How Flexible Should You Really Be?
实际情况下你该妥协到什么程度才可以？
In tough times, job-seekers are often advised to be flexible about issues from commute length to salary to job title. But while it's true that you have to be realistic, some compromises may end up hurting you more than they help.
经济危机时期，求职者通常都会被建议从上班时间，到薪资，到工作职位等方面要懂得灵活变通。虽然说你是要现实起来，但是有时候妥协带给你的伤害远比帮助要大。
"I don't believe that you just cave and take anything," said Mary Jeanne Vincent, a career coach in Monterey, Calif., and owner of WorkWise. "I have an underlying philosophythat you always sell value."
加州蒙特利的”WorkWise”公司的老板Mary Jeanne Vincent，同时也是一位职业教授，他说：“我不认为一旦妥协了就能够得到任何东西，我会在潜意识里认为你总是在廉价出卖价值。”
Steve Levin, CEO of Leading Change Consulting & Coaching in Portola Valley, Calif., draws a distinction between what he calls "healthy resiliencyand begrudging compromise." One is a reasonable response to a challenging market. The other is a self-defeating trade-off.
加州波托拉维利的“Leading Change Consulting & Coaching”公司总裁Steve Levin明确定义了“良好的弹性和吝啬的妥协”的分界线。一边是对市场变化做出的合理应对，而另一边就是弄巧成拙的交易。
To tell the difference, experts suggest asking these six questions:
专家建议通过以下的六个问题来分辨这其中的差异：
1）How badly do you need money? If you're about to lose your home or are having trouble putting food on the table, you may need to take whatever job is offered.
你有多需要钱？如果你马上就要失去家庭了或连吃饭都成问题了，你可能就需要接受一切提供给你的工作了。
2）Will the job make you miserable? Taking a job that's not right for you increases the risk that you'll be laid off again within a few months -- something that can make it even harder to find the next job. If you will feel resentful rather than excited about the job, you might be better off continuing your search.
这份工作是否会让你痛苦？如果选择一份不适合你的工作的话，那你在几个月之后会感到厌烦的几率就更大。有时候这一点甚至让你很难再找到下一份工作。如果你对这份工作的感觉是痛苦大过于兴奋的话，你最好还是继续找其他工作吧。
3）Can you explain why you're taking it? If you take a job that's less than your previousone, you'll need to be able to explain this apparent step backward the next time you're looking. Saying you couldn't find anything else is not likely to impress an interviewer.
你能解释清楚你接受这份工作的原因么？如果你选择的这份工作还没不如上一份，那么在下次找工作的.时候你就要解释得了退步的理由。如果你的理由是你找不到其他工作的话，这是不会给面试官留下深刻印象的。
But if you have a good reason for taking a position -- to gain experience in a new industry, for example, or to learn a new skill -- a step down doesn't have to hurt you.
但是如果你对接受该职位有很好的理由的话，如，为了在一个新行业学到经验、为了学到技能等，那么暂时，稍微差一点的选择不会给你带来什么损失。
4）What's most important to you? Perhaps you'd be willing to take less money as long as you got the title and authority you wanted. A longer commute may be morepalatableif you can telecommute some of the time.
对于你来说什么才是最重要的？也许你为了得到想要的职位和权力愿意接受报酬少一点。如果你可以时不时在家里远程办公的话，长时间的工作时间也许对你来说是更好的选择。
"You really need to do all this thinking -- what are the tradeoffs you are willing to make in order to be employed?" said Libby Pannwitt, principal of the Work Life Design Group in San Carlos, Calif.
“Work Life Design Group ”是加州的圣卡洛斯的一家公司，其主要负责人Libby Pannwitt说： “你确实需要全方面考虑事情，为了被录取，你愿意做出什么样的让步？”
5）Will this job help in the long term as well as the short term? Consider what you'd like to be doing several years from now -- and whether this job could help you get there.
这份工作带给你的长期效益是否会如短期效益那样好？考虑下从现在开始几年以后你该干什么，而这份工作是否可以帮助你实现这个目标？
"I really believe that a lot of people panic and get anxious about short-term needs and forget all about their long-term goals," Levin said. If a job will give you an important new skill, for example, it may be worth making other trade-offs to take it.
“我相信有很多人对短期需求的恐慌和焦虑让他们忘记了长期目标。” Levin说。如果一份工作能让你学会重要的新技能，那么，它也许就值得你为之做出其他的妥协。
"In a knowledge-based job market, learning is your quickest pathway, your best investment," Levin said.
Levin还说：“在以知识为基础的求职市场上，学习才是最佳的捷径，最好的投资。”
6）What is the alternative? To know how flexible to be, you have to know the market. Long-term unemployment is hard on both careers and finances.
有什么其他选择？想要知道自己该有多灵活，你先要了解市场。长期的失业对职业生涯和资金来说都是件困难的事情。
If you decide to wait for a better job, "What are you doing with your time while you're waiting?" Levin said. "If you aren't working for someone else, then work for yourself - by treating your job search as a full-time endeavor."
如果你决定要等一份更好的工作。Levin 说：“那么你在等待的时间里打算干什么呢？如果你不是为别人工作，那就通过尽力找工作来为自己工作吧。”
