“我知道他会对我很客气,”葛罕先生说,“我们不会挑最难缠的来做第一个电话联系对象。最让我害怕的是要告诉对方,我失业了。我还从没失业过。但我也意识到,我给对方打电话不是要恳求他雇用我。我只不过是让他了解我目前的状况,让他对我目前的计划提出建议。”
Mr. Redmond said in its 23 years, New Directions has served 2,400 executives and, typically, they find new positions in seven to nine months, although in a recession that could be a year.
雷德蒙先生说,在过去的23年里,“新方向”曾为2400名高管提供服务。一般说来,他们会在七到九个月里找到新职位,不过在经济危机中,等待时间可能长达一年。
If it is a year, Mr. Sam said his severance will cover him, but after that he would have to dip into savings.
山姆先生说,他的解雇费可以让他维持一年时间,如果要等更长的时间,他就要动用积蓄了。
“My frame of mind is realistic, a bit anxious,” he said. “Last night I sat with my wife and we looked at our finances. My philosophy is, be aware of it, manage it, but don’t get obsessed by it—that’s not doing myself or family any good.”
“我的心理状况既现实又不乏焦虑,”他说,“昨晚,我跟妻子坐下来,研究我们的财务状况。我的理财哲学是:了解现状,好好管理,但不沉迷其中,不然对我自己和家人都没有任何好处。”
On a recent Tuesday, Mr. Sam sat in on a seminar. Many of the men attending were dressed as they had for work, in jackets and ties. Though sitting in a room full of such bright, 15)urbane unemployed people could be worrisome, Mr. Sam found it calming.
在最近的一个星期二,山姆先生参加了一个讲座。出席讲座的许多人的衣着都如同他们此前上班时一样:西装革履。虽说坐在这样一群才华横溢,彬彬有礼的失业人士当中会令人不安,但他的心却觉得很平静。
He spent six hours at New Directions that day. He had his weekly meeting with his job coach, who gave him tips on cutting his résumé from five pages to three. He met with the New Directions research director, Claire Burday for advice and spoke with the staff psychologist, Dr. William Winn, who’d given him 16)a battery of tests, and for several hours interviewed him to make sure he was suited for the jobs he’s seeking.
那天,他在“新方向”呆了六个小时。每周他与职业顾问会面,顾问教他如何把五页长的履历减到三页。他与“新方向”的研究主任克莱尔·博戴会面,向她讨教。他又与心理学家威廉·威恩博士聊了聊,后者曾让他参与了一系列的测试,与他谈了数小时,要确定他适合目前所找的工作。
Dr. Winn concluded that it wouldn’t be wise for Mr. Sam to take a position that would focus solely on what’s wrong with a company. Mr. Sam is a builder who needs to be involved in fixing what’s wrong, Dr. Winn noted.
威恩博士的结论是,要是山姆先生找一份完全专注于给公司找茬的工作,那是不明智的。威恩博士注意到,山姆先生是一个创建者,他应该参与纠正问题。
Indeed, asked what he missed about his old job, Mr. Sam said, “There was still plenty of opportunity to improve the company.” And he is ready for a new direction.
确实,在被问到对于他以前的工作,他最怀念的是什么时,山姆先生答道:“公司可改善的空间还很大。”而他已经做好准备朝新方向迈进。
