Poll: What percentage of your work would you say has come out of referrals from colleagues?
投稿者: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
サイトのスタッフ
Sep 2, 2025

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What percentage of your work would you say has come out of referrals from colleagues?".

View the poll results »



 
Iulia Parvu
Iulia Parvu  Identity Verified
ルーマニア
Local time: 02:30
2022に入会
英語 から ルーマニア語
+ ...
Zero Sep 2, 2025

0% should be an option.

Zea_Mays
Paulo Roberto
Jennifer Levey
ipv
writeaway
Cecília Alves
Philip Lees
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
ポルトガル
Local time: 00:30
2007に入会
英語 から ポルトガル語
+ ...
I don't know Sep 2, 2025

I have never bothered to work out the percentage, but over the years I have been referred by at least two colleagues when they are unavailable, the word count does not suit them (I like large jobs, they don’t) or the subject matter does not match their specialities. Some direct clients have also recommended me...

Christine Andersen
Philip Lees
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise  Identity Verified
ベルギー
Local time: 01:30
2020に入会
フランス語 から オランダ語
+ ...
Probably close to zero Sep 2, 2025

I had a few former colleagues dating back to my inhouse period in the first half of the noughties and I had a habit of giving their names if a customer asked me if I didn't know some translators in other language pairs or in mine if I wasn't available. Perhaps they did the same, but I have no knowledge of it.

I do know, however, that more than 1 of my best customers have entered the building through project managers changing agencies.



[Bijgewerkt op 2025-09-02 0
... See more
I had a few former colleagues dating back to my inhouse period in the first half of the noughties and I had a habit of giving their names if a customer asked me if I didn't know some translators in other language pairs or in mine if I wasn't available. Perhaps they did the same, but I have no knowledge of it.

I do know, however, that more than 1 of my best customers have entered the building through project managers changing agencies.



[Bijgewerkt op 2025-09-02 09:13 GMT]
▲ Collapse


 
Bruno Veilleux
Bruno Veilleux  Identity Verified
カナダ
Local time: 19:30
英語 から フランス語
+ ...
Colleagues? Sep 2, 2025

I’ve also been recommended by PMs to other divisions of large agencies or to other agencies they had moved to, but since most agencies don’t allow us to speak to one another, I don’t really know any other translator well enough to recommend them, and vice versa.

 
Either zero or about eighty percent Sep 2, 2025

That's a difficult question. About 95% of my clients have come from referrals from other clients but if I trace them all the way back, I generally find a colleague. At the moment, however, no client I work with came directly from a colleague.

A colleague gives my name to a gallery, which passes it on to an artist or another museum or a series of other museums or galleries, so without the original colleague, I may never have had the museum or any other client I'm working for right no
... See more
That's a difficult question. About 95% of my clients have come from referrals from other clients but if I trace them all the way back, I generally find a colleague. At the moment, however, no client I work with came directly from a colleague.

A colleague gives my name to a gallery, which passes it on to an artist or another museum or a series of other museums or galleries, so without the original colleague, I may never have had the museum or any other client I'm working for right now.

When I worked with agencies, as far as I remember, all the ones in Italy came from referrals from colleagues. The others came from my website (only three, in about 1999-2003) or, again, from colleagues.

Simon
▲ Collapse


 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

このフォーラムのモデレーター
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: What percentage of your work would you say has come out of referrals from colleagues?






Draftsmith
Edit Translations Faster With Affordable AI You Can Trust

Draftsmith is an affordable AI editing tool for busy translators. It works directly in Microsoft Word, supporting the way you work ProZ members receive a 20% discount on a single user subscription of Draftsmith.

More info »
TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »