【英语生活】梦想的好工作在哪里？

No one has been writing best-selling career-advice books longer than Richard Bolles, author of the 'What Color Is Your Parachute' series. (1975 was the only skipped year since the series was launched in 1970.)

The 40th anniversary edition, released last month, sticks to the same core message, that every job search must start by identifying the skills you most enjoy using and figuring out where you want to use them. But it also offers new information on using social media and coping with stress and depression caused by a prolonged job search.

In a recent telephone interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Bolles reflected on changes in the job market and how looking for a job is different … and not so different from the 1970s. Edited excerpts follow.

WSJ: How has career advice changed since you started writing in 1970?

Mr. Bolles: The substance of job-hunting is little changed. But the [way you go about it] has changed a lot. In the past, you had to really scratch your head to figure out who you knew. Now, LinkedIn makes it so simple. The other change is, in the past you had a resume, and you controlled the information your prospective employer could find about you. Now, employers can do an Internet search and find every bit of information about you, without your controlling or organizing it.

WSJ: In this job market, is it still wise to even try to do what you love? Or is it better to tailor yourself to what is available?

Mr. Bolles: The substance of job-hunting is little changed. But the [way you go about it] has changed a lot. In the past, you had to really scratch your head to figure out who you knew. Now, LinkedIn makes it so simple. The other change is, in the past you had a resume, and you controlled the information your prospective employer could find about you. Now, employers can do an Internet search and find every bit of information about you, without your controlling or organizing it.

WSJ: In this job market, is it still wise to even try to do what you love? Or is it better to tailor yourself to what is available?

Mr. Bolles: The question reflects the current street wisdom, and I don't agree with it. People wonder, 'Why should I spend time figuring out my vision if I'm not going to find that job?' [But], if you are looking for your vision, you will give infinitely more energy and enthusiasm to your job hunt. I think it's more essential than ever that people figure out their dream, because it will give them the energy for the long haul the 37 weeks now that it takes on average to find something.

And people are still finding their dream jobs, or jobs that partly reflect their dreams. Picture a Venn diagram. One circle represents the job you would most love to find in the whole world. The other circle represents the job you are actually going to find. For a good fit, the two must overlap. They aren't going to be completely the same, and you are going to have to settle for less than your vision, at least initially. But you need to make sure the overlap captures the priorities you care about most.

WSJ: How has the average jobseeker changed?

Mr. Bolles: Today, people get oppressed by how much is out of their control. They stop thinking about what is within their control, so they lose hope. Even if 95% of your circumstances are out of your control, 5% are still within your control. There is always something you can do to improve your situation.

WSJ: Are more things out of our control today, compared with the past?

Mr. Bolles: Yes, during this post-recessionary period. But what is also different now is there is much wider and more rapid distribution of bad news, due to the Internet and the 24/7 TV news programs. You used to be able to live in some ignorance about how widespread the obstacles were. But now the media talks endlessly about how bad things are.

WSJ: What mistakes do you see job-hunters making over and over?

Mr. Bolles: They go by conventional wisdom. They tell someone they're out of a job and that person says, 'Go look on the Internet.' They spend a month looking on the Internet and get nothing. Only an estimated 4% to 10% of the people who look for jobs that way have any success. Similarly, posting or mailing your resume to employers, or answering ads in professional or trade journals related to your field, only succeeds an estimated 7% of the time.

WSJ: What works better?

Mr. Bolles: You can increase your likelihood of success several times over by asking for job leads from family, friends, neighbors or career-center staff, especially at your local community college or the high school or college where you graduated.

You can also improve your odds by calling or visiting any employer that interests you and asking if they are hiring for the type of position you can do well.

Joining a job-hunters' group improves your chances even more, assuming you meet daily with your job-search partners in the group, make phone calls in the morning, then visit prospective employers in the afternoon. Such groups provide both a network and help identifying leads.

以撰写求职指导畅销书而言，没有人比理查德•博尔斯(Richard Bolles)的资历更长。他是《你的降落伞是什么颜色的》（What Color Is Your Parachute）系列书籍的作者（自1970年开始，该系列丛书每年出版一本，只有1975年除外）。

上个月，这个系列的40周年版本面世，仍然信守同样的核心要旨，即每次寻找工作都要从确定你最乐于运用的技能以及弄清楚你想在哪里运用这些技能开始。但是此书也提供了一些使用社交媒体和应付长期求职所产生的压力和抑郁等方面的新信息。

最近在接受《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)的电话采访时，博尔斯谈到了就业市场的变化，回顾了如今的求职方式与上个世纪70年代相比有哪些相同及不同之处。以下是采访的编辑小艾摘要：

《华尔街日报》：自从你1970年开始写书以来，你给出的求职指导都发生了怎样的变化？

博尔斯：求职的本质没有多大变化，但是求职的方式发生了很大变化。过去，你要绞尽脑汁想出来你认识谁。现在，有了LinkedIn网站就变得很容易。另一个变化是，过去，你有一份简历，而且你能够控制你未来的雇主所能找到的关于你的资料。现在，通过互联网搜索，雇主能找到关于你的一切资料，而你则无法控制或组织这些资料。

《华尔街日报》：在如今的就业市场上，如果仍然尝试去找自己喜欢的工作是否明智呢？还是说应该让自己去适应能够找得到的工作？

博尔斯：这个问题反映出了当前一些人的心态，对此我不敢苟同。人们想，我为什么要花时间弄清楚我的愿景呢？反正我也找不到我想要的工作。但是，如果你在寻找自己的想要的工作，你在求职的过程中就会拥有更多的精力和热情。我认为这比人们弄清楚自己的梦想更为关键，因为它能赋予人足够的精力来应付漫长的求职过程。现在，人们找到一份工作的平均耗时是37个星期。

人们仍在寻找他们梦想中的工作，或者部分地反映了他们的梦想的工作。设想这样一幅维恩图（Venn diagram）：一个圆圈代表你在这个世界最想找到的工作，另一个圆圈代表你实际上将会找到的工作。在理想的状态下，这两个圆圈应该互相重合。但实际上，这两个圆圈不会完全一样，就算你找到的工作不甚理想，你也要想法设法先安顿下来，至少一开始是这样。但是，你需要确定的是，这两个圆圈重合的部分是你最在乎的，应该优先考虑。

《华尔街日报》：普通的求职者发生了哪些变化？

博尔斯：如今，人们都会想有多少东西是他们无法控制的，并因此备感压力。他们已经不再想有什么东西是他们能够控制的了，因此失去了希望。即使你所处的环境有95%都不受你的控制，还有5%在你的控制之中，你总可以做一些事来改善自己的处境。

《华尔街日报》：和过去相比，如今是不是有更多的事情不受我们的控制？

博尔斯：是的，在这个后衰退时期的确是如此。但是现在还有一个不同的地方，由于有了互联网和每天24小时每周7天的电视新闻节目，坏消息传播的范围更广，速度更快。过去，人们能够在对重重障碍懵懂不觉中生活，但是现在媒体没完没了地谈论事情有多糟糕。

《华尔街日报》：就你看来，哪些错误是求职者屡犯而不改的？

博尔斯：他们跳不出传统智慧的窠臼。他们告诉某个人自己失业了，那个人就说，到网上找找吧。他们就花上一个月的时间在网上找工作，结果什么也没找到。据估计，用这种方法找工作的话，只有4%到10%的人能够成功。类似地，给雇主发简历，或者回复与自己的专业有关的专业及行业刊物上的招聘广告，大约只有7%的成功率。

《华尔街日报》：哪些方法效果更好呢？

博尔斯：从家人、朋友、邻居或就业中心──特别是你所在地区的社区大学和你毕业的高中或大学的就业中心──那里找就业信息，这样你的成功率就能高出几倍。

你也可以打电话给你感兴趣的雇主，或是去拜访他们，询问他们是否招聘你可以胜任的职位，这么做也能提高你成功的机会。

加入求职者团体尤其能提升你的成功率──假设你能够每天和这个团体中的求职伙伴见面，能够用上午的时间打电话用下午的时间来拜访未来的雇主的话。此类团体不但能给你提供一个网络，还能帮助你甄别求职信息。