6 . Slash(斜杠)Careers

What is your job? Are you a teacher or a businessperson? Or maybe you are a lawyer/writer or a teacher/photographer.    1    The term “slash career” comes from the punctuation mark(标识符)—a slash that comes between job titles.

People with slash careers often have a primary job that provides for most of their needs. The primary job usually comes before the slash.    2    This secondary job can help supplement the person’s income.

Why would anyone want more than one job? Some people look to their jobs for opportunities to develop their interests. But most people have too many interests for one job. Secondary jobs can be enjoyable if they include interests that the primary job doesn’t touch. Some people who encourage slash careers say they actually help with work-life balance.    3    

On the other hand, a slash career can be dangerous for work-life balance.    4    One might give up necessary things like relaxation, exercise or time with one’s family. People with slash careers need to think carefully about how they use their time. This includes knowing when to stop working.

The clear advantage to slash careers is the extra income that secondary jobs provide. It’s always helpful to have a little extra money to spend or to save.

    5    With a slash career, losing one’s job does not mean losing one’s entire income. Or a secondary job may be so successful that it can turn into one’s primary job.

If your interests stretch beyond your ordinary job, a slash career may work for you.

7 . When planning for a new job, many people will go through a job interview.     1         Fear of the unknown, fear of public rejection and fear of personal criticism all come together in one meeting. So how should you prepare for a job interview ？ It's often a combination of careful research, psychology and an ability to think on your feet.

One way is to do a great deal of research, like finding the requirements of the job, the company's product lines, the industry's standard salary for the position, the interviewer, etc. When doing research, don't forget to learn about whether you have unique qualifications for the position.     2    Thus, prepare your unique aspects which will make you stand out among interviewees ahead of time.

    3     Do you express your ideas clearly? Do you actively listen to others ? How you perform inthe interview will leave a deep impression on the interviewers.

Some job seekers prepare for a job interview by conducting their own mock （模拟的） interviews. A trusted friend or even a professional job coach can act as an interviewer, asking many of the same questions a real interviewer might ask. In view of your performance, these people may be able to point out your trouble spots.    4    

There're also numerous resources job seekers can use to prepare for a job interview.     5     Many cities also have programs helping first-time workers find jobs. They may offer classes on how to prepare for a job interview or provide job coaches who can conduct mock interviews.

8 . I drove 12 miles to the county newspaper office one day. I had to sit outside and wait. Beside me lay a one-page short novel I had written, and I hoped to get it _______. “What if the publisher didn’t _______ it?” I thought to myself. I was on pins and needles, and every now and then, I stood up and walked back and forth.

Eventually, I was led to the publisher’s office by his secretary. I still felt _______, but the kind smile he shared with me soon made me _______. I didn’t even own a _______ at the time, so he had to read my handwritten _______. Then he said, “I couldn’t like it enough and I would include it in the next week’s _______.” I jumped with joy and said, “Thanks, sir.” But I expected even more.

I asked him if I could keep _______ for him each week. He thought for a moment and then _______. He even said he would pay me five dollars for each new thing I wrote. I was so ________ that I skipped and danced on the sidewalk when I went outside. Little did I know that moment would ________ my life.

That was almost 40 years ago. Now, I have my own studio and lead a better life. I ________ to write something new for my publisher—my friend each week. As I write, I ________. I’ve become a determined and patient person. Each time I learn something new, I ________ write it to get my friend to publish it. Without my friend, I would never be the ________ I am today.

9 . My father always told me: "All work is noble." He wasn't ________ , but he earned a reasonable living. Thanks to his ________ , I was able to go to Art College. I, however, wanted to do something ________ , something more interesting-I was special！

After graduation, I moved to New York in search of a graphic designer job. It was winter and, ever the optimist, I'd only brought enough money to ________ myself for about a month. I wasn't ________ -I was sure I'd find a fantastic job immediately.

Within a few weeks, though, I found myself wandering around the streets having been ________ by every design office in town. My hostel ________ was almost gone and I hadn't eaten in days. “How had I reached this point？""I wondered as I ________ in my thin jacket.

I was just about to ________ when my dad called. He suggested that I get a job in a ________ until something else came along. At first, pride made me _________. But I was cold, hungry, and unwilling to go home feeling ________ and defeated.

I entered an expensive-looking cafe near one of the design offices that had turned me away and asked the manager if they were ________. She said they were ________, and offered me a job right away.

________ , I found that I really enjoyed serving people. I started making big ________ right away. Later, the manager learned that I had a design ________ and asked me to design the cafe menus. That led to a part-time job at an advertising company.

Previously, I'd have never considered being a _________, but there I was. I ________ got my dream design job, but that winter I learned not to make ________ about work.

10 . When Susan woke up at five thirty a. m., the first thing she did was check her work e-mail at her kitchen table. She would spend a good forty-five minutes over coffee responding to questions. Then she ______ off on an hour-long journey to put in a ten-hour day as a key manager for a large company. Her job was ______ —conflicts to be negotiated and fires to be put out. By six p. m., she was already exhausted, __________ she usually felt it her duty to stay late or go out for or drinks with coworkers. Susan wanted to start her own __________, and was taking steps to __________ herself financially and professionally. However, most evenings she was too __________ to make much progress on her own business plan, and she __________ that she’d be stuck in her present job forever.

When Susan analyzed how she was spending her willpower, it was obvious that her __________ was getting a hundred percent. The kitchen-table e-mail session was a(n) __________ habit from when she was new to the job and eager to exceed expectations. But now, there was no good reason those e-mails couldn’t __________ until she got to the office at eight a. m. Susan decided that the only time of day she was likely to have the mental energy to pursue her own goals was __________ her workday. She made it her new __________ to spend the first hour of the day building her business, not __________ everyone else’s needs.

This was a smart move for Susan. It also __________ an important willpower rule: if you never seem to haw the time and energy for your “I will” challenge, schedule it for when you have the most __________.