TEEN CENTER :: COLLEGE CENTER

FRESHMAN JOURNAL: APRIL 14, 2005

'Avoid Brightly Colored
Nail Polish'

By Abha Bhattarai

I had six internship interviews while I was home for spring break. I woke up early every morning and went online to find directions to law firms, magazine offices and university departments. I put on my business suit and drove to places I'd never been to before, clutching the steering wheel as tightly as I could because it'd been months since the last time I'd been behind the wheel.

The interviews themselves were as varied as the jobs I was applying for. At one magazine office, the interview consisted of a tour of the building and looking through old issues. For a job teaching middle schoolers, I was asked to write and perform a skit about public speaking with a partner. We had to introduce ourselves as we were in 6th grade and talk about our fears and insecurities in middle school.

A couple of days later, I had to fight my present-day fears and insecurities as I was passed along from attorney to attorney during an hour-long interview at a law firm.

It was after those interviews, when I was driving back from discussing my work experience, the hours I could work and how much I was expecting to be paid that I realized I was never going to have another completely carefree summer vacation.

Many of my friends are going to be spending their summers interning in Washington D.C. or in New York. The rest are going to be busy working or taking summer courses. From now on, my summers are going to be a glimpse into my future after college - working 9 to 5, worrying about how much money I can save, not being around the friends I grew up with.

I decided early on that I would spend this summer at home, even if that meant giving up better internship opportunities elsewhere. When I went away for college, I was prepared to be gone from September to June. Adding a few more months and another school year to that wasn't part of the bargain.

I remember when my mom graduated from college and began searching for a job when I was in elementary school. She went shopping for a briefcase and checked out videos from the local public library with interviewing tips like "be confident" and "avoid brightly colored nail polish."

Over the last quarter, I've learned how to write a cover letter and how to handle a 60-minute group interview, but I still feel a little unprepared and out of place as a college freshman interviewing for jobs in big office buildings full of people wearing suits and carrying fancy leather briefcases.

It's been a long and somewhat tricky process dealing with different deadlines and different notification dates for the jobs I applied for. I know, in the end, I'll have to find a way to make enough money to last me through the next school year while getting relevant experience that will help in the future. Right now, it looks like I'll be working 30 hours at a paid job and 20 at an unpaid internship.

But I'm not planning on buying a briefcase just yet.