美國選秀節目給我們的5大啓示
As “American Idol”Season 13 winds down, the last of the disappointed candidates heads home. (Bye-bye oft-abused Jessica Meuse and too-quiet Alex Preston, you were lucky to survive so long.) The 10-month gauntlet that started in Salt Lake City has been an arduous, sometimes superficial, review process filled with mixed messages and false hopes. In other words, it’s resembled a real-life job search.
隨着第13季美國偶像的落幕，失望而歸的候選人們也踏上了回家的路。（是時候和你們說再見了，Jessica Meuse和Alex Preston，你們能撐到今天很走運。）這鹽湖城開始的爲期10個月的較量非常艱辛，有時候膚淺的評論充斥着各種信息和不切實際的希望。換而言之，和現實生活中找工作有類似之處。
But take heart, dog! If in the words of “Idol” icon Randy Jackson, you’re “in it to win it!” you can overcome these five Idolesque pitfalls to emerge as the NEXT…
別灰心，朋友！如果能做到“偶像”Randy Jackson說的“加入它去贏得它”，你就能克服以下五種偶像式的陷阱。
The Best Advice Is the Worst, Unless It Isn’t
所謂最好的建議恰恰是最糟糕的，否則這個建議就不是最好的
"AI" contestants must continually navigate between admonitions to “make the song your own,” and “Don’t mess with great arrangements.” Jennifer Lopez dissed front-runner Jena Irene’s melody change on Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Yet after hearing Irene’s distinctive take on Elvis’ “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You,” Lopez walked up and kissed the contestant. What to do with such, er, consistent feedback? “Stay in your lane,” as EVERY “Idol” judge has counseled. Or make the song your own!
美國偶像參賽者們必須不停地遊走於各種建議之間，有的建議“把歌曲變成自己獨有的”有的建議“不要破壞原本很棒的歌曲安排。”Jennifer Lopez批評參賽優勝者Jena Irene對Lady Gaga歌曲“Bad Romance ”曲調的更改。但當她再次聽到Jennifer標新立異翻唱貓王歌曲“I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”之後，上臺親吻Jennifer表示高度讚揚。這樣“一致的”評價讓參賽者如何是好？“保持歌曲自己風格”這是每個“偶像”評委所建議的。要不然就把歌曲變成自創的。
Jobseekers understand this cycle of confusion and contradiction. “Get creative with your resume,” some experts will tell you, even as many job application portals are keyword-based. Script your answers to potential questions ahead of time – except when job interviewers decide to test how you perform on the fly. Read enough advice, and every strategy is both a best practice and the fast track back to your sofa. Worst yet, what works with one interviewer may not impress another.
求職者懂得疑惑和矛盾之間的循環。“簡歷要做得有創意，”一些專家會告訴你，即使許多工作申請入口是基於關鍵詞的。提前準備好問題的答案——除非面試者要測試你的應變能力。收集足夠的建議，每一條策略既是最管用的也可能會讓你空手而歸。更糟糕的是，能令這個面試官滿意的不一定會令另一個面試官滿意。
How you get around it? Do your homework. Learn about the company, its core business and its hiring process. Sites like Glassdoor can help. The better informed you are, the better prepared for questions you’ll be, and the more comfortable you’ll be answering.
怎樣克服這些困難呢?做功課。去了解公司核心業務和僱傭流程。諸如Glassdoor之類的網站可以提供幫助。自己獲得信息越多，準備就越充分，回答問題時就會越自在舒適。
You Can’t Just Think You’re Great
不能總是覺得自己很優秀
In 2013, an estimated 8,000 contestants showed up at the Detroit auditions alone. They all thought they had a shot at the crown. You know what those 8,000 had a better shot at? Being forgotten. Just two Detroit contestants made it to the top 13, and one of them already has been eliminated (sorry, Malaya).
在2013年間，僅僅在底特律約有8000名參賽者試鏡。他們都覺得自己有希望奪得桂冠。然而事實上你覺得他們最有希望的是什麼？是被遺忘掉。只有2位闖入前13名，並且其中一人已被淘汰（對不起，Malaya）。
Job applicants aren’t much different. You’re totally awesome. Look how awesome you are! Your resume is peppered with superlatives. You’d be a star for whoever hires you. That’s what most people think, anyway. But that’s also not really the case. A 2013 study by The Career Advisory Board reported that 72 percent of all jobseekers are convinced they know how to present themselves to potential employers, but the same study says “just 15 percent of hiring managers say nearly all or most jobseekers” have what they’re looking for.
求職者也差不多。你很棒。看看你有多麼優秀！你的簡歷中使用的都是最高級。你簡直就是僱主的掌上明珠。不管如何，這就是大多人的想法。但是這卻不是那麼一回事。2013年研究調查機構The Career Advisory Board報告指出72%求職者確信自己知道如何在潛在僱傭者面前展示自己，但是研究結論還顯示僱傭者認爲只有15%的求職者滿足他們的條件。
How you get around it? Get over yourself and on top of your actuals. Show the interviewer how you can help the company, citing specific examples from your work history. Lean on your resume and experience, not your total awesomeness. Oh, and drop the empty adjectives from your resume. State your accomplishments and results plainly, and let the work, like a powerful song lyric, speak for itself.
如何克服這個困難？振作起來達到最佳狀態。向面試官展示你能如何幫助公司，從自己的工作經歷中舉例論證。精簡你的簡歷和經歷，但保留下你值得驕傲的方面。簡歷中捨棄那些空洞的形容詞。用普通的言語描繪你的成就和成果，讓你的工作，好比鏗鏘有力的歌詞，爲自己代言。
When Looking Good is Better Than Being Good
有時外表比能力更有競爭力
On “Idol,” simply singing isn’t enough, and it may not even matter so much if you look like a superstar. Just ask Season 4’s Constantine Maroulis (he of the rock-god charisma), Season 5’s Ace Young (the movie star looks) or Season 13’s Sam Woolf (so boyishly cute), whose looks more than lungs got them well into the top 10. The same is true in job interviews. Your off-point answers are the interview equivalent of that pitchy “Idol” wannabe, but good news! Only 7 percent of hiring bosses place much emphasis on what you say, while 55 percent say the biggest impact is on what you’re wearing and how you carry yourself. That’s superficial, depressing and completely true.
在“偶像”節目中，如果看起來不具備明星氣質的話，僅僅靠唱歌是不夠的。看看幾個例子，第四季中Constantine Maroulis（擁有搖滾巨星氣質），第五季的Ace Young（具有電影明星相）或者第13季的Sam Woolf（小鮮肉），他們進入前十名其中外表起到了比歌聲更重要的作用。你面試中的小瑕疵就好比“偶像”節目裏唱跑調的歌手，不過好消息是，只有7%的老闆會在意你的回答，有55%的老闆說影響最大的是你的穿着和如何表達自己。這聽起來雖然膚淺，令人沮喪，但卻是現實。
How you get around it? Ask about attire before the interview, and dress one notch above that standard, but don’t sacrifice comfort. If you feel stiff or uncomfortable, you’ll come across that way. You should look and feel good before walking out the door.
你如何克服這困難呢？面試前想大家問問服飾方面的問題，穿着提高一個檔次，但也不要犧牲了舒適性。如果你感到僵硬和不適，你將會遇到麻煩。你應該在結束面試前都要看起來和感覺很棒。
All About the Judges (or Interviewers)
關於評委（或面試官）
“Idol” has always been as much about the judges (sometimes more so) as the singers. See: Simon Cowell’s empty abuse to perpetuate a shtick; Jennifer Lopez’s lip-synced self-promotional mid-show performances; Harry Connick, Jr., feeding Lopez a giant gummy bear; instead of reviewing a performance. Judges use the show to push their own interests and ego, distracting from the matter at hand at the cost of legitimate critique. Like a desperate “Idol” contestant awaiting judgment, jobseekers may find themselves nervously twittering as hiring managers yammer on about their work, rather than the work you’re looking to do.
“偶像”節目主要關注評委（有時被關注更多）和歌手。比如：Simon Cowell的一些搞笑無稽之談；Jennier Lopez在節目中的假唱來展現自己；Harry Connick，Jr.，給Lopez喂巨大的gummy bear軟糖；而不是評價一個節目。評委通過節目展現自己的興趣所在和魅力而忽視了手頭要評論的節目。好比一個急於獲得評委評分的“偶像”候選人，工作面試者可能會發現自己緊張地做着彙報而面試官卻在抱怨自己的工作而不是介紹你要尋求的工作。
How you get around it? If you can’t get a word in edgewise, interrupt by not saying anything at all. Just lean in. Your body language should help get your point across. If the interviewer does decide to take a breath, take the opening with a graceful interjection, and point back to an aspect of your resume that aligns with the job description. Guide them to respond to what you’re saying, rather than what they’re saying.
如何克服？如果你找不到合適言語去引導，那就不要打斷也不要說話，洗耳恭聽。你的肢體語言會讓對方明白你的觀點。如果面試官打算跑題休息一下，可以使用一聲優雅的感嘆，然後再指出你簡歷中符合工作的方面。引導他們去迴應你說的內容，而不是迴應他們說的內容。
The Jennifer Hudson Effect
Jennifer Hudson效應
Sometimes, being the best candidate simply doesn’t matter; they might not hire you anyway. This is the Jennifer Hudson Effect. In “Idol” Season 3, America gave Hudson the heave-ho on the “top 7” show. The folks who finished ahead of her included winner Fantasia Barrino and a bunch of other people you’ve forgotten. The loss hurt Hudson’s career so badly, she’s done nothing of note except earn an Academy Award, a Grammy and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the corporate world, hiring managers make mistakes all the time. As a result, you could be Hudsoned. But! You could also be Hudsoned, and experience all the success in the world somewhere else.
有時候，就算是一位最佳候選人也沒什麼用，評委也不一定會選擇你。這就是Jennifer Hudson效應。在“偶像”節目第三集中，Hudson在“頂尖7人”節目中被淘汰。在她之前的包括獲勝者Fantasia Barrino和許多你已經忘記的選手。Hudson的損失慘重，她除了獲得奧斯卡金像獎，格萊美和好萊塢星光大道位置以外沒有做出引人注目的成就。在公司圈裏，僱用經理總是會犯各種錯誤。結果就是你和Hudson下場一樣。不過你可以和Hudson一樣，獲得其他領域的成功。
How you get around it? Don’t let someone’s “no” discourage you. Keep putting yourself out there. That rejection might end up being the best thing that ever happened to you.
如何克服？別讓其他人的否定打擊自己。努力奮鬥，會有一次拒絕有可能是一件好事。
