Employment agreements, those indispensable and allegedly nontransferable contracts that serve as an early link between students and their future employers, have, in a new phenomenon, become goods that can be sold and purchased on the Internet.
作为学生与未来雇主之间的初期纽带，就业协议是一份必不可少的契约，且一旦签订便不应转让，而如今，一种新现象应运而生——就业协议被当作商品在网上进行买卖交易。
If a student finds a better job and does not want to work for the company he has already signed an agreement with, he or she must pay several thousand yuan to the former company as compensation to terminate the agreement, after which he or she can obtain a new employment agreement from the university to sign with another company.
如果一位学生找到了一份更好的工作，不再想去已签订就业协议的单位工作，那么他就必须向之前的单位缴纳几千元的违约金以终止该协议；此后，他就可以从学校那里获得一份新的就业协议，来跟另外的公司签属合同。
Unfortunately, not all students are rich enough to afford the several thousand yuan, so some of them have come up with the idea to buy "fresh," or unsigned employment agreements from other students, who might start their own business or progress on to graduate school and don`t need the agreements any more. Then, they can use the newly bought agreement to sign a new contract with another company and leave the former one behind.
遗憾的是，并不是所有学生都有财力来承担这几千元人民币，所以他们中的一些人萌生了购买“新鲜合同”的想法，也就是说他们要从那些准备自主创业或读研的学生那里购买空白就业协议，因为对于这些人而言，就业协议已经没什么用了。然后，他们便可以用买来的协议与其他公司签新合同，将之前的公司抛在脑后。
Anxious buyers, cool seller.
买家着急，卖家不愁
"I would rather spend several hundred yuan to buy a new employment agreement rather than pay several thousand yuan to the company to terminate it. After all, I am just a graduating student, how can I afford all that money?" said a senior in Nanjing University.
一个南京大学的大四生说：“我宁愿花几百元买个新就业协议，也不想花上几千元赔偿金终止协议。我毕竟还是个刚刚毕业的学生，怎么能付得起这么多钱啊？”
Comparatively speaking, the sellers are not as anxious as the buyers. Most of them want to time the market correctly to fetch the best price for their agreements.
相对而言，卖家就要比买家轻松得多了。很多卖家都想要准确掌握商机，让自己的协议卖出个好价钱。
"Job hunting is not so hard for graduating students this year, so many students try to buy new agreements to sign with better companies. I believe the price of the employment agreement I am selling could rise from 500 yuan to more than 1,000 yuan," an anonymous seller said.
一位不愿透露姓名的买家称：“这年头，找工作对毕业生来说并非难事，所以很多学生都想买一份新的就业协议，与更好的公司签约。我相信现在我手上就业协议的售价可以从500元涨到1000元以上”。
Trouble for everyone
惹来麻烦
Many universities, however, are acutely worried about the effects that this shadow market will have on the reputation of these agreements.
然而，很多高校都十分担心这种灰色交易将会对就业协议的信誉造成影响。
According to Zheng Yan, an administrator at the employment office of Beijing Foreign Studies University, employment agreements aim to virtually guarantee the employers` and students` rights, so as to prevent either side from breaking the agreement on a whim.
来自北京外国语大学学生就业办公室的管理人员郑岩（音译）称，就业协议是为了保证用人单位和学生的权利，阻止双方因一时冲动而毁约。
In addition, the agreements are more important to students than they may realize.
另外，这些协议的重要性远比学生们认为的要大得多。
"The contracts are the starting point for students` pension funds and insurance guarantees," Zheng said. "In addition, they ensure that the university will promptly transfer the student`s personal files to the company after graduation."
郑岩说：“这些合同是保障学生们享有养老金和保险的起始点。另外，它们可以确保高校会在学生毕业后尽快把其档案转移到用人单位。”
Many universities are now taking a proactive stance in trying to prevent the transfer of employment agreements.
目前，许多高校都在积极阻止倒卖就业合同的现象发生。
According to Li Ding, an instructor at Wuxi-based Jiangnan University in Jiangsu Province, the university will not uniformly give out the employment agreements to the students; instead, the students can only get their agreements from them after presenting valid proof that they are employed by the company they state on the contract.
江南大学教师李丁（音译）称，高校不会千篇一律地向学生们发放就业协议。学生只有证明自己受聘的公司与合同上标明的一致之后，才能得到就业协议。
Wang Hongcai, an education professor at Xiamen University, Fujian Province, pointed out that if students continue this trend of exchanging contracts and causally signing agreements with more than one company, labor statistics will be severely distorted and the students will suffer from lost files, deferred pension and insurance payments, and a stain on their credit and reputation, which could affect their future employment prospects.
厦门大学教授王洪才（音译）指出，如果学生们继续交换合同，与多家公司随意签订协议，就业数据将会严重失实，学生们也会遭受遗失档案，拖延缴纳养老金和保险的状况，而信誉受损将会影响他们未来的就业前景。
"I think the students should be responsible enough to think through these decisions, and I suggest that the universities give enough career guidance to the students to make sure they pay attention to the importance of employment agreements," Wang added.
王洪才表示：“我认为学生应该全面思考后再做决定，对自己做出的决定负责。我建议各高校要向学生提供充分的职业指导，以确保他们足够重视就业协议。”