大学生毕业后不要想着坐办公室

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The Leadership Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question, “What advice do you have for college graduates entering the workforce?” is written by Beth Ford, chief operating officer at Land O’Lakes.

Graduating from college is a big adjustment. It’s the time in your life when you have to trade in your insulated, academic environment for the real world. It is all too easy to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about what your future holds. I remember having all of these feelings. My advice is to embrace and use them for motivation.

Here are four other lessons I’ve learned from my time in the working world:

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Take a field job

Now is the time to take a field job and not a role at headquarters. It might be less glamorous, but you will gain a wealth of firsthand insights and knowledge about business and customers at the ground level. This education will be invaluable as your career progresses.

At the beginning of my career, I worked as a night warehouse leader and ran a tanker and barge dock—roles you certainly don’t dream about at graduation. Through each of these jobs, though, I learned about myself as a manager and leader, and gained skills in how to motivate both myself and my teams through challenging and sometimes boring situations. Now, in a senior leadership role, I still use these skills to connect the dots across business units for the overall benefit of the company.

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Build your brain, not your titles

Be open to lateral moves and opportunities that allow you to keep learning. Don’t just focus on your area of expertise or education. Being intellectually curious might offer opportunities that you previously hadn’t considered.

Over the years, I have worked across six seemingly different industries, including energy, consumer packaged goods, publishing, chemicals, food production, and agribusiness. My opportunities in each of these sectors came from my own desire to try working in new fields.

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Stay patient

Whether you like it or not, throughout your career you will have bumps and failures. You’ll learn something from each of them. Treat each setback as a learning experience. Don't decide to step off the career path you’re on just because you feel like you're not good enough. Embrace whatever position you’re in and don't get too worried that you'll be stuck in one place forever.

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Invest in your network

Good relationships lead to good reputations, and often great opportunities. One of the most valuable assets you can have early in your career is your professional network. So take time to truly connect—not just compete—with your peers. Don’t fall prey to a zero-sum mentality: A win for a colleague doesn’t necessarily mean a loss for you.

Maintaining positive, collaborative working relationships is critical. Who knows what twists and turns your career will take? Sometimes current colleagues become business partners, customers, or clients down the road.

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“透视领导力”（The Leadership Insider）是一个在线社区，商界最睿智、最有影响力的大佬会在这里及时回答一些有关职场和领导力的问题。今天的问题是：你对初入职场的大学毕业生有什么建议？回答者是美国农业合作社蓝多湖公司的首席运营官贝丝•福特。

大学毕业意味着人生迎来巨大变化。毕业意味着你要从与世隔绝的象牙塔步入现实世界。你很可能会感到前路迷茫，压力山大。我也有过这些感受。对此我的建议是，勇敢面对压力，转化为推动自己前进的动力。

以下是我从职场生涯中吸取的四个教训：

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甘做一线工作

刚毕业应该找一线工作，不要想着去总部。可能一线的工作没有总部那么光鲜，但你可以借机从基层开始熟悉业务，了解客户。这段时间的收获对你以后的事业发展价值巨大。

职业生涯之初，我在仓库做过夜班主管，运营一艘油轮，还在驳船码头干过。这些都不是刚毕业的理想工作。但通过这些经历，我学会了如何当主管负责一摊业务，学会如何在面临挑战或者枯燥乏味时激励自己和团队成员。如今尽管已当上高管，我仍然能运用当初学到的技巧整合各业务单位，为推动公司发展贡献力量。

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锻炼头脑，不要只想升职

如果能平级调动或是有接触新知识的转岗机会，一定要抓住。不要只在本专业钻研学习。要对知识保持好奇心，可能为你带来想象不到的良机。

这些年，我曾在六个看似截然不同的领域工作，包括能源、包装消费品、出版、化工、食品生产和农业综合产业。之所以能频繁跨界，正是因为我总是渴望尝试新行业。

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保持耐心

不管你喜不喜欢，职业生涯中都会经历坎坷和失败。每次挫折都会让你学到经验教训。把挫败视为学习的经历。别仅仅因为自我感觉不够好，就想着逃离当前的工作。正视自己的工作，不要过于担心会老死在某个岗位上。

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为经营人脉投入

良好的人际关系会可以营造好声誉，通常会帮你找到好机会。职业生涯之初能积攒的一大宝贵财富就是职场的人脉。所以，花时间和同行真正搞好关系，不要一味竞争。不要陷入零和游戏的思维怪圈，记住，同事成功未必意味着你会损失。

关键是要保持积极向上，相互配合的工作关系。谁知道职业道路上会碰到什么曲折？没准现在的同事以后会成为你创业的合作伙伴，未来的顾客或者客户。