給未來的投資

Nicolas： Thanks for introducing me to this restaurant， Valerie.

Valerie： No problem， Nick. Hey， would you mind getting the check this time？ I’ll pay you back next week after payday.

Nicolas： Really， Val？ Out of cash again？ ①You must be getting paid peanuts at your job.

Valerie： My salary is pretty 1）modest. Actually， I’m not technically an employee yet. I’m still an intern.

Nicolas： How is that possible？ You’ve been at that company for four years already.

Valerie： It’s not that unusual these days. It’s called a long internship.

Nicolas： And you’re willing to accept that？

Valerie： ②Well， it’s not ideal， but I have to weigh the pros and cons. It’s exactly the kind of company I want to work for， and I’m learning so much about the industry.

Nicolas： Yeah， but you’d be learning that at a real job， too， and you’d be getting paid real money.

Valerie： This kind of job is very 2）competitive these days. I’m lucky I even got an internship.

Nicolas： I can kind of understand that. I wanted to go into media at first， but when I couldn’t find a job there I decided to settle for marketing instead. At least I’m getting a real salary， though.

Valerie： I’m thinking of it as a long-term investment in my future. ③I could be earning a higher salary now， but I’m trading that short-term gain for knowledge and skills that can help me down the road.

Nicolas： That’s all well and good， but when is “down the road？” Are you sure you’ll be able to get an real offer at this company？

Valerie： I hope so， but if I don’t， I can still use my years of experience here to apply for another job in the same field.

Nicolas： ④And they won’t turn their noses up at you when they learn you’ve only been an intern for four years？

Valerie： That’s a risk， but if they don’t like my work experience， I’ll just tell them that interning was part of my career development plan.

Nicolas： That might work. But why do you think your current company hasn’t taken you on as a full employee yet？

Valerie： That’s hard to say. Jobs don’t open up very often， and they usually hire people with years of experience.

Nicolas： Sounds like you’ve got some 3）stiff competition. You’ve got to learn how to sell yourself.

Valerie： How might I do that？

Nicolas： ⑤Be sure to take credit for the good work that you do.

Remember the projects you work on，why you were successful， and what you learned from them.

Valerie： Right. That way， I can easily talk about my experiences and make myself sound good.

Nicolas： That’s the idea. How are your communication skills， by the way？

Valerie： They’ve come a long way in these four years. At first， I was really shy， and I didn’t speak up much at meetings.

Nicolas： That sounds like you.

Valerie： ⑥Later， though， I got more comfortable introducing myself and making sure I was on good terms with everyone in the office.

Nicolas： That’s a big part of selling yourself.

Valerie： Last month， I had an idea that won a big project for our company.

Nicolas： Well， that’s perfect！ If they know you’re making a contribution， then they’re likely to feel good about keeping you on full-time.

Valerie： That’s my hope. But， to be honest， four years is a long time for an internship. I’m giving them one more year to offer me a job， and then， well...

Nicolas： And then what？

Valerie： Well， do you know if your company is hiring these days？

尼古拉斯：謝謝你推薦我來這家餐廳，瓦萊麗。

瓦萊麗：沒事兒，尼古拉斯。嘿，你介意這次買單嗎？下個月發工資我會把錢還給你。

尼古拉斯：真的嗎，瓦萊麗？你又沒錢了？你的工資肯定很低。

瓦萊麗：我的工資很合理。事實上，我還不是正式員工。我還是個實習的。

尼古拉斯：這怎么可能？你已經在那家公司四年了。

瓦萊麗：如今這并不奇怪。這叫長期實習。

尼古拉斯：而你愿意接受？

瓦萊麗：好吧，這并不理想，但是我必須權衡利弊。這確實是我想要效力的公司，而且我學了那么多這行的東西。

尼古拉斯：對，但是你也能在一份真正的工作中學到那些，而且能拿到真正的工資。

瓦萊麗：現在這種工作競爭很激烈。我能拿到一份實習的工作已經很幸運。

尼古拉斯：我能理解。我起初想進傳媒業，但是當我在那兒找不到工作時，我決定投身銷售行業。至少我能拿到一份真正的薪水。

瓦萊麗：我把它看作是對未來的一個長期投資。我現在（做別的工作）可能會有一份更高的薪水，但那是在拿短期回報和在將來能夠幫助我的知識和技能作交換。

尼古拉斯：這樣做是很好，但是什么時候才是你的“未來”？你確定能在這家公司得到正式的職位嗎？

瓦萊麗：我希望是這樣，但是如果不是，我還是能夠用在這行多年的工作經驗去去謀求行內的另一份工作。

尼古拉斯：但是當他們知道你只做了四年的實習工作，不會拒絕你嗎？

瓦萊麗：這是場冒險，但是如果他們不喜歡我的工作經歷，我會告訴他們實習是我職業發展規劃的一部分。

尼古拉斯：這也許管用。但是你知道現在工作的這家公司為什么還沒有把你轉為正式員工呢？

瓦萊麗：這很難說。職位不是經常空缺，而且他們會雇傭有多年工作經驗的人。

尼古拉斯：聽起來你的競爭很大。你必須學會如何推銷自己。

瓦萊麗：我應該怎么做呢？

尼古拉斯：記住把一切歸功于你出色的工作表現。記住你負責的項目、你為什么會成功、以及你從中學到了什么。

瓦萊麗：對。這樣一來，我能輕松地介紹我的工作經歷，讓自己聽起來很棒。

尼古拉斯：就是這樣。順便問一句，你的交際能力怎樣？

瓦萊麗：這花了我整整四年的時間。剛開始，我真的很害羞，我很少在會議中發言。

尼古拉斯：這聽起來像你。

瓦萊麗：之后，我變得更自然地介紹自己，確保自己能跟辦公室的每個人都搞好關系。

尼古拉斯：這是推銷自己的重要部分。

瓦萊麗：上個月，我的一個想法幫助公司贏得了一個大項目。

尼古拉斯：嗯，那太好了！如果他們知道你在作貢獻，那么他們很可能樂意讓你做全職的工作。

瓦萊麗：這是我的希望。但是，說實話，四年對于實習來說真的夠長了。我再給他們一年的時間給我一份正式的工作，否則，嗯……

尼古拉斯：否則怎樣？

瓦萊麗：好吧，你知道你的公司最近招人嗎？

① You must be getting paid peanuts at your job. 你的薪水肯定很低。

pay peanuts： pay very low salary（支付非常低的薪酬）。例如：

No wonder the company is full of incapable people. They are paid peanuts.

怪不得公司這么多無能的人，原來他們的工資非常低。

② Well， it’s not ideal， but I have to weigh the pros and cons. 好吧，這并不理想，但是我必須權衡利弊。

weigh the pros and cons： consider arguments both for and against a particular issue（權衡利弊）。例如：

We need to carefully weigh the pros and cons before we decide whether to expand our market in China.

我們在決定是否擴大在中國的市場之前，要仔細權衡利弊。

③ I could be earning a higher salary now， but I’m trading that short-term gain for knowledge and skills that can help me down the road. 我現在（做別的工作）可能會有一份更高的薪水，但那是在拿短期回報和在將來能夠幫助我的知識和技能作交換。

down the road： in the future（在將來，今后）。例如：

We are going to set up a new branch in Hong Kong sometime down the road.

我們今后會在香港設立新的分部。

④ And they won’t turn their noses up at you when they learn you’ve only been an intern for four years？但是當他們知道你只做了四年的實習工作，不會拒絕你嗎？

turn one’s nose up （at sth./sb.）： reject sth./sb. because sth./sb. is not considered good enough（不把……放在眼里，拒絕）。例如：

He turned his nose up at the matchmaker’s suggestion because he wanted to marry a big-city girl.

他拒絕了媒人的提議，因為他想娶個大城市的姑娘。

⑤ Be sure to take credit for the good work that you do. 記住把一切歸功于你出色的工作表現。

take credit for sth.： claiming to be responsible for doing sth.（把某事歸功于……）。例如：

Mary got the promotion because she took credit for everything that Dan did.

瑪麗是因為把丹的所有功勞都歸為己有才得到晉升的。

⑥ Later， though， I got more comfortable introducing myself and making sure I was on good terms with everyone in the office. 之后，我變得更自然地介紹自己，確保自己能跟辦公室的每個人都搞好關系。

on good terms with sb.： have a friendly relationship with sb.（與某人關系好）。例如：

We and our suppliers have always been on good terms.

我們與供應商一直關系都不錯。