Freelancer directory - Search for freelance translators and interpreters by language pair, field, and a variety of detailed criteria.
- Interpreter search map - Find interpreters by selecting the desired location on a world map
- Outsourcer and translation company directory - Search for other outsourcers and translation companies by language pair and field
Post a job listing to receive quotes on a specific job from eligible service providers
If you have a specific job for which you would like to receive quotes from eligible service providers, post a job listing.
Describe your job in detail, and specify the requirements eligible service providers must meet. Pay careful attention to the number of eligible service providers that meet your chosen criteria, to ensure that you do not receive more or fewer quotes than you would like. (The number of service providers who meet your criteria will be shown during the confirmation step, after your initial form submission.)
Before submitting a job listing, please review the
job posting FAQ.
Accept applications from service providers who meet specific criteria
If you want to receive applications from service providers who meet certain criteria, without regard to a specific job, configure your
application preferences.
Indicate that you are accepting applications, and specify the criteria which applicants must meet and any additional information. ProZ.com members whose profiles indicate that they meet your criteria will be notified and will be able to submit an application.
(Note that you must
register with ProZ.com and have a
Blue Board record to take advantage of this feature--see "Establish a presence at ProZ.com", below, for more information.)
Tools to evaluate linguists
Note that it is important for you to qualify language service providers you meet at ProZ.com just as you would those you meet elsewhere. ProZ.com can not guarantee the quality of any service provider's work, so it is very important that you take all the steps necessary to evaluate service providers before outsourcing projects to them.
ProZ.com provides tools to make this evaluation process easier.
Reading a ProZ.com profile
Every service provider registered at ProZ.com has a profile page that provides information about the provider's background and expertise, and describes the services he or she provides.
In the center of each profile page is a free-form description written by the service provider. In addition, look for the following key information:
- Working language pairs - Shown in the upper left of the page. Providers are encouraged to specialize in 5 or fewer working pairs, and to order them with their top pairs listed first.
- Native language - Shown in the upper left. Click the native language icon to see more information.
- Fields of expertise - Shown on the left, underneath language pairs.
- Memberships and credentials - ProZ.com members have a blue ribbon icon next to their names, and the date they joined ProZ.com as a full member is shown in the upper left of their profiles. Other reported credentials and memberships are shown in the lower right. Only credentials with the word "confirmed" next to them have been verified by site staff.
- ID verification - Shown in the upper left. Indicates that the service provider's name on file with ProZ.com is likely to be his or her real name. Click the icon to learn more about the method used to verify the provider's identity.
- Availability - Shown in the upper middle of the page. Providers can report their immediate availability for new projects; green means immediately available, red means not immediately available, and gray means availability was not reported.
- Education - Shown in the upper right. The highest translation-related degree the provider earned (not confirmed by site staff)
- Years of experience - Shown in the upper right. The number of years of full-time translating experience (not confirmed by site staff)
- CV/resume - If the service provider has uploaded a resume or CV, a link to it will appear in the center of the page near the bottom.
- Portfolio - If a "portfolio" tab is visible at the top of the profile, clicking it will show a selection of translation samples.
KudoZ highlights expertise and shows a translator's methods
KudoZ is ProZ.com's translation term help network which allows professional translators to give and receive help with tough terms. When their answers are chosen as the most helpful, translators earn KudoZ points in that field of expertise. KudoZ points are shown in ProZ.com profiles and in the directory.
When reviewing a service provider's KudoZ points, look at the points earned on PRO-level questions in the fields in which you are seeking expertise.
Click the KudoZ point totals to see a list of the specific KudoZ questions that caused those points to be earned. Each KudoZ question includes much more than just a term and a translation. It may also include explanation and references from the translator justifying the suggested translation; peer comments from other translators about the suggested translation; written interaction with other translators and the asker of the question; as well as translations suggested by others for the same term.
In short, reviewing KudoZ activity reveals not just the translation end result; it also shows
how the translator arrived at that result.
Project history lists past clients with feedback
Review the "project history" tab in the service provider's profile to see a list of selected clients, and to review client feedback.
Published articles can demonstrate expertise
If the service provider has published ProZ.com knowledgebase articles related to the field in which you are seeking expertise, you may wish to review them. Published articles are listed at the bottom of a service provider's profile.
Tools to manage vendor resources
ProZ.com provides outsourcers with tools to manage their vendors/service providers.
Bookmark your vendors with ProZ.com Connect! favorites lists
Connect! users can maintain categorized lists of their vendors or other ProZ.com users, who can then be contacted in bulk or individually. These favorites lists are tightly integrated with other Connect! features such as PowerSearch and premium job postings.
Manage premium opportunities via the Connect! dashboard
The ProZ.com Connect! dashboard provides a centralized location to manage all aspects of your Connect! sourcing activities.
Manage quotes received for standard job listings
The
standard job management tool allows you to view and reply to quotes from service providers for standard jobs you have posted.
Manage applications from service providers
The
application management tool allows you to review and respond to applications received from service providers.
Submit project feedback to service providers
The
project feedback tool allows you to provide feedback on projects to service providers who request it. You can also choose whether to allow the service provider to publicly display your feedback in his or her project history.
Establish a presence at ProZ.com
To help build confidence and trust in your company among service providers and clients, it is worthwhile to establish a well-regarded image at ProZ.com.
Register at ProZ.com and become a corporate member
To get started, you should first
register with ProZ.com. This will provide you with a site user account and password, and your own ProZ.com corporate profile.
After registering, to get the most out of ProZ.com you should
join as a corporate member. Corporate members enjoy special exposure, privileges and standing in the ProZ.com community.
(Although membership is advisable, it is not necessary to become a member immediately. It is possible to use many of the site features described here before joining ProZ.com, although some features are restricted to members only.)
Create and cultivate your Blue Board record
The
Blue Board is a database of outsourcers at ProZ.com that includes feedback from service providers about their likelihood of working with an outsourcer again. An outsourcer's image at ProZ.com is governed to a great extent by its Blue Board record.
If a Blue Board record for your company does not already exist, you should create one. Ensure that the information about your company is complete and accurate. Encourage service providers you have worked with to submit entries about their experience with you. If a service provider posts about a negative experience, work together with him or her to resolve the issue promptly, to maintain your good standing on the Blue Board. (Note that making threats or exerting pressure on a service provider to cause him or her to change an entry is prohibited, and may result in the right to use ProZ.com being restricted.)
The Blue Board provides a way for good outsourcers to achieve recognition, and helps them attract the best service providers. More information about the Blue Board is available
here.
Fill out your corporate profile
Your corporate profile is your public face at ProZ.com. A link to your profile will appear anywhere your name is shown on the site. In addition, ProZ.com profiles have the highest Google "page rank" of all human translation portals, so there is a good chance that potential clients will find your profile when seeking translation companies using search engines such as Google or Yahoo!--provided that you optimize your profile accordingly.
Advertise to strengthen your brand
To help build awareness of your brand within the industry, you can
run an advertising campaign at ProZ.com.
Additional information
The following documents provide additional information about some of the topics discussed in this article.
