If you examine Whole Foods's way of doing business, you will see that you can utilize some of the same ideas to fashion yourself as the prized candidate that hiring managers will crave. Here are five lessons that you can turn you into a first-choice pick:
如果你审视全食超市做生意的方式,你就会发现你可以利用其中的一些原理把你自己打造成被人事经理青睐的金牌求职者。以下是你可以从全食超市的成功中学到的5条教训,他们能把你变成老板的第一选择:
1. Appearance counts. The store boasts an incredible array of goods. The shelves are always neat and full, but nothing seems ever to be out of place, and there is absolutely no sense of clutter. The ambiance of the store screams "Clean!"
1.外表很重要。商店的噱头之一就是那排列得无比整齐的货物。货架总是又满又整齐,而且没有任何一件商品看起来放错了地方,当然也不会有任何杂乱的感觉。商店的整个氛围就是“干净”!
Lesson: Whether or not you like it, appearance does matter. Pay attention to how others perceive your physical appearance, and the underlying message about you as a person that it conveys. You don't need to look like a model, but you do need to look professional and be at your best. Wear well-fitting professional attire, and be meticulously groomed. When you speak, get right to the point and don't ramble. Let your words and style of speech demonstrate your organized thinking.
经验:不管你乐不乐意,外表就是很重要。你要在你的外表,以及这种外表所传达的关于你个人的信息上多花些心思。你不需要看起来像个模特一样,但你需要尽可能地显得职业一点。穿着合身的职业服装,精心打扮。当你开口说话时,直入重点而不要拐弯抹角。用你的语言和说话风格阐释你精心组织的思想。
2. Perfection is tantalizing. At Whole Foods, all the fresh fruits and vegetables are at their peak stage of ripeness and without blemishes. They make you lick your lips with anticipation.
2.完美是很诱人的。在全食超市,所有的新鲜水果和蔬菜都处于它们最好的状态,没有一点瑕疵。他们会让你馋得直舔嘴。
Lesson: Employers salivate over "perfect fit" candidates. You must demonstrate your passion for the role you seek. However, your desire for a job doesn't, in and of itself, make a compelling case for you to be hired. For a short job hunt, focus your efforts on those jobs where you will be seen as possessing all the desired education, experience, abilities and qualities. These are the jobs for which you'll be seen as a truly appetizing candidate.
经验:招聘者们都对“完美适合”的求职者求贤若渴。你必须表现出对你所追求的角色的那种渴望。然而,你对工作的渴望不需要你表现得非被雇用不可。你要寻找那些会让你的学历、经验、能力和素质都正好符合需求的工作。在这些工作上,你会被视为一位真正诱人的候选人。
If you aren't the right fit now for the role you seek, think about what you can do make yourself more shine in the future. That might mean taking a stepping-stone role now, getting a certification, earning a particular degree or something else.
而假如你还并不能完美符合你寻求的那个职位的要求,你就要想想你能做些什么让你在未来变得更闪耀。这或许意味着获取一些敲门砖,比如考一张证书,得到一份学历或是别的什么。
3. Helpfulness counts. Courteous staff members are easy to locate. They never respond to "Where is XXX located?" by saying "Look two aisles over." Instead they are trained to immediately take the initiative to cheerfully walk the customer to the precise location where the desired product is located. They understand that customizing their efforts to a customer's desire makes him or her much more likely to buy whatever product he or she had in mind.
3.帮助很重要。彬彬有礼的店员让找东西变得简单。当你问他们“XXX在哪里?”的时候,他们不会回答“两条过道后面”。相反他们被培训过要立刻主动热情地把顾客带到相应的货架。他们明白这种迎合顾客需求的努力会促使顾客更有可能购买那件他想买的商品。
Lesson: When your interviewer asks you a question, don't ever direct his or her attention away from you by saying, "You can find this on my résumé" and leave it at that. Every query represents an opportunity to take your interviewer where he or she wants to go: becoming convinced that you are a solid "must have" hire.
经验:当面试官问你一个问题时,不要用这句话引开他的注意力:“你在我的简历上能看到的”,然后就不讲了。每一个问题都代表了把面试官引向你想要的结局:让他们相信你是一个非雇用不可的员工——的一个机会。
4. People value healthy products. Whole Foods appeals to health and environmentally conscious consumers by offering unadulterated, organic food. The underlying message is that consumers will be better off from using the store's products.
4.人们看重健康的产品。全食超市通过提供纯粹的有机的食物来迎合那些重视健康和环保的消费者。深层信息是,食用了超市的产品后,消费者能变得更健康。
Lesson: When you are preparing for your interview, bear in mind that the underlying purpose of hiring anyone is to make a company's bottom line healthier. Think about ways you can contribute to make that perspective employer "better off" by saving expenses, increasing sales or improving productivity. Every contribution to the bottom line has at least one of these components, and you should be prepared to demonstrate your desire and ability to bring that value with you.
经验:当你在准备面试时,你要记得雇用任何一个人的初衷都是为了让公司运行得更健康。想一想你能为雇主的“健康”提供些什么吧。可以是节约开支、增加销售额或是提高产品质量。对公司能做出的任何贡献都应该包含其中的至少一项组成部分,同时你也要准备好阐述你为公司带来这种价值的能力和渴望。
5. Top quality demands top dollar. You can often find comparable food cheaper in other stores. And, while Whole Foods does run promotions and sales, its overall pitch is more about value than price. Because its customers believe that this chain consistently provides top quality goods, the consumer can justify paying more for them.
5.顶级的质量配得上顶级的价格。你总是能在其他商店找到更便宜的相同食物。与此同时,虽然全食超市也会搞促销和特售,但总体来说相比价格它更看重的是价值。因为它的消费者们都相信这家连锁店始终提供的都是顶级质量的产品,所以消费者们会愿意为它们付出更多的钱。
Lesson: Remember not to get pinned down to a specific salary number until you are sure that the employer believes that you are the very best candidate. Only then can you shift the decision maker away from hiring based on cost to the company to hiring total quality and value. With this approach you are much more likely to justifying in the hiring manager's mind why you deserve to start at or near the top of the salary range.
经验:记住在你确定雇主相信你是最适合的候选人之前,不要太坚持某个薪水数额。只有在那之后你才能让决策者从根据成本考虑转换到根据公司增加的价值考虑。这样,你就更有希望能让人事经理思考为什么你值得让他们付出最高的薪水。