我之前为什么没有为失业做更多准备呢？

When I was called into an office at New Broadcasting House to be told that I was being made redundant from the BBC, one thought went through my mind: why did I not do more to prepare for losing my job?

当我被叫到新广播大楼(New Broadcasting House)的一间办公室里，被告知我将从英国广播公司(BBC)被裁员以后，我的脑海里浮现出一个念头：我之前为什么没有为失业做更多准备呢?

This question stayed there for months afterwards and sometimes still taps the inside of my head five years later.

之后，这个念头一连数月挥之不去。5年过去了，我还会时不时想到这个问题。

I had some idea it might happen — my boss said that the BBC’s cost-cutting programme was going to be tough. But I didn’t see the corporation turning its back on me completely.

其实之前我隐约感觉这件事可能会发生——我的老板说过，BBC的那项成本削减计划力度会很大。但我没有想到，公司会彻底抛弃我。

This was naive but understandable. Over my seven years as Olympics and sports news correspondent for BBC London I had received recognition from numerous senior editors and correspondents, including the BBC’s top anchor Huw Edwards and the deputy director-general.

很天真，但可以理解。在BBC伦敦办公室担任奥运和体育新闻记者的7年中，我获得了众多资深编辑和记者的认可，包括BBC的王牌主播休•爱德华兹(Huw Edwards)和BBC副总裁。

My mistake was to think that doing your job well is a guarantee for keeping it. I relied on the BBC to show loyalty and it turned out to be the biggest error of my working life.

我错在以为做好自己的工作就给自己的工作岗位上了一道保险。我信赖BBC，以展示忠诚，结果证明这是我职业生涯中最大的错误。

So my key lesson for any employee is to always make sure you are ready to be shown the door — practically, psychologically and financially.

因此，对于任何一位员工，我所能提供的最重要教训就是，始终确保你已经为被扫地出门做好了准备——包括实际准备、心理准备和经济准备。

Seeking advice and networking is a positive way of establishing a safety net. Even if you are happy in your job and have complete faith in your employer, always have a Plan B. You do not need to say you are looking for a move straight away. But keeping your options open and researching your next career move will make you more comfortable in your current job.

多向他人请教和建立人脉是构建安全网的积极方式。即使你对自己的工作很满意，完全信任雇主，你也需要一个B计划。你不用说你想马上换工作。但时刻掌握可用的备选，研究你的下一步职业变动，会让你在目前的工作岗位上更自如。

At the same time, accumulate enough savings to pay your bills for six months, should you lose your job. This is probably a lot less than six months of your current salary — most of us can live on less money.

与此同时，积攒足够的储蓄，确保在你失去工作的时候能支付6个月的账单。这笔钱很可能比你目前6个月的薪水要少得多——我们大多数人可以用更少的钱生活下去。

When I left the BBC I was initially able to use my redundancy cash to survive, but it took me 12 months to find another role as a university lecturer. Money was tight in those second six months and I wish I had set up a “safety net account”.

刚离开BBC的时候，我还能够用裁员补偿金度日，但我用了12个月才找到下一份工作——担任大学讲师——后6个月的日子就过得很拮据，我当时真希望自己建立了“安全网账户”。

Also think about how you might employ your skills and contacts to change career. You might need to do some extra training to change direction completely.

另外，也思考一下在换工作时如何运用自己的技能和人脉。你可能需要接受一些额外的培训才能彻底改变职业方向。

While still working as a journalist, a friend studied for a PR qualification and started networking in the communications industry. Eventually he decided to leave journalism for a job at a large PR agency. Understanding the challenges and having made the contacts, he was able to move on his own terms.

我的一个朋友在做记者时，攻读了一张公关专业的文凭，并开始有意地结交业内人士。最终他决定离开新闻业，去一家大型公关机构工作。在明白了其中的挑战、也有了人脉之后，他能够按照自己的心意转行。

I had to do all this “big picture” thinking in a hurry, while worrying about paying the bills. Eventually I decided to go into university lecturing and set up a portfolio business involving media training and journalism. But I wish I had done my thinking and networking more calmly when I still had a job.

而我不得不在匆忙中规划这些“人生蓝图”，同时还要担心怎么付账单。最终我决定去大学教课，同时创业，开展涉及媒体培训与新闻的业务。但我真希望我能在有工作时更冷静地思考、更从容地建立人际关系。

There are three stages to planning for redundancy: the first is talking to people about their experiences in other fields and thinking about what else you might want to do. The second is improving your position through extra studying and developing new skills. The third stage is asking people about openings.

为裁员做准备可以分为三个阶段：第一阶段是与人们聊聊他们在各自领域的经历，思考你还有可能做什么其他工作。第二步是通过学习新知识、培养新技能来提升自己。第三是向人们咨询空缺的职位。

I would recommend everybody to work hard on the first stage. You may never move to stage two or three but knowing you have options will make you feel more comfortable.

我建议每个人在第一阶段时都要努力工作。你也许永远不会进入第二或第三阶段，但是知道自己还有其他选项会让你感觉更好一些。

I regret not being ready when I suddenly faced redundancy. But if you take these precautions, you should be ready for any turmoil in your career.

我很后悔当我突然遭遇裁员时没有做好准备。假如你采取了这些预防措施，那么当职业出现变数时你应该就已经做好了准备。