研究生读写译（上） Unit2 Text A： Recession-proofing Your Career

1.

Is your career recession-proof?你的职业生涯遇到经济衰退了吗？

2

.Let’s be clear.I am not talking about the security of your current job, because these days no jobs is secure.我不是再说你目前的工作，因为这个时期没有什么工作是稳定的。
Even through the boom years, organizations continued to restructure and downsize to become evermore effective and competitive.即使在经济繁荣的年代，公司也会不断重构减小规模来变得更加有效率和有竞争力。
A future downturn in the business cycle will only accelerate the place of change–and make careful career management even more crucial.
未来经济的衰退将会加速变革的步伐，并使谨慎的职业规划更加重要。

3

.These days ,no matter what our offcial employment status, we are all temporary wokers.如今，不管我们的正式职业状况如何，我们都是临时工。
Whether we have conventional full-time jobs or are contingent ,constract, or freelance wokers,we are all living and working in Temp World.无论是做传统的专职工作或零散工、合同工，还是做自由职业者，我们大家都生活和工作在一个“临时世界”之内。
In TempWorld everything shifts rapidly. 在“临时世界”，任何事物都在迅速地变化。
Nothing is forever, everthing is temporary: where you work, what you do there, the skills you use, the people your work with. 没有什么是固定不变的。你工作的地点、在那儿干的活儿，你使用的技术，你的工作伙伴，一切都是临时的。

4.

In this fast-shifting world, there can be no guarantees attached to any particular job.
在这个迅速变化的世界，没有哪种特殊职业能够得到担保。
But there is much that you can do to protect yourself from change and economic upheaval(动荡), by equipping yourself with the skills to manage your career more effectively.
但是你可以有许多办法来用技能武装自己，以更有效地掌握自己的职业，免受经济动荡的灾难。
You need to become a career activist. 你必须成为职业积极行动者。

5.

Being a career activist means stepping back from the frenzy of daily business to reflect on what you are doing, why you are doing it, and whether it meets your short-and long-term needs. 职业积极行动者就是要从日常事物的忙乱中退出来，反思一下你在做的工作，你为什么干这个工作，它能否满足你的短期和长期需要。
It means taking the long view of your career. 这就是说，要从长远的观点看你的职业。

6.

To recession-proof your career in the uncertain environment of TempWorld, you need to respond specifically to new work trends. 为了使你的职业在“临时世界”的动荡环境中具有免受经济衰退冲击的能力，你必须对新的职业趋势采取针对性的应对措施。
Here are 12 strategies that career activists can take to improve their economic prospects for the future: 下面是职业积极行动者对于改善其未来经济前景可以采用的12条策略：
Eusure Your Employability

7.

If you lost your main source of income tomorrow, could you find an alternate source to replace it? 如果你明天失去了主要的经济来源，你还有一个可替代可选择的经济来源吗？
To survive this scenario you must be able to evaluate the currency of your skills— not just by the standards set by your current employer, but by wider industry and professional standards. 为了摆脱这种困境，你必须能够评估你的技能的通用性——不只是用你当前雇主的标准，而且要用更广泛的产业和专业标准。

8

.Start by describing one important thing you have learned over the past six months and one that you will be acquiring in the next.就从描述过去六个月内一件重要的事情和接下来要做的工作开始。
Begin to actively pursue learning and development opportunities, including ones that will stretch you. 着手积极寻找学习和发展的机会，包括那些你倾尽全力才能得到的机会。
The more you learn, the more options you have. 你学得越多，你可选择的机会就越多。

9.

The most important imperative in protecting yourself now and in the future is ensuring that you have choices. 当前和将来在保护你自己方面，最重要的原则就是确保自己有多种选择。
Don’t let yourself be held back by a lack of skill portability (“I’ve been working for htis company so long, I’ll never be able to get another job”), or fear of change. 不要因为担心自己可能缺乏技能或者害怕改变而举足不前。

10.

I often meet people who have benn good performers in their own organization but who have discovered that they are stuck. 我常常碰到这样的人，他们在自己的单位里表现很好，但是发现自己很难脱离那个单位。
Because they have become so closely identified with a particular company or industry, their skills are not perceived（认为） as being readily transferable to other settings. 因为他们已经跟某特殊的公司或行业休戚相关，认为他们的技能不容易转移到别的环境。
Measure yourself against community as well as internal standards.
Your professional association and network can assit you.职业联合会和网络都会对你有所帮助。
Create a Fallback Position留有退路

11.

Human resource manager Carol K. works for a large public utility事业公司.
Anticipating the impact of regulatory changes in her industry, she is pursuing a diploma(文凭) in alternative dispute resolution.
她预料管理制度的变化会冲击她的行业，于是正在攻读另类纠纷调解方面的文凭。
“I know my job may be vulnerable,” she said."This way,if the worst happens, I can always hang out a shingle(墙面板) as a conflict mediator."我知道我的工作不稳定“，她说，“这样做是为了一旦出现最糟糕的情况时，总是可以挂牌营业，当一名纠纷调解员。”

12.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. 不要吊死在一棵树上。
If you limit yourself to one particular area or sector, you limit your opportunities, too.
Today it is critical to have multiple options, multiple avenues, and multiple roles. 如今，重要的是要有多种选择、多种途径和多种角色。
If you only see yourself, for example, in the role of an employee, your work options are significantly more limited than if you understand how your skills can be applied in different types of employment relationships in different sectors and industries. 比如说，如果你只把自己看作一名雇员的角色，你的职业选择就大大地被局限了，那就不如你知道如何把自己的技能用在不同部门不同行业中的不同类型职业关系上。

13.

Having a fallback position means that you can equally see yourself selling your skills as a contract worker, a freelance consultant, or a small-business owner,even of these other roles are less desirable to you than that of full-time employee. 留有退路就是要把自己当成出卖技能的合同工、自由职业顾问或一名小业主，即使这些别的角色不像专职雇员那么随心也无妨。
In other words, redefine(重新定义) the way in which you work, and your realationship to potential purchasers of your skills and konwledge,to ensure your future employability.换句话说，改善你工作的方式，和与潜在雇主的关系，来确保你未来的可雇佣能力。
This means developing a new mind-set. 这就是说要有更广阔的眼界。
Know Your Key Skills 了解你的主要技能

14.

We’ve all heard that in the future we will hold five to seven careers. 我们都听说过，将来我们要有5到7种职业。
When I discuss this in workshops, many people find it alarming. 令人震惊。
They think it means they are without substance, with no enduring value, programmed to self-desturct every few years. 他们认为，这意味着自己已无足轻重，没有长远价值了，没隔几年就注定要自我毁灭一次。
They fear they will be required to reinvent themselves constantly.
他们必须经常重塑自我，他们害怕这样做。

15.

Actually, most people will not be embarking on entirely new careers(architect becomes farmer)so much as reconfiguring
existing skills and experience in new ways(architect/hobby farmer starts business designing and building greenhouses). 实际上，大多数人都不会从事一项全新的职业（像建筑师转为农艺师），而多半只是按新的方式对现有技能和经验进行再调整（像建筑师/园艺爱好者从事温室的设计和建造）。

16

.know your underlying or core skills.
Like a child’s Lego pieces, these are the building blocks that you can continually reassemble, though in slightly new configurations, as you move through your career.
这些技能，就像孩子的积木，是你在职业变换过程中能不断重新装配的砌块，尽管其构形稍有变化。
Identifying your key strengths and skills requires a rigorous self-assessment. 确定你的专长和主要技能需要严格的自我评估。
Ask yourself what unique talents and special skills you bring to the table.

17.

Develop a work identity independent of your job, defining yourself by what you do rather than simply by your job title. 要跳出你当前的职业来给你自己的工作定位，要用你做什么而不是简单地用你的职业名称来定位自己。
**Look at yourself as the owner of self-managed group of skills and abilities that you can apply in a wide range of jobs and projects.**要把你自己看成是你所掌握的那些技能和才能的主人，这些技能和才能可以广泛应用于各种工作和项目。
Prepare for Areas of Competence为自己能胜任的领域作准备。

18.

In a global marketplace, many jobs come and go as quickly as changes in the stock market.
Today’s hottest jobs may not exist tomorrow.
Some people, worried about their employability, are responding to（根据） current, much-trumpeted(吹嘘的) predictions of a severe shortage of information technology workers by enrolling in information technology courses. 有些人担心自己的可雇用条件，正根据目前到处宣扬的严重缺少信息技术人员的预测，便去学习信息技术课程。
If you love computers, then this work represents a great choice. 如果你喜欢计算机，那么这种工作便是很好的选择。
But don’t enter a field just because you think that’s where the hot jobs are.不要只因为热门而不加思考地涌入某个行业。
even if the work is available, it may not match well with your own skills and abilities.
Start with an assessment of your own strengths and interests, then see where you may match up best in the job market.

19.

Instead of preparing yourself for specific jobs, identify the areas where your want to contribute, whether they aretechnical sectors such as software design or market analysis, or nontechnical areas such as team building, leading knowledge workers, or relationship building. 不要准备从事那些专业性很强的工作，而要按照自己的意愿确定你的工作领域，不管它们是技术部门，像软件设计或市场分析，还是非技术领域，像队伍建设、领导脑力劳动者或公关建设。
Market! Market! Market! 营销！

20.

In the new workplace, people must perform at an exceedingly high level now, while at the same time always marketing for the future——keeping one eye on the next work assignment and positioning themselves for it. 在现在新的工作岗位，人们必须超水平发挥；同时，要不断地推销自己，以备将来——要密切盯住下一个工作岗位，并做好前去就位的准备。

21.

Marketing yourself doesn’t mean endlessly parading(炫耀) your list of credentials(证书) and accomplishments to the world at large.
It means letting other key people know about your skills and how they can add value.
You should keep potential clients informed of your significant accomplishment and how they can be applied to meeting their needs.
You should cultivate（培养） and maintain an active network both inside and outside of your profession. 你要在你的行业内外培养并保持一个活跃的社交网络

22.

You need to be continuously net-working in a thoughtful way.That means building knowledge networks.，not simply handing out business cards or e-mail addresses at business or association meetings.
你需要不断地进行网络工作，就是说要建立自己的联系网络，而不是在业务或社交会议上简单地交换名片或电子邮件地址。
Good networkers are “wired”. 好的人际网络构建者们是‘联网的’。
Their networks are broad, ranging well beyond their own professional boundaries. 他们的网络宽广，远远超出自己的行业边界。
They cultivate relationship with people who know how to get things done.他们与会办事的人培养感情关系。
They know whom to approach for information or referrals（转送） or plum（值得的） work assignments.他们知道从谁哪里获得信息，以及谁值得合作。

23

.If you are uncomfortable in face-to-face networking, develop alternative strategies.
You can become known as an expert in a particular field by writing articles for trade magazines, speaking at professional events, setting up your own Web page, or chairing a professional conference.
In today’s hyperkinetic business environments, being able to give busy potential clients hard information that they can use may be much more desirable that just "schmoozing"them. 在当今过度紧张的商业环境中，能给繁忙的潜在客户提供切实可用的信息，要比仅仅向他们‘夸夸其谈’好得多。

24.

Develop long-term relationships with people.
We will be moving back and forth between different employers, and you may well find yourself working again for a previous employer.
Treat everyone with whom you work——whether a boss, co-worker, customer, or supplier——as a potential client.
Act Type A, Think Type B.

25.

The Type A, achievement-oriented behavior style used to be the model for success in our society. A型人——追求成就的行为方式，曾经是我们社会上成功的模式。
In the current economic environment, the Type A individual’s focus, commitment, stamina, and excessive achievement-orientation may continue to be highly desired traits. 在当今的经济环境中，A型人物的目标集中，承担义务，持之以恒和极力追求成就的精神仍可能是人们高度渴望的性格特点。

26.

The Type B, be able to feel good about ourselves both when we are producing and when we are not, both when it is recognized and when it is not. B型人——无论在工作有成效或无成效之时，无论在得到大家认可或没有得到认可之时，都自我感觉良好。
That means cultivating a sense of self that is not completely tied to our achievements and accomplishments. 也就是说，要培养一种不完全束缚于成就和成功之中的自我感觉。

27.

Work-intoxicated Type A’s may well be better able to sustain these intense productivity pressures than their more relaxed Type B counterparts. 醉心于工作的A型人可能比理为放松的B型同事更能承受强烈的工作压力。
So we need to act Type A. 所以，我们应该像A型人那样做事。

28.

But at the same time, the work world we are living in is far more thankless than it used to be.但是同时，我们生活的这个工作世界却比从前严酷多了。
We don’t get the kind of rewards,compliments, and positive feedback we used to because everyone’s too busy. 我产得不到以往那样的回报、祝贺和积极的反馈，因为每个人都很忙。
Moreover, there will typically be periods where employment is interrupted and we have no work in which to strive for achievement. 另外，通常有些时候，我们的工作可能中断，没有大显身手的机会。
This is bad news for Type A’s, whose whole sense of self is tied to performing and achieving. 这对于把全部心思都倾注到做事和成绩上的A型人来说是很糟糕的。

29.

So we also have to think Type B. 所以，我们还得像B型人那样思考。
Build Emotional Resilience 培养感情人的适应能力。

30.

In TempWorld you must withstand disappointment, juggle stressful situations, and handle pressure with aplomb. 在“临时世界”中，你必须挺得住失望的折磨，尽力应付紧迫的局面，沉着地对待压力。
You need to have the resilience to deal with failures as well as successes. 你要有适应力，既能经得住失败又能正确地对待胜利。
Rather than being immobilized by failure, you must learn from your setbacks and use them to your advantage in the future. 不要因失败而动摇，你必须从挫折中汲取教训以利将来。
Successful people reflect, in an honest way, on things that didn’t go well, but they don’t beat themselves up for it, endlessly revisiting the event. 成功者老老实实地看待不顺，然而他们不断地进行反思，从不自悔自恨。
Stay Culturally Current. 跟上时代的文化潮流

31.

I’m frequently amazed at how culturally parochial so many senior business and professional people are. 我常常感到吃惊的是，很多资深商务和专业人员在文化上却是如此之浅薄。
Given the complex economic, cultural, and demographic global environment in which we operate, it is critical to stay tuned to larger cultural trends that affect the landscape and context of work. 我们在复杂的经济、文化和人口的全球环境中进行运作，重要的是要保持适应那些影响我们工作环境和条件的文化大潮。

32.

You should read outside your professional milieu.应该阅读你的职业范围以外的东西。
This means reading broadly, whether it be book reviews, international business magazines,or nonfiction in areas related to general social trends. 这意味着，无论是书评、国际商务杂志，还是与社会总趋势有关的纪实文学，都要广泛阅读。
Stay in tune with pop culture and be engaged by viewpoints from different sectors of the economy and demographic groups. 要保持适应流行文化，关注不同经济部门和人口群体的观点。
World and cultural events have a direct impact on your work. 世界大事和文化大事都会直接影响你的工作。

33.

Try to glean from these sources important trends that will affect how your work is carried out, new potential applications, sources of competition, and customs. 要竭力从这些源泉中搜集那些能够影响你开展工作的重要动向、可能有的新的应聘目标、竞争对手和顾客。
Never before has public opinion played such an important role in day-to-day political and business decision-making.
民意从来没有像现在这样在日常的政治和商务决策中起到如此重要的作用。

34.

Sometimes, older people tell me they feel discriminated against because of their age. 有时，老年人告诉我们他们感动受歧视。
While that certainly happens, I find that some of these individuals are not on top of key trends. 这种情形确实存在，但我发现他们有些人确实跟不上时代潮流。
Being in tune with the Zeitgeist can help you establish personal relatonship and manage your career more effectively. 与时代精神保持一致有助于你建立人际关系和更有效的开展业务。