Last summer, Lisa Harrell interviewed a candidate for a director job who offered a list of impressive accomplishments¹. But during the 60-minute meeting, the Ivy² League candidate never paused long enough for the recruiter to ask just how he executed on them.

2008年夏，丽莎•海罗尔(Lisa Harrell)面试了一个应聘经理岗位的人，他简历上的工作成就给人留下深刻的印象，但在60分钟的面试过程中，这位毕业于“常春藤联盟”(Ivy League)名校的求职者始终滔滔不绝，面试官根本没机会插嘴询问他到底是如何实现这些成就的。

'In the end, he took a breath and said, 'After my first 90 days, what is my next step?'' recalls Ms. Harrell, vice³ president of human-capital development at UnitedHealth Group Inc. in Minnetonka, Minn. His bravado⁴ cost him the job, she says.

“最后，他抽空喘了一口气，问我：‘过了90天的试用期，我会有怎样的发展机会？’”位于明尼苏达州Minnetonka市的UnitedHealth Group Inc.人力资源发展部副总裁海罗尔回忆道。求职者的这种张狂气势令他丢了工作机会。

When it comes to self-promotion in the workplace, hiring managers say some people go too far and block their path to the next level. You might call them the corporate⁵ world's 'American Idol⁶' wannabes. Like many contestants⁷ on the reality TV show who extol⁸ the greatness of their singing abilities and then end up sent home, corporate idols⁹ sing praises about their abilities without delivering tangible¹⁰ evidence to back up the claims.

招聘经理们说，有些人在公司里太爱自吹自擂，反而阻塞了自己的升迁之路。你可以把这种人叫做职场中的“美国偶像”追随者。正如电视选秀中的选手极力展现自己的歌唱天赋，但很多人却免不了要黯然退场一样，职场中的“美国偶像”们往往都是说得好听，实际上并没有表现出多大能耐。

And recruiters and employers say they're seeing the behavior more frequently in the current bad economy, as some candidates try harder to impress interviewers and workers go out of their way to hang on to their jobs.

招聘企业和人力资源经理们表示，在目前经济不景气的局面下，这种自我吹嘘行为越来越多。一些应聘者竭力想给面试官留下好印象，而一些公司职员也千方百计地表现，希望保住自己的饭碗。

'A lot of people are selling themselves hard,' says Mark Angott, president of Angott Search Group, a recruiting firm in Rochester, Mich. Out of desperation, many job hunters convince themselves they're qualified¹¹ for positions that don't match their backgrounds, he says. 'They want to try anything and everything,' he says.

“很多人都在拼命推销自己，”密歇根州罗切斯特市职业介绍公司Angott Search Group的总裁马克•安哥特(Mark Angott)说。走投无路之下，很多求职者都自欺欺人，认为自己可以胜任那些并不符合自身条件的岗位。“他们什么都想尝试，”安哥特说道。

And like 'American Idol' rejects, corporate idols who lack the skills and knowledge they claim to have often handle criticism or rejection¹² poorly. 'We've had guys use every expletive in the book,' says Dave DeMink, an executive-search agent in Roseville, Calif., referring to the reactions he has received from job hunters he has declined to present to clients.

正如“美国偶像”的落选者一样，这些并无他们所吹嘘的技能和知识的“职场秀客” 经常难以接受别人的批评和拒绝。“有些人急了就破口大骂，”加州Roseville市一家猎头公司的戴夫•德明克(Dave DeMink)回忆道。这些竭尽辱骂之能事的人正是那些他拒绝向客户推荐的求职者。

Even in the current recession, some job hunters are still unwilling¹³ to bend. Brian Rhonemus, a managing director at Angott Search Group, says several former big-bank executives recently refused to consider job opportunities at small community banks and credit unions. 'They balked¹⁴ because they didn't want to go backward,' he says. 'It's amazing. Some candidates just haven't wrapped their arms around reality yet.'

即使在目前的经济衰退时期，有些求职者还是不愿委曲求全。 Angott Search Group公司的董事总经理布莱恩•罗恩默斯(Brian Rhonemus)说，几个以前在大银行当高管的人，最近就拒绝考虑在社区小银行和信用合作社任职。“他们不愿意接受这种工作，因为他们不愿意走回头路，”罗恩默斯说，“这让我感到很惊讶，看来有些人还不了解当前的就业现状。”