“迷?！被蛟S是畢業(yè)生面對職業(yè)選擇時最常說的一個詞了，但即使是職場中人，也難免深陷在自己不喜歡的職業(yè)中不得脫身。什么是可以為之奮斗一生的事業(yè)呢？既然不確定，那就一樣一樣地試試看吧。本文作者的經(jīng)歷告訴我們?nèi)绾瓮ㄟ^互聯(lián)網(wǎng)打造自己的人際網(wǎng)絡，也許工作機會離你只有一封郵件的距離。

If you’re stuck in a job you hate， you’re (unfortunately) not alone. In fact， an astonishing more than 80% of Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs.

I， too， was unhappy in the corporate job I took right after college. Like many people， I’d put more thought and effort into getting the job than into figuring out if it was something I actually wanted. There’s plenty of research and advice out there on how to write the perfect resume and ace1) that interview. But when it comes to figuring out what you want to do with your life， the strategies aren’t so clear.

I realized that， although I could predict and pontificate2) about a career path that might make me happier， I would never actually know until I was into the thick of it. I had an idea that I might like to do something related to entrepreneurship， but I didn’t exactly know what that meant. Did I want to join a start-up3)? Start my own? Try to get into venture capital? Join or start a non-profit? Do international development work abroad?

More importantly， I didn’t know how I could figure it out without a huge investment of time， like starting another full-time job with a new company.

But then I had a different idea. I decided to enter a competition to shadow4) Dave McClure5)， who runs the accelerator 500 Startups. Being selected as one of the top six finalists gave me the kick I needed to quit my job， fly down to Silicon Valley， and begin what I call a “self-education program” on something they don’t teach you in school， but is arguably the most important thing of all: what I wanted to do with my life.

Over the next few months， I began cold emailing6) anyone I could think of who I was interested in meeting and learning from. To my surprise， I had a shockingly high response rate. I got to meet with the founders of Airbnb， Square， Kiip， Mint， Color， and many more， and also various investors and professors in the Bay Area7). I asked them about their career path， how they’d come to where they were now， and what recommendations they had for figuring out my next move.

And I didn’t stop there. I also volunteered at major conferences， such as DEMO8) and Founder Showcase9)， so I could meet more people and attend the talks for free. I checked out various events and talks in the region， and even sat in on10) classes at Stanford. Finally， to get a full holistic11) experience， I lived in a co-op12) in Palo Alto13) and had an amazing time learning about cooking， co-operative living， and alternative lifestyles.

One of the most important conversations I had was John Krumboltz， an international career expert who teaches career coaching at Stanford. He advocated an idea that stuck with me: testing out the different career experiences I was interested in， in the most low commitment way that I could for each option. I had just been introduced to the entrepreneurial concept of “minimum viable product14)”—an interesting parallel， I thought—so I decided to apply these same principles to deciding what to do next with my career.

I began “prototyping” the different work experiences that I was considering—dipping my toe in each—so I could figure out which I liked best. Again using my favorite tactic of cold emailing， I reached out to and secured “shadow experiences” with companies including Launchrock (a 500 Startups company)， Dojo， Causes (started by Sean Parker)， Kiva， the Stanford d.school， and Ashoka (a non-profit that supports entrepreneurship). I spent 1～5 days with each company， not only learning from them， but also helping them out wherever I could. At Causes， I helped produce success reports for clients and sat in on strategy meetings and interviews with potential hires. At Kiva， the CEO Matt Flannery let me follow him around for the day and experience “a day in the life15)，” complete with accompanying him on his daily walk in the park to clear his head.

So what did I learn through all of this? I realized that I wanted to pursue my own business， as soon as possible. In one of the classes I sat in on at Stanford， the professor asked the students how they wanted the world to be different when they died. I knew then that not only did I want to be passionate about what I was doing—I wanted others to be， too. I wanted my business to do something that helped other people find and pursue career activities that they were passionate about.

Since then， I was accepted into an incubator16) called Startup Chile and an academic program called Singularity University (started by the founders of Google and based at NASA)， which have helped me to work towards that objective ever since.

But looking back， I’m so happy that I took the time to prototype my different career options—and am grateful for the fact that it was nearly free to do so. I learned more in those few months than I had in years.

And whether or not you can take a few months off from work， you can learn like that， too. If you’re not quite sure about your career path， pick a few things you think you’d rather be doing， and then prototype them yourself by setting up experiences where you can try out your different options. Find companies you’d like to work for and individuals whose career paths you admire， and then reach out to them to see if you can shadow with them for an afternoon， a day， or a week. Try informational interviews17)， volunteering， even internships， and more. And don’t be surprised when they say yes， or even if many of these experiences lead to job offers—without you even asking for them.

One thing that really surprised me during my experience was how easily approachable， open， and helpful most people are. Cold emailing has become perfectly normal， as has saying “I saw you on Twitter and thought you seemed interesting， so I wanted to reach out.” This is the first time in history that people’s career interests and hobbies are listed online and are easily searchable—and it’s an amazing opportunity to create your own network beyond just the people you meet in person.

Take it from me: If you’re trying to decide on your next step， it’s an opportunity you can (and should) take advantage of.

如果你討厭現(xiàn)在的工作，但又深陷其中，脫身不得，那么很不幸，很多人跟你面臨一樣的境遇。事實上，80%以上的美國人都對自己的工作不滿意，這個數(shù)字讓人吃驚。

同樣，我對大學剛畢業(yè)時做的那份公司里的工作也不滿意。和許多人一樣，我投入了很多心血爭取到這份工作，卻沒能花足夠的心思弄清楚這是否真的是我心儀的工作。很多的研究和建議都在教你撰寫完美簡歷的訣竅和面試成功之道，可一旦涉及如何明確自己一生想做的事時，就沒有那么清晰的策略可用了。

我意識到，雖然我能夠預測并自以為是地斷定某條職業(yè)道路會讓我更加開心，但也只有當我深入進去之后才能真正了解。我想我可能會喜歡和創(chuàng)業(yè)相關的工作，但是這個想法意味著什么我并沒有確切的認識。我是想加入一家初創(chuàng)公司，還是想自己創(chuàng)業(yè)？是嘗試從事風險投資，還是加入或者成立一家非營利組織？又或者是到海外從事國際發(fā)展方面的工作？

更加重要的是，如果我不投入大量時間——例如在新公司開始另一份全職工作——就無從知曉答案。

不過后來，我有了一個不同的想法。我決定參加一個競賽，以跟隨“500創(chuàng)投”孵化基金的創(chuàng)始人戴夫?麥卡盧觀摩學習。我最終成為入圍決賽的六名選手之一，這讓我終于有動力辭掉工作，飛往硅谷，開始了我稱之為“自我教育計劃”的學習進程，學習學校里學不到但卻無疑是至關重要的東西：我想怎樣度過自己的一生。

接下來的幾個月里，我開始發(fā)送陌生郵件，發(fā)給我能想到的任何我有興趣認識并且向其學習的人。令我驚訝的是，這些郵件有著極高的回復率。我得以見到諸多公司(包括房屋租賃網(wǎng)站Airbnb、移動支付公司Square、移動廣告公司Kiip、個人理財服務網(wǎng)站Mint、網(wǎng)絡社交平臺Color和其他一些公司)的創(chuàng)始人，還認識了舊金山灣區(qū)的一些投資人和教授。我詢問他們的職業(yè)道路，請教他們?nèi)绾我宦纷叩浆F(xiàn)在，問他們對于如何確定我的下一步規(guī)劃有怎樣的建議。

我并未就此止步。我還志愿參加了一些重要會議，如DEMO創(chuàng)業(yè)者大會和創(chuàng)始人展示大會，這樣我就能認識更多的人，還能免費參與討論。我考察了這一地區(qū)的各種活動和講座，甚至旁聽了斯坦福大學的課程。最后，為了獲得充分、全面的體驗，我還在帕洛阿爾托的一家合作社里住了一段日子，在那里學習烹飪、合作式生活以及不同于以往的生活方式，度過了一段非常美好的時光。

在我進行的交流中，與約翰?克朗伯茲的交談是最為重要的談話之一?？死什澥且幻麌H職業(yè)規(guī)劃專家，在斯坦福大學教授職業(yè)培訓課程。他倡導的一個觀點我一直銘記在心：體驗我感興趣的不同職業(yè)經(jīng)歷，以最小的投入嘗試每一種選擇。這之前我剛剛了解到“最簡化可實行產(chǎn)品”這一企業(yè)概念——我認為這是一個很有趣的類比。所以，我決定把這樣的原則應用到我職業(yè)生涯的下一步?jīng)Q策當中去。

我開始就自己考慮的不同工作一一進行嘗試——每樣工作涉獵一點——這樣就能弄清楚我最喜歡的是什么。通過再次使用我最喜歡的發(fā)送陌生郵件的策略，我向一些公司申請并獲得了“觀摩學習經(jīng)歷”，這些公司包括Launchrock公司(由“500創(chuàng)投”孵化)、Dojo公司、社交網(wǎng)站Causes (由肖恩?帕克創(chuàng)建)、在線小額貸款機構 Kiva、斯坦福設計院和Ashoka (一個支持創(chuàng)業(yè)的非營利組織)。我在每家公司都花上1～5天的時間觀摩學習，不僅向他們學習經(jīng)驗，而且盡我所能地提供幫助。在社交網(wǎng)站Causes的時候，我協(xié)助為客戶制定了成功案例報告，還列席觀摩了戰(zhàn)略會議和招聘面試。在Kiva，其首席執(zhí)行官馬特?弗蘭納里讓我跟了他一整天，體驗什么叫“生命中的一天”，其中還包括陪他去公園例行散步，以整理思緒。

那么，我從這些經(jīng)歷中學到了什么呢？我意識到，我想盡快開啟自己的一番事業(yè)。在我旁聽的斯坦福的某節(jié)課上，教授問學生，當他們離開這個世界的時候希望世界有什么不同。那個時候我就認識到，我不僅希望對自己從事的工作抱有激情，還希望其他人對他們從事的工作也能如此。我希望我的事業(yè)能夠幫助他人找到并從事他們熱愛的職業(yè)活動。

從那以后，我參加了一個名為“啟程智利”的創(chuàng)業(yè)孵化項目和一個名為“奇點大學”(由谷歌創(chuàng)始人發(fā)起，位于美國國家航空和航天局內(nèi))的學術項目，此后這些項目一直幫我朝著心中的那個目標努力。

回顧過去，我非常高興自己曾用這段時間嘗試了不同的職業(yè)選擇。而對于這一切近乎免費這一事實，我也心懷感激。我在過去的幾個月里學到的東西比我?guī)啄昀飳W到的都要多。

不管你是否能從工作中抽出幾個月的時間，你都能通過這樣的方式學習。如果你對自己的職業(yè)道路還不太確定，那就選擇幾件你認為自己愿意做的事情，然后通過策劃相關經(jīng)歷來嘗試不同的選擇，以親身體驗這些工作。找到你希望供職的公司和你欣賞其職業(yè)道路的人，然后和他們接觸，看看能否跟隨他們一個下午、一天或者一個星期來觀摩學習。職業(yè)訪談、志愿服務，甚至實習以及其他更多的活動都可以嘗試。他們可能會答應你的請求，甚至在你沒有要求的情況下，許多經(jīng)歷還會為你帶來工作機會，對此你都不必大驚小怪。

在我的經(jīng)歷中，真正讓我感到驚訝的是大多數(shù)人竟如此易于接近、思想開放且樂于助人。發(fā)送陌生郵件已經(jīng)成為再正常不過的一件事，正如平常所說的那樣：“我在Twitter上看到你，覺得你非常有趣，所以我想認識你?！比藗兊穆殬I(yè)興趣和愛好都寫在網(wǎng)上，并且很容易就能搜索到，這是史無前例的。這也是一個絕佳的機會，讓你在現(xiàn)實生活中接觸的人之外打造自己的人際網(wǎng)絡。

請聽我一句：如果你正在決定自己的下一步動向，這是一個你可以(并且應該)好好利用的機會。

1.ace [e?s] vt. 對??取得絕對優(yōu)勢；在??中取得好成績

2.pontificate [p?n?t?f?ke?t] vi. 武斷地表示意見

3.start-up [?stɑ?(r)t?p] n. 初創(chuàng)公司，新開張的企業(yè)

4.shadow [???d??] vt. (作為一種短期培訓方式)陪隨……工作，做……的跟班

5.Dave McClure：戴夫?麥卡盧，是硅谷一家名為“500創(chuàng)投”的孵化基金的創(chuàng)立合伙人。

6.cold email：發(fā)送陌生郵件

7.Bay Area：(美國)舊金山灣區(qū)(舊金山高級住宅區(qū))

8.DEMO：DEMO創(chuàng)業(yè)者大會，1990年起源于美國，是創(chuàng)新項目面向投資家、企業(yè)家和全球媒體展現(xiàn)項目優(yōu)勢、尋找風險投資、發(fā)展業(yè)務伙伴的大型活動。知名的Tivo、Palm Pilot、 Java、Skype等技術均誕生于此平臺。該活動在中國已成功舉辦五屆。

9.Founder Showcase：創(chuàng)始人展示大會，由著名創(chuàng)業(yè)家阿迪奧?萊西(Adeo Ressi)每季度召開一次。十名事先選定好的幸運創(chuàng)始人向五名著名風險投資家組成的評審小組推介各自創(chuàng)立的公司，而其余的與會者在現(xiàn)場觀看并用手機給自己最中意的創(chuàng)始人投票。

10.sit in on：列席(在場而不參與)；旁聽

11.holistic [h???l?st?k] adj. 全面的，整體的，全盤的

12.co-op [?k????p] n. 〈口〉合作商店，合作商場，合作社

13.Palo Alto：帕洛阿爾托(美國舊金山附近城市)

14.minimum viable product：最簡化可實行產(chǎn)品

15.a day in the life：文中此處是引用披頭士樂隊一首歌曲的名稱?！癆 Day in the Life”《生命中的一天》是由披頭士樂隊成員約翰?列儂(John Lennon)和保羅?麥卡特尼(Paul McCartney)創(chuàng)作的一首單曲，收錄在樂隊1967年的專輯《佩珀中士的孤獨之心俱樂部》(Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)中。

16.incubator [???kj??be?t?(r)] n. 孵化器；孵化員

17.informational interview：職業(yè)訪談，這個詞最早由北美著名職業(yè)指導專家理查德?尼爾森?博爾斯(Richard Nelson Bolles)首次使用。他所指的是，在找工作之前，為了解該職業(yè)或者行業(yè)現(xiàn)狀，直接與已經(jīng)在那個工作崗位、公司或行業(yè)的人約見會談，以期評估自己是否適合該項職業(yè)的一種“投石問路”的直接途徑。