告別不充分就業，迎接職場大轉折

????不充分就業是指在工作中高能低就或未能獲得全職工作而被迫從事兼職的情況。不充分就業問題并沒有像完全失業那樣獲得足夠的關注，但不可否認的是，它已經成為亟待解決的社會問題：據勞工統計局（The Bureau of Labor Statistics）報道，目前，作為一時的權宜之計，美國近930萬希望獲得全職工作的勞動人口被迫投身兼職領域；這一數字與2007年（經濟危機出現前）相比增長了近一倍。

????并且，很多人在事業起步之前就陷入了不充分就業的境地：據調查，在2009及2010年兩年內，共有40%的應屆大學畢業生所從事的工作并不需要大學文憑。

????即便如此，不充分就業問題并不會成為永遠邁步過去的坎。在這里，我要感謝所有讀者，感謝你們對我近期的一項調查做出了回應，并通過郵件與我分享了大家成功擺脫事業困境的故事。我們通過分析發現，所有故事都離不開兩條主線：利用臨時工作為踏板，最終獲得一份穩定的工作，通過降格以求獲得學習的機會，掌握全新的職業技能。

????比爾?德里斯科爾現任羅伯特哈夫國際公司（Robert Half International）地區總監一職，該公司專門從事為會計和金融領域輸送臨時和正式職員的服務工作。比爾是第一個承認臨時工作“是摧毀一個人職業斗志的主要殺手”。然而，他補充說，“每一份工作都是一次機會，即使它并不是我們夢寐以求的理想職業。這樣的機會不僅能夠展示我們已經掌握的技能，學習新的技能，還能夠拓展人際關系。將臨時合同工身份轉變成“正式”雇員身份的例子不勝枚舉。確實有很多人都做到了?！?/p>

????下面的例子就是最好的證明：妮可?懷特曾在加利福尼亞州帶領20人的團隊負責為非盈利組織籌款。之后，她因丈夫的軍事調動，辭掉這份全職工作，搬到了佛羅里達州。然而，在那里她沒能找到類似的崗位，所以簽約了一家臨時工中介公司。后來，她被分配到一家銀行做客戶服務工作，每小時只拿9美元的薪水，沒有任何福利，而且一個星期需要工作30個小時。

????然而，她的管理能力在這里毫無用武之地，她說：“我每天要花四五個小時接聽電話，還要幫助那些不會操作電腦的客戶辦理轉賬業務?！奔幢氵@樣，她仍然全力以赴。幾個月后，她的付出得到了回報。今年三月，懷特得到當地政府經濟開發部門提供的一份工作?！靶剿透＠c我之前在加利福尼亞州時不相上下?！?/p>

????懷特所不知道的是，這家銀行的一位高級經理同時也是這個政府機構的董事會成員（現為董事會主席），而且頗有影響力；他一直關注懷特在銀行作為客服代表時的工作表現，對懷特印象深刻。后來，正是他通知懷特參加了這個機構的面試。

????“永遠不要低估良好工作表現所具備的力量，因為說不定什么時候就會被別人注意到，”懷特說。

????部分讀者反映，他們曾自愿放低身段，降低待遇，以便完成事業的華麗蛻變?！斑^去30年里，這樣的經歷不止一次地發生在我身上，”邁克?費雷德里克寫道。最近的一次經歷發生在2007年，當時，他所領導的部門遭遇淘汰。之后，他拒絕了幾次晉升的機會，跑到公司創辦的企業大學里干起了一份低薪工作。

????他回憶說：“當時，沒人能夠保證我還能重新進入與之前部門水平相當的管理層?！辈粌H如此，新的職位要求員工具備相關的IT技能，而這正是費雷德里克所缺少的。“需要學習的東西太多了，并且成功的勝算非常渺茫，這讓我非常氣餒，”。即使是這樣，公司還是替他為需要學習的一系列課程買了單。“沒有什么比不花一分錢就可以進修一項全新職業更具有吸引力了。對我來說，這樣的機會不容錯過。”

????三年的時間很快過去了?！敖涍^許多個挑燈夜戰的漫漫長夜，以及努力將所學到的知識運用到白天的工作中，”費雷德里克表示，現在的IT培訓部管理職位“正是我之前夢寐以求的”。

????從這些經歷中，他學會了“以退為進，選擇低職位來過渡也許是一個人最終取得成功的最佳途徑?！辟M雷德里克建議道：“調查一下，看看企業是否愿意針對你的情況提供相應的培訓，或者為你需要學習的大學課程買單。大膽向公司咨詢一下。只要制定了計劃，就不要打退堂鼓。把精力集中在達成目標的可能性上?！?/p>

????與其他任何一項挑戰一樣，有時擺脫不充分就業的困境所需要的僅僅是堅持而已?！拔以谝患医浖o公司擔任行政助理一職，待遇不錯。2008年，我的上司遭到解雇，我也被迫離職了，”希拉?馬克森寫道?！爸蟛畈欢鄡赡陼r間里，我終日徘徊在街頭，試圖找到一份工作。為了支付房租，我不得不在晚上到餐廳做服務生?，F在，終于苦盡甘來，我在一家保險公司謀得一份差事，待遇甚至比之前那份工作更好。”

????“現在的經濟情況確實令人沮喪，”她補充說，“但這并不是最糟糕的。選擇放棄才是最嚴重的錯誤，我們每個人都可能會犯這種錯?！?/p>

????或者，就像比爾?德里斯科所說的那樣：“永遠不要放棄尋找理想工作的努力。”無論目前你是否處于不充分就業的狀態，這都是個明智的建議。

????反饋：你是否有過打破未充分就業魔咒的經歷？你是靠什么來擺脫這種不利局面的？歡迎留言評論。

????譯者：李淑玉/汪皓

????Underemployment -- defined as doing a job for which one is overqualified, or involuntarily working part-time instead of full-time -- gets less attention than outright unemployment, but there's no denying it's a problem: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that about 9.3 million Americans who want to find full-time jobs are doing part-time work as a stopgap, double the number who did so in (pre-recession) 2007.

????Some people find themselves underemployed before their careers have even gotten off the ground: In 2009 and 2010, one survey found, 40% of new college grads took jobs that don't require a college degree.

????Yet it seems that underemployment needn't be a permanent setback. Many thanks to everyone who responded to my recent query. Among those who emailed their stories, two main threads emerged: Using temporary work as a steppingstone to a permanent position, and treating a step down as a chance to learn a new career.

????Bill Driscoll, a district president at accounting and finance staffing firm Robert Half International, is the first to admit that temping "can be a major morale killer." But, he adds, "Every job is an opportunity, even if it isn't your dream job. It's a chance to showcase your skills, gain new ones, and grow your network. We do see lots of people turning contract assignments into 'real' jobs. It does happen."

????A case in point: Nicole White, who quit a full-time job in California where she managed a team of 20 employees doing fundraising for nonprofits, and moved to Florida when the military relocated her husband there. White could not find a position like the one she left, so she signed on with a temp agency and took a $9-an-hour, no-benefits, 30-hours-a-week customer service assignment at a bank.

????The work didn't require her management skills: "I was answering phones for four or five hours a day and transferring money for people who couldn't use a computer." Still, she put her best effort into it. Several months later, her efforts paid off. Last March, White was hired by her county's economic development office, "with salary and benefits at the level I was used to in California."

????Unbeknownst to White, a senior manager at the bank was also an influential board member at the county agency (and now chairs it) and was impressed by her performance as a customer service rep and called her in for an interview.

????"Never underestimate the power of good work in any position you are offered," says White. "You never know who is looking on."

????Some readers report they've deliberately taken a step down in status and pay in order to move their careers in a different direction. "I've done it more than once over the past 30 years," writes Mike Frederick. Most recently, in 2007, when his department was eliminated, he turned down a couple of promotions to take a lower-paying staff job in his employer's corporate university.

????"No one could promise me I'd ever get back to my previous level of management in that department," he recalls. Not only that, but the job called for tech skills that Frederick lacked. "I had a lot to learn and the odds against my success seemed daunting," he recalls. Even so, his employer funded a series of courses he needed to take: "What clinched it was the chance to learn a new career at no expense to me."

????Fast-forward three years and, "after many long nights of studying on my own and hard work during the day applying what I learned", Frederick is "at the point where I wanted to be," he writes: In a management position in an IT training department.

????What the experience taught him, he says, is that "taking a step down may be your best bet for ultimate success." Frederick's advice: "Find out if your company is willing to provide the training you need or will pay for college courses. Don't be afraid to ask and, after you make the move, don't look back. Focus on the possibilities ahead of you."

????As with any other challenge, getting past underemployment is sometimes a matter of sheer persistence. "I got bounced out of a great executive-assistant position at a brokerage firm when my boss got laid off in 2008," writes Sheila Markson. "It took almost two years of pounding the pavement by day and waiting tables at night just to pay the rent, but I now have an even better job at an insurance company.

????"This economy is discouraging," she adds, "but the worst mistake anyone can make is to give up."

????Or, as Bill Driscoll puts it: "Never stop looking for the job you really want." That's wise counsel whether you're currently underemployed or not.

????Talkback: Have you ever bounced back from a spell of underemployment? What worked for you? Leave a comment below.