0 .p 0 -0 S S S U Th 3ihga .al - nsa, aur 23 20O S grsinalg gSel 'n out when no one is buying~yesr twas S'am., I was dressed up like a second-rate real estate agent and my mother had her camera out. I was about to go to the airport to fly to my first professional inter- view. But while I spent the day navi- gating three airports and one office when I should have been in class, I couldn't shake the feeling that the whole thing was a farce. I was no young professional. I was a 19- year-old kid in her mother's five- year-old blazer. My black clothes clashed and my one pair of dress shoes made an inexplicable squeak- ing sound when I walked. That I lacked an appropriate interviewing ensemble could be chalked up to my indifference to fashion before a severely restrain- ing budget - though my cash flow would definitely tighten if I decid- ed to invest in office wear. But as I lined my shoes with toilet paper to muffle the infernal clacking, I real- ized for the first time that my casu- al ways would have to go, that being a schlub might just cost me a job. My mother had bad the same problem. In a badly thought-out attempt at encouragement, she had told me about her first internship. As a young interior design intern, shehad scrapedtogethergas money to commute an hour from Ypsilanti every week for a summer. At the end of the assignment, she received good reviews on her evaluation for every category but "dressed profes- sionally." She was marked down for not having the clothes she was try- ing to work to afford. Encouragingly enough, she ended up getting a better posi- tion with the same firm the next year. But, unlike me, my mother has never used a backpack until four fruit-sized holes threatened to spew its contents across State Street. And, unlike Iwill, she didn't enter the working world when a tumultuous economy and shift- ing office dynamics threatened to eliminate prospective job options before she could even apply. With those difficulties charac- terizing my own job search, it's no wonder I'm anxious that seeming less at ease in the office setting will be a reason for an interviewer to hire some faceless Northwestern applicant over me. But the transition from college student to young professional is tricky for even the most fashion- sensible student. Having watched my business school roommate, with her closet full of ironed but- ton downs, and my engineering roommate, with his go-to black interviewing suit, negotiate the career world in between classes Turns out job searching is more painful than puberty has cemented the universality of this plight. While our talent, or at least tit- illating resumes, have landed us interviews, trying to put the best foot forward is difficult when the other is still planted on campus. My business school roommate is in the midst of second-round interviews with investment banks. She has spent the last week racing breathlessly from class to inter- views just in time to collect herselfy and seamlessly say what 23 multi- plied by 28 is, or why she wants to work in an industry that is seeing new setbacks daily due to economic recession. Next week, she'll fly to New York and Chicago for zero-fun day trips while her professors begrudgingly mark her absences. It's supposed to be the aim of the Ross School of Business, and the University in general, to facilitate the hiring of University students, but not at the expense of attendance rules. The hardest part about nego- tiating a professional job search alongside college life is the unpre- dictability of it all. I can't count the times I've seen my roommate have to field a call from a bank repre- sentative right as she was about to shovel the first bite of Ramen into her mouth or tell an inappropriate joke. Much like a dog that salivates at the sound of a bell, the change in her tone of voice has become a con- ditioned reflex to her ring tone. Workingfor The MichiganDaily, I've experienced enough sponta- neous work calls of my own. Too many times, I've fallen to my knees while walking to class to scribble down notes in the middle of the sidewalk because an elusive source finally called me back. But the difference is even when I came off as frazzled or unpro- fessional I was able to collect and redeemmyself.Iknew that- if only for the sake of publicizing a cause/ opinion/defense - the people on the other end of theline needed me as much as I needed them. I can't say that for my prospective employ- ers. But of course, who's to com- plain? I'm at a quality university with access to everything that ulti- mately gets people jobs. And while I could be filling out scholarship forms or doing work that would make me money now, I'm going to continue taking out loans and solic- iting internship applications in the hope that some company will let me grace its office. Maybe I'll even buy a pair of shoes for the occasion. -Jessica Vosgerchian is associate magazine editor for The Michigan Daily : INTERNATIONALS From Page 5B group that tries to promote intercul- tural networking between all South- east Asians around. The group is only a few years old, but the individual groups have been. in existence for years. The Southeast Asian Network plans to host events and programs to help familiarize the different groups with each other, Ann Arbor and their common experi- ences, Wong said. One campus group, International Friendship, is a branch of Interna- tional Students, Inc., a national orga- nization devoted to improving the experiences of international students at American schools. International Students, Inc. pro- vides an online advice under the sec- tion "Survival in the U.S." "Thepublictransportationsystems in most cities in the United States are not as developed as inmanycountries around the world,"the website warns in a section about transportation. The website outlines the best way to go about getting medical care and banking services as well as navigat- ing garage sales and grocery stores. "American grocery stores contain an overwhelming variety and quan- tity of food. You may find it tempting to cry everything in sight; however, if you have a tight budget you should make a list and purchase only those items, and not to go to the store when you are hungry (people tend to buy more when they are hungry)," the website said. But no matter a person's experi- ence, four years at a foreign college provides a cultural education that goes far beyond basic knowledge of an American grocery store. After graduation, most of the Uni- versity of Michigan's international students return to their native coun- tries, or at least settle in places much different from Ann Arbor. There, they apply what they've learned in America. "I want to make use of what I've learned here and bring it back to Indonesia," Kurniawan said. But whether they meant to or not, the university's international students leave with more than just a prestigious degree that will open doors for them at home - there's the rules to American football, the words to a certain fight song and the cus- toms of American dating that may not be much use in other countries, but are hard-pressed to be unlearned. VISUAL STATEMENT The Fleetwood Diner, one of Ann Arbor's only 24-hour diners, is a peculiarity of the Main Street area. It's likely you've found yourself unexpectedly chowing down onthe Fleetwood's cuisine after at least one inde- cently long night - but how well do you remember it? To find out what the late-night mainstay is like for its employees and most loyal patrons go to: www.michigandaily.com/allvideos