Dear Annie: I hope you can give me some ideas, because I think I'm probably just one of many -- which, in a way, is the whole problem. My only resolution for 2014 is to finally get promoted, but it's looking unlikely. I work for a really good company, so I don't want to leave, but so many layers of management were done away with during the recession that there are now very few senior jobs likely to be available anytime soon, and lots of internal (not to mention external) qualified people in line.
亲爱的安妮：我希望你能给我些建议，因为我觉得可能有很多人和我一样——而这在某种程度上是问题的关键所在。2014年，我唯一的决心就是最终获得晋升，但看起来希望不大。我所在的公司非常好，我并不想离开。然而，我们公司在经济衰退期砍掉了大量的管理层，因此短期内可供晋升的高层职务是少之又少，而且公司内部（更不用提公司外部）符合晋升要求的人员已经排成了长龙。
So I guess my question is, what can I do now? I'm already doing the obvious things, like producing great results in my current position, but so is everybody else. Can you suggest anything that might help me hang on here? -- Rooted but Restless
所以我觉得我的问题在于，我现在该怎么办？我已经在尽力表现自己，例如在现有的岗位上拿出出色的业绩，但是大家也都在这样做。你能给我提一些建议，帮助我继续留在公司发展吗？——Rooted but Restless
Dear R.R.: You're right to surmise that you have plenty of company -- and, if it's any consolation, people upstairs may be thinking pretty hard right now about how to hold on to you. "This is a real problem that's very much on the minds of senior management," notes Laura Poisson, a vice president at Boston-based career development firm ClearRock.
亲爱的R.R.：你觉得跟你有类似遭遇的人还有很多，这一点你说的没错——而且，公司上层人士可能正在绞尽脑汁，思考如何把你留在公司，希望这多少能给你一些安慰。波士顿职业发展公司ClearRock副总裁劳拉•博伊森说：“公司高层基本上都在思考这个现实的问题。”她还说：“那些在经济下行时曾帮助公司完成目标的重要员工如今正期待获得晋升。然而问题在于，在公司决定保持现有精简构架时，他们有这个机会吗？”
It's a conundrum that's been building for some time now, with lots of frustrated people stuck in middle management, partly because legions of boomers in corner offices, spooked by the recession (and the real estate crash), aren't retiring on schedule.
这个问题已经积压有一段时间了，这也让很多失望的中层管理人员难有出头之日，部分原因是因为婴儿潮一代的高层大军由于受经济衰退（以及房地产危机）的影响未能如期退休。
Another reason promotions are scarce these days is that, as you've seen, there are simply fewer management jobs. At the same time, the number of tech jobs is exploding. Job site TheLadders, for instance, studied about 60,000 employers in November and found that the growth rate of job titles with the word "manager" in them is about 25% lower than the average growth rate, and titles containing the word "director" are growing 50% more slowly than average. Of the top 10 fastest-growing job titles, seven were in tech or were tech-related. Only three -- staff accountant, paralegal, and administrative assistant -- pertained to jobs that required no STEM expertise.
如今出现晋升难现象的另一个原因在于，正如你所看到的，管理层的工作岗位的确越来越少。与此同时，技术岗位的数量呈爆发式增长。例如，求职网站TheLadders在11月份调查了约6万家公司后发现，其中含有“经理”头衔的岗位的增长率比岗位平均增长率低25%，含有“总监”头衔的岗位增长率比岗位平均增长率低50%。在增长速度排名前10的工作岗位中，有7个岗位都是技术岗位或与技术相关的岗位。只有三个岗位（人员会计师、法律助理和行政助理）对STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）领域专长没有作出要求。
Many people in your position have adjusted their expectations accordingly. Consider: When consultants BlessingWhite surveyed full-time employees across the U.S. in December about their next career moves in 2014, they found that over half (58%) of upwardly mobile types expect to start on a new project, either where they work now or at some other company. Only 13% think they'll get promoted.
很多跟你级别一样的人对自己的期望做出了相应的调整。不妨看看下面这项调查：去年12月，咨询公司BlessingWhite对全美全职雇员2014年将要采取的职业生涯举措进行了调查，结果发现，超过半数（58%）有上升趋势的员工希望去从事新的项目，要么在现有的公司做，要么去其他的公司。只有13%的员工认为他们会得到晋升。
Against that backdrop, Poisson has four tips for you on moving up -- or moving on:
在这个背景下，到底是往上走还是另谋高就，博伊森提出了四点意见：
1. Follow the money. How close are you right now to your company's strategic center? "The promotions now are happening at or near companies' most important strategic areas, and that's also where the money is," notes Poisson. "You can be a highly accomplished subject-matter expert, but if you're not contributing directly to the company's biggest strategic goals, it won't help."
1. 跟着钱走。如今，你离公司的战略核心还有多远？博伊森说：“目前，得到晋升的人员往往处于公司最重要的战略领域，或处在这个领域的边缘，而且这个领域是公司最赚钱的领域。就算你是一个非常知名的主题专家，如果你无法直接为公司最重要的战略目标做出贡献，那么你的专长对晋升也不会有什么帮助。”
If you're not at the center of your company's strategic aims, Poisson recommends asking for either a lateral move closer, or else an assignment to a cross-functional team project that will get you there. "You have to be close to where the money is made, and either make money or save money for the business," Poisson says, adding that many people anxious to move up "lose sight of that."
如果你并不处于公司的战略目标的中心区域，博伊森建议，你可以寻求平级调动，向中心地带靠拢，也可以要求参加有助于你接近中心区域的跨职能团队项目。博伊森说：“必须向赚钱的业务部门靠拢，要么帮公司赚钱，要么帮公司省钱。”博伊森还说，很多急切盼望晋升的人都“忽视了这一点”。
2. Make a specific career plan. This should be something you discuss in detail with your immediate boss -- including who's going to replace you if you move up or out. "You need to discuss your goals with your boss, and see if you can train or mentor the person who would replace you," Poisson says. "A lot more of these conversations are happening these days, because they need to."
2. 制定具体的职业规划。你应该具体和你的直接上司讨论这件事，包括你晋升或离职之后的替代人选。博伊森说：“你需要和老板讨论你的目标，然后再看看你能不能培训或指导那位替代人选。如今，这种对话已变得越来越平常，因为人们有必要这样做。”
At several of her client companies, she adds, people "shadow" someone for a couple of days or a week to see what their next move is all about. "See if you can shadow someone to find out more details about the job you think you want," Poisson suggests. "The day-to-day may not be what you think it is" -- which gives you a chance to adjust your plan accordingly.
她还说，她很多客户公司中，人们会花几天或几周的时间，变成某个人的影子，观察这些人接下来会采取哪些行动。 “试试你是否能够变成某人的影子，然后借此进一步了解你所心仪的岗位，掌握更多的具体信息，” 博伊森建议。“日常的工作可能会和你的想象有出入。”——而这也给了你对自身规划进行相应调整的机会。
3. Decide what else, aside from a promotion, you really want. If a move up the ladder isn't possible right now, Poisson recommends giving some thought to what else would keep you around until it is. She notes that many outfits "really value treating everybody the same, so everyone at a given level gets the same amount of vacation and so on" -- but that number is, by necessity, shrinking. "Find out where the flexibility is," she says.
3. 想想除了升职之外，还有什么是你真正想要的。如果目前晋升的希望不大，博伊森建议，在晋升希望来临之前，你可以想想公司还有什么是值得你留恋的。她指出，很多公司“非常重视一视同仁的做法，因此，处于同一级别的所有人都会获得同样天数的假期和其他待遇”——但是不可避免的是，这样做的公司在减少。她说：“要发掘公司的弹性所在。”
Then make a wish list. No two are the same, but Poisson says that flexible schedules, more travel to important industry conferences, and more training -- "especially training somewhat outside your current area, like big data training for non-data-analysts, for instance" -- are popular choices, and usually get the green light from higher-ups eager to keep key people from quitting.
然后列一个愿望清单。每个人都有不同的想法，但是博伊森表示，灵活的日程，更多出差参加重要行业会议的机会和更多的培训——“尤其是自身现有专长之外领域的培训，例如非数据分析师参加大数据培训”——都是很受欢迎的机遇，而且通常也会获得高层的首肯，因为他们都盼望藉此留住重要雇员。
4. Think hard about why you're staying. You mention that your current employer is a good place to work, but "there are good companies everywhere," Poisson observes. "You might find you'd get a better deal somewhere else." Human nature is such that "a lack of progress for a long time really erodes people's confidence," she adds. "Making a change before you get to that point can give you a big burst of energy."
4. 认真考虑留下来的原因。你说过，现在的公司是个好公司，但是博伊森认为，“好公司到处都是，你可能会发现，在别的公司你能得到更好的待遇。”她还说：“长期缺乏进步的的确确会侵蚀个人的信心”，因为人的天性就是如此。“在意志还未消沉之前做出改变能够极大地鼓舞你的士气。”
If interviewing elsewhere turns up some appealing opportunities out there, then great -- "or you may find some real advantages to staying where you are," she says. "Either way, you'll be making a reasoned decision." Good luck.
如果在别处面试时发现了极具吸引力的机遇，那是件好事情——“或者，你会发现留在当前公司的一些真正优势，”她说。“这样，不管怎么样，你都能做出理性的决定。”祝你好运。
Talkback: Is it harder to get promoted, where you work, than it used to be? Have you found ways around that? Leave a comment below.
反馈：在你工作的地方，与过去相比，晋升是不是变得越来越困难？你是不是找到了解决这个问题的方法？请在下面留言评论。