????不充分就業(yè)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(yè)問(wèn)題并沒(méi)有像完全失業(yè)那樣獲得足夠的關(guān)注，但不可否認(rèn)的是，它已經(jīng)成為亟待解決的社會(huì)問(wèn)題：據(jù)勞工統(tǒng)計(jì)局（The Bureau of Labor Statistics）報(bào)道，目前，作為一時(shí)的權(quán)宜之計(jì)，美國(guó)近930萬(wàn)希望獲得全職工作的勞動(dòng)人口被迫投身兼職領(lǐng)域；這一數(shù)字與2007年（經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)出現(xiàn)前）相比增長(zhǎng)了近一倍。

????并且，很多人在事業(yè)起步之前就陷入了不充分就業(yè)的境地：據(jù)調(diào)查，在2009及2010年兩年內(nèi)，共有40%的應(yīng)屆大學(xué)畢業(yè)生所從事的工作并不需要大學(xué)文憑。

????即便如此，不充分就業(yè)問(wèn)題并不會(huì)成為永遠(yuǎn)邁步過(guò)去的坎。在這里，我要感謝所有讀者，感謝你們對(duì)我近期的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查做出了回應(yīng)，并通過(guò)郵件與我分享了大家成功擺脫事業(yè)困境的故事。我們通過(guò)分析發(fā)現(xiàn)，所有故事都離不開(kāi)兩條主線(xiàn)：利用臨時(shí)工作為踏板，最終獲得一份穩(wěn)定的工作，通過(guò)降格以求獲得學(xué)習(xí)的機(jī)會(huì)，掌握全新的職業(yè)技能。

????比爾?德里斯科爾現(xiàn)任羅伯特哈夫國(guó)際公司（Robert Half International）地區(qū)總監(jiān)一職，該公司專(zhuān)門(mén)從事為會(huì)計(jì)和金融領(lǐng)域輸送臨時(shí)和正式職員的服務(wù)工作。比爾是第一個(gè)承認(rèn)臨時(shí)工作“是摧毀一個(gè)人職業(yè)斗志的主要?dú)⑹帧薄Ｈ欢a(bǔ)充說(shuō)，“每一份工作都是一次機(jī)會(huì)，即使它并不是我們夢(mèng)寐以求的理想職業(yè)。這樣的機(jī)會(huì)不僅能夠展示我們已經(jīng)掌握的技能，學(xué)習(xí)新的技能，還能夠拓展人際關(guān)系。將臨時(shí)合同工身份轉(zhuǎn)變成“正式”雇員身份的例子不勝枚舉。確實(shí)有很多人都做到了。”

????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(lǐng)20人的團(tuán)隊(duì)負(fù)責(zé)為非盈利組織籌款。之后，她因丈夫的軍事調(diào)動(dòng)，辭掉這份全職工作，搬到了佛羅里達(dá)州。然而，在那里她沒(méi)能找到類(lèi)似的崗位，所以簽約了一家臨時(shí)工中介公司。后來(lái)，她被分配到一家銀行做客戶(hù)服務(wù)工作，每小時(shí)只拿9美元的薪水，沒(méi)有任何福利，而且一個(gè)星期需要工作30個(gè)小時(shí)。

????然而，她的管理能力在這里毫無(wú)用武之地，她說(shuō)：“我每天要花四五個(gè)小時(shí)接聽(tīng)電話(huà)，還要幫助那些不會(huì)操作電腦的客戶(hù)辦理轉(zhuǎn)賬業(yè)務(wù)。”即便這樣，她仍然全力以赴。幾個(gè)月后，她的付出得到了回報(bào)。今年三月，懷特得到當(dāng)?shù)卣?jīng)濟(jì)開(kāi)發(fā)部門(mén)提供的一份工作。“薪水和福利與我之前在加利福尼亞州時(shí)不相上下。”

????懷特所不知道的是，這家銀行的一位高級(jí)經(jīng)理同時(shí)也是這個(gè)政府機(jī)構(gòu)的董事會(huì)成員（現(xiàn)為董事會(huì)主席），而且頗有影響力；他一直關(guān)注懷特在銀行作為客服代表時(shí)的工作表現(xiàn)，對(duì)懷特印象深刻。后來(lái)，正是他通知懷特參加了這個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)的面試。

????“永遠(yuǎn)不要低估良好工作表現(xiàn)所具備的力量，因?yàn)檎f(shuō)不定什么時(shí)候就會(huì)被別人注意到，”懷特說(shuō)。

????部分讀者反映，他們?cè)栽阜诺蜕矶危档痛觯员阃瓿墒聵I(yè)的華麗蛻變。“過(guò)去30年里，這樣的經(jīng)歷不止一次地發(fā)生在我身上，”邁克?費(fèi)雷德里克寫(xiě)道。最近的一次經(jīng)歷發(fā)生在2007年，當(dāng)時(shí)，他所領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的部門(mén)遭遇淘汰。之后，他拒絕了幾次晉升的機(jī)會(huì)，跑到公司創(chuàng)辦的企業(yè)大學(xué)里干起了一份低薪工作。

????他回憶說(shuō)：“當(dāng)時(shí)，沒(méi)人能夠保證我還能重新進(jìn)入與之前部門(mén)水平相當(dāng)?shù)墓芾韺印！辈粌H如此，新的職位要求員工具備相關(guān)的IT技能，而這正是費(fèi)雷德里克所缺少的。“需要學(xué)習(xí)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(xué)習(xí)的一系列課程買(mǎi)了單。“沒(méi)有什么比不花一分錢(qián)就可以進(jìn)修一項(xiàng)全新職業(yè)更具有吸引力了。對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，這樣的機(jī)會(huì)不容錯(cuò)過(guò)。”

????三年的時(shí)間很快過(guò)去了。“經(jīng)過(guò)許多個(gè)挑燈夜戰(zhàn)的漫漫長(zhǎng)夜，以及努力將所學(xué)到的知識(shí)運(yùn)用到白天的工作中，”費(fèi)雷德里克表示，現(xiàn)在的IT培訓(xùn)部管理職位“正是我之前夢(mèng)寐以求的”。

????從這些經(jīng)歷中，他學(xué)會(huì)了“以退為進(jìn)，選擇低職位來(lái)過(guò)渡也許是一個(gè)人最終取得成功的最佳途徑。”費(fèi)雷德里克建議道：“調(diào)查一下，看看企業(yè)是否愿意針對(duì)你的情況提供相應(yīng)的培訓(xùn)，或者為你需要學(xué)習(xí)的大學(xué)課程買(mǎi)單。大膽向公司咨詢(xún)一下。只要制定了計(jì)劃，就不要打退堂鼓。把精力集中在達(dá)成目標(biāo)的可能性上。”

????與其他任何一項(xiàng)挑戰(zhàn)一樣，有時(shí)擺脫不充分就業(yè)的困境所需要的僅僅是堅(jiān)持而已。“我曾在一家經(jīng)紀(jì)公司擔(dān)任行政助理一職，待遇不錯(cuò)。2008年，我的上司遭到解雇，我也被迫離職了，”希拉?馬克森寫(xiě)道。“之后差不多兩年時(shí)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(wù)生。現(xiàn)在，終于苦盡甘來(lái)，我在一家保險(xiǎn)公司謀得一份差事，待遇甚至比之前那份工作更好。”

????“現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)濟(jì)情況確實(shí)令人沮喪，”她補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，“但這并不是最糟糕的。選擇放棄才是最嚴(yán)重的錯(cuò)誤，我們每個(gè)人都可能會(huì)犯這種錯(cuò)。”

????或者，就像比爾?德里斯科所說(shuō)的那樣：“永遠(yuǎn)不要放棄尋找理想工作的努力。”無(wú)論目前你是否處于不充分就業(yè)的狀態(tài)，這都是個(gè)明智的建議。

????反饋：你是否有過(guò)打破未充分就業(yè)魔咒的經(jīng)歷？你是靠什么來(lái)擺脫這種不利局面的？歡迎留言評(píng)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.