How do you measure the language ability of new users?

In order to make sure everyone who works on paid tasks with us is able to deliver the standard of work we require, we have to test our editors at sign-up. It’s just common sense – if we didn’t do this, anyone would be able to register and work on tasks for a language that they don’t understand. Most of the jobs you’ll be working on go straight to our customers, too - it’s a great responsibility on your part.

There are three steps to becoming a paid editor with us: a language test, an interface tour and the Skill test.

Language Test

Before you are able to join the Unbabel Community you will need to take a language test [link to language test article] to confirm your proficiency — but we want to make sure you are properly prepared. Please take some time to read the information here.

You’ll get only one attempt at the test. If you do not pass, the language pair will be locked and you will not be able to move forward in the process.

Interface tour

We want you to feel completely familiar with our platform, so we've prepared a short tour of the editor dashboard where you can see the most important functions that will be part of your day-to-day editing.

Skill test

This final phase will be a Skill test, using the tool you just took a tour of. The test consists of texts specifically selected and designed to evaluate your competence as an editor.

You’ll need to complete five tasks before the system sends them for evaluation to determine whether you’ll get access to paid jobs. It’s really important to take the time to get these tasks right: find out how here. Remember, if you don’t pass, you won’t be allowed to try again.

What are you looking for and how can I prepare?

Here we’re looking at a number of factors to determine whether we’ll give you access to paid jobs. Take a look at the list below and the corresponding links to resources on how to succeed in your evaluations:

• The first thing that we’re looking for, of course, is whether you’ve produced a good translation. We’ve got a detailed guide on what this means, which you can read here.
• Are the editions in line with the language guidelines?
• Has the editor correctly post-edited the text, bearing in mind the instructions and register?

We never accept any other proof of language ability – you can read more about why here.