Applied for this position and they contacted me very quickly and asked me to complete a test for this specific project. After reviewing the test, I refused to proceed as I realised it was yet another exploitative free test disrespectful for language professionals. 1. The test was massive and time-consuming. I checked with the recruiter if all answers would be used for review purposes only and not for other commercial purposes, but I got no direct response. 2. The total wordcount exceeded the normally acceptable threshold for free translation tests. It also involved more creativity-involved tasks, which in theory costs more than standard translation. I asked if the test could be shortened or reimbursed and of course got rejected. We need to stop treating language professionals like machines and think that it is ok to ask potential candidates with years of experience to complete these massive tests completely free. Whatever the requirement of the project is, there is always a more humane and professional way to test the candidate’s suitability. If the test is way too long without declaration that all answers won’t be used for commercial purposes, then it is a red flag and it doesn’t show professionalism, only exploitation. I am lucky to be able to say no this time, but there will be someone else out there with no choice to proceed, reproducing this vicious cycle. Translation/localisation agencies need to be held responsible for this exploitative culture of language workers.

I was contacted by a recruiter via email and had a brief phone call the same day. The interview took about 15-20 minutes. After the interview I submitted a short writing sample in my native language. The next step was a phone call to further evaluate my native language skills. Both interviews were pleasant and very straightforward - no behavioral interview questions.