1、Nothing in career strategy is more important than picking the career field that's right for you. Get that right, and you may be headed to happiness and fulfillment in your work.選擇合適的職業領域才是所有職業策略中最重要的一步。只有選對了,你才能獲得工作上的幸福和成就。The most straightforward path to that field is to build directly on your

2、capabilities. A great deal of research shows that people who work in areas where they're especially strong accomplish a lot and enjoy the work. By building on your strengths, you'll find the right opportunities. Employers and investors will be more likely to bet on you if they think you'

3、re up to the challenge if you really can help them accomplish their goals.根據自己的能力尋找職業方向是最簡單明了的辦法。大量的研究表明那些在自己擅長領域工作的人能收獲更多的成就和樂趣。不斷強化自己的優勢,你總會找到合適的機會。如果你的確能夠幫助老板和投資者達成目標,他們才更愿意在你身上賭一把,賭你能完成挑戰。Guide your career by consciously building on your capabilities. Here are three ways to do that:根據自己的能力選擇職業領域

4、,下面三個方法可以試一試:1. Recognize your core capabilities.1.認清自己的核心能力所在。The first step in thinking about a capability-driven career is to understand what to build on. Begin with a self-appraisal. Look for distinctive talents, skills, and knowledge that will make you highly competitive for certain lines of wo

5、rk.要找到基于你能力的職業首先需要了解你到底有哪些能力。對自己進行一個評估吧。找出那些能讓你完全勝任某些工作的天分、技能和知識。I'll illustrate this idea with a computer solutions sales manager. His list might include understanding customers, meeting information needs with computer solutions, coaching junior salesmen, and communicating well verbally. These

6、characteristics are certainly important for that field of work, but they're too general. They're similar to what other sales managers might say about themselves.就拿電腦解決方案的銷售經理為例,這份工作需要了解顧客,熟知電腦解決方案的信息,訓練初級銷售人員以及擁有良好的溝通能力。這都是該職業中重要的技能特點,但似乎又有點過于泛泛之談,和其他領域的銷售經理似乎并沒有太大的區別。A more specific list wo

7、uld be a stronger career guide. For example, go beyond "meeting customer information needs with computer solutions" by noting your deep knowledge of how to do that in a specific industry, like your experience with a particular computer solution technology, like integrating iPhone functions

8、 with a company website. Don't just jot down "understanding customers," but also describe your talent for imagining customer problems and needs before the customers even recognize them.那么就需要更加詳細的清單來指導職業規劃。比如,與其說“滿足顧客對電腦解決方案的信息需求”,不如為做好這份工作進行更多的知識儲備,比如你在處理某一電腦解決方案時的技術經驗,再比如如何將iphone的功能和

9、公司網站有機集合。不要泛泛地說“了解顧客”,而要描述自己能預測顧客會有哪些問題和需要。2. Build targeted capabilities over time.2.長期有針對性地培養能力。Once you've identified the talents and capabilities you already have, consider what you need for career growth. Your target capability set can be expertise in a field (like the computer example abov

10、e or in a function (like financial analysis or human resources management.一旦確認了你已經擁有的天分和能力,那么接下來想想要想獲得職業晉升,還需要些什么。你的能力必須是某一領域(比如上述的計算機的例子或某一職能方面(比如財務分析或者人力資源管理的專家。How do you build your target capability? Some steps are obvious. You might enroll in a graduate degree program in that area or achieve a

11、qualification certificate. You certainly would work in that area. Other steps are more complicated and can raise dilemmas. You'd be cautious about accepting an otherwise attractive promotion, or a new job offer if it didn't build capabilities in your target area. If you were proactively look

12、ing for a new position, you'd focus your search on roles where you'd grow your target skills rather than on the possibilities that seem the easiest.如何有針對性地培養自己的能力呢?有些步驟是顯而易見的,你需要在這個領域獲得研究生文憑或是拿到資格證書。這樣才能在該領域工作。其他的方法就更加復雜甚至讓人感到頭暈了。如果有一份很好的工作或一次晉升的機會,要求的能力卻是自己不擅長的領域,那你就要謹慎對待了。你需要研究一下,新的機會中哪些方面

13、可以讓你繼續培養自己的專業能力,而不是被“這些要求應該很簡單”的可能性所迷惑。In saying this, I'm certainly not arguing against broadening assignments. They can be critical parts of personal development. If an attractive broadening assignment appears, do two things: Think through how that assignment can lead back to opportunities in

14、your target discipline, and if that's hard to envision, ask yourself whether your fundamental strategy is still right for you.這么說并不意味著我反對擴大就業范圍。這對個人的發展也是十分關鍵的一部分。如果誘人的工作機遇來臨,不妨做這兩件事:想一想它能否讓你獲得自己核心領域的工作機會,如果仍難以抉擇,問問自己,到底適不適合你。3. Add new capabilities to shift direction.3.為跨行工作添加新的技能。If you discove

15、r that the skills you have and the direction you're headed isn't your ideal path, you may wish to change fields. In this case, you'll need a different personal value proposition, and it will require new skills and knowledge.如果發現你的技能和工作并不是一個理想的職業選擇,你就會希望跨行工作。在這種情況下,你需要完全不同的個人價值陳述,包括新的技能和知

16、識。When making this kind of switch, people sometimes abandon their existing capability base. That's an option, but it often requires a step downward, and the ultimate result is uncertain. Unless you're extremely dissatisfied with where you are, the simpler path is to leverage what you know to find something new. Take the perspective of an emplo