????隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢緩慢回升，應(yīng)屆畢業(yè)生就業(yè)市場正在好轉(zhuǎn)。根據(jù)美國大學(xué)和雇主協(xié)會（National Association of Colleges and Employers）的調(diào)查，2012屆畢業(yè)生的起薪中位數(shù)達(dá)42,569美元，比2011屆畢業(yè)生的起薪中位數(shù)高出4.5%。

????錄用通知越來越多，這就給戴著學(xué)士帽的人們帶來了一個問題：到底是接受不夠理想的錄用通知，還是堅持等待更好的機(jī)會？

????比起以前的人們，現(xiàn)在的年輕人堅持等待的可能性更大。由于第一次婚姻的平均年齡上升至20多歲（25歲以上），只有極少數(shù)的應(yīng)屆畢業(yè)生需要養(yǎng)家糊口。經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條（Great Recession）時期，搬回家同父母居住這種行為的恥辱色彩與過去相比已經(jīng)淡化了很多；由于醫(yī)療改革，成年不久的人可以繼續(xù)使用父母的醫(yī)療保險直到26歲，因此緩解了尋找提供福利的全職工作的壓力。雖然許多畢業(yè)生都背負(fù)有助學(xué)貸款，但是根據(jù)聯(lián)邦現(xiàn)有的按收入償還貸款計劃，沒有收入的年輕人依然可能在一段時間內(nèi)暫時逃避高額的還款。

????那么，到底是否應(yīng)該等待并繼續(xù)尋找完美的工作呢？職業(yè)專家們的意見可以歸結(jié)為一個字：不。

????“一定要盡快開始工作，” 亞歷山德拉?萊維特說。她著有《盲點(diǎn)：通往成功道路上10個信不得的神話》（Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can't Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success）。理由如下：

????首先，到底什么才是“完美的工作”呢？最近的統(tǒng)計發(fā)現(xiàn)，美國人在一份工作上任職的中位數(shù)僅略超過四年。男性和女性都一生中做過的工作數(shù)量都達(dá)到了兩位數(shù)。普林斯頓大學(xué)（Princeton）校友會職業(yè)委員會（Alumni Council's Committee on Careers）對該校校友進(jìn)行了非正式的分析，發(fā)現(xiàn)25周年同學(xué)聚會的時候，只有6%的畢業(yè)生仍然在從事大學(xué)或研究生畢業(yè)后的同一份工作。萊維特說：“如果第一份工作不夠理想，或者說是別的什么情況，我們唯一能要求的只是一個機(jī)會，以便掌握通用的技能。”

????幸運(yùn)的是，“每份工作都可以學(xué)到東西，”她說。“甚至連在麥當(dāng)勞工作也不例外。”如果是在當(dāng)服務(wù)員，可以學(xué)學(xué)如何促進(jìn)消費(fèi)額。如果是在做輔導(dǎo)，可以掌握客戶關(guān)系、開發(fā)潛在客戶的實(shí)戰(zhàn)知識。如果是在辦公室工作，即使并非身處自己喜愛的領(lǐng)域或企業(yè)，也可以調(diào)查其他可能吸引你的工作類型，還可以參與公司可能贊助的志愿活動，結(jié)識新的人。也可以參加會議，建立人脈，幫你找到未來的工作線索。

????這一切都有助于建立一份履歷，它是一種證據(jù)，可以證明你的積極主動性，有助于你找到下一份工作（理想情況下，它更接近你想要做的事）。

????第二，雖然畢業(yè)后雇主可能會給你一段寬限期，但卡羅琳?賽尼扎-萊文說：“現(xiàn)實(shí)情況是，任何超過6個月的空檔都必須給出解釋。”她是一位職業(yè)指導(dǎo)，也是職業(yè)網(wǎng)站SixFigureStart的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人。“問題就變成了你為何什么都沒做？這種情況很難自圓其說。”說自己當(dāng)時在等待完美的工作，這并不會特別有用，因?yàn)椤坝薪?jīng)驗(yàn)的人都知道，完美的東西并不存在。”

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????With the economy slowly emerging from the muck, the job market is looking up for recent grads. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the median starting salary for class of 2012 grads is up 4.5% (to $42,569) from that of the class of 2011.

????As job offers become more frequent, it's raising a question for the mortarboard set: should you take a sub-optimal offer, or hold out for something better?

????Holding out has become more of a possibility for today's younger set than those in previous generations. With the average age of first marriage up in the late 20s, few new grads have families to support. During the Great Recession, moving back home with mom and dad lost much of the stigma it previously had and, thanks to health care reform, young adults can stay on their parents' health insurance until age 26 -- reducing the pressure to find full-time employment with benefits. Many graduates have student loans, but with income-based repayment schemes in place for federal loans, young people with no income may be able to avoid steep payments for a while.

????So should you wait and keep looking for the perfect job? The advice from career experts boils down to one word: No.

????"You should definitely start working as soon as possible," says Alexandra Levit, author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can't Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success. Here are a few reasons.

????First, what exactly is this "perfect job"? Recent statistics find that the median tenure in a job for U.S. workers is just north of four years. Both men and women can expect to have double-digit numbers of jobs in their lifetimes. One informal analysis of Princeton alumni, conducted by the university's Alumni Council's Committee on Careers, found that only about 6% of graduates celebrating their 25th reunions were in the same job they'd gotten after college or graduate school. "All you can really ask of yourself in a first job -- suboptimal or otherwise -- is the opportunity to learn transferrable skills," says Levit.

????Fortunately, "there is something to be learned from every job," she says. "Even working at McDonalds." If you're waitressing, learn how you can increase your tabs. If you're tutoring, you can gain know-how on customer relations and bringing in new prospects. If you're in an office job -- even if not in your preferred field or company -- you can survey what other types of jobs seem interesting to you, and participate in volunteer initiatives your company might sponsor to meet new people. You can participate in conferences and network with people who can help you find job leads in the future.

????All this helps build a track record -- evidence that you've shown initiative -- which will help you land your next job (which, ideally, will be closer to what you'd like to do).

????Second, while you'll probably get a grace period in employers' eyes for a while post-graduation, "The reality is that any gap longer than six months has to be explained," says Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career coach and co-founder of SixFigureStart. "The question becomes why didn't you take anything? It's hard to justify." Saying you were holding out for the perfect job isn't particularly helpful because "anyone with experience knows there's no such thing as the perfect thing."