致应届毕业生：第一份工作教会我们的7件事

Entering the workforce for the first time is going to be as instructive as it will be potentially terrifying. Most of us get jobs when we’re fairly young, and the realization that we will spend most of our lives answering directly to somebody other than ourselves isn’t an easy thing to shake.

初涉职场会在担心害怕中受益匪浅。我们多数人都是在颇为年轻时就参加了工作，我们还意识到这一点：我们要用大半生的时光直接听命于某人而不是自己，这件差事并不轻松。

The thing is, our first jobs, no matter how ridiculous, are going to stay with us; they’re going to teach us things we would never learn elsewhere, and to a certain extent, shape the person we’ll become later in our professional lives. Here are seven important lessons you’ll learn from your first job.

我们的第一份工作，无论多么荒谬可笑，这份工作都要和我们捆绑在一起，工作会教会我们在其他地方永远都学不会的一些东西，而且我们的职业生涯，在某种程度上，塑造着我们以后会成为怎样的人。本文的七个重要技能经验可供你从你的第一份工作中学习借鉴。

1. People Skills are 90 Percent of Any Job

90%的工作是大众技能即人际交往能力

The other 10 percent consists of the actual skills you learned at college or otherwise acquired along the way. The problem is, we don’t exist in a bubble; we’ll have to deal with other people pretty regularly.

另外10%的技能才是你在大学中或是在工作中慢慢学到的实战技能。问题在于我们并非活在气泡中，我们要定期处理好人际关系。

Knowing how to communicate effectively, as well as being personable, is going to be (for some of us) the hardest part of the job. Even if you work from home as an independent contractor, you still answer to (and will have to interact with) real people.

知道该如何与别人进行有效沟通，自己还要很有风度，这会是（我们部分人的）工作中最困难的部分。即使你在家当一名个体承包商，也还是要与真实社会的人们有人际交往。

2. You Need to Stay Two Steps Ahead

你要提前先迈出两步

Our success at our jobs – no matter the job – is less about any given moment, day or project, and more about the next. Anticipation is a thing we’ll learn early, whether it’s anticipating what a customer will want before they know how to ask for it, or anticipating the next demand our boss will make.

无论手头这份工作怎样，我们都从这份工作中取得成功，无关乎特定某刻、某天还是某个项目，而关乎于你接下来到底怎样。预期是我们会在很早就学会的东西，不管是在顾客知道如何开口前就预料到他们的需求，还是在老板开口前就预料到他的下一个要求。

If our first jobs teach us anything, it’s that one of the quickest ways to distinguish ourselves in the workplace is to take initiative. Don’t wait around to be told what to do; don’t make any assumptions, either, but if you’re given a chance to jump on the next thing that needs doing, without being instructed to do so, you’ll probably be rewarded.

如果我们的第一份工作教会了我们任何东西的话，那就是：想要在工作环境中最快地脱颖而出，我们需要积极主动。不要等着周围人告诉你该做什么，自己也不要做任何的假设，但是如果你有机会可以直接开始做下一件事的话，不要等人要求你做你才开始去做，很可能你就会有所回报。

3. Don’t be (Too) Afraid to Make Mistakes

别怕犯错

Conventional wisdom tells us that human beings learn from our mistakes. Science tells us that we may learn better from our triumphs.

传统智慧告诉我们：人类从自己犯过的错误中学习经验教训。科学告诉我们：我们可以从我们的成功中学到更好的东西。

When it comes to tackling a job, you’re almost guaranteed to slip up once in a while. That’s what the “learning curve” is all about; it’s an understanding between you and your boss that you’re still getting used to how things work. The thing is, learning is a lifelong process. You’re going to make mistakes. Dreading them, or walking on eggshells all day to avoid them is no way to live.

在处理一项工作时，差不多你偶尔就会出差错。这就是“学习曲线”：你和你的老板都会谅解，你还处于适应这项工作的过程中。学习是一个终身性的过程。你会犯错误。害怕出差错，为了避免出差错整天如履薄冰，这并不是生活的方式。

4. Get Used to Monotony

习惯千篇一律

With very few exceptions, most jobs out there are almost painfully dull. There may be slight variations along the way, but for the most part, our jobs will largely consist of the same activities and tasks on a daily basis.

多数工作几乎都让人感觉痛苦枯燥乏味，只有极少数的工作例外。可能过程中会有轻微的变化，但在多数情况下，我们的工作在很大程度上都是在重复日常活动和工作任务。

Learning to make the most of a predictable life is important; you’ll have to find your own ways to change things up from time to time and inject a little bit of variety into your working hours.

重点在于学会充分利用生活的可预见性，你得时不时用自己的方式来改变一下，给你的工作时间注入一点不一样的东西。

5. You’re Going to Work With People You Don’t Like

你会和你不喜欢的人一起工作

This might be the most important takeaway from our first jobs. It’s tempting to think that after you accept a job, you’ll find yourself among like-minded individuals who have everything in common with you. In fact, on occasion, you may end up feeling like you should take some animal repellant to work with you.

这可能会是我们第一份工作要面临的一大最重要的挑战。你接受一份工作后，你会发现自己与志趣相投的人很容易打交道，这样的环境想想就挺吸引人的。其实有时候，你可能还感觉你应该与自己排斥的人一起工作。

I got my first job when I was 11 years old, at a local rental company. They rented chairs, tents, power equipment and dozens of other things I couldn’t name. It seemed like almost every other employee who worked there was some kind of ex-convict. Needless to say, there weren’t any employee picnics, and if there were, I’d have come up with a great excuse not to go.

在我11岁的时候，我在当地的租赁公司得到了我的第一份工作。这家公司主营椅子、帐篷、电力设备和许多其他我叫不上名字的东西的租赁业务。几乎其他所有雇员貌似都有过前科。别说没有员工野餐的集体户外活动，如果有的话，我也会找个冠冕堂皇的理由搪塞着不参加的。

6. Accepting Any Job Can be Risky

接受有风险性的工作

Getting hired is, for most of us, a cause for celebration, and for good reason. It’s a culmination of a potentially months-long process of drawn-out interviews and waiting and worrying. Unfortunately, what comes next is anything but certain.

找到工作，对于我们多数人来说，可谓是件值得庆贺的事情，并且有着充分的理由可以庆祝一番。长达数月的面试、焦急地等待面试结果，让人倍感煎熬。不幸的是，接下来迎接你的只有不确定。

Unless you’re the CEO’s daughter, your continued employment is far from assured. Neither is your financial stability. Learning not to take anything for granted is one of the most important life lessons you’ll ever learn.

除非你是首席执行官的女儿，无需担忧就业问题，否则你的继续受聘达不到十拿九稳的地步，你的财务状况也会不稳定。对什么都不要想当然，这是你人生经验学习过程中最重要的人生课程之一。

7. Getting Hired is Only the Beginning

找到一份工作只是开了个头而已

So you’ve successfully landed a job. That’s great, but you’re still far from knowing everything you need to know about performing the job and, more importantly, immersing yourself in the culture of your new workplace.

那么，你成功找到了一份工作。真的很棒，但你对自己手头的这份工作仍不全了解，重点在于把自己沉浸在你的新工作场所的文化氛围中。

There are peoples’ names to learn and organizational procedures to memorize. Just because you work there now doesn’t mean you’re on even footing with your new co-workers; it’s going to take time and effort to make yourself a truly valuable piece of the puzzle. Find your strengths in the workplace and what kind of skills you offer that others can’t to make yourself truly valuable.

要记住人们的名字和公司的组织架构。只是因为你现在在那里工作，并不代表你跟你的新同事可以平起平坐；让自己变得真正有价值需要时间和努力。在工作环境中找到自己的优势，找到你有而别人没有的某些技能，让你真正有价值。