Dear Annie:I'm trying to change careers, hoping to apply my two decades of consumer-product marketing and branding experience to the health care field. I'm at the point where I'd like to set up some one-on-one meetings with networking contacts who are senior managers at health care companies, partly to see where they think my qualifications would fit in the industry, so I can focus my job hunt accordingly.
親愛(ài)的安妮：我想換個(gè)工作，希望把我20年的消費(fèi)產(chǎn)品營(yíng)銷和品牌推廣經(jīng)驗(yàn)應(yīng)用到醫(yī)療行業(yè)。我正打算與我認(rèn)識(shí)的醫(yī)療公司資深管理人員進(jìn)行一對(duì)一的面談，部分原因是想知道他們認(rèn)為我適合這個(gè)行業(yè)的哪些工作，這樣我可以相應(yīng)地調(diào)整求職重心。
These are very busy people, so I want to make the most of whatever time they can give me. Coincidentally, my daughter, who is graduating this spring and wants to go into finance, is doing informational interviews with people in that field (on the advice of a career counselor at her college). We've come up with a short list of questions, but do you or your readers have any suggestions? Is there anything to avoid asking? -- Dallas Dad
他們都是大忙人，因此我想充分利用他們給我的時(shí)間。巧合的是，我的女兒在今年春季畢業(yè)，想要進(jìn)入金融業(yè)，她正在與那個(gè)行業(yè)里的人進(jìn)行信息面談(這是她所在學(xué)校里的職業(yè)顧問(wèn)提供的建議)。我們已經(jīng)制定了一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)短的問(wèn)題列表，對(duì)此你或者你的讀者有何建議?有什么避諱嗎?——達(dá)拉斯老爹
Dear D.D.:Interesting question. Since your goal in an informational interview is to find out as much as you can about your chosen field, the more you already know about it, the better. "So be sure to research both the latest developments in the industry and the background of the person you're meeting," says Paul Freiberger, a former McKinsey consultant who now runs a career coaching firm called Shimmering Resumes and the author of When Can You Start?: How to Ace the Interview and Win the Job.
親愛(ài)的達(dá)拉斯老爹：您的問(wèn)題很有意思。由于信息面試的目的是盡可能多地了解特定行業(yè)的情況，因此事先對(duì)這個(gè)行業(yè)知道的越多就越好。“所以，要調(diào)查那個(gè)行業(yè)的最新情況，也要了解與你會(huì)面的那個(gè)人的背景，”保羅•弗雷伯格說(shuō)。他曾是麥肯錫公司(McKinsey)的顧問(wèn)，現(xiàn)在經(jīng)營(yíng)著就業(yè)指導(dǎo)公司Shimmering Resumes，還著有《何時(shí)開(kāi)始?：成功面試好上崗》(When Can You Start?: How to Ace the Interview and Win the Job)一書(shū)。
"Keep your questions open-ended," he adds. "Questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no are dead ends. In order to gain any real insight from it, you want the interview to expand into a working conversation between two people with shared interests. Open-ended questions push things in that direction."
“要提出開(kāi)放式問(wèn)題”他說(shuō)。“能用是或否來(lái)回答的問(wèn)題屬于封閉式問(wèn)題。為了從提問(wèn)中獲得真正的見(jiàn)解，需要把面談變成兩個(gè)擁有共同興趣的人之間的工作談話。開(kāi)放式問(wèn)題能夠把談話推往那個(gè)方向。”
Naturally, what you ask depends on what interests you most and will vary with each of your interviewees, but Freiberger suggests these queries as possible starting points:
自然，你問(wèn)的問(wèn)題取決于你最感興趣的是什么，而且應(yīng)該根據(jù)被提問(wèn)者的不同而發(fā)生變化。但弗雷伯格認(rèn)為，下面這些問(wèn)題或許是良好的開(kāi)始：
Where do you see this industry (or profession) going in the next few years? What changes have you seen in the course of your career so far?
• 你認(rèn)為這個(gè)行業(yè)(或職業(yè))在今后幾年里的前景如何?你在你的職業(yè)生涯中目睹了哪些變化?
What specialized training or education is required to succeed in this field now? How has that changed?
• 如今在這個(gè)行業(yè)里需要哪些專業(yè)化培訓(xùn)或教育?這方面有什么變化?
Which skills have you found most helpful, and which ones will be most important in the future?
• 你認(rèn)為哪些技能最有用，哪些技能在未來(lái)最重要?
Could you describe your average workday and your key job responsibilities?
• 你可以講講你的日常工作和主要職責(zé)嗎?
What are the best and worst things about working in this field today?
• 如今在這個(gè)行業(yè)里工作，最有利和最不利的地方分別是什么?
What resources help you keep up with the industry? Which trade or professional associations have you found most useful?
• 哪些資源幫助你跟上了這個(gè)行業(yè)的腳步?你認(rèn)為哪些行業(yè)組織和職業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)最有用?
Has anything surprised you over the course of your career? What changes have you found most challenging?
• 在你的職業(yè)生涯中，有什么事情令你感到吃驚嗎?你認(rèn)為哪些變化最具有挑戰(zhàn)性?
Would you choose this field if you had it to do over again? Is there anything you would do differently?
• 如果再來(lái)一次，你還會(huì)選擇這個(gè)行業(yè)嗎?在某些事情上你會(huì)不會(huì)采取不同的做法?
What are the biggest technological changes influencing this business right now?
• 目前對(duì)這個(gè)行業(yè)影響最大的技術(shù)變化是什么?
In what ways does your job affect your life outside work? How do you see work-life balance issues affecting colleagues?
• 你的工作對(duì)你的生活產(chǎn)生了哪些影響?你認(rèn)為工作與生活的平衡問(wèn)題對(duì)你的同事有何影響?
"Don't hesitate to ask about things that are specific to your employment situation," says Freiberger. "It's fair game to ask how your existing skills and experience or education fit into the field, and how you can improve your prospects going forward." He recommends bringing your resume to the meeting: "You're not going to thrust it into this person's hand, but you want to have it available if he or she asks to see it."
“要積極詢問(wèn)與你的就業(yè)情況息息相關(guān)的問(wèn)題，”弗雷伯格說(shuō)。“詢問(wèn)你的現(xiàn)有技能、經(jīng)驗(yàn)或教育背景是否適合這個(gè)行業(yè)，以及你怎樣才能改善自己在這個(gè)行業(yè)里的前景，這些都是很合理的問(wèn)題。”他建議帶上簡(jiǎn)歷去赴會(huì)。“不是要你把簡(jiǎn)歷硬塞到對(duì)方手里，而是如果對(duì)方提出看簡(jiǎn)歷的話，你可以馬上拿得出來(lái)。”
Since most informational interviews are short -- often just 15 or 20 minutes -- it's smart to lead with what's most relevant to your job search. Freiberger suggests bringing a list of questions in descending order of importance. As for what to avoid asking, he says, "Aside from questions that are ridiculously inappropriate ... there is only one absolute taboo: Don't ask for a job." If all goes well, that will come later.
大多數(shù)的信息面談都很簡(jiǎn)短，通常只有15或20分鐘，因此應(yīng)該首先詢問(wèn)與求職關(guān)系最大的問(wèn)題。弗雷伯格建議，制定一個(gè)問(wèn)題列表，按照重要性由高到低的順序排列。至于有什么避諱，他說(shuō)：“除了極其離譜的問(wèn)題以外……只有一個(gè)絕對(duì)的禁忌：不要直接向?qū)Ψ角舐殹?rdquo;如果一切順利的話，這是水到渠成的事。
Talkback: What questions have you found most useful in an informational interview? Leave a comment below.
反饋：你認(rèn)為在信息面談中哪些問(wèn)題最有用?請(qǐng)?jiān)谙旅姘l(fā)表評(píng)論。