大部分的同学去美国留学是希望毕业后找一个理想的工作，而不是从事学术研究，那么如果想顺利找到工作，在读美国大学期间就不能只考虑大学成绩（GPA），而应该在GPA之外，多做一些职前准备。下文摘录自LinkedIn的一篇文章（中文为博主简要翻译），对就读大学的同学提出了九大建议，希望对准备出国留学的同学有帮助。
Your
GPA Doesn’t (Really) Matter
A friend who
works with the alumni association at my alma mater asked an
interesting question on Twitter.
我的一个在母校校友会工作的朋友在Twitter上问了一个很有意思的问题。
Listening to students worry about their GPA, does it really matter what it is? Is that an accurate summary of how you'll be as an employee?
对于担心大学成绩的同学，大学成绩（GPA）是否真的很重要？GPA是否真实反映了你作为一个雇员的实力？
The tweets poured in, and
the overwhelming sentiment was that college GPA matters very little
in professional success.
大部分评论认为大学GPA对未来职业的成功所取的作用不大。
Grades are the determining factor for performance in school. But in the professional world, that’s not how it works. Your bosses won’t tell you which questions will be on the test.
Grades are the determining factor for performance in school. But in the professional world, that’s not how it works. Your bosses won’t tell you which questions will be on the test.
大学成绩只是你在学校表现的决定性因素。但在职场上，你的老板不会告诉你哪些是需要考试的题目。
Your college GPA is a combination of several factors but isn’t really the best indicator of how you’ll perform in the working world. We all know that person with perfect grades who struggles socially or that person who couldn’t care less about school but seems to have no trouble making great things happen in their life. Book smarts and street smarts are very different things.
大学GPA是一个综合了几项得出的成绩，但在职场上，GPA不是最好的衡量标准。我们都知道，学习非常好的往往有社交上的问题，不在乎学习成绩的学生也能在生活中创造奇迹。在校学得好和在街头混得好是完全不一样的。
Your college GPA is a combination of several factors but isn’t really the best indicator of how you’ll perform in the working world. We all know that person with perfect grades who struggles socially or that person who couldn’t care less about school but seems to have no trouble making great things happen in their life. Book smarts and street smarts are very different things.
大学GPA是一个综合了几项得出的成绩，但在职场上，GPA不是最好的衡量标准。我们都知道，学习非常好的往往有社交上的问题，不在乎学习成绩的学生也能在生活中创造奇迹。在校学得好和在街头混得好是完全不一样的。
Take your classes seriously. Do the work. Show up and learn something. Meet your professors. But I’m here to tell you, the GPA you achieve in college doesn’t matter.
认真上课、做作业、出勤、见教授，但我在这告诉你，你在大学取得的GPA（在职场中）并不重要。
Here’s what does:
Knowing how you learn 洞察你是如何学习的
Spend time during college determining how you best learn and retain information. Some people need to see it, some need to hear it, some need to write it, and some need to practice it before it sticks. As an employee, you’ll need to learn new things as you go, remember them, and prove you’ve absorbed the information.
Here’s what does:
Knowing how you learn 洞察你是如何学习的
Spend time during college determining how you best learn and retain information. Some people need to see it, some need to hear it, some need to write it, and some need to practice it before it sticks. As an employee, you’ll need to learn new things as you go, remember them, and prove you’ve absorbed the information.
在校时注意去了解你怎样学习和获取信息最有效。在学习方法上，有些人需要看到、有些人需要听到、有些人需要写下来，有些人需要练习后才能巩固。作为一个职员，你需要按照适合你的方式学习方式，并能有效获取信息。
Applying theory to real-life situations 理论联系实际
It’s one thing to recite the 4 P’s of marketing or learn how the purchase decision funnel looks on paper, but things won’t always happen in the marketplace the way they do in your textbooks. Learn how to take fundamental information and proven best practices and apply them in new situations or projects. The real world will always throw new variables at you, so knowing how to adapt theory to practice is crucial.
Applying theory to real-life situations 理论联系实际
It’s one thing to recite the 4 P’s of marketing or learn how the purchase decision funnel looks on paper, but things won’t always happen in the marketplace the way they do in your textbooks. Learn how to take fundamental information and proven best practices and apply them in new situations or projects. The real world will always throw new variables at you, so knowing how to adapt theory to practice is crucial.
记住市场营销的4P理论和了解购买决定的理论只是第一步，但事情不会像教科书写的那样发生。学会利用基础信息，然后在实际情况中应用。真实世界会给你各种新的变量，所以学会理论联系实际非常重要。
Time management 时间管理
Learn how much time you need to research and write a paper, get to your classes and jobs on time, fit a workout in your day, and still have something of a social life. Time management is a vital skill. In your professional life, you’ll need to know how to manage your time to meet deadlines, tackle to-do lists, and avoid banging your head against the wall in the process.
Time management 时间管理
Learn how much time you need to research and write a paper, get to your classes and jobs on time, fit a workout in your day, and still have something of a social life. Time management is a vital skill. In your professional life, you’ll need to know how to manage your time to meet deadlines, tackle to-do lists, and avoid banging your head against the wall in the process.
花多长时间做研究、多长时间写论文、准时上课和打工，同时还有时间安排社交活动，学习如何把自己时间安排好。时间管理是一项重要技能。在你的职业生涯中，你需要管理好自己的时间去应对截止日期、处理待办事项，避免在工作中焦头烂额。
Relevant professional experience 相关工作经验
Jobs, internships, student organizations, and volunteer projects in your industry will prepare you best for the working world. Do as much as you can to work in your field during college and learn about what you want to do (or in same cases, what you don’t want to do). Your future employer will take your experience as the absolute best indicator for your potential in a new position.
Relevant professional experience 相关工作经验
Jobs, internships, student organizations, and volunteer projects in your industry will prepare you best for the working world. Do as much as you can to work in your field during college and learn about what you want to do (or in same cases, what you don’t want to do). Your future employer will take your experience as the absolute best indicator for your potential in a new position.
打工、实习、学生组织、志愿者项目等会让你提前准备好应对职场。尽量多取得和你专业相关的工作经验，你未来的雇主会在雇佣你时重点考虑这些。
A portfolio proving you can produce work 保留好工作成果
Keep samples of your best work from classes and internships. Many employers will want to see your work before hiring you. If you’re not building a portfolio through things you’re required to do before you graduate, then produce these things on your own time. Practice writing articles, press releases, pitches, designing publications, compiling clip reports, research summaries, or anything else you might be hired to do. Practice is important.
A portfolio proving you can produce work 保留好工作成果
Keep samples of your best work from classes and internships. Many employers will want to see your work before hiring you. If you’re not building a portfolio through things you’re required to do before you graduate, then produce these things on your own time. Practice writing articles, press releases, pitches, designing publications, compiling clip reports, research summaries, or anything else you might be hired to do. Practice is important.
保留好在课堂上或者实习的工作成果。许多雇主在雇佣你之前希望了解你做过什么。
The ability to give and receive feedback 提供反馈和接受反馈的能力
Learning to accept praise and criticism is incredibly important. You’ll participate in employee reviews with your boss someday, so the ability to hear different types of feedback, internalize it, and adjust accordingly will matter to your job performance.
The ability to give and receive feedback 提供反馈和接受反馈的能力
Learning to accept praise and criticism is incredibly important. You’ll participate in employee reviews with your boss someday, so the ability to hear different types of feedback, internalize it, and adjust accordingly will matter to your job performance.
学会如何接受表扬和批评是非常重要的。某一天你会和你的老板参与员工考评，那么你听取不同反馈、并进行相应调整的能力会影响你的工作表现。
It’s also important to learn to how to give feedback to others. When you collaborate with colleagues, you’ll have to offer positive and negative comments on others’ work.
It’s also important to learn to how to give feedback to others. When you collaborate with colleagues, you’ll have to offer positive and negative comments on others’ work.
学会给其他人反馈也是非常重要的，当你和同事合作，你需要对其他人的工作提供正面或者负面的评价。
Presentation skills 演示/演讲技巧
Offer to be the speaker on behalf of your group in your classes, and learn how to present your projects as an intern. The ability to convey ideas clearly, speak confidently with your bosses, and discuss your experience in interviews will be an important part of your professional life.
Presentation skills 演示/演讲技巧
Offer to be the speaker on behalf of your group in your classes, and learn how to present your projects as an intern. The ability to convey ideas clearly, speak confidently with your bosses, and discuss your experience in interviews will be an important part of your professional life.
主动代表你的团队发言，学会如何演示项目成果。与你的老板准确地、自信地表达你的想法、在面试中娴熟地讨论你过往经历的能力，这些会成为你职场成果的重要因素
Writing skills 写作技巧
It’s sad how many students leave college lacking solid writing ability. Focus on developing this skill, because it will matter in everything from reports to pitches to emails. You don’t have to become a blogger, but finding places to practice writing content and have it edited will really help improve your skills.
Writing skills 写作技巧
It’s sad how many students leave college lacking solid writing ability. Focus on developing this skill, because it will matter in everything from reports to pitches to emails. You don’t have to become a blogger, but finding places to practice writing content and have it edited will really help improve your skills.
令人遗憾的是，很多学生在离校时没有掌握扎实的写作技巧。请注意强化写作能力，因为这会影响到你的报告以及日常邮件的撰写。你不必成为写博客，但找机会写点东西并认真修改会帮助你提供写作能力。
Your network 人脉资源
You’ve heard it many times: “Who you know is more important than what you know.” It’s true. (It’s what you need and who you know.) Start building your network right away. Get in the habit of meeting new people, nourishing your relationships, and helping others by making introductions. You are most likely to find job opportunities through your network. Build it!
这句话你可能听过很多次：“你认识谁比知道什么更重要”。现在开始建立自己的人脉网络，养成认识新朋友的习惯，培养你们之间的关系。你最有可能通过你的人脉网络找到工作。
Your network 人脉资源
You’ve heard it many times: “Who you know is more important than what you know.” It’s true. (It’s what you need and who you know.) Start building your network right away. Get in the habit of meeting new people, nourishing your relationships, and helping others by making introductions. You are most likely to find job opportunities through your network. Build it!
这句话你可能听过很多次：“你认识谁比知道什么更重要”。现在开始建立自己的人脉网络，养成认识新朋友的习惯，培养你们之间的关系。你最有可能通过你的人脉网络找到工作。
What else matters more for students than GPA? Or am I wrong? Is GPA more important than I’ve made it out to be?
A version of this story first appeared on Becky Johns’s blog.