| Pagina's in het onderwerp: [1 2] > | Poll: What has been your longest period of "famine"? De persoon die dit onderwerp heeft geplaatst: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What has been your longest period of "famine"?".
This poll was originally submitted by Alan Corbo, CT. View the poll results »
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10 days, always followed by a very busy time...
| | | | neilmac
Spanje
Local time: 13:42
Spaans naar Engels
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I don't recall. Nowadays it'd be a relief to find an empty inbox for a few days. I usually have a backlog of non-urgent texts waiting anyway, to revise/edit for when the usual constant onslaught of "urgent" translation jobs is done. For example, if nobody sends me any translations today, I'll still have about nine academic texts to check if I get bored over the weekend or early next week...
| | | | | I voted "1 month" but | Nov 25, 2016 |
in fact it was 3 weeks without a single job.
It happened only once.
I sometimes have very calm periods, once or twice a year, but always with several little jobs and never longer than 1 week.
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| One or 2 weeks | Nov 25, 2016 |
I went almost 4 years with almost no breaks at all, but this year I had to turn down work to travel to Brazil on family business and take care of other issues that came up. By the time I was ready to work full-time again I had dropped off my clients' radar and ended up waiting a couple of weeks before the work started rolling in again.
I have a theory: jobs are most likely to appear when we're already working--lik the person with the full-time desk job who gets more offers than the ... See more I went almost 4 years with almost no breaks at all, but this year I had to turn down work to travel to Brazil on family business and take care of other issues that came up. By the time I was ready to work full-time again I had dropped off my clients' radar and ended up waiting a couple of weeks before the work started rolling in again.
I have a theory: jobs are most likely to appear when we're already working--lik the person with the full-time desk job who gets more offers than the person who is unemployed. The opportunities seem to come more often when we're already employed than when we're looking for work. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X) 
Local time: 07:42
Engels naar Spaans
+ ...
| Several months, in 2001 | Nov 25, 2016 |
Remember the recession of 2001? The dotcom bust happened. Lost my good job and, not having more than two or three clients made it very hard to get back into the swing of things.
But let's remember that periods of famine, long or short, may have little or nothing to do with you and a lot to do with factors and circumstances beyond your control.
Of course, members of the school of American perennial happiness and success will tell you otherwise.
![]() ... See more Remember the recession of 2001? The dotcom bust happened. Lost my good job and, not having more than two or three clients made it very hard to get back into the swing of things.
But let's remember that periods of famine, long or short, may have little or nothing to do with you and a lot to do with factors and circumstances beyond your control.
Of course, members of the school of American perennial happiness and success will tell you otherwise.
 ▲ Collapse
| | | | Francesca Ciet
Italië
Local time: 13:42
Lid 2020
Engels naar Italiaans
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| One week today | Nov 25, 2016 |
It is one of those periods right now. I can't wait it to finish...
| | | | | Little story before the weekend to my fellow colleagues | Nov 25, 2016 |
One month. No work for one month. I told myself, after a week or two... I am not going to worry, I will be just fine. And then, as three weeks went by, I had a very hard time keeping that positive attitude. After four weeks, I received a call from an acquantaince of mine offering a very nice position in a company (not at all as a translator), well-paid, 5 mn away from home.
I thought long and hard over the weekend and asked the opinion of my O so wise 87 year-old grandfather ... wh... See more One month. No work for one month. I told myself, after a week or two... I am not going to worry, I will be just fine. And then, as three weeks went by, I had a very hard time keeping that positive attitude. After four weeks, I received a call from an acquantaince of mine offering a very nice position in a company (not at all as a translator), well-paid, 5 mn away from home.
I thought long and hard over the weekend and asked the opinion of my O so wise 87 year-old grandfather ... who said (in French) "You do not kill your dog for a bad year". So I refused the offer and guess what? The next day, I was overwhelmed with work for the weeks to come.
Ever since I have been telling myself: Merci Papy !
Have a nice weekend everyone.
[Modifié le 2016-11-25 10:20 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| A week or so, but.... | Nov 25, 2016 |
Back in 2008, with the financial crisis, all freelancing work stopped for several months, as my clients were cutting their spending. The problem was that I had had a great year before, so the government sent me a massive bill to pay the taxes they thought I would owe in 2008, based on how much I had earned the year before.
Luckily, my freelancing was just extra revenue at the time. I was working as an in-house translator, so I had a regular revenue.
| | | | | It depends to the Dollar | Nov 25, 2016 |
Well,
Jobs are not a problem.
The problem is to be paid in Dollars.
Actually, to get my money in Euros I have to pay conversion taxes and Euro is a weak currency.
I hope this change soon.
I have "famine" of an Euro with power.
| | | | cloudhunter (X)
Duitsland
Local time: 13:42
Engels naar Duits
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Both me and my husband are freelancers so if one of us has a worse period, the other one does just fine and we manage.
This November has been a pretty calm month for me, where I totalled only about 70% of my average. Until today, where two very nice jobs came in.
I will be facing a "planned famine" though since I will be having a child some time in December so I am taking as much as I can handle now between buying and organising stuff and trying not to fall asleep or d... See more Both me and my husband are freelancers so if one of us has a worse period, the other one does just fine and we manage.
This November has been a pretty calm month for me, where I totalled only about 70% of my average. Until today, where two very nice jobs came in.
I will be facing a "planned famine" though since I will be having a child some time in December so I am taking as much as I can handle now between buying and organising stuff and trying not to fall asleep or die of back pain. ▲ Collapse
| | | | R. Alex Jenkins
Brazilië
Local time: 08:42
Lid 2006
Portugees naar Engels
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| It happens from time to time... | Nov 25, 2016 |
At first it's a relief that you've got some time off to do your own thing, but that can quickly turn to boredom and depression if there's no work for a week or more.
One thing I've learned over the years is to treat every day of the week as just another working day. I don't have a fixed weekly schedule or pattern - if work comes in on Thursday and requires working over the weekend, big deal, it's just four days of work. That's the way I've learned to get on with being a freelancer o... See more At first it's a relief that you've got some time off to do your own thing, but that can quickly turn to boredom and depression if there's no work for a week or more.
One thing I've learned over the years is to treat every day of the week as just another working day. I don't have a fixed weekly schedule or pattern - if work comes in on Thursday and requires working over the weekend, big deal, it's just four days of work. That's the way I've learned to get on with being a freelancer over the years - to open my mind and live for each day. Honestly, I don't think I could go back to the fixed 9-5 monthly salary, although sometimes I muse about how nice and secure it would be. ▲ Collapse
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Mario Freitas
Brazilië
Local time: 08:42
Lid 2014
Engels naar Portugees
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| 1 or 2 weeks, but... | Nov 25, 2016 |
I'm considering slow periods with a few very small jobs as "famine", not only days with zero jobs.
| | | | | It's been seven hours and fifteen days... | Nov 25, 2016 |
Or more...
[Edited at 2016-11-25 22:45 GMT]
| | | | Luiz Barucke
Brazilië
Local time: 08:42
Spaans naar Portugees
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Not considering weekends, of course
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