職場應(yīng)聘切忌夸夸其談
Last summer, Lisa Harrel interviewed a candidate for a director job who offered a list of impressive accomplishments1. But during the 60-minute meeting, the Ivy League candidate never paused long enough for the recruiter to ask just how he executed on them.
2008年夏，麗莎•海羅爾(Lisa Harrell)面試了一個應(yīng)聘經(jīng)理崗位的人，他簡歷上的工作成就給人留下深刻的印象，但在60分鐘的面試過程中，這位畢業(yè)于“常春藤聯(lián)盟”(Ivy League)名校的求職者始終滔滔不絕，面試官根本沒機(jī)會插嘴詢問他到底是如何實(shí)現(xiàn)這些成就的。
'In the end, he took a breath and said, 'After my first 90 days, what is my next step?'' recalls Ms. Harrell, vice president of human-capital development at UnitedHealth Group Inc. in Minnetonka, Minn. His bravado cost him the job, she says.
“最后，他抽空喘了一口氣，問我：‘過了90天的試用期，我會有怎樣的發(fā)展機(jī)會?’”位于明尼蘇達(dá)州Minnetonka市的UnitedHealth Group Inc.人力資源發(fā)展部副總裁海羅爾回憶道。求職者的這種張狂氣勢令他丟了工作機(jī)會。
When it comes to self-promotion in the workplace, hiring managers say some people go too far and block their path to the next level. You might call them the corporate world's 'American Idol' wannabes. Like many contestants on the reality TV show who extol the greatness of their singing abilities and then end up sent home, corporate idols sing praises about their abilities without delivering tangible evidence to back up the claims.
招聘經(jīng)理們說，有些人在公司里太愛自吹自擂，反而阻塞了自己的升遷之路。你可以把這種人叫做職場中的“美國偶像”追隨者。正如電視選秀中的選手極力展現(xiàn)自己的歌唱天賦，但很多人卻免不了要黯然退場一樣，職場中的“美國偶像”們往往都是說得好聽，實(shí)際上并沒有表現(xiàn)出多大能耐。
And recruiters and employers say they're seeing the behavior more frequently in the current bad economy, as some candidates try harder to impress interviewers and workers go out of their way to hang on to their jobs.
招聘企業(yè)和人力資源經(jīng)理們表示，在目前經(jīng)濟(jì)不景氣的局面下，這種自我吹噓行為越來越多。一些應(yīng)聘者竭力想給面試官留下好印象，而一些公司職員也千方百計地表現(xiàn)，希望保住自己的飯碗。
'A lot of people are selling themselves hard,' says Mark Angott, president of Angott Search Group, a recruiting firm in Rochester, Mich. Out of desperation, many job hunters convince themselves they're qualified for positions that don't match their backgrounds, he says. 'They want to try anything and everything,' he says.
“很多人都在拼命推銷自己，”密歇根州羅切斯特市職業(yè)介紹公司Angott Search Group的總裁馬克•安哥特(Mark Angott)說。走投無路之下，很多求職者都自欺欺人，認(rèn)為自己可以勝任那些并不符合自身條件的崗位。“他們什么都想嘗試，”安哥特說道。
And like 'American Idol' rejects, corporate idols who lack the skills and knowledge they claim to have often handle criticism or rejection poorly. 'We've had guys use every expletive in the book,' says Dave DeMink, an executive-search agent in Roseville, Calif., referring to the reactions he has received from job hunters he has declined to present to clients.
正如“美國偶像”的落選者一樣，這些并無他們所吹噓的技能和知識的“職場秀客” 經(jīng)常難以接受別人的批評和拒絕。“有些人急了就破口大罵，”加州Roseville市一家獵頭公司的戴夫•德明克(Dave DeMink)回憶道。這些竭盡辱罵之能事的人正是那些他拒絕向客戶推薦的求職者。
Even in the current recession, some job hunters are still unwilling to bend. Brian Rhonemus, a managing director at Angott Search Group, says several former big-bank executives recently refused to consider job opportunities at small community banks and credit unions. 'They balked because they didn't want to go backward,' he says. 'It's amazing. Some candidates just haven't wrapped their arms around reality yet.'
即使在目前的經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退時期，有些求職者還是不愿委曲求全。 Angott Search Group公司的董事總經(jīng)理布萊恩•羅恩默斯(Brian Rhonemus)說，幾個以前在大銀行當(dāng)高管的人，最近就拒絕考慮在社區(qū)小銀行和信用合作社任職。“他們不愿意接受這種工作，因?yàn)樗麄儾辉敢庾呋仡^路，”羅恩默斯說，“這讓我感到很驚訝，看來有些人還不了解當(dāng)前的就業(yè)現(xiàn)狀。”
In more robust economies, some corporate idols take their cockiness to extreme levels by demanding above-average salaries, custom job titles and other forms of special treatment. Consider, for example, the candidate for a senior communications job who told New York recruiter Bill Heyman that he would accept the role only if he would report to the large company's chief executive officer. The position reported to the head of human resources, and Mr. Heyman strongly urged the candidate 'to play by company rules.' Ignoring the recruiter's advice in an interview with the employer, the candidate lost out on the job, he says.
在經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮時期，一些“職場秀客”會把自負(fù)發(fā)揮到了極至，提出非分的工資要求、職務(wù)要求，以及其他種種特殊待遇。比如說，有個應(yīng)聘某電信企業(yè)經(jīng)理的人士告訴紐約一位招聘經(jīng)理比爾•海曼(Bill Heyman)，除非他能直接向公司首席執(zhí)行官匯報工作, 否則他不會接受這個職務(wù)。由于該崗位直接隸屬于人力資源部負(fù)責(zé)人，海曼極力勸說求職者“按公司規(guī)矩辦事”。但那人在參加公司面試時，對這個建議置若罔聞，結(jié)果未能得到這個工作崗位，海曼說道。
On the job, corporate idols often spur resentment among their peers. John LeBlanc, vice president of product management at Jefferson Wells International Inc., a professional-services firm, says he once worked with a colleague at a former employer who regularly puffed up his job title when talking to clients. 'This same [person] routinely would tell anyone willing to listen how he was doing the same work -- and doing it better -- than his boss and his boss's boss,' says Mr. LeBlanc. 'He showed a great lack of self-awareness, which hurt his working relationships.'
“職場秀客”常常會引起同事們的反感。約翰•勒伯蘭克(John LeBlanc)是專業(yè)服務(wù)公司Jefferson Wells International Inc.產(chǎn)品管理部的副總裁，他說曾遇到過這樣一個同事，跟客戶談話時喜歡把自己的職位吹得高高的。“那個人逢人就說，他和老板甚至老板的老板干的活兒一樣，而且比他們干得都要好”，勒伯蘭克說，“這簡直是不知天高地厚，所以同事們都對他敬而遠(yuǎn)之。”
An unwillingness to accept help from a boss or colleague is another sign of a corporate idol. Case in point: When Lee B. Salz was a vice president at a small outsourcing company, he says, an employee who reported to him repeatedly turned down his offers to show her ways to improve. 'She thought she knew everything and [in reality] she wasn't that good,' recalls Mr. Salz, now president of Sales Architects, a sales-management consulting firm in Minneapolis.
“職場秀客”的另一個特點(diǎn)是不愿意接受上級和同事的幫助。例如，李•薩爾茲(Lee B. Salz)曾是一家小型外包服務(wù)公司的副總裁，他說當(dāng)時自己有個下屬，每次都拒絕接受他對其提出的改進(jìn)建議。“她自以為無所不知，但其實(shí)根本不是那么回事，” 薩爾茲回憶道。他現(xiàn)在是明尼蘇達(dá)州明尼阿波利斯市(Minneapolis)一家銷售管理咨詢公司Sales Architects的總裁。
What causes these unaware workers' heads to swell? According to Brooks Holtom, an assistant professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, employees in certain fields like customer service have no solid way to measure their performance. By contrast, sales professionals can add up the revenue they generate and compare figures over time. As a result, some people are more susceptible than others to developing false impressions about their skills, he says.
這些搞不清狀況的員工怎么會如此夜郎自大?喬治敦大學(xué)麥克多諾商學(xué)院(Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business)的助教布魯克斯•霍爾頓(Brooks Holtom)認(rèn)為，對一些在客戶服務(wù)等領(lǐng)域工作的員工來說，很難實(shí)行明確的考核辦法;而銷售人員則不同，他們可以把一段時間的銷售量加總起來進(jìn)行比較和考核。因此，有些人更容易高估自己的'能力，霍爾頓說道。
Poorly designed reward systems are sometimes to blame for overinflating egos, says Roy Saunderson, president of Recognition Management Institute, a New York provider of workplace-consulting services. 'If you read the criteria, they're so loose, almost anyone can get rewards, he says. Of course, career experts say that some self-promotion can be helpful for moving up the corporate ladder. 'A lot of times, managers have a tendency not to think about how much work went into an accomplishment,' says Jo-Ann Gastin, senior vice president of human resources at Lockton Cos. LLC, an insurance brokerage firm in Kansas City, Mo. 'When an employee does go above and beyond, they should make it known to their supervisor.'
有時，不合理的獎賞辦法也會導(dǎo)致某些員工過于自負(fù)，紐約職場咨詢服務(wù)公司Recognition Management Institute的總裁羅伊•桑德森(Roy Saunderson)說。“有些獎賞辦法把標(biāo)準(zhǔn)定得太低了，幾乎每個人都能完成指標(biāo)拿到獎金。”當(dāng)然，職場專家表示，有時候自我表現(xiàn)還是有助于職位晉升的。“大多數(shù)時候，經(jīng)理們都不太注意下屬為達(dá)成一個目標(biāo)所付出的辛勞，” 密蘇里州坎薩斯城保險經(jīng)紀(jì)公司Lockton Cos. LLC人力資源部的資深副總裁喬-安•加斯汀(Jo-Ann Gastin)說。“如果一個員工真的有出色表現(xiàn)，就應(yīng)該讓自己的上司知道。”
Likewise, it can be advantageous for job hunters to engage in a little spin-doctoring to show recruiters they're confident in their ability to handle a position, say career experts. But it's also critical to demonstrate modesty. United Health's Ms. Harrell says she hired a director last year who described himself as a technically competent leader and provided two detailed examples to illustrate his point. 'He showed that he could efficiently instill a vision and accomplish major tasks, and whether he did them himself or through other people,' she says. Giving credit to others and showing his team mentality helped seal the offer.
同樣，職場專家說，求職者在介紹自己時也不妨略微自我夸贊一下，從而向面試官表明，他們有信心、有能力從事所應(yīng)聘的崗位。不過，面試時要表現(xiàn)出謙虛的品質(zhì)，這一點(diǎn)也至關(guān)重要。UnitedHealth公司的海羅爾說，她去年招聘過一個經(jīng)理，那個求職者說自己是一個能力很強(qiáng)的管理者，并舉了兩個詳細(xì)的例子加以闡述。“他通過具體事例表明，自己能夠行之有效地確立目標(biāo)并加以實(shí)現(xiàn)，無論是通過本人的努力還是通過與他人的合作，”海羅爾說。這種既不居功而又注重團(tuán)隊合作的態(tài)度使得那人求職成功。
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