By Joshua Ogden-Davis

Cynthia： Good morning， Jackson！ Youre up early.

Jackson： ①The early bird gets the worm， Cynthia！ But apparently， you know that， as well. Why are you up at this hour？

Cynthia： Im going to a job interview.

Jackson： Ah， no wonder youre looking so 1）snazzy. ②The clothes make the man， they say！

Cynthia： Or woman.

Jackson： Ah， right. But why did they 2）schedule your interview so early？

Cynthia： Oh， they didnt. Im going in without an appointment.

Jackson： Wait， what？ Youre 3）cold-calling a company and asking for an interview？

Cynthia： Thats right！ ③Ive been sending out my resume for a while， but since I havent heard back from anybody， Ive decided to take matters into my own hands.

Jackson： I didnt know you were such a 4）go-getter！

Cynthia： In this day and age， you have to be！ ④The job market is so 5）swamped with qualified 6）candidates， you have to do something to make yourself stand out of the crowd， find some way to show that youre serious about the job.

Jackson： Thats true， but are you sure this is a good idea？

Cynthia： ⑤Well， lets hash out some pros and cons. Why wouldnt it be a good idea？

Jackson： For one， companies usually have hiring systems in place. If you show up with no appointment， they might think you dont know how to work within a system.

Cynthia： Thats a good point. Its good to be a 7）maverick at times， but you also have to know how to be a team player.

Jackson： On top of that， they might mistake your 8）assertiveness for being 9）na？ve， as if you never thought that they might be too busy to drop what theyre doing and 10）humor you.

Cynthia： Also a good point. If Im too eager， I might come off as inexperienced.

Jackson： Exactly. Now that weve talked it out， Im not sure that this is a good idea at all.

Cynthia： ⑥Not so fast. All of those obstacles can be overcome.

Jackson： You already have answers ready and waiting， eh？⑦OK， then， convince me that youre on the right track.

Cynthia： The thing to remember is to be 11）courteous， professional， and patient. If they say that they dont have time to see you， be respectful and ask when you can come back.

Jackson： Thats a good way to strike a balance between being assertive and understanding， I suppose.

Cynthia： Exactly. Cold-calling shows that youre willing to face challenges 12）head-on， but being courteous and patient shows that you can also be a team player.

Jackson： Indeed. But I imagine lots of companies would still be pretty put off by someone just showing up out of the blue， no matter how courteous he is.

Cynthia： Of course. It wont work every time， but then again， I dont need every company to like it. I only need one job， after all.

Jackson： Wait， you mean youre going to more than one company？ How many are you going to today？

Cynthia： Ive planned three in the morning， then four more in the afternoon.

Jackson： Wow， you really are playing the field！

Cynthia： The more chances I take， the better chance I have of success！

Jackson： One thing I dont understand， though. Why not just call ahead of time and let them know you plan on coming？

Cynthia： Theres a higher chance of getting rejected over the phone， I think. But thats not the real reason why Im not calling ahead.

Jackson： Oh？ Then what is？

Cynthia： My phone is broken！

辛西婭：早上好，杰克遜！你起得真早！

杰克遜：早起的鳥兒有蟲吃，辛西婭！但是很明顯，你也懂得這個(gè)道理。你干嘛這么早就起床了？

辛西婭：我要去面試。

杰克遜：啊，怪不得你今天如此盛裝打扮。人們都說(shuō)：男人靠衣裝。

辛西婭：女人也是。

杰克遜：啊，對(duì)。但是他們?yōu)槭裁窗涯愕拿嬖嚢才诺媚敲丛缒兀?/p>

辛西婭：噢，他們沒(méi)有。我沒(méi)有預(yù)約就去面試。

杰克遜：等等，什么？你不請(qǐng)自來(lái)地去一家公司參加面試？

辛西婭：沒(méi)錯(cuò)！我投了簡(jiǎn)歷好長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間了，但是由于沒(méi)有接到任何人的回復(fù)，我決定自己主動(dòng)出擊。

杰克遜：我過(guò)去不知道你是個(gè)那么能干的人！

辛西婭：在今時(shí)今日，你必須這樣！求職市場(chǎng)到處都是合格的候選人，你必須做點(diǎn)事讓自己從人群中脫穎而出，找到方法來(lái)顯示你對(duì)這份工作的重視。

杰克遜：這是對(duì)的，但是你確定這是個(gè)好想法？

辛西婭：好吧，讓我們討論下這樣做的利弊。為什么這不是個(gè)好主意呢？

杰克遜：其中一點(diǎn)，公司通常都有固定的招聘制度。如果你沒(méi)有預(yù)約就去面試，他們會(huì)認(rèn)為你不知道怎么在制度下工作。

辛西婭：這點(diǎn)說(shuō)得好。有時(shí)持不同觀點(diǎn)是好的，但是你必須知道如何進(jìn)行團(tuán)隊(duì)合作。

杰克遜：另外，他們會(huì)把你的自信誤認(rèn)為幼稚，就像你從來(lái)不認(rèn)為他們會(huì)放下手中正忙著的事情來(lái)遷就你（看你的簡(jiǎn)歷）一樣。

辛西婭：這點(diǎn)也說(shuō)得好。如果我太急進(jìn)，可能會(huì)被認(rèn)為沒(méi)有經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

杰克遜：正確?，F(xiàn)在我們討論完了，我不確定這是個(gè)好主意。

辛西婭：別這么早下定論。以上所說(shuō)的困難都是可以解決的。

杰克遜：你已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好答案等著說(shuō)出來(lái)了，對(duì)吧？好吧，那么，說(shuō)服我你這樣做是對(duì)的。

辛西婭：我們?cè)诿嬖嚂r(shí)要記得表現(xiàn)得禮貌、專業(yè)和有耐心。如果他們說(shuō)沒(méi)時(shí)間見(jiàn)你，一定要尊重他們，問(wèn)你什么時(shí)候能夠再來(lái)。

杰克遜：我想，這是一個(gè)平衡自信與理解的好方法。

辛西婭：對(duì)。不請(qǐng)自來(lái)顯示你愿意直面挑戰(zhàn)，而溫文有禮則能夠表現(xiàn)出你也是有團(tuán)隊(duì)合作精神的人。

杰克遜：確實(shí)如此。但是我認(rèn)為很多公司對(duì)應(yīng)聘者的突然出現(xiàn)還是會(huì)感到很生氣，不管他有多禮貌。

辛西婭：當(dāng)然，這樣做不會(huì)每次都成功，但是再說(shuō)一次，我不需要每個(gè)公司都認(rèn)同我。畢竟，我只需要一份工作。杰克遜：等等，你的意思是你打算不止去一家公司面試？你今天打算面試幾家？

辛西婭：我打算早上面試3家，下午面試4家。

杰克遜：哇，你真的在利用一切可以利用的機(jī)會(huì)！

辛西婭：我爭(zhēng)取到越多的機(jī)會(huì)，就會(huì)有越好的成功機(jī)會(huì)！

杰克遜：但是我還有一件事不明白。為什么不提前打電話告訴他們你要去面試呢？

辛西婭：因?yàn)槲蚁朐陔娫捴斜痪芙^的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)更高，但這不是我不提前打電話的真正原因。

杰克遜：噢？那真正原因是？

辛西婭：我的手機(jī)壞了！CS

Smart Sentences

① The early bird gets the worm， Cynthia！ 早起的鳥兒有蟲吃，辛西婭！

The early bird gets the worm： if sb. wants to be successful at sth.， he/she should do sth. immediately（早起的鳥兒有蟲吃）。例如：

—I didnt expect to see you here at this hour of the morning.

我想不到這么早能在這兒看到你。

—Well， the early bird gets the worm， right？

早起的鳥兒有蟲吃，對(duì)不對(duì)？

② The clothes make the man， they say！ 人們都說(shuō)：男人靠衣裝。

The clothes make the man： people will judge you according to the way you dress， a proverb（人靠衣裝，諺語(yǔ)）。例如：

Jane was always careful about how she dressed because she believed that the clothes make the man.

簡(jiǎn)一直對(duì)自己的衣著很謹(jǐn)慎，因?yàn)樗嘈湃丝恳卵b。

③ Ive been sending out my resume for a while， but since I havent heard back from anybody， Ive decided to take matters into my own hands. 我投了簡(jiǎn)歷好長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間了，但是由于沒(méi)有接到任何人的回復(fù)，我決定自己主動(dòng)出擊。

take matters into ones own hands： deal with a problem by oneself（自己動(dòng)手解決問(wèn)題，自己處理）。例如：

My parents and I have always disagreed about my major， so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

我與父母在我的專業(yè)問(wèn)題上分歧很大，所以我決定自己搞定。

④ The job market is so swamped with qualified candidates， you have to do something to make yourself stand out of the crowd， find some way to show that youre serious about the job. 求職市場(chǎng)到處都是合格的候選人，你必須做點(diǎn)事讓自己從人群中脫穎而出，找到方法來(lái)顯示你對(duì)這份工作的重視。

stand out of the crowd： to be very obvious or unusual（與眾不同，突出）。例如：

Our company tries to stand out from the crowd by introducing custom-made tour packages.

我們公司推出定制旅游路線，盡量做到與別人不一樣。

⑤ Well， lets hash out some pros and cons. 好吧，讓我們討論下這樣做的利弊。

hash out sth.： carefully discuss sth.（詳細(xì)商討某事）。例如：

We will hash out the details of the conference plan this afternoon.

今天下午我們會(huì)詳細(xì)討論會(huì)議計(jì)劃的細(xì)節(jié)。

⑥ Not so fast. 別這么早下定論。

not so fast： used to tell sb. to stop reaching any conclusion or taking action（用以告訴他人不要急于下結(jié)論或者采取行動(dòng)）。例如：

—With what we heard from the witnesses， I think we can tell who is responsible for the accident.

根據(jù)我們從目擊者聽到的情況來(lái)看，我覺(jué)得我們可以就誰(shuí)造成這起事故下結(jié)論了。

—Not so fast. What about asking the people who are actually involved？

別急，問(wèn)問(wèn)直接與此有關(guān)的人怎么樣？

⑦ OK， then， convince me that youre on the right track. 好吧，那么，說(shuō)服我你這樣做是對(duì)的。

on the right track： act or progress in a way that is likely to result in success（方向正確）。例如：

From todays meeting， it is widely believed that the company is on the right track for a recovery from the recent food poisoning incident.

通過(guò)今天的會(huì)議，人們普遍相信公司目前方向正確，會(huì)從食物中毒事件恢復(fù)過(guò)來(lái)。