I want to work with BigTranslation, how do I go about this, and what do I need?
If you want to work with BigTranslation, you will need to be registered as self-employed and up to date with your social security (tax) obligations. If you are not registered as self-employed, you must be able to demonstrate that you are not legally required to do so in the country where you are established.
Then, you can register through our online registration form.
Once we receive your registration, we will contact you with the information you need in order to work on our translation platform if your profile fits with our needs.
The translation platform
Where can I find the translation platform?
The translation platform has a separate address to the BigTranslation website and can be found here: platform.bigtranslation.com
I don’t seem to have received my login details, how can I get them?
Your login details for the platform are always sent to the email address that you provide during registration. If it seems that you have not received them, please do make sure to check your spam folder, as from time to time this email ends up there.
If you have checked all your inboxes as well as your spam folders and are unable to locate this email, please send an email to [email protected] and we will be able to take a look at the problem and resend these credentials if necessary.
My login details aren’t working, what should I do?
It is important to bear in mind that, although you receive your login details straight away, your account will not be officially activated for 24/72 hours. You will only be able to log in after this activation period. If you try to log in beforehand, you will receive an error message. Please don’t worry, this is completely normal and once the account is activated you shouldn’t have any problem. If you register over the weekend, your account will not be activated until the following Monday.
If, once this initial activation period of 24/72 hours has passed, your login details still aren’t working then the very first thing to do is to make sure that you are at the right address for the platform (platform.bigtranslation.com), and not the BigTranslation website.
If you are in the right place but your login is still not working, please make sure that there are no spaces before or after your username or password, as this causes a problem.
It is also very helpful to clear your cache if you seem to be having an unexplained problem accessing your account. This is done by simultaneously pressing CTRL+F5. Once you have done this then you should try logging in again, and in many cases the problem is solved!
If, after having tried this, you are still getting an error message then you can contact us at [email protected]. We will check all of your settings and send you new login details.
My account on the platform doesn’t look like it does on the video tutorial. Is this a problem?
Please don’t worry if your account does not look exactly like the example in the video tutorial.
All accounts should have the options ‘Projects’ ‘Payment Record’ and ‘Log out’.
Many accounts will not have the ‘Products’ or ‘Manuals’ sections available, because these options depend on your specific language combinations and our requirements. If you do not have these options, it is perfectly normal and means that all the projects available to you will be located in the ‘Projects’ section.
Once you click on ‘Projects’, a flag with your target language will appear, and you will need to click on this flag. Then, all of the projects that are available from all of your source languages into your target language will appear.
Where can I find the translators’ Support Area?
We have recently merged our Support Area with our blog in order to have everything in one place (articles of interest, documentation, etc.)
This means that you’ll find our materials here: blog.bigtranslation.com
If you set the language to EN and browse the entries or search a specific topic (e.g. invoicing) then you should be able to find anything you need.
If not, then we will always be happy to help out if you send us an email to [email protected]. We will either be able to resolve the issue or send you the link to the information.
I haven’t taken the pre-test yet? How can I go about this so that I can start translating?
If we have not contacted you directly about the taking a pre-test but you have already received your login details and information about available projects, please do not worry. At the moment, we are trying out a new testing system where we will simply have one of our senior validators proofreading your first three translations on our platform to check that all is up to the quality that we expect.
This validator will also leave any comments or feedback they deem necessary. These three texts will be paid as a normal translation, it is simply that ‘behind the scenes’ they will be carefully checked over to make sure that everything is ok.
If anything catches their/our attention that must be changed, or if the quality is not up to the level we expect, we will get in touch.
Why can’t I see all the target languages I specified on my registration when I go to my account?
BigTranslation only works with translators into their native language to ensure the best quality and the most natural, effectively localised texts. Even if you have specified several target languages on your registration, we will only activate your native language as a target language.
That said, we know that translators do sometimes have more than one native language and we do check out all the information you send us in order to corroborate this and activate more than one target language in these specific cases.
Can I add more target languages to my account?
As mentioned above, we only work with translators into their native language(s). For this reason, it is not possible to add extra target languages to your own account. If you believe that there is an error in your target languages, you will need to contact us directly so that we can check your settings and make sure everything is ok.
I can’t find any texts in the ‘Projects’ section on the platform. Is there a problem?
If, once you click on the ‘Projects’ section on the menu, you are not able to see any texts, this means that the projects that were available in your combinations have already been taken by other translators.
You will ONLY receive a notification if there is a project available in your combination at the time of the mailing.
However, please bear in mind that the notification emails are sent to various translators whose combinations and profiles fit with the available tasks.
In this case, we urge you to check back when you receive another notification, as we have a fairly high turnover of texts and you should be able to select one very soon.
In addition, as projects are uploaded between mailing times, if you are keen to find a project you can always access your account to check for any texts that may be available.
Our emails are intended to be as helpful to translators as possible, being sent out at roughly the beginning of the working day (CET) and at the beginning of the afternoon when translators are starting work again after lunch.
However, this does not mean that all of the projects are uploaded at exactly that time, they may have been uploaded beforehand, and the email simply lets you know that they are there and still available.
Why has my project disappeared?
From time to time, we have had cases where a project has seemingly disappeared from a translator’s account when they thought they had assigned it to themselves.
In this case, what may have happened is that you and another translator were both looking at the same task at the same time, and the other translator clicked on the green ‘I´ll take it’ button just a second before you. This means that, in rare cases, although you have clicked on the button, you do not actually have the task assigned to you.
In order to avoid any confusion, we ask that once you have clicked to assign yourself a project, you always exit that task and make sure that you are able to see this project listed in your account with the status ‘translating’ next to it.
If you are not able to see it, there may be a problem and you should contact [email protected] to check the situation before translating anything. This will avoid you spending any unnecessary time on a task that has not been correctly assigned to you.
Where can I find the deadline for the projects?
You will able to see the deadline for any project in a column to the right of the project’s name entitled ‘Deadline’. Please remember that this deadline works on Central European Time.
We ask that deadlines be carefully respected. However, should you need to extend a deadline, please get in touch with [email protected] who will be able to let you know if this is possible.
I want to see the text before I decide whether to translate this project, how can I do this?
This is not a problem at all, we want translators to be able to consult every aspect of the project before they decide whether they would like to take it on. You can click on the ‘Translate’ button next to a project in order to access the text itself as well as see the price offered for that particular task.
Please do not worry, clicking on this ‘Translate’ button does not oblige you to take on the task, as one you have clicked this button and consulted all the relevant information, you will need to click on the green ‘I´ll take it’ button to accept the project.
You will be able to see the source text in the ‘Description’ box. This text may be visible directly on the platform or it may be a downloadable file. As specified on the platform itself, you will need to return the translation to us by uploading it to the platform in the same format as the source text.
Are there any support materials to help me carry out the Translation?
Please make sure to always check the ‘Comments’ box below the project in case the client has left any kind of brief or guidance for the translation. If there are any supporting materials then there will be a link to give you access to these.
If there are no comments or no link then it is because there are no additional instructions from the client or support materials available.
If you believe that a support material is necessary for the translation, then you will need to contact us directly at [email protected] so that we consult with the client. We will then let you know whether it is possible to provide this.
Where can I see the price for the translation of the project?
You can click on the ‘Translate’ button next to a project in order to access the text itself as well as see the price offered for that particular task.
Please do not worry, clicking on this ‘Translate’ button does not oblige you to take on the task, as one you have clicked this button and consulted all the relevant information, you will need to click on the green ‘I´ll take it’ button to accept the project.
The price will be shown in a table above the text, to the right-hand side of the screen.
What is ‘validation’?
Validation is the process by which one of our validators (senior translators who have a lot of experience working with us) checks over the translation to ensure that it is up to the quality that we expect and proofreads the translated text for any little mistakes.
If a validator feels that certain errors or modifications should be made by the translator themselves before the validation, they will leave the text as ‘translated’ but mark it with an issue and leave a comment so that the translator knows that action is needed. We urge you to keep an eye out in your account in case any text is marked for revision.
In addition, we encourage translators to always go back to any validated texts to see the final product and any changes that have been made, and also to check if the validator has left any remarks or feedback. This way, we are all able to work as a team to continually improve our translations.
If the validators see that a translator’s work is habitually not up to the standard required, we will be forced to end our collaboration with that translator. We will get in touch with the translator to make them aware of the situation.
Once you have been working for us for a while, if we see that your translations are of a particularly high standard, we may invite you to join our team of validators.
How long does it take for a project to be validated?
The validation process is much like the translation process itself in that the time it takes is dependent on the amount of words in the text, as well as the text type and also its priority and deadline. Whilst most validations are carried out within a few days, it is possible that it may take a little longer in certain cases.
As a minimum, we try to ensure that all texts are validated by the end of each month so that translators have the project added to their ‘Payment Record’ and are able to include it on their invoice for that month.
Is it possible to receive feedback on the translation I recently carried out?
We encourage translators to always go back to any validated texts to see the final product and any changes that have been made, and also to check if the validator has left any remarks or feedback. This way, we are all able to work as a team to continually improve our translations.
If there have not been any comments left and the text has been validated, then you can take this to mean that any errors were minor (a small typo, etc.) and that the validator felt the quality was up to standard without having to correct much or make any major alterations.
Can I take on a project if the deadline has already passed, and how will I know what the new deadline should be?
Yes. On rare occasions, we have a project come in that is not taken on as quickly as envisaged, and this can mean that you see it after the deadline has passed. In this case, the project should be given priority among those that you have assigned as the deadline will be as soon as delivery is possible. If you take on a task for which the deadline is passed, we ask you to get in touch with [email protected] to let us know when you could have the translation ready for and we can confirm if this would be acceptable to the client.
Where should I upload my translation once it is done?
Once you have completed your translation, it will need to be returned to us through the translation platform too!
If you click on the project, you will see a field called ‘My Translation’. Here you will be able to upload the completed file. Once you have uploaded your translation, you can mark the project as ‘Translation Finished’ and save it. A validator will then see that this project has been marked as translated and that it is ready for validation.
What is the ‘My Proofreading’ field for?
When you upload your translation, you may see that there is also a ‘my proofreading’ field. You do not need to worry about this, as this is where the validator will upload the final version of the text once they have revised it before marking it as ‘validated.
I have just been appointed as a validator. How do I go about this process?
Once you have been working for us for a while, if we see that your translations are of a particularly high standard, we may invite you to join our team of validators.
If we appoint you as a validator, we will send you our validation guide to help you to orientate yourself with this new role and to know how to go about the validation process.
Once you have read this guide and want to get started validating texts, you will see a button next to translated projects with the word ‘Validate’. You can click on this button to go into a project.
Once you are inside the project, you can take a look at the text to see if you will be able to validate it, according to its length, field, etc.
If you decide to validate the project then we always recommend leaving a comment in the ‘Comments’ box before you start, stating that the project is ‘In the validation process’. This way other validators know that they do not need to validate this translation.
You can then proofread and validate the task as outlined in the guide, making sure that the grammar, spelling, meaning, etc. of the text is all correct and that it reads naturally and appropriately for the target audience.
You may leave any constructive feedback or comments for the translator in the ‘Comments’ box too.
