亲爱的安妮：五月底，我就要大学毕业了。虽然在一次校园招聘会上，我与一些招聘人员聊得很投机，而且之后有四家公司对我进行了面试，但至今也没有收到任何工作邀请。我知道，我理想中的那些公司面试了许多人，但我认为自己有很大的机会。因为我的平均分达到3.8，在校园活动中，我都是领导者（目前任学生会主席和曲棍球队队长），并且有两次很棒的实习，得到的评价非常出色。

    可即便如此，我总感觉，凡是能够参加面试的人，比如我的室友，大家的简历都大同小异。我怎样才能脱颖而出呢？雇主到底看重的是什么？您有什么建议吗？——应届求职者

    亲爱的P.M.：你提的问题很好，尤其是这些问题的答案不仅适用于应届毕业生求职，对所有求职者而言也非常有用。首先，3.8分的平均分确实很了不起，可这对于雇主而言，或许并没有你想象中那么重要。普华永道会计事务所（PwC）负责校园招聘的亚力克莎•哈米尔说：“我们看重的是强烈的职业道德。”这家公司今年计划招聘4,000名应届毕业生，同时提供3,500个实习机会。

    哈米尔说：“好的成绩确实能证明毕业生的学习非常刻苦努力。但我们希望招聘全面的员工，他们应该在‘书本学习’之外，全面发展，并且始终热情不减。”

    你在课外活动中的优异表现，表明你符合上面的要求，但还有一个关键问题：你会如何描述自己的成就？这些成就又将如何应用到工作当中？企业租车公司（Enterprise Rent-a-Car）人才招聘东北地区负责人迪伦•施维泽说：“我发现，每年的求职者所面临的最大障碍就是他们的沟通技能。”企业租车公司每年为管理培训项目招聘超过8,500名应届毕业生。

    施维泽发现：“许多大学毕业生在校园里参加过大量活动，也有很出色的实习经验。但我们发现，他们通常都无法解释自己做过的事情。我心目中的员工应该有一种积极的表达方式，对于自己到目前为止取得的成就感到兴奋，能将曾经的失败视为一种学习经验，而不是障碍。”亚力克莎•哈米尔同意这种观点，并补充道：“这一代人都习惯了在线交流，一旦遇到求职面试这种面对面交流的场合，他们就会显得无所适从。”

    她说道，要想解决这个问题，唯有不断练习和请求反馈。“尽量多在其他人面前练习讲述自己的经历，比如自己的朋友、父母、教授等等。尝试在不同类型的人面前进行练习，因为这样就可以得到不同的反馈。”

    如何打动面试官？下面是其他几条建议：

    •坚持不懈。施维泽说道：“求职者要想战胜竞争对手，必须通过各种方式来吸引雇主。有的求职者在招聘会上见过我们之后，会在商务社交网站LinkedIn上联系我们，打办公室的电话，还会给我们发电子邮件。”这听起来虽然有些令人生厌，可施维泽却认为：“那些愿意通过各种努力来吸引我注意的人，让我相信，他们也愿意为了完成任务而加倍努力。”

    Dear Annie: I'll be graduating from college at the end of May, and although I've had interesting conversations with campus recruiters at a career fair and been interviewed afterwards by four of them, I haven't gotten a job offer yet. I know that each of the companies I'd like to work for is interviewing a lot of people, but I think my chances are pretty good, because I have a 3.8 GPA, have been a leader in campus activities (currently president of the Student Union and captain of the lacrosse team), and have done two solid internships, with excellent references.

    Even so, my impression is that everybody else who gets to the interview stage -- my roommate, for example -- has a very similar resume. Do you have any advice on how to stand out? What do employers really want? --Pick Me

    Dear P.M.: Great question, especially since most of the answers apply not just to new grads, but to anyone who's looking for a job. First of all, although your 3.8 GPA is impressive, it isn't as important to employers as you might suppose. "One thing we look for is a strong work ethic," says Alexa Hamill, who is in charge of campus recruiting at PwC. The firm expects to hire more than 4,000 new grads full-time this year, along with about 3,500 interns.

    "Good grades do show you've worked hard at your studies," says Hamill. "But we're really looking for people who are well-rounded, and who have a passion that they have stuck with and developed that is outside of 'book learning.'"

    Your extracurricular bona fides suggest you can check that box, but here's an essential question: How well can you describe what you've achieved, and how it might apply to the working world? "Year after year, one of the biggest difficulties I see in applicants is their communication skills," says Dylan Schweitzer, Northeast head of talent acquisition for Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which hires more than 8,500 new grads annually for its management training program.

    "Many people coming out of college have had great activities and internships, but often we find they're unable to explain what they've done," Schweitzer observes. "I'm looking for someone to say things in a positive way, who is excited about what they've accomplished so far, and who sees the failures they've had as learning experiences, as opposed to obstacles." Alexa Hamill agrees and adds, "This generation is used to communicating online but often not as effective in face-to-face situations like job interviews."

    The solution to that problem, she says, is practice, and asking for feedback: "Rehearse what you're going to say about your experiences with as many people as you can -- a friend, a parent, a professor. Try to practice with a wide variety of people, because you'll get different feedback from each one."

    A few other suggestions on how to wow interviewers:

    • Be persistent. "Job hunters who want an edge over other candidates today need to engage employers in multiple ways," Schweitzer says. "We've had applicants meet us at a job fair, then connect with us on LinkedIn, call our offices, and send us emails." That may sound pesky, but Schweitzer says not: "The people who make a serious effort to get my attention show me they'rewilling to go the extra mile to accomplish tasks."