For most recent graduates, the prospect of starting a job after university is exciting yet onerous. Exciting because after facing several rounds of interviews, tests and — usually — rejections, successful trainees can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Onerous, however, because of the daunting breadth of what there is to learn in the world of work. This mix of emotions is normal, but the pandemic has amplified them.
對於大多數新近畢業的大學生而言，離開學校走上工作崗位的前景雖然令人激動，但也讓人焦慮。激動是因爲在經歷數輪面試、測試、通常還有拒絕之後，成功被錄取的培訓生終於可以鬆一口氣。焦慮則是因爲在工作中有大量需要學習的東西，這令人望而生畏。如此複雜的感覺是正常的，但疫情把這些感受放大了。
I started my graduate scheme in communications and advocacy at BP in September 2020, with my first rotation in corporate reporting. Given a precarious graduate jobs market, I consider myself lucky — BP went to lengths to reassure new recruits that the programme would proceed. According to research by Milkround, a graduate careers site, only 18 per cent of 2020 graduates had been able to secure jobs before graduating, compared with 60 per cent usually doing so before the pandemic.
我於2020年9月開始參加英國石油(BP)的傳播和宣傳崗位畢業生培養計劃，我的第一個輪崗工作是企業報導。考慮到充滿不確定性的畢業生就業市場，我認爲自己很幸運——英國石油竭力向新人保證，這個培養計劃會持續進行下去。根據畢業生就業網站Milkround的調查，2020屆畢業生只有18%能在畢業之前找到工作，相比之下疫情前通常有60%的畢業生可以提前找到工作。
Once they get stuck into the job, graduates battle anxieties and fears that come from not yet understanding corporate etiquette — a state compounded by working from home. I felt paranoid: was it best to try to figure things out alone as much as possible? Should I check in with the team to actively show that I am working? What if I am not able to complete something in time because I have to prioritise another task?
一旦畢業生們找到工作，他們要應對因爲還不懂公司的規矩而產生的焦慮和擔憂——在家辦公使得這種情況更加複雜。我會思前想後：儘量嘗試獨自解決問題，這是最好的辦法嗎？我是否應該積極和團隊溝通，以顯示我在努力工作？假如我必須優先處理一件任務，而無法及時完成另外一項工作，該怎麼辦？
