Poll: Do you think the platform should penalize/restrict outsourcers just feeding their CV databases? Persoa que publicou o fío: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think the platform should penalize/restrict outsourcers just feeding their CV databases?".
This poll was originally submitted by Rocío M. Rodríguez. View the poll results »
| | | | | I don't know... | Jul 8, 2025 |
How would Proz detect if they are only feeding their databases? If it was easy to detect, we wouldn’t be answering those adds. Anyway, it’s not rare not hearing from them ever again but I also have more than once been contacted several years later because I was in their database.
| | | | Lieven Malaise 
Belgium
Local time: 08:21
Membro (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
I wonder if people asking poll questions think things through before they submit their question.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:21
Membro (2014)
Japanese to English
| Why are some of us so keen to abdicate our responsibility to think and act for ourselves? | Jul 8, 2025 |
If I respond to such requests I ask them if there is a job ready to be started. Unless they flat-out lie, their response normally allows me to form a judgment. If there is no project waiting I seldom go ahead, especially if there is administration involved. I think I have only done that once in the last eighteen months. Of course, in some cases I may want to register on spec anyway, and that's fine too.
But:
- I don't need the help of the platform to do this
- I d... See more If I respond to such requests I ask them if there is a job ready to be started. Unless they flat-out lie, their response normally allows me to form a judgment. If there is no project waiting I seldom go ahead, especially if there is administration involved. I think I have only done that once in the last eighteen months. Of course, in some cases I may want to register on spec anyway, and that's fine too.
But:
- I don't need the help of the platform to do this
- I don't need to delegate my reasoning or decision-making to other people
- I protect myself by making sensible judgments
Regards,
Dan ▲ Collapse
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CasaPhil
Spain
Local time: 08:21
Membro
English to French
+ ...
| You never know | Jul 8, 2025 |
As Dan elaborated, we're free to proceed with such requests or to ignore them according to our own criteria.
Teresa wrote:
...but I also have more than once been contacted several years later because I was in their database.
Although it rarely happens, I got a series of assignments last month from an agency who first contacted me 2,5 years ago for a specific project with limited red tape. No MT/AI involved.
Philippe
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 08:21
English to French
+ ...
I do, because they are just wasting people's time, for the most part. Also, I have no idea how and where they may be using my CV (tenders, etc.).
| | | | | Job posts system | Jul 8, 2025 |
Dan Lucas wrote:
If I respond to such requests I ask them if there is a job ready to be started. Unless they flat-out lie, their response normally allows me to form a judgment. If there is no project waiting I seldom go ahead, especially if there is administration involved. I think I have only done that once in the last eighteen months. Of course, in some cases I may want to register on spec anyway, and that's fine too.
But:
- I don't need the help of the platform to do this
- I don't need to delegate my reasoning or decision-making to other people
- I protect myself by making sensible judgments
Regards,
Dan
So when we see this type of job post, must **we** waste our time asking them if there's an ongoing job or not? Why isn't there a better system so we don't have to waste our time contacting the outsourcer?
Some outsourcers/agencies post job posts without actual ongoing jobs. They post a job post this month, the next month, and the following month, so every single month they post a job post.
Their job post has a link to a page where you enter your email address. Then they send, by an automated email, the link to an online form—a clear database form—without any information if there's an ongoing project or not. So, they don't provide any email address to ask them if there are active jobs or not.
Once you enter your data into their database, another automated email is triggered to confirm, and that's it. They will never contact you again, but they will post another job post in a couple of weeks.
Now, I have recognized them—after I wasted my time—and every time I see a job post from them, I just delete it, and I have flagged them as spammers/time wasters in my Excel file.
Yet, every month they keep posting the same job post to make other freelancers waste their time. Why are they allowed to do it? Why does ProZ have no restriction or any system to flag these job posts as spam?
I don't know if they should penalize the outsourcers, but I think ProZ should restrict these spam posts or at least have a system for signaling them, so **we** don't have to waste our time finding out if the job post is indeed a real job post.
| | | | | Blocking and filtering specific companies. | Jul 8, 2025 |
Thank you all for your thoughts on this!
Just to clarify, our job posting rules are designed to prevent this kind of behavior. In particular:
Rule 1.4: A job should be posted only once unless absolutely necessary.
Rule 1.5: Calls for CVs (potential jobs) are allowed only once per month.
If you see a job poster repeatedly breaking these rules... See more Thank you all for your thoughts on this!
Just to clarify, our job posting rules are designed to prevent this kind of behavior. In particular:
Rule 1.4: A job should be posted only once unless absolutely necessary.
Rule 1.5: Calls for CVs (potential jobs) are allowed only once per month.
If you see a job poster repeatedly breaking these rules, please feel free to report it. We’ll make sure to reach out and take appropriate action.
And, just in case, I want to remind you that:
- You can block specific users or companies from contacting you through your profile.
- You can filter job notifications to stop receiving alerts from certain posters.
Additionally, on the new site, we’re working on expanding these tools so you’ll be able to fully “mute” companies —not just filtering their emails, but hiding their job posts on the board as well. If you have any other ideas as to how ProZ could help improve your experience of the jobs board, don’t hesitate to share.
I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! ▲ Collapse
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