我之前為什么沒有為失業(yè)做更多準(zhǔn)備呢？

When I was called into an office at New Broadcasting House to be told that I was being made redundant from the BBC, one thought went through my mind: why did I not do more to prepare for losing my job?

當(dāng)我被叫到新廣播大樓(New Broadcasting House)的一間辦公室里，被告知我將從英國(guó)廣播公司(BBC)被裁員以后，我的腦海里浮現(xiàn)出一個(gè)念頭：我之前為什么沒有為失業(yè)做更多準(zhǔn)備呢?

This question stayed there for months afterwards and sometimes still taps the inside of my head five years later.

之后，這個(gè)念頭一連數(shù)月?lián)]之不去。5年過去了，我還會(huì)時(shí)不時(shí)想到這個(gè)問題。

I had some idea it might happen — my boss said that the BBC’s cost-cutting programme was going to be tough. But I didn’t see the corporation turning its back on me completely.

其實(shí)之前我隱約感覺這件事可能會(huì)發(fā)生——我的老板說過，BBC的那項(xiàng)成本削減計(jì)劃力度會(huì)很大。但我沒有想到，公司會(huì)徹底拋棄我。

This was naive but understandable. Over my seven years as Olympics and sports news correspondent for BBC London I had received recognition from numerous senior editors and correspondents, including the BBC’s top anchor Huw Edwards and the deputy director-general.

很天真，但可以理解。在BBC倫敦辦公室擔(dān)任奧運(yùn)和體育新聞?dòng)浾叩?年中，我獲得了眾多資深編輯和記者的認(rèn)可，包括BBC的王牌主播休•愛德華茲(Huw Edwards)和BBC副總裁。

My mistake was to think that doing your job well is a guarantee for keeping it. I relied on the BBC to show loyalty and it turned out to be the biggest error of my working life.

我錯(cuò)在以為做好自己的工作就給自己的工作崗位上了一道保險(xiǎn)。我信賴BBC，以展示忠誠(chéng)，結(jié)果證明這是我職業(yè)生涯中最大的錯(cuò)誤。

So my key lesson for any employee is to always make sure you are ready to be shown the door — practically, psychologically and financially.

因此，對(duì)于任何一位員工，我所能提供的最重要教訓(xùn)就是，始終確保你已經(jīng)為被掃地出門做好了準(zhǔn)備——包括實(shí)際準(zhǔn)備、心理準(zhǔn)備和經(jīng)濟(jì)準(zhǔn)備。

Seeking advice and networking is a positive way of establishing a safety net. Even if you are happy in your job and have complete faith in your employer, always have a Plan B. You do not need to say you are looking for a move straight away. But keeping your options open and researching your next career move will make you more comfortable in your current job.

多向他人請(qǐng)教和建立人脈是構(gòu)建安全網(wǎng)的積極方式。即使你對(duì)自己的工作很滿意，完全信任雇主，你也需要一個(gè)B計(jì)劃。你不用說你想馬上換工作。但時(shí)刻掌握可用的備選，研究你的下一步職業(yè)變動(dòng)，會(huì)讓你在目前的工作崗位上更自如。

At the same time, accumulate enough savings to pay your bills for six months, should you lose your job. This is probably a lot less than six months of your current salary — most of us can live on less money.

與此同時(shí)，積攢足夠的儲(chǔ)蓄，確保在你失去工作的時(shí)候能支付6個(gè)月的賬單。這筆錢很可能比你目前6個(gè)月的薪水要少得多——我們大多數(shù)人可以用更少的錢生活下去。

When I left the BBC I was initially able to use my redundancy cash to survive, but it took me 12 months to find another role as a university lecturer. Money was tight in those second six months and I wish I had set up a “safety net account”.

剛離開BBC的時(shí)候，我還能夠用裁員補(bǔ)償金度日，但我用了12個(gè)月才找到下一份工作——擔(dān)任大學(xué)講師——后6個(gè)月的日子就過得很拮據(jù)，我當(dāng)時(shí)真希望自己建立了“安全網(wǎng)賬戶”。

Also think about how you might employ your skills and contacts to change career. You might need to do some extra training to change direction completely.

另外，也思考一下在換工作時(shí)如何運(yùn)用自己的技能和人脈。你可能需要接受一些額外的培訓(xùn)才能徹底改變職業(yè)方向。

While still working as a journalist, a friend studied for a PR qualification and started networking in the communications industry. Eventually he decided to leave journalism for a job at a large PR agency. Understanding the challenges and having made the contacts, he was able to move on his own terms.

我的一個(gè)朋友在做記者時(shí)，攻讀了一張公關(guān)專業(yè)的文憑，并開始有意地結(jié)交業(yè)內(nèi)人士。最終他決定離開新聞業(yè)，去一家大型公關(guān)機(jī)構(gòu)工作。在明白了其中的挑戰(zhàn)、也有了人脈之后，他能夠按照自己的心意轉(zhuǎn)行。

I had to do all this “big picture” thinking in a hurry, while worrying about paying the bills. Eventually I decided to go into university lecturing and set up a portfolio business involving media training and journalism. But I wish I had done my thinking and networking more calmly when I still had a job.

而我不得不在匆忙中規(guī)劃這些“人生藍(lán)圖”，同時(shí)還要擔(dān)心怎么付賬單。最終我決定去大學(xué)教課，同時(shí)創(chuàng)業(yè)，開展涉及媒體培訓(xùn)與新聞的業(yè)務(wù)。但我真希望我能在有工作時(shí)更冷靜地思考、更從容地建立人際關(guān)系。

There are three stages to planning for redundancy: the first is talking to people about their experiences in other fields and thinking about what else you might want to do. The second is improving your position through extra studying and developing new skills. The third stage is asking people about openings.

為裁員做準(zhǔn)備可以分為三個(gè)階段：第一階段是與人們聊聊他們?cè)诟髯灶I(lǐng)域的經(jīng)歷，思考你還有可能做什么其他工作。第二步是通過學(xué)習(xí)新知識(shí)、培養(yǎng)新技能來提升自己。第三是向人們咨詢空缺的職位。

I would recommend everybody to work hard on the first stage. You may never move to stage two or three but knowing you have options will make you feel more comfortable.

我建議每個(gè)人在第一階段時(shí)都要努力工作。你也許永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)進(jìn)入第二或第三階段，但是知道自己還有其他選項(xiàng)會(huì)讓你感覺更好一些。

I regret not being ready when I suddenly faced redundancy. But if you take these precautions, you should be ready for any turmoil in your career.

我很后悔當(dāng)我突然遭遇裁員時(shí)沒有做好準(zhǔn)備。假如你采取了這些預(yù)防措施，那么當(dāng)職業(yè)出現(xiàn)變數(shù)時(shí)你應(yīng)該就已經(jīng)做好了準(zhǔn)備。