我们知道有份理想的工作是可能的，即便我们没读过《The Four-Hour Work Week》这本书。在街坊里、在电视上，我们认识或见过那些拥有理想工作的人，所以，我们知道，“理想工作”是存在的。这就是“后千年”时代下的职场幻想：做自己喜欢的、抱有激情的工作，有丰厚的收入，同事们要聪明，会支持我们，领导要明智、有道德感。听上去合情合理。可现实的生活中，找到理想的工作怎么就那么难？

　　For starters， it's helpful to remember that our dream-job requirements often change over time. One job I held in my youth was a dream job at the time but would be impossible for me now because of the working hours. When I was twenty-something and single， I was perfectly happy to sit in a conference room with my workmates， eating pizza and talking shop at 11 p.m. Couldn't， wouldn't consider that now.

　　 对于刚开始工作的人来说，要记住我们对理想工作的要求往往会随着时间发生变化。年轻时的工作在那时是理想工作，但是现在由于工作时长则一点都不理想。当我二十来岁、单身的时候，我可以晚上11点和同事们坐在会议室一起吃着比萨，兴致勃勃地讨论公事。现在不能、也不会有那个念头了。

　　You may have longed for a management role at one time and realize now that's the last thing you're interested in； or you may learn that you're happiest working independently， where your teammates are available if you need them but aren't in your face all day long.

　　也许，你曾渴望过一个管理位置而现在发觉对此毫无兴趣；或者你曾感到独自办公时最快乐，你的同事们在你需要的时候出现，但是不要整天都在眼前晃。

　　Put it All On Paper

　　写下你对理想工作的要求

　　The point is， dream jobs aren't a one-size-fits-all kind of deal. And that means that your ultra-customized dream job is the perfect job for you， not the whole world of job-seekers. So your task is first to understand what you're looking for， and decide which elements in your wish list are most critical for you； and then to make and execute a plan to go out and find that job. The very worst way to land a dream job is to wait for it to find you.

　　关键的一点是要知道理想的工作并不是“一刀切”的买卖。意思是说为你量身定做的理想工作对你来说是完美的，但对全部人来说却并不如此。因此，你的首要任务是要去了解你想要什么，你的“愿望清单”上哪些元素最适合你；然后再制定一个计划加以执行，找到那样的工作。寻找理想工作的下下策就是等工作来找你。

　　As you create your dream job must-have list， it's helpful to think about your wishes in two separate categories. In your first category， you'll list the “hard” attributes you're hoping to find in a dream job —— company size， industry， job function， local or global enterprise， level of management， division vs. headquarters role， etc. Geography is perhaps the “hardest” —— the least flexible of dimensions. Would you move across the country or abroad for your dream job？ Will you move across town， doubling your commute？ Think really hard about these questions， because these factors aren't likely to change.

　　在你开出一张理想工作要素清单时，将你的期望要素分成两类。在第一类中，列出的是理想工作中的“硬指标”——公司大小，行业，职能，当地或全球企业，管理程度，部门还是总部，等等。地理因素也许是最“硬”的因素——它的灵活度最小。你愿意为了理想的工作而搬家甚或搬到国外吗？你愿意让上班往返行程增加吗？好好的想清楚这些问题，因为它们是不太可能改变的。

　　Be as specific as you'd like as you create your dream job profile. For instance， “I want to manage human resource information systems for a global employer with 10，000 or more employees and a proactive， forward-looking management team in the apparel industry in the New York metro area.” In fact， the narrower your scope， the easier it will be to identify potential employers and begin to research them. But before you do that， let's back up and list the 'soft' attributes of your dream job. After all， it's these soft elements that make these jobs so dreamy.

　　要尽可能明确地描述理想工作。比如：“我希望在纽约大都市地区为这样的公司管理人力资源系统，这个公司应该是在服装行业拥有1万名或以上员工的跨国公司，有一只具有前瞻性的管理团队。”事实上，你的范围越窄，就越容易发现潜在雇主，并开始对他们进行调查。但是，先别急，让我们先来说说那些理想工作的“软指标”。毕竟，让你向往的正是这些“软指标”。

　　Left Brain vs. Right Brain

　　左脑和右脑

　　On this list， you want to dig into what makes a work environment appealing for you， including items like： How mature an industry do I want to work in？ Typically， the more mature （heavy equipment manufacturing， for instance） the more conservative the corporate culture will be. How flat vs. how tiered an organization do I desire？ If there are 14 levels of management between me and the CEO， my experience at work will be drastically different from how it will be if there are two. How “left-brain” vs. “right-brain” an organization do I want？ Although neurology types don't use those left-brain/right-brain models as they once did to understand brain function， they're still useful for us in understanding our strengths and preferences. Left-brain areas are math， music， programming， and flowcharting.

　　在这张清单所列的元素里，你需要去探究什么样的工作环境对你有吸引力，包括有：我希望在一个多么成熟的行业工作？行业越成熟，那么企业环境就会越保守（例如，重型机器制造业）。我希望的是扁平化组织还是层次化结构？如果我和CEO之间有14层管理层，那么我的体验就会和在两层结构中的大不一样。我希望为一个“左脑”还是“右脑”组织工作？虽然神经学上现在用的左右脑模式和曾用的理解大脑功能的模式不同，这一概念在帮助了解我们的强项和喜好上依旧有用。左脑和数学、音乐、程序和流程有关。

　　If you're that person， organizations dominated by that type of thinking are perfect for you —— research institutions and engineering firms are two examples. Right-brain-focused people veer toward the humanities， language， and the arts. An advertising agency or a freewheeling startup might be a better fit.

　　如果你是“左脑”思维的人，那么以“左脑”思维为主导的组织就适合你——例如，研究院和工程公司。偏重右脑的人们倾向于人文、语言和艺术。广告代理或自主创业也许是更好的选择。

　　What looks like a dream job on paper will quickly turn to ashes if the organizational culture doesn't celebrate what you love to do and do well.

　　如果公司文化和你喜欢、擅长的并不合拍，那么看上去理想的工作很快就会变的糟糕。