职场英语：怎样和老同事保持联系？

Your former colleagues and supervisors are a certifiable networking goldmine: They know your background, they work in your sector, and they have their own set of professional contacts.

你的前同事和前上司可是一座宝贵的人脉资源宝库。他们了解你的背景，他们和你在一个部门工作，而且他们自己也有一套职业人脉。

They can put a good word in for you at a new job, write you a letter of recommendation for grad school, and introduce you to new contacts and opportunities. And at the very least, they can confirm to a potential employer that you performed tasks X, Y, and Z at Corporation ABC.

他们能在你找新的工作时为你美言一二，在你申请研究生院时为你写推荐，还能为你介绍新的联系人和机会。至少，他们能向你潜在的新雇主证明你在某公司完成过某些项目。

So why are we so bad at staying in touch? Well, because it takes time, and because it can be awkward—if you don’t have a particular reason for reaching out, it can be hard to know when and how to do so. But periodically touching base, even when you’re not job-searching, means that when you do need to ask for a letter of reference or contacts in a new state, it won’t seem self-serving and out of the blue.

那么为什么我们如此拙于和老同事保持接触呢?好吧，因为那需要时间，有时也会有些尴尬——假如你没有一个去接触他们的特定理由，你会很难知道何时以及如何去和他们保持联系。你应该周期性地与他们联系，即使你没有在找工作，这意味着当你确实需要请他们提供介绍信或者联系人的时候，不会显得很自私自利或者很突然。

To help you out, we’ve come up with five easy ways to stay in touch with those old co-workers. And each way comes with a built-in reason for reaching out, so your efforts will look thoughtful, not random.

为了帮你排忧解难，我们帮你想了5种与前同事保持联系的简单方法。每一种方法包括了一个现成的联系对方的理由，那样你的努力才会显得有想法，而不是随性而为。

1. Holiday Cards

1.节日贺卡

You can say “Best Wishes for the New Year” to anyone. It’s collegial, it’s professional, and it’s on your holiday to-do list anyway. Added bonus: Think about how you feel when you receive a holiday card—like someone really cares about staying in touch with you (at least once a year).

你可以对任何人说“致以最好的新年祝福”。这有点学生气，但也很专业，而且它在你的节日任务清单上。另外：想象下当你收到节日贺卡时会有什么感觉吧——就好像某人确实很在乎和你保持联系一样。

The most professional choice is a non-denominational card (unless you’re certain about what tradition he or she personally observes) that steers clear of humor, which can be seen as offensive.

最专业的选择是送一张无教派卡(除非你对他所遵从的传统相当确定)，那能避开某种会略显冒犯的幽默。

2. Major (Personal) Life Events

2.个人生活中的主要事件

Are you moving and mailing change of address cards? Are your name and email changing post-marriage? Send a “here’s my new contact info” note to your old colleagues and bosses as you would to your friends and family. When you share that you’re getting married, going to grad school, or pursuing your life-long dream of traveling abroad and writing that novel, it not only shows that you’re interested in staying in touch, it fosters the personal aspect of your professional connection.

你是不是在搬家，然后正在群发地址变更通知卡呢?你的名字和email是否在婚后发生了变化呢?给老同事发一条“这是我新的联系信息”的消息吧，就像你会给朋友和家人发的一样。当你告知你将要结婚、去读研究生、或者去追求你环游世界或者写小说的毕生梦想的时候，这不仅表现了你对和他们保持接触非常感兴趣，也促进了你的职业人脉的发展。

3. Major (Professional) Life Events

3.职业生活中的主要事件

Did you just change jobs or get a promotion? Let your old bosses know, and thank them for the experiences they’ve given you that helped you get to this point. You can do this for non-job-change accomplishments, too. For example, if you’ve been chosen to throw a major event, send a note to the effect of “I’m running a 500-person event, and it reminded me when you gave me a shot at throwing my first gala.” If you’re in the same city, even better if the note is enclosed with an invite.

你是否刚刚换了个工作或者得到了晋升?让你的老上司们知道，并且为他们给予你的那些帮助你达到今天这个位置的宝贵经验而致谢。你也可以为了一些别的与换工作无关的成就而感谢他们。比如说，你被选中去组织一个大型活动的时候，给他们发一条“我现在在组织一个500人的活动，这令我想起当时是你给了我第一次主持节日晚会的机会”的信息。假如你们在同一个城市，在这份感谢信中夹上一张邀请函就更好了。

This can work both ways, too—if you hear that a former colleague has changed jobs or won an award, send her a “Congrats” card or email.

这个方法可以是双向的——假如你听说一个老同事换了工作或者得了一个奖，给她发一条“祝贺”的卡片或者email吧。

4. Articles of Interest

4.分享相关文章。

When you come across articles about industry trends or an issue a former colleague worked on, shoot over an email with a quick note saying “thought this may be of interest.” (Note: this is not the time to send cat photo tumblrs or the article about Carrie Underwood’s ah-mazing legs.) Think something to the effect of: “Just saw you updated the company’s Facebook page to the Timeline, and thought of you when I read this Mashable article.” Remember to balance the relevance and usefulness of the article with your desire to stay in touch.

当你恰好看到一篇有关你同事所在的行业动向的文章时，给他发一条内容为“我想你或许会对这个感兴趣”的email给他。(注意：这可不是叫你给他发萌猫照片或者凯利·安德伍德的新歌之类的。)想想这样说的效果：“我刚刚看到你在公司的Facebook时间轴上更新了东西，所以我在读这篇文章的时候就想到你了。”记住要根据你对保持联系的愿望来权衡文章的相关性和实用性。

Timing-wise, aim to send something quarterly—shooting over articles weekly may come off as a nuisance, whereas sending them once a year may seem like an afterthought. Though, keep in mind it may be difficult to follow an exact timeline. Two excellent articles may come out in April, and you might not see anything worth sending in June, July, or August.

聪明地选择时间，差不多一个季度发一点东西。——每个礼拜都发文章过去可能会显得有些讨厌，而一年才发一次则会显得在放马后炮。虽然如此，你要记住，要遵循一个确切的时间表是比较困难的。4月时你有可能看到了2篇出色的文章，而在6、7、8月则有可能看不到任何值得发的文章。

5. Social Media

5.利用社交媒体

LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are obvious ways to stay in touch, but which are appropriate for former bosses and colleagues? Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you had relocated but were in town for a few days on business, would you meet the person for a professionally-dressed coffee to talk shop, or at a bar to gab over a few margaritas?

LinkedIn、Twitter和Facebook是显而易见的保持联络的手段，但是这适用于前老板和前同事吗?这里有一条很好的经验法则：假如你搬了家，但要在城里为了工作而呆上几天，你会选择和这个人穿着便装去咖啡厅，并且三句不离本行呢，还是和他去酒吧喝点玛格丽特酒呢?

If it’s the former, connect over LinkedIn (and Twitter, if you keep your account professional). If it’s the latter, and you see this person equally as a friend and colleague, you can add them on all three. Just remember—­­only do so if you’d actually want to see photos of their wedding or kids’ birthday parties or hear their political views in real life.

假如你选前者，就和他在LinkIn上交流吧(也可以是Twitter，只要确保你的主页是职业性的)。假如选择后者，而且你把这个人当做朋友和同事看待，就在以上三个平台都加他为好友吧。只是要记住——只有当你确实想要看到他结婚或者给孩子过生日的照片、以及他在真实生活中的政治观点时才这么做。

A final note: You definitely don’t have to use all these tricks for all of your contacts. Think about your desired relationship with each person (Friend? Mentee? Recommendable former employee?) and your goal (Simply staying in touch? Broadening your base of professional contacts? Hanging out when you visit?) and decide on your approach from there.

最后的提醒：你当然不用对你所有的联系人都采用以上所有的方式。想一想你对每个人所需要的关系(朋友?同学?值得推荐的前雇员?)以及你的目标(只是想要保持联系?拓宽你职业人脉的基础?当你拜访他们时能喊他们出来玩?)然后决定你怎么去和他们接触。

And if it’s been five years since you’ve talked to these people? That’s okay. Start with a “Hey, here’s what I’ve been up to” note.

或许你已经五年没和这些人讲过话了?那也没问题，可以用一张写有“嘿，我一直以来都在这儿呢”的便条来打开话茬。