面试“逃跑”的六个理由

When a prospective employer makes unreasonable demands on you before things start to get serious, it's a strong signal to hit the road.

当一位未来雇主在工作还没正式之前就提出了无理要求，那么明显说明你需要“跑路了。

Job seekers have issues to keep them up at night. They worry that the beautifully crafted cover letters they're sending off won't be read and that plum jobs will go to less deserving candidates. They worry that their résumés don't showcase their shining accomplishments well enough to command the six-figure offers they're hoping for. If they're job hunting while working, they worry that a stray comment by a hiring manager or human resources screener to the wrong person will make its way back to their own boss.

有些事情让求职者夜不能寐。他们担心发出去的制作精美的简历没人读，肥缺被不如自己的人获得。他们担心简历没有充分展示自己的光辉成绩，那些成绩足以为他们赢得一份六位数薪水的工作。如果他们是一边上班一边找工作，他们会担心招聘经理或人事和一个错误的人说漏嘴，而那话会传到自己老板耳朵里。

These are all reasonable worries. Personally, I worry about something else—on behalf of job-seekers everywhere. I worry that they'll tumble into The Vortex and accept a job they should have scorned.

这些担忧都是合理的。就个人而言，我倒为天底下的求职者们担心别的事情。我担心他们会误入“漩涡，接受一个本来会去鄙视的工作。

What's The Vortex? It's the set of forces that overtakes a job seeker when he or she is deep into the selection process, somewhere between the first and third interviews, when the employer begins to send signals that he's interested. The Vortex is deadly, because in the face of all that approval and positive feedback (way more, in many cases, than we get on our jobs most of the time), it's easy to lose one's head. It's easy to overlook slights and red flags that should warn us away from dangerous waters. It's easy to get sucked into The Vortex and let our brains override what our instincts are telling us: that no matter how much wining and dining and affirmation is involved, some companies don't deserve our talents.

“漩涡是什么？是在应聘过程中控制求职者的那种力量，通常在第一次面试到第三次面试之间、当雇主开始表示出兴趣，求职者就会感受到这种力量。“漩涡是致命的。因为面对一切赞许、积极反馈(多数时候比我们在工作中遇到的多的多），很容易失去自我、忽视那些警告我们远离“危险的征兆。人们很容易被卷入“漩涡，我们的大脑会忘了直觉：不论有多少好处，有些公司不值得为其效力。

Charm Offensive 魅力攻势

If we end up taking a job because of Vortex effects, we'll regret it, and we know it. That's why we've created this list of Six Reasons to Run from a job opportunity, no matter how pleasant and charming the company representatives are, and no matter how much latte, red wine, and discussion of end-of-year bonuses is involved.

如果我们在“漩涡效应下接受了一份工作，那么就会后悔。我们心里也明白这一点。这就是为什么我们制作了这份“拒绝工作机会的六个理由清单，不论公司代表多么令人愉快、有魅力，不论喝上多少咖啡、红酒、讨论多少次年终奖金。

(You'll see that our list makes liberal use of the notion of Strong Mutual Interest. Each of us must determine on our own when SMI has been established, but it usually happens between the first and second interviews.)

(你会发现我们的清单中自作主张地用到了“强烈的共同利益概念。我们每个人都必须自己决定什么时候建立SMI，但通常是在第一次和第二次面试之间。)

Here's our list of Six Reasons to Run:
以下就是六个“逃之夭夭的理由：

1) Your employment references are requested before a strong mutual interest is established.
在建立SMI（注：“强烈的共同利益关系）之前，你被要求提供就业推荐人。

Any employer who values a job candidate also values his or her time and relationships. When a headhunter or company recruiter tells you "We'll need to call your references" too early in the game, they're sending a signal that the valuable time of your reference-givers is not nearly as valuable as the time that the company would waste in interviewing you before checking up on you. Your cue to bail.

尊重求职者的雇主也一样会尊重他/她的时间和关系。当一位猎头或招聘公司过早地告诉你“我们需要打电话给你的推荐人，这意味着你的推荐人的时间远不及在核查前面试你的时间那么宝贵。这是提示你该“走路的征兆。

2) The employer asks for your Social Security number or your approval for a credit or background check before strong mutual interest is established.
在SMI建立之前，雇主询问社会保障卡号、或要你同意对你的信用、背景进行调查。

When a company says, "We need to check on you before we can spare the time to talk with you," it's time to get out of Dodge. A talent-focused employer will call you for a phone interview (at a minimum) before bothering you for personal information that they won't require if they don't make you a job offer. This type of batch processing shouts, "Get in line to genuflect." Keep looking.

当公司说“我们先要查实一下你的情况之后才有时间和你交谈，就该是逃离“骗局的时候了。以人为本的雇主在调查你的个人情况之前会对你进行（至少）一次电话面试。如果他们不打算给你机会则不会要求你提供个人信息。这种“整批处理的含义是“排队磕头。 要小心。

3) You're sent a questionnaire (not a job application) or online test to complete before you've had any human contact with the employer, including a phone call.
在和雇主进行任何接触之前（包括电话），就要求你填写一份调查问卷（不是申请表）或在线测试。

When a company makes its selection process more efficient by shoving tests in your face before so much as chatting with you, they're sharing their views on reciprocity. "Prove to us that you're worth our time" is not the message that a talent-aware employer sends to the talented people applying to use their talents on its behalf. Reciprocity works in the same that permission-based marketing does; you give something to get something at every step in the process. A smarter company will chat with you, answer your questions about the job, and then ask, "Would you mind filling out our questionnaire, as the next step in the process? Can I answer any questions for you, to help you feel comfortable investing more time in our company?"

当公司还没有和你说一句话，就让你做测试来提高选拔过程效率，他们表达的是“互惠。“向我们证明你值得我们花时间不是一位有人才意识的雇主会给那些想要申请来发挥才干的人发出的讯息；“互惠和基于许可的行销的运作方式是同样的，在这个过程中每一步你都要给出某样东西来获得某样东西。聪明的公司会先和你交谈，回答你有关工作的问题，然后再问：“下一步你介意为我们填写调查问卷吗？我能为你在让您为我们公司投入更多时间上提供任何问题的解答吗？

4) Unreasonable or short notice to travel for interview.
通知你在不合理的时间或很短的时间内面试。

The Vortex becomes more powerful over time, and many a job seeker has called me excitedly to report, "They're flying me to New York City, tomorrow," without stopping to think: "Wait a second, they didn't ask me whether it was convenient for me to fly to New York City, now that I think about it." I know of one situation in which a candidate was pressured to fly to the company's headquarters on his wife's birthday. He was told, "If this isn't a priority for you, it isn't a priority for us, either." He wavered for an hour or two before telling them: "If my personal life and my most important relationship aren’t important to you, I don't want to work for you." If they really want you, they can wait a day or two.

“漩涡会越来越强，许多求职者兴奋地对我说：“他们明天用飞机把我接去纽约面试。这些人没有停下来想一想：“等等，现在我想到了，他们没有问过我飞去纽约对我来说方不方便。我知道有一个故事，应聘人被要求在妻子生日那天赶去公司总部。他被告知：“如果工作对你不重要，那么你的工作对我们也不重要。他考虑了一两个小时，然后告诉他们：“如果我的个人生活和我最重要的关系对你来说不重要，那么我也不想为你工作。如果公司真想聘用你，他们可以等上一两天。

5) You're told you can't meet the team, or see the employee handbook, or meet clients (if appropriate) before an offer is extended.

在给你工作之前，你被告知不能见团队、或看员工手册或见客户(即使这些要求是适当的)

This is a big, neon red flag that plenty of job seekers miss in the swirling colors of The Vortex. You need to meet your co-workers. Period. You need to see the employee handbook, which you'll be expected to adhere to during your tenure with the company and which will govern your working relationship. If you will work closely with a client at a senior level, it could make sense for you to meet with someone from the client's team before accepting the job. Ask yourself: Why wouldn't they let me meet the team or read the handbook? What is this employer afraid of?

这是一个大大的危险信号。许多求职者在“漩涡中没注意到。你需要见你的同事。就这么简单。你需要看员工手册，它会告诉你你将在实习期间遵守的、主导你工作关系的东西。如果你将和某位高级客户密切合作，那么在获得工作之前，让你和某位来自客户团队的人员见面是合理的。问一问自己：“为什么他们不让我见团队、读员工手册？雇主怕什么?

6) All communication is funneled through the HR rep or the headhunter.

一切沟通通过人力资源代表或猎头

Practical matters, like interview times and paperwork flying back and forth, doesn't need to take up a hiring manager's time. It makes sense to have an HR point person or third-party recruiter handling communication with a candidate over these "mechanical" issues. But if you're really interested in a job and have a question for your prospective manager, the manager absolutely needs to take that call. If you can't get the manager's attention now, what makes you think you'll be able to when you work there?

诸如面试次数、来往文件这些事情不需要占用招聘经理的时间。虽然让人力资源部门的“接口人或第三方招聘人来进行“机械程序的沟通是合理的，但是如果你对工作真的感兴趣，而且有问题要问未来经理，那么未来经理绝对需要回答。如果你现在得不到经理的关注，你又怎么能认为工作后就会受到关注呢?

Leave any of these six scary Vortex situations behind and don't look back—you'll have dodged a bullet. You have a lot to offer, and if an employer can't see it as the selection process unfolds, your talents are better used elsewhere.

远离这六个恐怖的“漩涡。对它们义无反顾——那么你就会躲过一劫。你是如此有才华，如果雇主在选拔过程中看不到，那么别的地方也许能更好地发挥你的才华。

（编辑：薛琳）