My first job我的第一份工作的翻译

My First Job

I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the register in her Manhattan pharmacy. Before long, she let me sit there by myself. I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you”.

At first I was paid in candy. Later I received 50 cents an hour. I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. My father helped me set up a bank account. Watching my money grow was more rewarding than anything I could have bought.

Grandma, a tough taskmaster, never gave me favorable treatment. She watched me like a hawk yet allowed me to handle high-pressure situations such as working during the lunch rush. Her trust taught me how to handle responsibility.

By the time I was 12, she thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics. I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a child, women would ask me such things as “What color do you think I should wear?” I took a genuine interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup ideas. I ended up selling a record amount of cosmetics.

The job taught me a valuable lesson: that to be a successful salesperson, you didn’t need to be a rocket scientist –you needed to be a great listener. Today I still carry that lesson with me: I listen to customers. Except they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed. （283）

我的第一份工作

那年，我十岁，我第一次与我外祖母坐在她曼哈顿的药店柜台后面。不久之后，她就让我自己坐在那。因而我很快就学会了对待顾客要懂得礼貌和说“谢谢”的重要性。

一开始，我的酬劳是糖果。后来，我被支付50美分每个小时的薪酬。每天放学后我都会去兼职，要是在暑假、周末和假期期间的话我的工作时间是从早上8：00-下午7：00。我的父亲帮我开了一个银行账户。看着我账户里的钱越来越多比我能买到任何东西更加值得。

祖母，是一个严厉的雇主，从来不会给我特殊的照顾。她用鹰一样锐利的目光紧盯着我，对我采取高压政策，比如说在午餐时间工作。她的信任教会了我怎样去承担责任。

在我12岁时，她觉得我一定要做这样一份好的工作，所以她鼓励我去推销化妆品。我培养用眼睛直接观察顾客的能力。尽管我只是个孩子，女人们会询问我诸如“你觉得我穿什么颜色的衣服好看？”的问题。我天生对她们的问题感兴趣且能够了解她们的化妆想法。我创造了一个化妆品的销售业绩的时代。

这份工作给我上了一门有意义的课：要想做一个成功的推销员，你不需要做一个火箭科学家，你需要做一个好的倾听者。今天我依然记得这个伴随着我的教导：我要用心倾听顾客的声音。我期待不久的将来不是女性从我这里购买化妆品；而是他们作为孩子告诉我希望看到怎么样设计发展的玩具。