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  3. (1) When Winston Chen told his friends that he had quit his job as chief tech

(1) When Winston Chen told his friends that he had quit his job as chief tech

游客2024-11-05  2
问题    (1) When Winston Chen told his friends that he had quit his job as chief technology officer at a software company to move to a small island in Arctic Norway with his family for a year, few people called him crazy.
   (2) Instead, most people simply replied; "I wish I had the guts (勇气) to do that. "
   (3) While many people dream of taking time off mid-career, few actually do it. But the number of people taking lengthy sabbaticals later in life is increasing, according to experts. That’s in part due to companies becoming more open to the idea and the higher rate at which people are changing jobs. And depending on how you play your cards, you can return with a better job than when you left.
   Time for a change
   (4) For Chen, who had been with the same company for a decade when he quit in 2011, it was time for a change, he said. His original plan was to find a new job, but the idea of taking time off—inspired by a TED talk—got him seriously thinking about a sabbatical. At first, he said he was concerned that time away from the industry might hurt his career.
   (5) "That’s the main reason that keeps people from doing this, and I was no different," he said in an email. "But you have to create the urgency for living the life you want. "
   (6) After quitting, Chen did look for another job—until a family friend mentioned that a small island in Arctic Norway was looking for a teacher. Chen’s wife, who was born in Norway, wanted to go back to work after being at home with their kids for five years. "She called and basically got the job," said Chen. "So, very quickly, we decided that was it. "
   Increasingly popular
   (7) Paul Payne, managing director of UK-based rail and construction recruitment firm OneWay, is one of a growing number of professionals in the recruiting field who have seen a number of clients opting for a gap year or sabbatical midway through their careers.
   (8) "It’s an interesting idea, particularly when firms are looking to hire and, crucially, retain millennial talent who tend to get itchy feet quicker than their predecessors," he said in an email. "While it’s not for every business, more and more are offering sabbaticals as a retention tool by giving their employees paid leave to travel, volunteer or simply to take time off to recharge their batteries. "
   Slacker label
   (9) Explaining a year off on your CV doesn’t have to be a bad thing, said Payne. "Taking the time off can highlight to an organisation that you want to further your skill set and try new experiences," he said. "It could also mean that you’ll come back from your break with a different perspective, which is likely to aid your job performance. "
   Try something new
   (10) If you’re thinking of taking a mid-career break that boosts your outlook and skills, consider going abroad, where you could try undertaking informal paid work or volunteering, either of which could give you a fresh perspective on things upon your return, according to Payne. The experience could also improve your basic competencies.
   (11) "Who knows what you could learn from working alongside professionals who’ve been developed and trained in a different way to you," he said. " In more general terms, taking this sort of break also allows you to develop life experience, which can contribute to building better ’ soft’ skills like communication and people management. " Plus, volunteer work can give your more insight into how to solve problems differently. By nature, volunteers have to buy in to what they are doing and work with limited or no resources.
   Always a risk
   (12) Of course, not all employers will be open to the idea of a gap year-but there are ways to make it more appealing to them, according to Holly Bull, president of Princeton, New Jersey-based gap year consultancy Center for Interim Programs, LLC. "Lay out what [you have] in mind to an employer and see how much time away they might agree to if there is a clear commitment to return to the job," she said in an email. "Enrol the employer by outlining the benefits of taking this kind of time; most people are reinvigorated by gap time and return with more to offer in their jobs. "
   (13) Bull recommends being very clear about what is most important, and only then going to your employer with your intent and requests. " See what happens," she said. "I think one has to be ready to let a job go if an employer is not at all open to the gap option. "
   (14) But don’t be surprised if there is pushback about the idea. "Many employers are not so keen to see someone take off for a year because of the need for business continuity and consistency," said Reboot Partners’ Smith. Have a plan showing how they could cover you in your absence. One of Smith’s clients pointed out to their manager how much money they could save in the budget for that year by not having to pay their salary, yet not sacrificing the investment they had made in training them over the years. " It was a win-win for the company and the employee taking the break," said Smith.
   Time to move on
   (15) The year off may prove the stepping stone to your next job. "I think it’s really important people ask the question about whether their work is fulfilling. If it’s not, it may be scary to make a change, but it’s invariably better to risk it to find something that really does light them up," said Bull. " Gap options provide landing pads and a way to test the waters without making a full commitment to another job. "
   (16) For some people, it can be as short as a few weeks to learn if something suits them or not. For Bull, it took a month of aquaculture (水产业) research to realise that she didn’t have the patience for that kind of methodical work.
   Unexpected results
   (17) In Chen’s case, he developed an app just "for fun" during his time away. But it became his new career—and the precursor (先驱) to voice-based mobile app company, Voice Dream—when he returned to Boston a year later.
   (18) "It’s not necessary to think of being away as a way to start a business or go to a new career," he said. "The point is: What would you do if, for a while, you don’t have to think about making money?" [br] According to Paul Payne, offering paid leaves is______.
选项 A、effective for companies to attract talent
B、a measure suitable for every company
C、a means for many companies to keep the best people
D、beneficial for employees’ professional development
答案 C
解析 细节题。文章第八段第二句提到，保罗-佩恩在邮件中说道：“尽管这并不适合每一家企业，但还是有越来越多的企业将提供长假作为留住人才的手段，为其职员提供带薪休假去旅行，做志愿者或者只是休息一段时间来让他们休整充电。”由此可知，保罗-佩恩认为企业提供长假是作为留住人才的手段，故[C]为正确答案。[B]“提供带薪休假是适合每一家公司的措施”与该句表述相反，故排除；该句虽然提到了旅行、做志愿者以及休整充电，但这些并不能说明提供带薪休假有助于员工的职业发展，故排除[D]；第一句指出保罗-佩恩说道：“这是一个有趣的想法，尤其是当那些公司想要招聘，更为关键的是，留住那些千禧年人才时，而这些人才往往比他们的前辈更渴望旅行。”该句只表示了用提供带薪休假来招聘和留住人才是很有趣的想法，但并未表明这对于公司吸引人才很有效，故排除[A]。
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