代碼之外的生存指南 II

[UPDATED: 2022/03/19]

“Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual is a guide to a well-rounded, satisfying life as a technology professional. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez offers advice to developers on important “soft” subjects like career and productivity, personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships. Arranged as a collection of 71 short chapters, this fun-to-read book invites you to dip in wherever you like. A Taking Action section at the end of each chapter shows you how to get quick results. Soft Skills will help make you a better programmer, a more valuable employee, and a happier, healthier person.”

紀錄與心得

延續上一篇文章 ，接續大略紀錄這本書中的章節內容吧。

章節概要

章節

1. 假裝自己能成功
2. 怎樣進行薪酬談判

假裝自己能成功

職業生涯中必定會遇到自己無法處理的情況，在這情況下，如何應對將是決定你能否成功的主要因素。擁有破釜沈舟的勇氣，假裝自己能成功的心態做事，將會帶領自己勇敢走向未知領域。

“Faking it till you make it is all about purposely putting yourself in situations that are over your hand and forcing yourself to learn how to swim. It really is a mindset you carry forward with you in life that propels you into the unknown, confident that new challenges will bring new opportunities. If you want to learn how to fake it till you make it, you have to be willing to jump into the deep end.”

“It’s natural to react to an uncomfortable situation or obstacle with fear, embarrassment, and excuse-making, but if you can overcome those tendencies and see the truth that the new or challenging situation you’re currently in will someday become the regular and routine, you are well on your way to learning how to fake it till you make it”

值得一提的是，這種心態也適用於面試的場合，因為通曉所需的所有技術的專家幾乎不存在，不同的技術太多，很難全部掌握，因此要散發出自信和能幹的氣場，知道自己曾經面對挑戰迎難而上，並且更有理有相信自己將來會那麼做。坦率、誠實地面對自己的能力或不足，同時保持我以前已經克服過那些困難的心態和姿態。自信是富有感染力的，當你真正相信自己，知道自己最終能實現心中所想，那麼會發現別人也會對此深信不疑。

“One common place where this applies to software developers is in the job interview. It’s almost impossible to be an expert at all of the technologies any particular job requires. There are just too many different technologies out there for you to be a master of all them, so most job interviews you go into will be for jobs where some of the skills that you’ll need to do the job aren’t yet in your possession.”

“Your confidence - careful here, not arrogance - will be contagious. When you carry arround this “can-do” attitude, when you have a true belief in yourself that isn’y inflated or exaggerated, but based on knowing that you eventually will succeed at anything you set your mind to, you’ll find that others will believe this too. Walk into an interview with this attitude and you understand the power of faking it till you make it.”

怎麼進行薪酬談判

薪酬談判非常重要，不只是因為隨著時間的推移，你的薪水會不斷累積，最後的所得擺在桌上可以越堆越高，還因為在薪酬談判中，如何評價自己與如何控制自己會極大地影響未來服務的公司對於你的看法。至於影響薪酬談判能力的兩大因素：個人品牌與聲望、獲得工作的方式。一旦成為公司的一員，你將很難撼動別人對你的第一印象，如果你能老練地談判薪酬，既表明了自己的價值，又能充分尊重未來的雇主，那麼你就可能從更積極的角色勾勒出自己的形象，對於自己在這家公司的未來職業發產產生巨大的影響。

“Negotiating your salary is important, not just because the dollars will add up over time and you could end up leaving a lot of money on the table, but also because how you value yourself and how you handle yourself in a salary negotiation will greatly influence how you’re perceived at the company you’re working for. Once you’re part of a company, it’s difficult to shake the first impression that has been pinned on you. If you handle salary negotiations in a tactful way that indicates your value while still respecting your prospective employer, you’ll likely paint yourself in a more postive light, which can have huge implications on your future career with that company.”

事實上，看到招聘啟示，然後發送自己的簡歷去申請該職位的方式獲得一份工作，很難在薪酬談判時佔據有利地位。另一種方式通過他人推薦，推薦人在公司的聲譽越高，你的可性度也越高，這種可信度會大大影響在入職的薪酬談判能力。還有一種方式，當一家想給你提供工作的公司找到你，要麽直接給你一份工作，要麽請你提出一個職位，在這種情況下，盡可能根據自己的聲望為自己標價。所以，任何時候，只要有雇主直接找你，你在談判時就擁有有利地位。

“In fact, many job seekers think this is the only way to get a job. This is, in fact, the worst way to get a job. If you get a job in this manner, it’s difficult to have a good negotiating position, because you’re in a much weaker position than the employer. You’re the one taking all the initiative and asking for the job. The person with the greatest need always has the disadvantage when negotiating anything.”

“The person with the greatest need always has the disadvantage when negotiating anything. Ever played Monopoly? Ever tried to negociate with someone who didn’t really need anythiny from you, but you needed one of their properties to complete your monopoly? How did that go?”

“Another way to get a job is through personal referral. You know someone who works at a company, they personally refer you for the job, and you end up getting offered the job. This is definitly a much better situation than just applying for a job. In fact, you should always try to get a personal referral when you’re actively seeking a job. In this situation, the prospective employer might not even know that you’re actively looking for a job - so your need is going to register as less. And because you got a personal referral, you already have some credibility. You’re essentially borrowing the credibility of the person who referred you for the job. I’m sure you can figure out that the higher the credibility of the person who referred you for the job, the higher credibility you’ll have. The credibility will greatly influence your ability to negotiate when given an offer.”

薪酬談判的一條重要法則：先出價的人會處於明顯的劣勢。在任何談判中，都要充當第二出價的人，所以讓雇主先出價對談判總是最有利。然而也有例外，唯一的例外出現在雇主刻意壓低價錢，因為如果雇主給你的出價極低，很難讓他把價格抬高很多，當然，在這種情況下，無論起做什麼，都不大可能成功。假設面試前或者填職位申請表之前被問期望的薪酬時，如果可以的話，乾脆空著不填或者簡單填寫根據整體薪酬方案面談，後續再解釋為什麼。如果在預審面試時被直接問及期望薪酬是多少，那就給出相同的答覆，就說這取決貴公司的整體薪酬方案，包含福利。

“One important thing to understand is that the first person to name a number is at a distinct disadvantage. In any kind of negotiation, you always want to act second becausse the HR manager budgeted a range for the job might be higher than exactly offer to you. You have no way of knowing what someone else is expecting to offer until they tell you. Revealing your number first puts you at a distinct disadvantage. You can’s go up from the number you state, but you can certainly be talked down. When you name a number first, you have no upside, but a big downside potential. It’s almost always to your advantage to have the employer name a number first.”

“The only exception to this is when an employer is purposely going to low-ball you. This situation is pretty rare, but if you have a good reason to suspect this will happen, you may want to name a number first to set an anchor point, Why? Because if you get a low-ball number, it may be difficult to get an employer to come up very far from that number. Of course, in this situation, you probably aren’t going to have much sucess no matter what you do.”

“If you’re asked directly in a prescreening interview about what salary you require or are expecting, try to answer the same thing. Say it depends on the overall compensation including benefits. You may be asked about your salary requirements before an interview or as a field on a job application. If you have a field on a job application, leave it blank if possible or simple put “negotiable depending on overall compensation package.” If you have to name a specific number, put $0 and then explain why later.”

你有可能試著盡可能繞過問題，問下面一系列問題：”在給出一個確切的數額或者估算之前，我更願意多了解一下貴公司，多了解一些我未來職位的工作內容。不過，聽起來好像你想弄清楚我們雙方想的薪酬範圍是否一樣，這樣我們就無需浪費我們的時間了。是這樣嗎？“ 、”好吧，如果你告訴我預算範圍，儘管我無法準確說出我的期望薪酬，但是我可以告訴你貴公司的薪酬預算是否符合我的心理預期。很明顯，這一點的確不容易做到，但是，如果雇主堅持讓你出價，那麼他們沒有理由不說出他們的心理預期，甚至先說出來，所以試著強硬一點，讓他們先出價。如果他們明確拒絕先出價，你還有別的選擇，那就給出一個跨度很大的範圍，並且以整體薪酬方案為條件，但要確保該範圍的最小值略高於你心裡價位的最低值。例如：“我無法給出一個確切的數字，因為這完全依賴於整體薪酬方案是怎樣的。不過我希望找一份$XX ~ $XX的工作。當然，這也取決於整體薪酬方案”

“You also could try, as tactfully as possible, to turn the question around and ask a series of questions like the following:”

• “I’d rather learn more about your company and understand more about the job I’d be doing before naming an exact number or estimate, but it sounds like you’re trying to figure out if we’re in the right range so we don’t both waste our time - is that correct?”

• “Well, if you tell me what the range is, even though I don’t know enough to state exactly what my salary requirements are, I can tell you whether or not the range matches up to what I’m looking for.””

“Now, obviously, this isn’t easy to do, but if an employer is going to ask you to name a number, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t expect to name one as well - or even first. Try as hard as you can to get them to name one first.”

“If they absolutely refuse, you still have some options. Naming a large range and make it conditional on the overall compensation package, but make sure the lower end of the range is slightly above the absolute lowest you’re willing to go. For example:”

• “I can’t really name an exact fugure because it’s completely dependent on what the overall compensation package is, but I’d generally be looking for something between $XX ~ $XX - again, depending on the overall compensation package.”

倘若被問及當前薪酬該怎麼辦。技術上講，這與他們無關;但是你又不能直白地這麼說。相反，你還是要繞過問題。這裡給一個建議：“我寧願不告訴您我目前的薪水，因為如果他高於您為這個職位設定的預算，我不希望就因為這個就丟掉了本次工作機會- 因為我願意為了合適的職位適當降低收入水平。但是，如果他低於這個工作將會支付的薪酬，我也不想自貶身價。我相信您一定能夠理解。”。或者回答“因為我與現在的雇主簽有保密協議，不能與其他人討論具體的薪酬數目。”。如果非得說出一個數額，告訴他們整體薪酬方案為$X，再加上現在獲得的各種福利。

“What if you’re asked about your current salary? This is a tough one; technically it’s none of their business, but you can’t exactly say that. Instead, what you want to do is to turn the question around. There are a variety of different ways to do this, but here’s one suggestion:”

• “I’d prefer not to say what my current salary is because if it’s higher than what you expect to pay for this job, I would’t want that to eliminate me from being considered for this job - because I might be willing to accept less for the right position - and, if it’s lower than what this job would pay, I wouldn’t want to sell myself short either - I’m sure you can understand. (pretty honest answer)”
• “I’m under a confidential agreement with my employer to not talk about exact salary numbers.”
• “My overall compensation package is valued at X dollars and add up what any benefits I’m getting are worth.”

Note: 安全感和經濟穩定這些通常比其他類型的需求感更急迫。安全感，或者是覺得自己受到保護不會被傷害的感覺，對所有人類來說，都是一項基本需求。人類對安全感的需求會影響我們日常生活的選擇和考量，稱為安全感協商；財務安全感屬於基礎的需求，如果個人的經濟需求很急迫，他們會重視經濟穩定勝過於一切，包含頭銜或生活品質。經濟需求很真實，因爲錢可以讓我們買到生活必需品，但也代表尊重、認同、進步、貢獻、成就，甚至自由。

“Safety, or the sense of protection from harm, is a fundamental need for all human beings. If your list of needs includes basics lik safty, you may have to focus on this need first, before addressing the secondary need. Our human need for security also affects many of our everyday choices and concerns. In the daily decisions we make, some of us are what I call “scurity negotiation” - meaning that we value certainty and lowering risk over saving money or other needs. Financial security rounds out the list of these fundamental nneeds. Money allows us ti byt the necessities of life. When people negotiate for their salary or the value of a contract, they may have in mind specific needs that will be fulfilled by that money. If a person’s economic needs are pressing, they may value economic stability above anything else, including title or quality of life.”

“Economic needs are real. Money counts as one of the basic, tangible human needs because it allows us to buy the necessities of life. But money also represents other things. In that way, it can also be an intangible; it is a proxy for respect, acknowledgment, progress, contribution, achievement, and even freedom.”

一旦有offer在手，還價的數額要充分滿足自己的胃口，選擇較高的價碼做為還價，要說清楚自己為什麼值這個價錢，可以帶給公司什麼好處，可以講一下自己對之前的雇主們的貢獻，以及為什麼付給你要求的薪水是一筆很好的投資。最壞的情況是公司會堅持自己的報價，告訴你要麼接受要麼放棄，只要offer沒有被撤銷，總是可以告訴他們重新衡量一切因素之後，認為貴公司最初的報價還是合理的。事實上，一旦收到offer，就不可能撤銷。請記住，雇主已經在你身上投入了大量時間去面試、做出offer，他們不會想重來一遍，你需要拿出一點點勇氣。

“Once you have an offer in hand, you’ll almost always want to counter. What you counter with is up to you, but I’d hightly recommend countering as high as your stomach will allow. You might think that by coming closer to their number, you’ll be more likely to get a favorable response, but in general that approach will backfire. Pick a high number and counter back. Usually, the worst-case scenario is thay stay firm on their offer and tell you that you’ll have to take it or leave it. I the offer does get pulled you can always respond by saying that you made a mistake and after weighing everything you realized that their original offer was more than fair. (Not fun, but if you really need the job, you can always go down that road.)”

“The fact of the matter is that once you’re offered a job, you aren’t likely to get that offer pulled. Remember, an employer that has invested that much time in interviewing you and making an offer isn’t going to want to start over again, so you can afford to be a little brave.”

一定要清楚自己值什麼價錢，要求薪酬的理由絕對不是我需要這麼多錢，因為沒人在乎你需要什麼。相反，你要說清楚自己為什麼值這價錢，你對之前的雇主們的貢獻，以及為什麼付給你要求的薪水是一筆很好的投資。盡可能一次獲得多個offer，但是要小心，別讓它們互相衝突。可以用得體的方式告訴他們已經有幾個offer，現在正在深思熟慮，希望做個最好的決定。但是，要小心，語氣不要太傲慢。自信是好事，傲慢就是壞事了。

“Know your numbers well. A reason for the salary you’re requesting is never because you need that much money. No one cares what you need. Instead, talk about why you’re worth a certain amount, what you’ve done for past employers and why investing in you at the salary you’re requesting is a good investment.”

“Get as many offers as possible at any one time, but be careful about playing them against each other. You’re at a distinct advantage in any negotiation if you can offord to walk away from the deal. To be in this position, you may need to get multiple offers lined up, so you may want to apply for several jobs at once. Just be careful in playing different offers against each other. You can do it in a tacting way by talking about how you have a couple of offers you’re currently considering and want to make the best decision, but be careful not to sound arrogant. Confidence is good, arrogance is bad.”

<Note>:

• 即使不找工作，也可以試著去參加一下面試。你也許會發現，當自己無所求的時候(因為這時你並不需要找新工作)，談判更容易。說不定你能透過這種鍛鍊找到更好的工作。

“Try to get a few interviews, even if you aren’t looking for a new job. You might find it easier to negotiate when you have nothing to lose (because you aren’t looking for a new job anyway). Who knows, perhaps you’ll find a better job by trying to practice.”

=========== To be continued…. ==========

總結

個人認為這本書後半部所闡述程式碼以外的經歷，都是值得學習以及和內化吸收的，提升自己的軟技能。期許在漫長的職涯旅程，也可以遵循此指引，避免陷入迷失的方向，並且積極思考自己的職業生涯，豐富自己的生活，讓自己更接近成功。

Reference

[1] Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual

[2] CNN: Got a job offer? Now it’s time to negotiate

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave the comments below or email to me. Any pieces of advice or discussions are always welcome. :)