Overwhelmed with unsolicited job applications - who are they from?
Автор темы: Wendy Cummings
Wendy Cummings
Wendy Cummings  Identity Verified
Великобритания
Local time: 18:30
испанский => английский
+ ...
Jul 4, 2013

I am a freelancer, and never outsource work. Since May I have received 125+ job application emails from translators, offering a wide range of language combinations, and all seemingly genuine applications. They all have a cover letter and an attached CV, sometimes .pdf sometimes .doc. There is sufficient detail and information to make it all seem genuine. The content of the emails is always different, as are the CVs. However they all come from Yahoo, Hotmail or Google addresses, and they all use ... See more
I am a freelancer, and never outsource work. Since May I have received 125+ job application emails from translators, offering a wide range of language combinations, and all seemingly genuine applications. They all have a cover letter and an attached CV, sometimes .pdf sometimes .doc. There is sufficient detail and information to make it all seem genuine. The content of the emails is always different, as are the CVs. However they all come from Yahoo, Hotmail or Google addresses, and they all use more or less the same format for the subject line (Language Language Translator).

I have just done a mass mail to them and not a single one has replied. At least 6 have so far been "undeliverable".

Is this the oddest scam ever?

I do not know where they obtained my address or why they think i can offer them work. Whoever 'they' are.

Has anyone else had this issue? Whilst seemingly harmless (they are not asking for money) it is nevertheless beyond a joke and cluttering up my inbox every single day.

Wendy
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Natalie
Natalie  Identity Verified
Польша
Local time: 19:30
Член ProZ.com c 2002
английский => русский
+ ...

МОДЕРАТОР
ЛОКАЛИЗАТОР САЙТА
Well known issue Jul 4, 2013

Please take a look at the stick thread:
http://www.proz.com/topic/230462

See also:
http://www.proz.com/topic/227212
http://www.proz.com/topic/245750


 
Raffi Jamgocyan
Raffi Jamgocyan  Identity Verified
Турция
Local time: 20:30
Член ProZ.com c 2012
английский => турецкий
+ ...
Google Jul 4, 2013

You could try googling your email address and see if it comes up anywhere that you did not provide.

 
aruna yallapragada
aruna yallapragada  Identity Verified
Local time: 23:00
немецкий => английский
+ ...
Even I get these mails Jul 4, 2013

Yes, even I am facing this problem. I wondered sometimes as to where they got the mailing address from.I think it is some sort of automated system that is sending all the mails - otherwise who would write intentionally to a freelancer in India asking for translation work in any European language? .

 
Balasubramaniam L.
Balasubramaniam L.  Identity Verified
Индия
Local time: 23:00
Член ProZ.com c 2006
английский => хинди
+ ...
ЛОКАЛИЗАТОР САЙТА
Same here Jul 4, 2013

I too get at least two such mails a day, and I simply trash them as I am not an outsourcer at all.

 
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz  Identity Verified
Польша
Local time: 19:30
английский => польский
+ ...
This poor industry Jul 4, 2013

Have compassion for colleagues who can't find gainful employment! ... And have to spam mailboxes of not only agencies but also fellow translators perceived as potentially having some workload to share.

At the same time, enjoy the feedback. Receiving such a request means that someone has judged you to be a successful translator of good standing in the community and perhaps a worthy prospective part-time employer (client). You can look at it in a similar light to mentorship request wh
... See more
Have compassion for colleagues who can't find gainful employment! ... And have to spam mailboxes of not only agencies but also fellow translators perceived as potentially having some workload to share.

At the same time, enjoy the feedback. Receiving such a request means that someone has judged you to be a successful translator of good standing in the community and perhaps a worthy prospective part-time employer (client). You can look at it in a similar light to mentorship request when you aren't open to mentoring other translators.

You know... half full and all!

Oh, and congratulations on being judged so by your colleagues from the other side of the world, thousands of miles away!
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Angie Garbarino
Angie Garbarino  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:30
Член ProZ.com c 2003
французский => итальянский
+ ...
I googled Jul 4, 2013

Raffi Jamgocyan wrote:

You could try googling your email address and see if it comes up anywhere that you did not provide.


And I found that those spam are sent to my old email address (which is now forwarded to the new one), it is only present in the ATA directory, so apparently it was caught there.

[Edited at 2013-07-04 15:19 GMT]


 
Nelida Kreer
Nelida Kreer  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:30
английский => испанский
+ ...
I truly believe that these are spamming/hacking attempts Jul 4, 2013

I get them all the time, and I don't truly believe that they are genuine applications, at all. I do receive from time to time some genuine ones, though, (mainly local, or regional), but you can easily tell the difference. As I am essentially a freelancer and I don't usually outsource, I ignore them all.

To me, they just get our mails from about anywhere in the web, and if you reply, they get to access or hack into your list of contacts, and the net widens...so I don't think it is ac
... See more
I get them all the time, and I don't truly believe that they are genuine applications, at all. I do receive from time to time some genuine ones, though, (mainly local, or regional), but you can easily tell the difference. As I am essentially a freelancer and I don't usually outsource, I ignore them all.

To me, they just get our mails from about anywhere in the web, and if you reply, they get to access or hack into your list of contacts, and the net widens...so I don't think it is actually smart to respond to these mails. After I marked them as spam, they more or less stopped or trickled down to just a few per month, no further deluge.

My advice is, treat them as you would any other spam mail.
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FrenchPhD
FrenchPhD  Identity Verified
Канада
Local time: 13:30
французский => английский
+ ...
It's just hard times Jul 9, 2013

I don't think there is any scam here, just people exchanging email lists of people in the industry, trying desperately to get their name out there, to get work. I've had this problem for about a year. I just delete them, or if they look great, save them (gmail) in case I need to find a collaborator, which is rare.

 


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Overwhelmed with unsolicited job applications - who are they from?







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