櫥窗求職

Camille： Excuse me， may I sit here？

Francis： Sure. Sorry， let me move my bag.

Camille： No problem. This is a pretty small office. What brings you here， by the way？

Francis： I’m here for a job interview. You？

Camille： The same！ Seems we’re competitors.

Francis： It would seem so. If you don’t mind my asking， how did you hear about this offer？ This company is so small， and they didn’t post many listings.

Camille： Well， it’s kind of an embarrassing story， really.

Francis： Now I’m 1）intrigued！

Camille： You know that 2）headhunter office down the street？

Francis： You mean the one with the desk in the window， where people looking for jobs can sit in the desk and be their own advertisement？ Don’t tell me…

Camille： Yes， that’s right. ①I’d been sending out my resume and making cold calls for over a year and had nothing to show for it， so eventually I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give that desk a try. ②I sat there for a couple hours one weekend， and it worked like a charm！

Francis： It’s a bit out of the ordinary， but I can see why it works. To an HR department， 100 resumes are just 100 names on paper. If they can actually see you sitting at a desk， it’s easier for them to imagine you working for their company.

Camille： Exactly. The job market has been so tough lately， more and more people like me are forced to go off the beaten path to be seen. Sitting in that window like a 3）mannequin was kind of embarrassing， though.

Francis： ③Well， you really do have to put yourself out there if you want people to see you. I admire your 4）moxy for getting in that window.

Camille： Thanks. So what’s your story？ How did you get in on this interview？

Francis： Well， just like you， ④I was down on my luck for over a year and had to find more and more

ways to put myself out there. I didn’t have the guts to get in that window， though.

Camille： So what did you do instead？

Francis： Nothing as brave as what you did. I wanted the human touch of letting employers see my face， so I rented a 5）billboard just down the street and put my picture and some 6）qualifications on it.

Camille： I thought you looked familiar！ I’ve seen that billboard！

Francis： 7）Apparently， so did this company’s HR.

Camille： Well， I guess the lesson here is clear. ⑤If you want to get a leg up on the competition， you’ve gotta put a face on your qualifications.

Francis： That’s right. Companies don’t hire resumes， they hire people.

Camille： You’ve gotta be careful， though. I have a friend who kind of went overboard with that idea， and he didn’t get the job.

Francis： What did he do？

Camille： He secretly found out where the boss of the company lived， and then sent a gift directly to her house.

Francis： That’s a bit 8）creepy. I wouldn’t hire him， either. Camille： Well， it looks like it’s time for you to go in. Good luck， and may the best 9）candidate win！

Francis： Same to you！

卡米爾：不好意思，我能坐這兒嗎？

弗朗西斯：當然。對不起，讓我把包拿走。

卡米爾：沒關系。這間辦公室太小了。順便問一句，你怎么會來這？

弗朗西斯：我來面試，你呢？

卡米爾：我也是！看樣子我們是競爭對手。

弗朗西斯：看起來是。 如果你不介意，我想問你是怎么知道要來面試這個職位的？這家公司那么小，他們沒有刊登多少招聘廣告。

卡米爾：好吧，這真的多少讓我有點尷尬。

弗朗西斯：現在我很好奇了。

卡米爾：你知道街口的那家獵頭公司嗎？弗朗西斯：你指的是那家窗前擺著桌子，想找工作的人可以坐在那個桌子前，給自己打廣告的公司嗎？你別告訴我……

卡米爾：對，沒錯。一年多了，我一直在投遞簡歷，給陌生的公司打電話，但是都沒有任何效果。所以最后我決定走出我的安樂窩，嘗試坐在那張桌子上求職。有一個周末我在那兒坐了幾個小時，然后真的很管用！

弗朗西斯：這真的非比尋常，但是我知道為什么這個方法會奏效。對于人力資源部來說，100份簡歷只是100個印在紙上的名字。如果他們能真正看到你坐在桌子上辦公，就更容易想象你在他們公司工作的情景。

卡米爾：確實是。最近的就業市場形勢很嚴峻，越來越多像我這樣的人被逼著另辟蹊徑來引起（招聘者的注意），盡管像一個人體標本那樣坐在窗邊會很尷尬。

弗朗西斯：好吧，如果你想要得到別人的青睞，真的需要大膽嘗試。我欣賞你對“櫥窗求職”的熱情。

卡米爾：謝謝。那么你的情況呢？你是怎么得到這次面試的機會？

弗朗西斯：好吧，就像你一樣，一年多了我的運氣都不好，我必須費力去尋找更多的方法。但是，我還沒有“櫥窗求職”的勇氣。

卡米爾：那么你怎么做呢？

弗朗西斯：我沒有做過像你這么勇敢的事。我希望能讓招聘者更多地接觸我，所以我租了街口的一個布告板，將我的照片以及一些任職資格放上去。

卡米爾：我覺得你看起來很眼熟！我看過那塊布告板！

弗朗西斯：很顯然，這家公司的人力資源部也看到了。

卡米爾：好吧，我想道理已經很清楚了。如果你想在競爭中領先，你必須把你的任職資格與自己本人聯系起來。

弗朗西斯：正確。公司不是雇傭簡歷，而是雇傭人。

卡米爾：但是你一定要謹慎。我有一個朋友做得有點過了，他沒有得到工作。

弗朗西斯：他做什么了？

卡米爾：他秘密地得知那家公司老板的住處，然后直接把禮物送去她家。

弗朗西斯：這太奇怪了。我也不會雇傭他。

卡米爾：好吧，看起來你是時候進去面試了。祝你好運，希望最優秀的應聘者成功！

弗朗西斯：你也是！

Smart Sentences

① I’d been sending out my resume and making cold calls for over a year and had nothing to show for it. 一年多了，我一直在投遞簡歷，給陌生的公司打電話，但是都沒有任何效果。

cold call： a telephone call or visit made to sb. who is not known or not expecting contact， often in order to sell sth.（聯系完全陌生的人；陌生電話；通常以銷售為目的）。例如：

Not all sales are about making cold calls. My job is to uncover more buying potentials from our existing clients.

并不是所有的銷售工作都要貿然給陌生人打電話推銷，我的工作就是發掘已有顧客更多的購買潛力。

have nothing to show for： have not achieved anything（無成績可言）。例如：

Though I’ve worked on my thesis for a month， I have nothing to show for it—it’s all fundamental research.

盡管我已經做了一個月的論文，但目前沒有什么具體成果，都只是些基礎研究。

② I sat there for a couple hours one weekend， and it worked like a charm！ 有一個周末我在那兒坐了幾個小時，然后真的很管用！

like a charm： sth. works perfectly； successfully（靈驗如神地，十分奏效地）。例如：

Tell her Mr. Stone has okayed the FedEx delivery. She won’t question it and it works like a charm every time.

跟她說斯通先生同意用聯邦快遞了。她不會質疑，這個方法每次都很靈。

③ Well， you really do have to put yourself out there if you want people to see you. 好吧，如果你想要得到別人的青睞，真的需要大膽嘗試。

put oneself out there： make a real attempt and take the risk of failure（努力嘗試，不怕失敗）。例如：

While you are young， you all should put yourselves out there， try different things and figure out what you really want to do.

你們都應該趁年輕的時候，大膽嘗試，做不同事情，弄明白自己到底想做什么。

④ I was down on my luck for over a year and had to find more and more ways to put myself out there. 一年多了我的運氣都不好，我必須費力去尋找更多的方法。

down on one’s luck： suffering because a lot of bad things are happening to sb.（不走運的，倒霉的）。例如：

Stop complaining about your luck. No， you have not been down on your luck； you are just plain lazy， unwilling to try anything.

別抱怨自己的運氣，不對，你并不是倒霉，你只是一直就很懶惰，不愿意作出努力。

⑤ If you want to get a leg up on the competition， you’ve gotta put a face on your qualifications. 如果你想在競爭中領先，你必須把你的任職資格與自己本人聯系起來。

get a leg up： arrive at a position of advantage（處于有利地位）。例如：

My previous intern experience really got me a leg up in getting oriented quickly on the job.

我之前的實習經歷確實幫我盡快地適應工作環境。

put a face on sth.： connect sth. with a real person（把某事與真人聯系起來）。例如：

Now that I finally met him， I can put a face on his excellent works of art.

現在我跟他見過面，那我就可以把那些他創作的優秀藝術品與他本人聯系起來了。