Dear Lucy:
露西您好,

I’m a successful federal employee trying to move in a new direction. I’m applying for jobs that I’m well qualified for and though I keep reaching the top three, I haven’t been offered any positions. The problem is that I’m a reformed alcoholic who has been sober for six years. But before that there were ugly episodes of drunkenness, all well known to people in my (small) field of expertise. I am proud of my sobriety and have virtually no chance of regressing. I feel I should share my history with prospective employers, but where does one enter “reformed alcoholic” on a resume? Under “hobbies”?
我是一名优秀的联邦员工, 现在正试图换一份新工作. 如今我正在申请我可以胜任的职位, 可是尽管我都能进入最后三名, 最终我都没有收到任何录取通知书. 问题在于, 我是一名戒过酒的人, 已经连续六年滴酒不沾了. 但是在那之前, 我有过多次酗酒成性, 丑态尽展的经历. 这在我的同行中人尽皆知(这一行并不大). 现在我为自己的戒酒成功感到自豪, 而且几乎可以说我不会再回到以前酗酒的生活了. 我觉得我应该将这段经历告诉我未来的上司. 但是我应该在简历的哪个位置填写 “戒酒成功” 呢? 在 “个人兴趣爱好” 一栏里吗?

Is there a way I can own up to my dark past and show that I have a bright future?
是否有途径可以让我坦白自己的一些 “黑暗史” 的同时也显示出我会有一个美好的未来?

Manager, male, 40s
经理, 男, 40多岁.

Lucy's Answer:
露西的回复:

The place where you really ought to put “reformed alcoholic” on your CV is in the section where people brag about what outstanding leadership qualities they have. To have stayed off the bottle for six years gives copper-bottomed proof that you are a) determined b) brave c) focused and d) good at overcoming obstacles. It establishes those things more convincingly than “successfully leading a team through a major global change initiative” – or any of the other twaddle with which people generally pad out CVs.
你应该将 “戒酒成功” 写在简历中人们常常吹嘘自己有多强的领导才能的地方. 六年来滴酒不沾足以证明你是一个有毅力非凡, 勇敢专注, 而且擅长克服困难之人. 这比那些 “成功领导一个团队度过一次全球大变革”或者那些大家习惯放在简历里的废话更能让人信服.

Yet even so, you should not put your history with the bottle anywhere on your CV, or bring it up in an interview, unless asked – in which case you say briefly and clearly what you have said to me in your e-mail. Alcoholism is still taboo in corporate life – if you look up the list of teetotallers on Wikipedia you will find creative artists, but not a single business figure. That’s not because they don’t drink, it’s because they keep quiet about it.
然而即便如此, 你最好还是不要将这段酗酒经历放在简历的任何地方, 也不要在面试中讲出来, 除非你被问到. 如果你真的被问到了, 那你就言简意赅地将你在邮件中告诉我的一切告诉给面试你的人. 酗酒仍然是职场中的禁忌. 如果你去查一下维基百科中的戒酒人名单, 你就会发现上面大多数是有创意的艺术家的名字, 找不到一个商人. 这并不是说商人们就不喝酒了, 而是他们对喝酒之事三缄其口.

In hiding your addiction, I don’t think you are being at all deceitful. You say that you should share this with future employers. Why? Because it is a big part of you? But then so are your emotional life and your children (if you have any), but there is no reason why any of that needs to be shared with employers. You intend to go on being sober: therefore your employer doesn’t need to know.
我并不觉得隐瞒你的酗酒史是一种欺骗行为. 你说你应该将这段经历告诉未来上司, 为什么呢? 因为这是你人生中的重大事件吗? 如果这样的话, 那你也应该将你的感情生活以及你的孩子出生全说出来(如果你有的话). 但是对于这些事情, 你都没有理由和必要告知你的上司. 因为你决心要继续戒酒, 所以你的上司并不需要知道你以前的酗酒史.

You seem convinced that it is your past as a boozer that is spoiling your job chances. I’m not so sure: if people were put off by those ugly scenes of drunkenness, I’m not sure you would have advanced to the top three.
你似乎觉得, 曾经的酗酒史是令你得不到工作机会的原因. 对此我并不十分确定. 试想, 要是有过因酗酒成性而丑态百出的人都会被踢出局, 我不觉得你会有进会晋级到最后三名.

What I think you need to do in order to land another job is exactly what you are doing on the wagon. Be brave and focused and determined and all the rest of it. Keep applying for things. Try to find out why you have been passed over. It may be that there is something you do in interviews that puts people off. Or it may simply be that there’s a recession and there are lots of other good people who want jobs, and so you may have to wait a little longer.
我觉得为了找到新的工作, 你现在正需要你戒酒时的毅力与冲劲. 你一定要勇敢, 专注, 有决心以及其他方方面面的品质, 继续你的求职生涯. 试着思考一下你为什么会在最后被刷下来了. 这可能是你在面试过程中出了什么差错, 令面试者最后把你拒了. 或者说, 现在经济不景气, 很多其他优秀的人也在争着抢工作, 因此你需要再耐心地等久一些。

（原文: 选自英国<<金融时报>> 译者: 爱尔兰都柏林大学 赖小琪）