There’s a meme on the internet, which speaks truth about a dilemma for young people entering the hypercompetitive workforce of 2017. The photo is of two seasoned, older interviewers glaring critically across the table at a young interview candidate with the following words: “We’re looking for someone age 22-26… with 30 years of experience.”
互联网上有一个表情，它道出了年轻人在2017年进入竞争激烈的劳动力市场的困境：两个经验丰富的老面试官目光炯炯地大量桌子对面的年轻候选人，缓缓道出:“我们正在寻找一个年龄22至26岁之间的，有30年经验…。”
This credibility paradox is indeed a core dilemma many young people face as they enter the workforce. To be successful, young workers — or anyone starting a new job or career with little previous experience in a given field — need to be seen as credible before they have had the opportunity to build expertise from the ground up. With the credibility paradox, there’s no ground to run on; you need to have already covered the ground before even having started.
信度悖论确实是许多年轻人进入职场时所面临的核心困境。要想成功，年轻的员工——或者任何刚开始一份新工作的人，在给定的领域里没有什么经验——在他们有机会从头开始积累专业知识之前，需要被认为是可信的。有了可信性的悖论，年轻人没有机会再从头开始，必须在开始前就积累相关经验。
For the young and inexperienced, it’s essential to overcome this challenge. Getting a fast start in your career will help you gain access to experiences and opportunities that will help you get noticed, be seen as a “high potential,” and be given access to opportunities to learn and grow in your career. And it’s not only young workers who will benefit from solving this dilemma. It’s critical for companies who spend thousands of dollars and countless hours of time recruiting, interviewing, screening, and onboarding new employees.
对于年轻和缺乏经验的人来说，克服这一挑战是至关重要的。在你的职业生涯中快速起步将帮助你获得经验和机会，这些经验和机会将帮助你获得上司的注意，被视为一种“高潜力”人员，并帮助你获得学习和成长的机会。不仅是年轻的工人将从解决这一困境中获益。对于那些花费数千美元和无数个小时的招聘、面试、筛选和新员工的公司来说，这也是至关重要的。
How can the credibility paradox be solved? Here are five common activities that you can do as a young professional to jump-start your career and catalyze your leadership trajectory.
如何克服可信性悖论? 作为一名年轻的上班族，你可以通过以下五个方法开启职业生涯，培养领导力。
1. Leverage your research skills. One of the best ways to stand out in a corporate setting, even as someone with less work experience, is to develop unique knowledge that makes you a go-to resource for your colleagues and clients. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to use your research skills to synthesize and master industry specific knowledge, trends, and information.
利用你的研究能力。即使是工作经验较少的人，在公司中脱颖而出的最好方法之一，就是培养特殊领域的专业知识，成为你的同事和客户的资源。最有效的方法之一就是利用你的研究技能来整合和掌握行业特定的知识、趋势和信息。
Chances are, if you’ve recently graduated from university, you have a set of freshly honed research skills that you can put to immediate use in a professional context, but if you don’t, work on them now. Find out what specific types of knowledge people in your industry crave — and lack — and build your area of expertise around it.
很有可能，如果你刚从大学毕业，你有一套新磨练的研究技能，你可以在专业背景下立即使用，但如果你不这样做的话，现在就去开始吧。找出你所在行业的人们想知道什么、缺乏什么，然后培养你的专业技能。
2. Identify your specific contribution. Ask yourself some basic questions to identify your strengths and where you might be able to contribute value. In which areas do you feel you do your best work? What have you been praised for in the past? Use your answers to generate strengths and resources that can become fodder for jump-starting your career and fast tracking your professional growth.
明确你所能做出的具体贡献。问自己一些基本的问题，以确定你的优势和你可能会贡献价值的地方。你觉得你在哪些方面做得最好?你在过去得到了什么赞扬?利用你的答案来培养自己的优势和资源，这些优势和资源可以成为你职业生涯起步和快速发展的资源。
3. Volunteer willingly. Don’t underestimate the power of grit, determination, and the willingness to take on unenviable assignments. If, at the end of a group meeting, your department head requests more feedback from sales reps on a product line your team has been discussing, volunteer to track down the information. If your senior colleagues ask if anyone would be willing to scrape a big data set for trends that could support your team’s case, take on the project — assuming of course you have the skill set to deliver. Opportunities abound to prove yourself. Take advantage of them to make a quick impression as a reliable and hard worker.
自愿参加项目，勇敢做事。不要低估勇气、决心和接受困难任务的意愿的作用。如果在小组会议结束时，你的部门主管要求你的团队在产品生产线上的销售代表反馈更多的反馈信息；如果你的资深同事问是否有人愿意为你的团队建立趋势数据库，那么就承担这个项目——当然前提是你有能力做好这些。机会无处不在，你需要抓住机会证明你自己。利用这些机会，给人留下一个可靠、勤奋的印象。
4. Manage your workload and communicate proactively. Although knowledge and experience take time to cultivate, you can immediately establish a reputation for reliability with your colleagues and superiors. Manage your commitments and workload wisely. Also, be proactive with your communication. If you anticipate any difficulty in meeting a deadline, discuss it with your superior as soon as possible, and ask for guidance when you need it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
处理好自己的工作，主动沟通。尽管知识和经验需要时间来培养，但你可以立即建立起与同事和上司之间的信任关系。保证每一个承诺、每一个经手的工作都认真完成。同时，要积极主动地沟通。如果你在最后期限前有任何困难，请尽快与上司讨论，并在需要的时候寻求指导。不要害怕提问。
And don’t forget the importance of follow-through. Bring every single assignment to its conclusion. Don’t leave any details hanging or deadlines unmet. You may not be the most experienced person in the room, but you can become one of the most reliable.
不要忘记坚持到底的重要性。认真完成每一项任务，不要留下任何未完成的细节问题。你可能不是小组里最有经验的人，但你可以成为最可靠的人之一。
5. Work to build a network of close relationships. Your goal over time will be to build a deep and varied network of trusted colleagues who will provide you with ongoing mentoring, advice, and feedback as you progress at your job and in your career.
建立亲密关系网络。随着时间的推移，你的目标将是建立一个深度和多样化的信任的同事网络，他们将为你的职业发展提供持续的指导、建议和反馈。
The key, though, is to work hard at getting to know as many people as you can on a collegial or even more personal level. These contacts and connections can be critical mentors, sounding boards for your ideas, and potential advocates for you and your work throughout the organization. Demonstrate to them your motivation, commitment, and relevant expertise, and when possible, find ways you can be of service to them and help them with their work.
这个过程的关键在于要努力认识更多人，不管是在大学校园还是私下交朋友都是如此。这些朋友以后可能会成为你成功路上重要的导师，给你意见，支持你在公司中不断进步和发展。你要向他们表明你的动力、决心、相关经验，必要时候可以为他们提供帮助和服务。
Expertise doesn’t build on its own, and your coworkers won’t see you as a crucial part of the organization until you prove yourself to be one. But by developing the confidence to leverage the tools, assets, and capabilities that you already have as a young worker, you can overcome the credibility paradox and jump-start your career in the process.
专业技能不是凭空得来的，在没有做出成绩之前，你的同事也不会认为你是公司的重要一员。但是，通过利用你作为一名年轻员工所拥有的资源和能力，你可以克服可信度悖论，并在这个过程中成功开启职业生涯。
