【英语生活】给失业者的建议

Whether you have been frog-marched jacketless from the building without having time to gather up your possessions, or have spent the past few months catching up on unread novels during gardening leave, sooner or later you have to move on. The old job has gone and the rest of your life starts here. As redundancies mount up and leaving parties fill the diary, for many people an unavoidable question looms large: what are you going to do next?

Do not rush to answer that question. Provided you can afford it, this could be a good moment to consider new directions and alternative careers.

“I wouldn't usually recommend taking the first job you get offered,” says Beverley White, head of career transition at Penna, an HR consultancy. “Some people are exiting their former jobs with big redundancy packages, and there is no immediate financial panic. For many it's the first chance they've had since university to do something different.”

But what if the labour market seems a bit daunting after all those years when you were not even thinking about looking for another job? Ms White offers some encouraging words.

“People don't always realise what valuable transferable skills they have got, or how large their network of contacts is,” she says. “There is no need to replicate what you have done before. Consider the alternatives.”

That is what Tatiana Jadgal has done. The 41-year-old former head of marketing for UBS's fixed income division left the Swiss bank last October. It was a civilised departure, she says. Market conditions were terrible and it was clear redundancies were on the way. “Everybody knew what was going on,” she says. “It wasn't personal. Redundancy is not a reflection on you.”

After a discussion with a Penna consultant, Ms Jadgal set up her own new branding and marketing company in January. “I have become my own first client,” she smiles. “There is nothing much happening on the jobs front right now. At least, when you are running your own business, you don't have to ask anybody's permission before doing anything.”

While the new business – called Tomorrow Brand – has made a slowish start, with only a couple of clients so far, Ms Jadgal is optimistic. “The only way is up now, right?” she says. Positive thinking seems to be one of her defining characteristics. “I have worked at Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and UBS,” she says, “but I have to point out that their problems were nothing to do with me.”

Heading back to the City after a six-year break is Leann Barber, an IT professional. After a previous redundancy package she had leapt into the first job going, working for Barclays bank as it tried to integrate the acquisition of the Woolwich building society. “I didn't do a lot of thinking about the offer at the time, and I didn't do a lot of job hunting. I just had that need to get back in the saddle. Jobs have so much to do with your identity, and it can seem really important to get back in there.”

But when her time at Barclays came to an end, Ms Barber took more time to reflect. She was encouraged by an outplacement consultant to think about self-employment. “The question was, ‘What would you really like to do?',” Ms Barber says.

“I had an interest in contemporary art, and I thought I could introduce people to that,” she says. “And the consultant said: ‘Why don't you do that? How hard could it be? How much money do you really need to make?'

“I was 47 at the time,” Ms Barber explains, “and I didn't want to be 80 and in a rest home regretting that I'd never tried . . . so I tried. It's really easy to open a gallery – too easy!”

Ms Barber opened her gallery in Shoreditch in east London, and “never made any money at it in six years”. Now she is contemplating getting a job back in IT as a consultant. “But it's been a really positive experience. I'm glad I did it. I'm a lot more settled and relaxed, and not so status-conscious. This economic moment is an opportunity to step back and think about what you really want to do. Stop worrying about things that are outside your control,” she says.

Amy Matthews (not her real name) was also ready for a break from the world of finance when she was made redundant from her equity sales job last year. “Leaving my job was the best thing that could have possibly happened,” she says. “At last there was time to stop and think. When you are working a 12-14 hour day there is no time to plan, network or research other jobs – and the quality of life is low.”

Ms Matthews discussed alternative moves with an outplacement consultant from DBM. “It was good to talk to someone who had been trained to listen,” she says. “Here I am, 39 years old, with more years at work ahead of me than behind me. People don't always get a chance to make a career change. So why not now?”

Ms Matthews has found a job with a not-for-profit organisation in a role that allows her to draw on her academic training. Why all the mystery and anonymity? “I don't want to burn bridges,” she explains. “I may go back to the City one day.

“But this has been a great opportunity for me,” she says. “I see more and more people asking – ‘What's life all about?' It's important to enjoy it and be with people you want to be with. People get stuck believing that they have to continue doing what they are doing now. Also, I was under the impression that everybody could do what I was doing, and that wasn't true. I had transferable skills and experience. My [outplacement] consultant told me that what I had was rare. You need to be reminded of that.”

Redundancy often comes as a shock. It is hard to adjust after years in the same organisation, performing the same role. But not all the news is bad. Breaking with the past can be healthy, creating new and unimagined possibilities, even in a downturn. This may be your last, best chance to pursue that alternative career you never thought would be open to you.

From payroll to paying dues: how to ensure smooth job transitions

Employers:




“Answer questions and help people with the uncertainty,” says Beverley White at HR consultancy Penna. “Leaders need to be visible. Be realistic and honest.”

Train managers for difficult conversations with people leaving the business. Managers in their 30s are new to this situation.

“Manage the message carefully,” says Ms White. “Don't allow disgruntled employees who are [leaving] to be the only people talking about it. Your employer brand matters.”

After announcing redundancies, help people who may be worried about debt. Involve financial advisers to help people continue to pay the bills.

Ruth Spellman, head of the Chartered Management Institute, says some leavers may be so anxious to keep their employment records intact that they ask to stay on temporarily, unpaid. Allow that possibility if you can.


Employees:




“Keep your networks up to date,” advises Ms Spellman. “It's a good investment of time, keeping you thinking positively about the future and protecting your sense of self-worth.”

Ms White adds that it makes sense not to burn bridges: “It's a small world – you may even get a job back with the same company. Today it's all about cost-cutting, but soon they may want you back.”

无论你是被人从楼里扔了出来，甚至没时间收拾个人物品，还是把过去几个月的“园艺假”都拿来阅读未曾读过的小说，迟早你总是要朝前走的。旧的工作已成为过去，人生新旅程从此开始。随着裁员之风愈刮愈猛，告别派对排满日程表，对许多人来说，一个不可避免的问题迎面而来：今后你要做什么？

不要急于回答这个问题。只要你能承受得起，这就可能是考虑新发展方向和更换职业的一个好时机。

“通常我不会建议人们接受第一份工作邀请，”人力资源顾问公司Penna的职业转型业务负责人贝弗利•怀特(Beverley White)说。“一些人离开以前的工作时，会获得丰厚的遣散费，不会立即陷入财务恐慌。对许多人来说，这是他们大学毕业后第一次有机会去做些不同的事。”

但是如果你甚至从没想过寻找另一份工作，过了那么多年后，如今劳动力市场有点令人生畏，那该怎么办？对此，怀特给出了一些鼓励意见。

“人们并不总是知道自己拥有哪些宝贵的可转换技能，或者不知道自己的关系网有多大，”她说。“没必要重复你以前做过的事。考虑一下其他选择。”

塔蒂亚娜•贾格尔(Tatiana Jadgal)就是这么做的。41岁的她曾是瑞银(UBS)固定收益部市场营销负责人，去年10月离开了这家瑞士银行。这是一次文明的离职，她说。市场状况糟糕透顶，裁员显然势在必行。“每个人都知道发生了什么事情，”她说。“这不是个人的原因。裁员并不是对你的指责。”

经过与Penna一名顾问的讨论，贾格尔今年1月创立了自己的品牌和营销公司。“我成了自己的第一个客户，”她笑道。“目前就业领域没有什么变化。至少，如果你在经营自己的公司，你做任何事都无需征求任何人的许可。”

新公司名字叫做“明日品牌”(Tomorrow Brand)，虽然开局进展缓慢，迄今只有几个客户，但贾格尔很乐观：“现在唯一的方向就是好起来，对不对？”乐观思维似乎是她的典型特征之一。“我曾在美林(Merrill Lynch)、贝尔斯登(Bear Stearns)和瑞银工作过，”她说，“但我必须指出，它们的问题与我无关。”

IT专业人士黎安•巴博(Leann Barber)阔别六年后重新回到伦敦金融城。上一次被裁员后，她匆忙找了一份新工作，进入巴克莱银行(Barclays)——当时该行正努力整合收购而来的Woolwich公司。“当时我对工作邀请没有多想，也没有花多大力气去找工作。我只是需要回到工作状态。工作与身份有很大关系，重新工作可以显得非常重要。”

但是，当她在巴克莱银行的日子结束后，巴博花了更多时间进行反省。一位就业顾问鼓励她考虑自谋职业。“问题在于‘你真正喜欢做什么'，”巴博说。

“我对当代艺术感兴趣，我想我可以引导人们去了解它，”她说。“然后顾问说：‘你为什么不这样做呢？那能有多难？你真正需要赚多少钱？'”

“那时我47岁，”巴博解释说，“我不想到80岁的时候在养老院里后悔自己从未尝试过……所以我尝试了。开一家画廊真的很容易——太容易了！”

她在伦敦东部的肖迪奇(Shoreditch)开了自己的画廊，但“6年来从没有赚过一分钱”。现在她打算重回IT业当顾问。“但这是一次非常积极的体验。我很高兴自己做了。现在我更加沉着和放松，身份意识不再那么强烈。这种经济时刻是一个机会，可以退一步想想自己真正想做的事。不要再担心那些你控制不了的事情，”她说。

艾米•马修斯（Amy Matthews，化名）去年因裁员而结束股票销售工作时，她也准备告别金融业一段时间。“离开那份工作或许是最好不过的事情，”她说。“终于有时间停下来思考了。在每天工作12到14个钟头的时候，你根本没有时间进行规划、交友或研究其它工作，生活质量很低。”

马修斯与DBM公司的就业顾问讨论了其它选择。“和一个受过倾听训练的人交谈感觉很不错，”她说。“我现在的情况是：39岁，今后的工作岁月比之前的工作生涯更漫长。人们并不总是有机会改变职业生涯的。那现在为什么不呢？”

马修斯已经在一家非营利组织找到一份工作，让她可以利用自己受到的学术教育。为什么要在采访中保持神秘不用真名？“我不想自断后路，”她解释说。“有一天我可能还会回到金融城的。”

“但这对我来说是一个非常好的机会，”她说。“我看到越来越多的人在问‘生活的意义是什么？'重要的是享受人生，和你愿意相处的人在一起。人们总是认为自己必须继续现在正在做的事情。此外，我曾以为每个人都可以做我的工作，但事实并非如此。我拥有可转换的技能和经验。我的（就业）顾问告诉我，我很优秀。你需要记住这一点。”

裁员往往令人震惊。在同一家机构扮演同样的角色多年以后，人们往往很难调整。但并非所有消息都是坏消息。即使在不景气的日子里，与过去决裂也可能是健康的，也许会带来新的、想象不到的可能性。这可能是你最后也是最好的机会，让你可以去从事自己以为绝不会对你敞开大门的其它职业生涯。

从工资表到应付税款：如何确保工作平稳变动

雇主必读：



“回答员工的问题，帮助他们面对不确定性，”人力资源咨询公司Penna的贝弗利•怀特说。“领导人需要出现在员工的视野中。秉持现实和诚实的态度。”

对管理人员进行培训，教会他们与即将离职的人进行艰难的谈话。30多岁的经理人不熟悉这种局面。

“谨慎处理信息，”怀特说。“不要让心怀不满、即将离职的员工成为唯一谈论这件事的人。你的雇主品牌很重要。”

在宣布裁员之后，帮助那些可能会担心债务的员工。邀请财务顾问介入，帮助他们继续支付账单。

英国特许管理学会(Chartered Management Institute)会长鲁思•斯佩尔曼(Ruth Spellman)表示，一些离职者可能希望保持就业记录完整，因此会要求暂时停薪留职。如果可以的话，不要排除这种可能性。

员工必读：



“保留你迄今为止的人际关系网，”斯佩尔曼建议。“这是一种良好的时间投资，对未来保持乐观态度，保护你的自我价值感。 ”

怀特补充说，不自断后路是有意义的：“这个世界很小——你以后甚至可能回到同一家公司工作。今天一切都是为了削减成本，但也许不久后他们就会希望你回来。”

译者/力文