跳板工作—求職者的另一種選擇

Jose： Hey Martina， how’s the job hunt going so far？

Martina： It’s tough. I’m starting to come to a hard realization that I’m gonna have to settle for a job that I’m vastly overqualified for.

Jose： You seem surprised. ①You thought it was going to be smooth sailing， didn’t you？ ②Yeah， the job market is a 2）fickle mistress， and sometimes just isn’t fair to the working class. That’s why I’ve been an independent contractor these past few years. Because after bouncing from one rebound job to another， I got tired of the grind and worried that I wouldn’t be able to climb back up the corporate ladder again. You know， I figured I’d slipped and fallen down too many rungs. So I found an industry where I could have more control.

Martina： Wow！ Uh…well， I’m really happy for you. But go back for a second. What was that you said about rebound jobs？ What are those？

Jose： Oooh， a teachable moment！

Martina： Oh， I hate those.

Jose： Come on！ Buck up， and flex those brain muscles. Now， what is a rebound？

Martina： I know that in basketball， a rebound is when a player grabs a miss that just bounced off the rim.

Jose： Exactly！ And how about in relationships？

Martina： Oh yeah！ A rebound guy， or girl， is someone who you hook up with after just getting out of a serious relationship. And a rebound guy is usually just a one night stand. Sometimes more， but rebounds don’t usually turn into anything long-term.

Jose： And you， my friend， have just successfully e x p l a i n e d w h a t a rebound job is. You just got out of a long relationship with your old company， and now you need a new job. But finding Mr. Right， or the right company， is no easy task. So are you just gonna stay unemployed till you can find the perfect job？

Martina： Of course not. I can’t afford to let months go by without any cash coming in. I need a temporary gig that can help me pay the bills while I look for a career that really suits me.

Jose： So you need a rebound job.

Martina： And what sorts of jobs are usually considered rebounds？

Jose： A lot. Ever worked at Starbucks？

Martina： What do you think？

Jose： Well don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. ③It may seem like some soulless corporation， but the guys there helped me get back on my feet， during a time when I was really struggling with things in my private and professional life. So you never know.

Martina： Wow Jose！ You’re a really inspiring guy， you know that？

Jose： I’ve been told once or twice. I just hope my struggles can help you and others get through your own trails and tribulations.

Martina： I hope so too. I’ll see you later. Wish me luck.

Jose： Good luck Martina！

約瑟：嗨，馬丁娜，最近找工作順利嗎？

馬丁娜：不好找。我現在開始深刻意識到我得將就一份太過簡單的工作。約瑟：你好像有些驚訝。你是不是認為找工作是一件一帆風順的事情？嗯，就業市場猶如一個善變的情人，有時這對于工薪階級的人們來說是不公平的。這就是我過去這些年來做獨立承包人的原因。自從我從一份跳板工作跳槽到另一份工作后，我就厭倦了這種苦差事的折磨，擔心自己以后不可能再得到晉升。你懂的，我認為我已經滑倒過，摔下太多級階梯。所以我尋找著一份我更容易掌控的職業。

馬丁娜：哇！呃……好吧，我真替你開心。但回到剛才，你說的跳板工作是什么？都有些什么工作呢？約瑟：喔，教育時機到了！

馬丁娜：噢，我不喜歡那樣。

約瑟：來吧！振作起來，活動一下腦筋。首先告訴我，回彈是什么意思？

馬丁娜：我知道在籃球術語中，它被稱作籃板球，是指球員搶到未投中籃而碰到籃板反彈出來的球。

約瑟：完全正確！那在人際關系中它又是什么呢？

馬丁娜：噢！備胎男女是指你在結束一段認真的感情之后所勾搭的曖昧者。而備胎男友通常與一夜情有關。有時候時間會更長一些，但是這種關系通常是不會維持很長時間。

約瑟：而你，我的朋友，已經成功地解釋了跳板工作的含義。你剛剛跟你之前的公司結束了長期的勞動關系，而現在你需要一份新的工作。但是，不論是找真命天子還是合適的公司都不是一件容易的事情。所以你是不是打算一直處于失業狀態直到那份理想工作出現？

馬丁娜：當然不是。我無法承受幾個月沒有金錢收入的日子。我需要一份能夠在我尋覓那份真正合適的工作期間維持生活的臨時工作。

約瑟：所以你需要一個跳板工作。馬丁娜：那一般什么樣的工作會被認為是跳板工作呢？

約瑟：很多。你試過在星巴克里工作嗎？

馬丁娜：你覺得怎樣？

約瑟：哎，除非你嘗試過了，否則不要吹毛求疵。星巴克聽起來像是沒有靈魂的公司，但是，當我在個人生活和工作之間痛苦掙扎的時候，是那里的人們讓我重新振作起來。所以你是不會懂的。

馬丁娜：哇，約瑟！你真是一個勵志哥，你知道嗎？

約瑟：我曾被說過一兩次吧。我只是希望我的奮斗史能夠幫助你和其他人熬過你們各自的艱難困苦。

馬丁娜：我也希望這樣。稍后見。祝福我吧。

約瑟：祝你好運，馬丁娜！

Smart Sentences

① You thought it was going to be smooth sailing， didn’t you？ 你是不是認為找工作是一件一帆風順的事情？

smooth sailing： a situation where progress is made without any difficulty（一帆風順，輕而易舉的事）。例如：

Probation in the QC department won’t be smooth sailing because they are known for being tough on newcomers.

在質檢部的試用期可不容易，人人都知道他們對新人很苛刻。

② Yeah， the job market is a fickle mistress， and sometimes just isn’t fair to the working class. 嗯，就業市場猶如一個善變的情人，有時這對于工薪階層的人們來說是不公平的。

fickle mistress： sb. who changes his/her mind all the time， sth. that is always changing（善變之人，變化莫測）。例如：

The summer weather here is like a fickle mistress； you never know what’s next.

這里的夏季天氣多變，誰也說不準接下來會發生什么。

③ It may seem like some soulless corporation， but the guys there helped me get back on my feet， during a time when I was really struggling with things in my private and professional life. 星巴克聽起來像是沒有靈魂的公司，但是，當我在個人生活和工作之間痛苦掙扎的時候，是那里的人們讓我重新振作起來。

get back on your feet： get back to a comfortable position （usually emotionally or financially）（重新振作，重新恢復）。例如：

After one year of restructuring， the company seems to have gotten back on its feet.

經過一年的重組，公司似乎已經恢復了元氣。