Poll: Do you think listing your previous work in your profile is more beneficial or harmful to you? Autor da sequência: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think listing your previous work in your profile is more beneficial or harmful to you?".
This poll was originally submitted by Puritad Thongpreecha. View the poll results »
| | | | | It is beneficial! | Aug 19, 2025 |
In my case, I like people to know what I do most, so the right people get closer to me. On the other hand, if you are turning your profession into another direction, you would find that people are still looking for you for your past background or wrong reasons. So, it sometimes depends on each case!
| | | | | Further explanation | Aug 19, 2025 |
Sorry, but due to the length limitations of the poll, I can't really ask the question I'm looking for. The question I'm really asking is:
"Most of your clients come with multiple pages of NDAs. Do you think listing your previous works in your profile is more beneficial or harmful to you?"
Please note that my grammar may be a little off. I'm not sure if "previous works" should be singular or plural, but what I'm trying to say is the dozens (or maybe hundreds for some lin... See more Sorry, but due to the length limitations of the poll, I can't really ask the question I'm looking for. The question I'm really asking is:
"Most of your clients come with multiple pages of NDAs. Do you think listing your previous works in your profile is more beneficial or harmful to you?"
Please note that my grammar may be a little off. I'm not sure if "previous works" should be singular or plural, but what I'm trying to say is the dozens (or maybe hundreds for some linguists) of projects/tasks and word counts that some linguists list in their profiles or CVs as part of their portfolios.
I get asked this question often by clients, but I usually reply:
"Sorry, most of my clients come with multiple pages of NDAs, some as many as 20 pages. I'm not sure what the implications or consequence of disclosing this information to you are, especially if they're legally involved. I don't think they'd like it. As far as I know, some of them know each other and regularly exchange information, even though they work for different companies."
My answer is mostly similar to the previous paragraph. And this is something I've always thought about very hard. I'm not sure if I'm being overly concerned. And again, I'm surprised by the poll results that show that most linguists are not as concerned about this issue as I am. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Work around NDAs | Aug 19, 2025 |
I think most people interpret the question in a more general way - I know I did.
I think it is usually a good idea to list previous work and experience - but this does not need to be so specific it would violate NDAs.
My CV states some of the types of content I have translated ("clinical trial documentation, research protocols, questionnaires, IFUs, among other material"), but not who the translations were for or exactly what documents/devices were involved.
I find it na... See more I think most people interpret the question in a more general way - I know I did.
I think it is usually a good idea to list previous work and experience - but this does not need to be so specific it would violate NDAs.
My CV states some of the types of content I have translated ("clinical trial documentation, research protocols, questionnaires, IFUs, among other material"), but not who the translations were for or exactly what documents/devices were involved.
I find it natural and reasonable that clients want to know something about my experience; generally, they do not ask me to name specific clients and I do not provide names of clients, unless someone has explicitly agreed to provide a reference for me. ▲ Collapse
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Luis M. Sosa 
Equador
Local time: 20:15
Inglês para Espanhol
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| A mere listing (of previous projects) is OK, but sending samples… | Aug 19, 2025 |
I strongly agree with Marjolein, and it is worth to note that some agencies that request samples (of previous projects) eventually use them in order to train their MT/AI engines. And yes, this also breaches NDAs.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Itália
Local time: 03:15
Inglês para Alemão
+ ...
| Breaching NDAs vs listing job types and word count | Aug 19, 2025 |
Puritad Thongpreecha wrote:
what I'm trying to say is the dozens (or maybe hundreds for some linguists) of projects/tasks and word counts that some linguists list in their profiles or CVs as part of their portfolios.
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NDAs
If you'd state you did a 50,000 words job related to IT, would someone be able to tell who's the end client or the agency you worked with?
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Bélgica
Local time: 03:15
Membro (2020)
Francês para Holandês
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| Test translation | Aug 19, 2025 |
Luis M. Sosa wrote:
I strongly agree with Marjolein, and it is worth to note that some agencies that request samples (of previous projects) eventually use them in order to train their MT/AI engines. And yes, this also breaches NDAs.
I wouldn't even consider to work with translation samples, but they are simply unnecessary. A simple test translation is all a decent agency needs.
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