????你的第一份“真正”的工作，應該為你未來的成功奠定基礎。我的經歷充分證明了這一點，只是過程有些出人意料。

????從加州大學伯克利分校哈斯商學院（UC Berkeley Haas School of Business）畢業后，我在一家超大型投資銀行的技術部門擔任分析師。這份工作收入豐厚，也是我所期待的技術領域。這就是我的第一份工作。我從這里開始了自己的職業生涯。

????時值2002年，正是網絡泡沫破滅影響最嚴重的時期，高科技領域哀鴻遍野。當時我負責部門唯一一位活躍的客戶，這是一家私人高科技公司，正在通過我們銀行對外出售。由于這是我所在部門當時唯一的業務，它的各個層面都受到了嚴格審查。

????我每周工作100多個小時，連續工作了三個月，我清楚記得有一個周末，我得了嚴重的流感。周六的時候，我正在辦公室加班，負責該交易的副總裁外出用餐。她走的時候要求我對演示稿“再修改一遍”。這意味著：雖然我正在發燒，但那天晚上我還是得再加班八個小時，因為CEO希望在第二天（周日）早上7點通過電話審核演示稿。

????我還記得當時喝了大量咖啡因和減充血劑，不過最終還是努力完場了演示稿。小睡了一兩個小時候，我又回到辦公室接聽電話。在通話過程中，我昏昏欲睡，渾身疼痛不已，還不停咳嗽。一會兒，那位副總裁將電話調為靜音，看著我說：“我需要你打起精神來。”

????我確實打起了精神，但并不是按她所想的那樣。就在那一刻，我明白這份工作并不適合我，更重要的是，這也不是適合我的職業道路。她在不經意間（并且無情地）給我上了一課，讓我認識到了三件重要的事情：

????? 追隨優秀的人，而不是工資

????? 做自己喜愛的工作

????? 保證健康的工作和生活平衡

????突然之間，收入不再重要，重要的是能夠與優秀的導師和了不起的人一起共事。最初接受這份投行工作的時候，我也是抱著這樣的希望，可惜，希望很快落空。但我一直被高工資所蒙蔽，直到靜音鍵被按下的那一刻才幡然醒悟。我離開了那家銀行，最終找到的工作雖然薪酬沒有那么高，但那里的人和工作卻給我帶來了更多回報。

????不論是共同創建一家自己希望為其奮斗的公司，還是為同事們創造一個平臺，讓他們獲得令人滿意的職業發展，對我而言，最為關鍵的是，清楚什么才是對自己最重要的。（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????Your first ‘real’ job should give you the foundation needed for future success. This couldn’t have been more true in my case, but not in the ways you’d expect.

????After graduating from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, I went to work as an analyst in the technology group of a bulge bracket investment bank. It paid very well and was in the tech field I wanted. This was it. I was on my way.

????It was 2002, during the depths of the dot-com bust and when the tech sector was a wasteland. I was working with the only active client for the group, a private technology company that engaged our bank to sell itself. As this was the only business for the group at that time, this deal was under tremendous scrutiny on all levels.

????I was working 100-plus hour weeks for three straight months, and I remember vividly one weekend when I had a horrible flu. I was at the office working on a Saturday when the VP managing this deal went out to dinner. As she left, she asked for “another rev” on the presentation. Translation: I had to put in another eight hours that night, with a fever, and the CEO wanted to review the presentation on a 7:00 AM call the next morning (Sunday).

????I cant remember the exact mixture of caffeine and decongestants I took, but I somehow managed to get the presentation done, nab a couple hours of sleep and arrive back in the office for the call. I was drowsy, achy and coughing miserably during the call. At one point the VP muted the phone, looked at me and said, “I’m going to need you to perk up.

????Perk up I did, but not in the way she was thinking. At that precise moment, I knew I was in the wrong job and more importantly, the wrong career path. In one life lesson she had unwittingly (and unrelentingly) taught me three key things:

????·????????Pursue great people and not the paycheck

????·????????Do work you love

????·????????Create a healthy work-life balance

????Suddenly, the income was not as important as being able to work with great mentors and people I could learn from. I had hoped for this when accepting the investment-banking job and soon realized it didn’t exist. I remained blinded by the pay until that mute button was pressed. I left and ultimately took a job that paid much less but was far more rewarding in terms of the people and the work.

????Having a clear understanding of what was important to me was critical not just when co-founding a company that I wanted to work at – but also to create a place that fosters satisfying careers for all those I work with as well.

????