找工作的日子 · The Job-Hunting Days
Zhǎo Gōngzuò de Rìzi — The mix of hope and exhaustion of looking for a first job.
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Every word shows its pinyin above the characters. The English translation follows each line.
上个月我从大学毕业,开始找工作。
Last month I graduated from university and started looking for a job.
我投了三十多份简历,却只收到三次面试机会。
I sent out more than thirty resumes but only got three interviews.
每次面试都让我紧张,但也让我学到很多。
Every interview made me nervous, but I learned a lot too.
有时候我会怀疑自己是不是选错了专业。
Sometimes I wondered if I had chosen the wrong field of study.
朋友们告诉我别着急,万事开头难。
Friends told me not to worry — every beginning is hard.
昨天我终于拿到了一份还算满意的工作。
Yesterday I finally got an offer that I'm fairly satisfied with.
现在回头看,那段等待的日子也没有白过。
Looking back now, those days of waiting weren't wasted.
我还记得第一次面试时的样子。
I still remember what I was like at my first interview.
我提前一个小时就到了公司楼下。
I arrived downstairs from the company a whole hour early.
因为太紧张,我在外面走来走去。
Because I was so nervous, I paced back and forth outside.
面试官问我为什么想做这份工作。
The interviewer asked me why I wanted this job.
我准备了很久的答案,却说得乱七八糟。
I had prepared an answer for a long time, yet I said it all in a muddle.
后来我才明白,面试不只是回答问题。
Only later did I understand that an interview is not just answering questions.
他们更想知道你是一个什么样的人。
What they want more is to know what kind of person you are.
现在我坐在自己的工位上,还常常想起那些日子。
Now, sitting at my own desk, I still often think of those days.
Vocabulary in this story (105 words)
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上个月 | shàng ge yuè | last month |
| 我 | wǒ | I |
| 从 | cóng | from |
| 大学 | dàxué | university |
| 毕业 | bìyè | graduated |
| 开始 | kāishǐ | started |
| 找 | zhǎo | to look for |
| 工作 | gōngzuò | work |
| 投 | tóu | sent |
| 了 | le | (past) |
| 三十 | sānshí | thirty |
| 多 | duō | more than |
| 份 | fèn | (measure) |
| 简历 | jiǎnlì | resumes |
| 却 | què | but |
| 只 | zhǐ | only |
| 收到 | shōudào | received |
| 三次 | sān cì | three times |
| 面试 | miànshì | interview |
| 机会 | jīhuì | opportunities |
| 每次 | měi cì | every time |
| 都 | dōu | all |
| 让 | ràng | made |
| 紧张 | jǐnzhāng | nervous |
| 但 | dàn | but |
| 也 | yě | also |
| 学 | xué | learn |
| 到 | dào | (achievement) |
| 很多 | hěn duō | a lot |
| 有时候 | yǒu shíhou | sometimes |
| 会 | huì | would |
| 怀疑 | huáiyí | doubt |
| 自己 | zìjǐ | myself |
| 是不是 | shì bu shì | whether |
| 选错 | xuǎncuò | chose wrong |
| 专业 | zhuānyè | major |
| 朋友们 | péngyoumen | friends |
| 告诉 | gàosu | told |
| 别 | bié | don't |
| 着急 | zháojí | worry |
| 万事 | wànshì | all things |
| 开头 | kāitóu | beginning |
| 难 | nán | hard |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday |
| 终于 | zhōngyú | finally |
| 拿到 | nádào | got |
| 一份 | yí fèn | a |
| 还算 | hái suàn | reasonably |
| 满意 | mǎnyì | satisfied |
| 的 | de | (of) |
| 现在 | xiànzài | now |
| 回头 | huítóu | looking back |
| 看 | kàn | see |
| 那段 | nà duàn | that period of |
| 等待 | děngdài | waiting |
| 日子 | rìzi | days |
| 没有 | méiyǒu | did not |
| 白 | bái | in vain |
| 过 | guò | pass |
| 还 | hái | still |
| 记得 | jìde | remember |
| 第一次 | dì yī cì | the first |
| 时 | shí | at |
| 样子 | yàngzi | what I was like |
| 提前 | tíqián | early |
| 一个小时 | yí ge xiǎoshí | one hour |
| 就 | jiù | already |
| 公司 | gōngsī | the company |
| 楼下 | lóu xià | downstairs from |
| 因为 | yīnwèi | because |
| 太 | tài | so |
| 在 | zài | at |
| 外面 | wàimiàn | outside |
| 走来走去 | zǒu lái zǒu qù | paced back and forth |
| 面试官 | miànshì guān | the interviewer |
| 问 | wèn | asked |
| 为什么 | wèi shénme | why |
| 想 | xiǎng | I wanted |
| 做 | zuò | to do |
| 这份 | zhè fèn | this |
| 准备 | zhǔnbèi | had prepared |
| 很久 | hěn jiǔ | for a long time |
| 答案 | dá'àn | an answer |
| 说 | shuō | said it |
| 得 | de | (manner) |
| 乱七八糟 | luàn qī bā zāo | in a complete muddle |
| 后来 | hòulái | later |
| 才 | cái | only then |
| 明白 | míngbai | understood |
| 不只是 | bù zhǐshì | is not just |
| 回答 | huídá | answering |
| 问题 | wèntí | questions |
| 他们 | tāmen | they |
| 更 | gèng | more |
| 知道 | zhīdào | to know |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 是 | shì | are |
| 一个 | yí ge | a |
| 什么样 | shénme yàng | what kind |
| 人 | rén | person |
| 坐 | zuò | sit |
| 工位上 | gōngwèi shàng | desk |
| 常常 | chángcháng | often |
| 想起 | xiǎng qǐ | think of |
| 那些 | nàxiē | those |