Summer’s here … time for college graduates to take their last breaths of free air before joining the workforce.

They’ve already received an earful of advice from their commencement speakers, but now it’s time for America’s CPAs to chime in. Rick Telberg recently surveyed CPAs from coast to coast in search of the perfect start-of-career advice, and he found a lot of it. Among the insightful nuggets:

• 86 percent of respondents say “the ability to relate to people and to get along with others” is the most important skill to bring to the workplace.
• From Peter Frank, of Dumfries, Va.: “Never take training for granted. Get the most out of it. Get your CPA early and go after your master’s in tax or business. Treat your clients as you would want to be treated. Learn from your mistakes.”
• From Cheryl Solze of Colorado Springs: “You need to like working with people in order to be a good CPA. It’s not all about numbers.”
• And from Matthew Pletcher of Goshen, Ind.: “Love your clients and your work. Forget the money.”

Read all of the advice in Telberg’s column, then tell us: What’s the best piece of advice you would give to a new college graduate?