UNIT3-1
Harvey Mackay, who runs his own company, often interviews applicants for jobs. Here he lets us into the secret of what qualities an employer is looking for, and gives four tips on what can help you to stand out from the crowd.
自己經營公司的哈維·麥凱經常對求職者進行面試。文中他告訴我們關於雇主看重什么樣品質的秘密，並提出4點建議，幫助你顯得比眾人突出。
Get the Job You Want
得到你想要的工作
Harvey B. Mackay
哈維·B·麥凱
I run a manufacturing company with about 350 employees, and I often do the interviewing and hiring myself. I like talking to potential salespeople, because they're our link to customers.
我經營着一家有350名左右員工的制造公司，我本人常常要對求職者進行面試，決定是否聘用。我喜歡與可能成為營業員的人交談，因為他們會是我們與顧客聯系的紐帶。
When a recent college graduate came into my office not too long ago looking for a sales job, I asked him what he had done to prepare for the interview. He said he'd read something about us somewhere.
不久前一個新近畢業的大學生到我辦公室謀求一份銷售工作。我問他為這次面試做過哪些准備。他說他在什么地方看到過有關本公司的一些情況。
Had he called anyone at Mackay Envelope Corporation to find out more about us? No. Had he called our suppliers? Our customers? No.
他有沒有給麥凱信封公司的人打過電話，好了解更多有關我們的情況？沒打過。他有沒有給我們的供應廠商打過電話？還有我們的客戶？都沒有。
Had he checked with his university to see if there were any graduates working at Mackay whom he could interview? Had he asked any friends to grill him in a mock interview? Did he go to the library to find newspaper clippings on us?
他可曾在就讀的大學里查問過有沒有校友在本公司就職，以便向他們了解一些情況?他可曾請朋友向他提問，對他進行模擬面試？可曾去圖書館查找過有關本公司的剪報？
Did he write a letter beforehand to tell us about himself, what he was doing to prepare for the interview and why he'd be right for the job? Was he planning to follow up the interview with another letter indicating his eagerness to join us? Would the letter be in our hands within 24 hours of the meeting, possibly even hand-delivered?
他事先有沒有寫封信來介紹自己，告訴我們自己為這次面試在做哪些准備，自己何以能勝任此項工作？面試之后他是否打算再寫一封信，表明自己加盟本公司的誠意？這封信會不會在面試后的24小時之內送到我們手上，也許甚至是親自送來？
The answer to every question was the same: no. That left me with only one other question: How well prepared would this person be if he were to call on a prospective customer for us? I already knew the answer.
他對上述每一個問題的回答全都一樣：沒有。這樣我就只剩一個問題要問了：如果此人代表本公司去見可能成為我們客戶的人，他准備工作會做得怎樣？答案不言自明。
As I see it, there are four keys to getting hired:
在筆者看來，如欲被聘用，應注意四個要訣：
1. Prepare to win. "If you miss one day of practice, you notice the difference," the saying goes among musicians. "If you miss two days of practice, the critics notice the difference. If you miss three days of practice, the audience notices the difference."
1. 准備去贏。“一日不練，自己知道，”音樂家中有這樣的說法。"兩日不練，音樂評論家知道。三日不練，觀眾知道。"
When we watch a world-class musician or a top athlete, we don't see the years of preparation that enabled him or her to become great. The Michael Jordans of the world have talent, yes, but they're also the first ones on and the last ones off the basketball court. The same preparation applies in every form of human endeavor. If you want the job, you have to prepare to win it.
我們在觀看世界級音樂家或頂尖運動員的表演時，看到的並不是使他們變成出類拔萃人物的長年苦練。世界上諸如邁克爾·喬丹這樣的頂尖人物無疑具有非凡才能，但他們在籃球場上也是第一個到，最后一個走。同樣的苦練適用於人類的各項活動。若想被聘用，就要准備去贏。
When I graduated from college, the odds were good that I would have the same job for the rest of my life. And that's how it worked out. But getting hired is no longer a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Employment experts believe that today's graduates could face as many as ten job changes during their careers.
我大學畢業時，我極有可能終身從事同一個工作。當時情況也的確如此。但如今已不再是一生被聘去做一個工作了。指導就業的專家認為，今天的大學畢業生在他們的生涯中可能會經歷多達10次的職業變動。
That may sound like a lot of pressure. But if you're prepared, the pressure is on the other folks -- the ones who haven't done their homework.
聽上去似乎壓力不小。然而，如果你做了准備，壓力就是別人的—那些沒做准備的人.
You won't get every job you go after. The best salespeople don't close every sale. Michael Jordan makes barely half of his field-goal attempts. But it takes no longer to prepare well for one interview than to wander in half-prepared for five. And your prospects for success will be many times better.
你不可能得到你想要的每份工作。最好的售貨人員也不可能每次都成交。邁克爾·喬丹投籃命中率勉強過半。但認真准備一次面試的時間不會多於馬馬虎虎准備五次面試的時間，而你成功的可能性要多得多。
2. Never stop learning. Recently I played a doubles tennis match paired with a 90-year-old. I wondered how things would work out; I shouldn't have. We hammered our opponents 6-1, 6-1!
2. 永不中斷學習。最近我和一位90高齡的老者搭檔打雙人網球。我琢磨着那會是什么結局；可我的擔心是多余的。我們以兩個6:1擊敗對手。
As we were switching sides to play a third set, he said to me, "Do you mind if I play the backhand court? I always like to work on my weaknesses." What a fantastic example of a person who has never stopped learning. Incidentally, we won the third set 6-1.
我們交換場地打第三局時，他對我說：“我打反手擊球你不介意吧？我向來喜歡多練練自己的弱點。”好一個永不中斷學習的精彩實例。順便說一下，我們6:1贏了第三局。
As we walked off the court, my 90-year-old partner chuckled and said, "I thought you'd like to know about my number-one ranking in doubles in the United States in my age bracket, 85 and up!" He wasn't thinking 90; he wasn't even thinking 85. He was thinking number one.
走出賽場，我那90高齡的搭檔笑着說：“你也許想知道我在85歲以上年齡段的美國網球雙打排名第一！”他想的不是年屆90，想的甚至也不是85歲高齡。他想的是第一。
You can do the same if you work on your weaknesses and develop your strengths. To be able to compete, you've got to keep learning all your life.
如果你努力克服自己的弱點，發揮自己的優勢，你同樣可以做得那么好。要有能力競爭，就得終生學習。
3. Believe in yourself, even when no one else does. Do you remember the four-minute mile? Athletes had been trying to do it for hundreds of years and finally decided it was physically impossible for humans. Our bone structure was all wrong, our lung power inadequate.
3. 相信自己，哪怕沒人相信你。還記得那4分鍾跑一英里的往事嗎？幾百年來，運動員們一直試圖實現這一目標，最終人類的身體無法做到。我們的骨結構不適應，我們的肺活量跟不上。
Then one human proved the experts wrong. And, miracle of miracles, six weeks after Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, John Landy beat Bannister's time by nearly two full seconds. Since then, close to eight hundred runners have broken the four-minute mile!
可是，有一個人證明那些專家錯了。奇跡中的奇跡是，在羅傑·班尼斯特打破4分鍾一英里的紀錄6個星期之后，約翰·蘭迪又以幾乎快出整整2秒的成績打破了班尼斯特的紀錄。此后，有大約800多名運動員打破了4分鍾一英里的記錄。
Several years ago my daughter Mimi and I took a crack at running the New York Marathon. At the gun, 23,000 runners started -- and 21,244 finished. First place went to a Kenyan who completed the race in two hours, 11 minutes and one second. The 21,244th runner to finish was a Vietnam veteran. He did it in three days, nine hours and 37 minutes. With no legs, he covered 26.2 miles. After my daughter and I passed him in the first few minutes, we easily found more courage to finish ourselves.
幾年前，我和女兒米米參加了紐約馬拉松比賽。發令槍一響，23,000名運動員沖出起跑線—最后有21,244名運動員到達終點。第一名是一位以2小時11分鍾零1秒跑完全程的肯尼亞人。第21,244名運動員是一位越戰老兵。他用了3天9小時37分鍾跑完全程。沒有雙腿的他堅持跑完了26.2英里。我和女兒在比賽的最初幾分鍾內超過了他，當時頓覺勇氣倍增，一定要跑完全程。
Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't accomplish your goals. Who says you're not tougher, harder working and more able than your competition? You see, a goal is a dream with a deadline: in writing, measurable, identifiable, attainable.
別聽旁人說你不能實現自己的目標。誰說你不比你的競爭對手更堅強、更努力、更能干？要知道，所謂目標就是有最后限期的夢想：寫成文字，可測量，可確認，可實現
4. Find a way to make a difference. In my opinion, the majority of New York cabdrivers are unfriendly, if not downright rude. Most of the cabs are filthy, and almost all of them sport an impenetrable, bulletproof partition. But recently I jumped into a cab at LaGuardia Airport and guess what? It was clean. There was beautiful music playing and no partition.
4. 想方設法顯得與眾不同。在我看來，紐約大多數的出租車司機即使不算無禮透頂，至少也是不友好的。車輛大都十分骯臟，幾乎所有的車都觸目地裝有難以穿透的防彈隔離裝置。可近日我在拉瓜迪亞機場跳上了一輛出租車，你猜怎么樣？車子竟然干干凈凈。放着優美的音樂，而且沒有隔離裝置。
"Park Lane Hotel, please," I said to the driver. With a broad smile, he said, "Hi, my name is Wally," and he handed me a mission statement. A mission statement! It said he would get me there safely, courteously and on time.
“請到帕克街酒店，”我對司機說。他笑容滿面地說：“你好，我叫沃利，”他說着遞給我一份保證書。一份保證書！上面寫着他將安全、禮貌、准時地將我送到目的地。
As we drove off, he held up a choice of newspapers and said, "Be my guest." He told me to help myself to the fruit in the basket on the back seat. He held up a cellular phone and said, "It's a dollar a minute if you'd like to make a call."
車開后，他拿出幾份報紙說：“請隨意翻閱。”他還讓我隨意品嘗后座籃子里的水果。接着他又拿出手機說：“您要是想打電話，每分鍾1美元。”
Shocked, I blurted, "How long have you been practicing this?" He answered, "Three or four years."
我大吃一驚，脫口問道：“你這么做有多久了？”他回答說：“有三、四年了。”
"I know this is prying." I said, "but how much extra money do you earn in tips?"
“我知道不該問，”我說，“可是，你能多掙多少小費？”
"Between $12,000 and $14,000 a year!" he responded proudly.
“一年12,000到14,000美元左右，”他得意地回答說。
He doesn't know it, but he's my hero. He's living proof that you can always shift the odds in your favor.
他不知道他成了我心目中的英雄。他就是一個生動的例證，說明你總是可以爭取到成功的機會。
My mentor, Curt Carlson, is the wealthiest man in Minnesota, owner of a hotel and travel company with sales in the neighborhood of $9 billion. I had to get to a meeting in New York one day, and Curt generously offered me a ride in his jet. It happened to be a day Minnesota was hit with one of the worst snowstorms in years. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was closed for the first time in decades.
我的良師益友柯特·卡爾森是明尼蘇達州的首富，擁有一家酒店和旅行社，營業收入約達90億美元。一次我要去紐約赴會，柯特慷慨地請我乘坐他的私人飛機。碰巧那天明尼蘇達州遭受多年不遇的暴風雪襲擊。明尼阿波利斯—聖保羅國際機場幾十年來第一次關閉。
Then, though the storm continued to pound us, the airport opened a runway for small craft only. As we were taxiing down it to take off, Curt turned to me and said gleefully, "Look, Harvey, no tracks in the snow!"
雖然暴風雪仍在肆虐，機場還是特地為小型飛機清出了一條跑道。我們正在跑道上滑行准備起飛時，柯特轉過頭來興奮地說：“看哪，哈維，雪地上沒有痕跡啊！”
Curt Carlson, 70 years old at the time, rich beyond anyone's dreams, could still sparkle with excitement about being first.
柯特·卡爾森，當時年屆70，富甲一方，竟然還會因為自己是第一個而如此興奮。
From my standpoint, that's what it's all about. Prepare to win. Never stop learning. Believe in yourself, even when no one else does. Find a way to make a difference. Then go out and make your own tracks in the snow.
在我看來，這些正是關鍵之所在。准備去贏。永不中斷學習。相信自己，哪怕沒人相信你。想方設法顯得與眾不同。然后就出發，在雪地上留下你自己的足跡。