給畢業生的最佳建議：首份工作獲得成功的方法

The Department of Education predicts that nearly 2 million students will receive bachelor degrees this year. If recent trends continue, about 60 percent of them will have a full-time job within six months of hearing “Pomp and Circumstance.”

教育部門預測，今年將會產生接近兩百萬的學士生。如果這個近期趨勢延續下去，那麼這些學生當中將會有大約60%的人能夠在半年以內在“威風凜凜進行曲”伴奏之下獲得全職工作。

But even those with a job offer and a start date may be feeling anxious. In Counseling Today, Adriana Cornell writes that, for many recent grads, this anxiety comes from feeling unprepared to face careers and a life outside of school.

不過即使是那些已經獲得工作邀請以及安排好上班日期的人，也許也會感到焦慮。在《今日諮詢》雜誌裏，Adriana Cornell這麼寫道：“對於許多應屆畢業生來說，這種焦慮感來源於仍沒準備好迎接學校以外的職業生涯和生活。”

Let me put those fears to rest. College graduates already have several key skills needed for success.

讓我來安撫一下這些擔憂的情緒吧。大學畢業生其實早已具備獲得職場成功的一些主要技能了。

The first skill is cultivating a positive attitude. Brian Tracy at Fast Company describes what is obvious to professors and employers alike: Graduates who enter the work world with the same feelings of excitement and curiosity that they had when they first walked on campus as freshmen are more likely to set themselves up for early success. A positive attitude can contribute to making more and being promoted faster.

第一項技能就是培養積極樂觀的人生態度。快速公司（最具影響力的商業雜誌之一）的Brian Tracy描述了教授們和僱主們最明顯的相似之處：帶着興奮與好奇心進入職場的畢業生，如同初次踏入大學校門時作爲新生的感覺，他們更會好好裝備自己，以獲得早期成功。積極樂觀的態度能夠促使生產力的提升以及更快被擢升。

Secondly, recent graduates have also already proven that they know how to learn.

其次，應屆畢業生早就證明了他們懂得學習的方法。

While in school, they used focus and preparation to master new concepts. The same skills apply in the work world. Even though employers are not handing out learning objectives and class syllabi on Day One, they are consistently providing new hires material that must be digested and understood.

雖然在校園裏，他們把專注力和準備功夫用於掌握新概念知識上。同樣的技能也可以適用於職場。即使僱主們沒有在第一天給你分配學習目標和教學大綱，但是他們會不斷地爲新員工提供需要閱讀消化和理解的材料。

In other words, work provides a great opportunity for experiential learning. To make sense of it, new hires must learn from their own experiences, observations and reflections.

換而言之，工作能夠爲人們提供一個極好的機會從實踐鍛鍊中學習。爲了讓它有意義，新員工必須根據個人經驗、觀察以及反思去學習其中的要領。

Finally, all those years of schooling have given recent grads a secret weapon ― notetaking.

最後，這麼多年的校園生活早已爲應屆畢業生配置了祕密武器——記筆記的能力。

Notetaking in general can be a helpful tool that enhances learning, documents key events, and helps people retain key information.

一般來說，記筆記可以算是提高學習能力，突出文件主要事項，以及幫助人們記住主要信息的好幫手。

That’s why I encourage my graduating seniors to stop by the college bookstore one last time and buy themselves a notebook and pen. (A keyboard is not as good a tool for taking notes, some psychologists have found.)

這就是爲什麼我鼓勵我的畢業生們閒逛校園書屋時給自己買一本筆記本和一支鋼筆。（鍵盤並非最佳的記筆記工具，這是一些心理學家通過研究發現的。）

As a symbol, a notebook and pen remind graduates that even after the caps and gowns are put away, learning continues.

作爲標誌，筆記本和鋼筆提醒着畢業生們即使已經脫下了四方帽和長袍，學習仍然沒有停止。

As a practical tool, a notebook and pen allow them to keep track of all they’re taking in and add structure to their day-to-day professional lives. Just as they did in school, new hires must take notes to capture, record, and review key facts.

作爲一種實際的工具，筆記本和鋼筆能夠讓學生們記錄自己所吸收的知識，併爲每天的職業生活增添條理性。正如他們在校園裏的表現一樣，新員工必須通過記錄筆記來抓取、記錄和回顧關鍵內容。

For example, on a daily basis new hires might ask themselves: What new person (in or out of my organization) did I meet today?

舉個例子，新員工們每天也許會問自己：我昨天遇到了哪位（公司內或公司外）的新朋友？

Which new questions about my job/organization/industry/ have come up today, and how might I be able to answer them?

今天我遇到了哪些關於我的工作/公司/行業的新問題，以及我怎麼樣才能很好地回答它們？

What new bit of information do I have at the end of the day that I did not have when I arrived this morning?

下班後，我掌握了哪些新信息是我早上來上班時沒有掌握的？

What did I learn today?

我今天學到了什麼？

What tasks did I complete today, and did I meet my boss’s expectations?

我今天完成了哪些任務？我是否達到了老闆的預期？

At the end of every week, new hires can use these notes to conduct a meaningful self-appraisal. Over time, this process can help them identify successes, find opportunities to improve, and develop performance goals.

每週工作結束後，新員工可以利用這些筆記內容來開展一次有意義的自我考覈。通常來說，這個過程能夠幫助他們發現自己的成功之處，尋找進步的機會，以及設定工作表現的目標。

These new metrics are the basis for their workplace evaluations. The academic success that was previously measured by grades and awards is now acknowledged in the form of promotions and raises.

這些新指標是他們進行職場評估的基礎。學術成就早已通過學分和獎勵來測量了，如今則通過升職和加薪的形式來獲得認可。

Returning to the basics provides graduates the tools to unlock their potential. Plus, a notebook is a lot cheaper than a new car, and yet it will take them further.

迴歸基本點能夠爲畢業生們提供解鎖潛能的工具。再者，一本筆記本總比一輛小汽車便宜，使用壽命還可以大大延長。

聲明：本雙語文章的中文翻譯系滬江英語原創內容，轉載請註明出處。中文翻譯僅代表譯者個人觀點，僅供參考。如有不妥之處，歡迎指正。