雙語閱讀美文：體面的離職藝術

公司常常解僱員工，反過來員工也可以自由離職。儘管按照自己的最高利益行事，無需爲此抱歉。話雖如此，你還是得小心處理離職這件事。下面就來看看一些體面離職的藝術吧~

Dear Annie: I like my job, and I just got a promotion, but I have a dilemma. For the past three years, I've been trying to get a foot in the door at my dream company, without success -- until now. The company has contacted me with an offer that I really feel I cannot turn down. I know my bosses where I work now won't like it, but I can't let this opportunity pass me by. Do you have any advice on how I should break the news that I'm quitting? — In Demand

親愛的安妮：我喜歡我的工作，我也剛剛獲得升職，但現在我碰到了一個難題。過去三年裏，我一直試圖加入我非常心儀的公司，但卻未能如願。但現在那家公司給了我一個無法拒絕的工作機會。我知道現在的老闆會生氣，但我不能失去這個機會。如何知會公司我的離職，對於這個問題，你有什麼建議嗎? — 炙手可熱

Dear I.D.: No doubt about it, leaving right after a promotion is awkward. But, unless you have an employment contract that says otherwise, "everybody's a free agent," notes Howard Seidel, a partner at Boston-based executive coaching and outplacement firm Essex Partners. "Companies terminate employees all the time, and the flip side is that people are free to quit. You absolutely should not feel bad about doing what's in your own best interests."

親愛的“炙手可熱”：確實，剛剛獲得升職就離開是有點尷尬。但是，除非你的僱用合同有專門的規定，“每個人都可以‘自由轉會’。”波士頓高管培訓與新職介紹公司埃塞克斯事務所(Essex Partners)的合夥人霍華德•塞德爾指出。“公司常常解僱員工，反過來員工也可以自由離職。儘管按照自己的最高利益行事，無需爲此抱歉。”

That said, however, you'd be wise to handle your exit with care. Before you take off, here's a pre-departure checklist:

話雖如此，你還是得小心處理離職這件事。在“起飛”之前，我爲你準備了一個“登機”(departure有登機和離職兩個意思——譯註)清單：

Be direct. "The first person to find out you're leaving should be your immediate boss," Seidel says. "And have this conversation in person." When people are nervous about how their news will be received, he observes, "it's tempting to hide behind technology and call or send a text or an email. Don't."

光明正大。“第一個應該知道你離職的人是你的頂頭上司，”塞德爾說。“而且要面談。”他注意到，當人們擔心離職的消息引起的反應時，“就不敢出頭露面，而是用電話、短信或者電郵知會對方。千萬別那麼幹。”

Two possible exceptions, he says: "If you always work remotely anyway and rarely see your boss, or if your boss's calendar is so packed that you're afraid you might not get in to see him or her for weeks, then maybe an email is okay -- but try to follow it up with an in-person meeting if you possibly can." Then, when you get there, "watch your tone. Don't be defensive or apologetic, but don't be defiant either. Just calmly state the facts."

只有兩個可能的例外，他說：“如果你一直就遠程辦公，很少見到老闆;或者老闆的日程安排太緊，你擔心可能幾周都看不到他或她，這時可以考慮電郵。但一定要儘可能地試圖跟進，安排會面。”會面的時候，“注意語調。無需自我辯護或者道歉，但也不要趾高氣揚。只要平靜地陳述事實就好。”

"Get right to the point," advises Jonathan Mazzocchi, a partner in the New York City accounting and finance division of staffing and recruiting firm Winter, Wyman. "It's like ripping off a Band Aid."

“直奔主題，”招聘公司Winter, Wyman的紐約市會計與金融分部的合夥人喬納森•馬佐奇建議。“就像撕去創可貼那樣乾脆。”

Mazzocchi recommends writing a brief formal letter of resignation that includes when you expect your last day will be, and bringing two copies to this meeting: "Ask your boss to sign both copies, and you keep one." Why? "Let's say you're in the middle of a long project and your leaving will cost the company money," Mazzocchi hypothesizes. "Someone at the company may try to make trouble for you by telling reference checkers you were fired. With the signed letter, you have proof you left voluntarily."

馬佐奇建議寫一封簡短的正式辭職信，內容包括你預期的最後工作日，然後在會面時帶上一式兩份：“請你的老闆簽署兩份辭職信，你自己保留一份。”爲什麼這麼做?“比如說你正參與一個長期計劃，你的離職可能導致公司賠錢，”馬佐奇假設說。“公司裏有人想報復你，就告訴推薦覈實人你是被炒掉的。有了這封簽名辭職信，你就能證明你是自願離職。”

Fend off a counteroffer. Mazzocchi says that, in situations like yours, "companies most often will offer you more money to stay -- even though it's a slippery slope for them, because if word gets out, other people will want the same deal." From your point of view, he adds, the trouble is that bosses who are already dismayed because you're leaving will be even more so "if they jump through hoops to make you a counteroffer and you still turn it down. That really does upset people."

回絕挽留。馬佐奇認爲，在你這種情況下，“公司通常會給你加薪，希望你留下，即使會引起連鎖反應。因爲如果信息泄露，其他人也會要求加薪。”他進一步說，從你的觀點來看這也不是什麼好事，老闆本來就因爲你打算離開而感到不快，“如果他們費盡力氣想要挽留你，最後還是遭到拒絕，那隻會讓人更加生氣。”

The way to prevent that debacle, he says, is to "be very definite about your intention to leave. Explain briefly what appeals to you about the other job offer, including the fact that it's your dream job and fell into your lap when you weren't actively looking, and it comes with certain opportunities that aren't available in the position you have now."

他說，爲了防止這樣的不快，你就要“斬釘截鐵地表達你離開的意願。簡短地解釋另一個工作對你的吸引力，比如那是你心儀已久的工作，而且是不抱希望時的喜從天降，此外還有某些機會是你現在的工作所無法提供的。”

You don't have to say which company you're going to, Mazzocchi adds: "There are actually people who will call someone they know at the new company and badmouth you, just to be vindictive. It isn't common, but it happens." If that seems at all likely, don't give anyone the chance.

你不必明確透露下家是誰，馬佐奇建議：“有些人確實會聯繫在你新東家的熟人，說你的壞話，目的就是爲了報復你。這種事不常見，但也時有發生。”哪怕有一點點可能，也不要給任何人機會。

Help hand over the reins to your successor. Even if your new employer wants you to start right away, "don't give short shrift to this transition process," Mazzocchi warns. "You may have to work nights and weekends to ensure that you don't leave your current employer in the lurch, but it's worth a few hectic weeks of extra effort, because it shows them you care."

做好交接班。即使新東家想要你馬上上班，“你也不要對交接過程草草了事，”馬佐奇警告說。“你也許得在晚上和週末加班加點，才能確保不會讓你現在的公司陷入困境，但這樣辛苦勞碌的幾個星期會是值得的，因爲它展現了你忠於職守的品質。”

Funny thing about a career: Especially if you stay in the same industry for decades, and sometimes even if you don't, you tend to run into many of the same people over and over again, and you never know who will be important to your progress later on. So do your best not to trample on anyone's toes as you make for the exit. "Too many people just run out the door," says Mazzocchi. "They usually regret it later."

職場中會有這樣的趣事：如果你在某個行業呆了數十年，甚至有時候你完全跳出這個行業，你還是會一次又一次地碰到同樣的人，而你也無法預知將來誰會是你職業道路上的貴人。所以離開的時候，盡最大努力做到不傷害任何人。“太多的人只顧急吼吼地離開，”馬佐奇說。“他們通常都會後悔。”

Preserve your relationships with current coworkers and bosses. Right now, your next employer already wants you, so references may not be an issue. But, notes Howard Seidel, that can change. He has seen executives accept their dream job and then lose it, or decide it's not so dreamy after all and plan to quit, "in a few months or a year. If that happens, you'll need good references. So thank everyone you've worked with or for, especially if there is someone who has gone above and beyond for you in your current position. Then, after you're gone, stay in touch. These are essential people to have in your professional network as time goes on."

保留後路。現在，新東家已經決定招聘你，所以推薦人並不重要了。但霍華德•塞德爾指出，事情也可能發生變化。他曾經親眼目睹過有些高管接受了理想工作，然後又被裁掉，或者發現其實沒想象中那麼好而決定辭職。“有的人只呆了幾個月或者一年。那樣的話，你就又需要好的推薦人了。所以要記得感謝老同事和老闆，特別是那些爲你費心費力的人。即使離開之後，也要保持聯繫。隨着時間推移，這些人會成爲你職場人脈的基本力量。”

Good luck -- and, by the way, congratulations!

祝你好運，順便說一句，恭喜!