So, I did not intend to acquire a new suit. It was more like my mother realized that, with interviews on the horizon, I really should acquire one. But, my mother decided, this would not just be any suit, oh no. This suit would be…TAILORED.

I’ve never had a tailored suit before. Having one now, I’d say it’s a good idea. When you invest in something like a suit, which you wear when you intend to look your best, it’s worth it to make sure it fits just right for you.

Two weeks ago, this quest of suit-purchasing began. We went to the Montclair Nordstrom’s, and the hunt commenced. We went with black (classic) for the suit color and red (power) and blue (formality) for the shirt colors. I also acquired new heels, since my old ones had been with me since my public speaking days in high school. Those shoes are among my favorites, but it was clear that they’d seen better days. Putting this ensemble together was the easy part… then came the whole tailoring business.

Overall, it was relatively painless. It took a lot of time upfront, with multiple measuring, much hemming and hawing over the length of the pant leg, whether to add another button to the suit, so on and so forth. However, despite the minutia which I found dis-interesting, the tailoring process went rather well. Nordstrom tailors suits you buy from them for free, and they take measurements and everything. I was able to find this suit Saturday and they had it tailored and done by Tuesday before a consulting event I had planned for Wednesday night. They even stretched my heels so they would be even more comfortable for the consulting night.

Perhaps now would be a good time to answer a question many of you might be wondering: when does one need a suit? Well, the answer is it depends. Certainly you do not need to rush out and buy one RIGHT NOW after reading this post. In fact, you may not need to buy one at all. I needed a suit because I am planning to interview for consulting and/or government positions in the coming weeks, and for those types of internships, looking your absolute best is critical. However, for interviews for jobs on-campus, usually business casual is perfectly fine. If you are in the group of people who, like me, need a new suit, there are many places you can go to find one. If you are in a monetary pinch, Scripps is starting a new suit donating program. Drop by SARLO and see if they can assist you with acquiring your suit for free. Also, your mother/aunt/friend might have a spiffy looking suit that she is willing to lend to you. However, if all this fails, there are some relatively inexpensive ways to buy suits.

1. H&M: I have bought suits from here for years. I won’t lie, these suits tend to wear out fast, and can wrinkle at the drop of a hat, but they are good for a summer position where you need some formal wear that won’t cost more money than you’ll make over the summer.

2. Thrift Stores: I was once told that Beverly Hills thrift stores are the best bargain for good quality suits. Legend has it some girl walked out of a thrift store in Beverly Hills with a pair of Jimmy Choo pumps that cost her less than $100. Could it be true? Find out for yourself!

3. Sales! Nordstrom’s and Macy’s usually have great sales twice a year, and their suits are great, in my experience.

Well, my friends, happy suit hunting! Hopefully this was helpful for some of you. Next week, I’ll be discussing the wonders and downfalls of different types of career assessments, why we care about assessments like the MBTI, the Strongs’, or Strength Quest, and what they can do (and can’t do) for you.

So, last week we discussed how to get international internships. But once you’ve acquired said internship, your work is far from done. Next up, you have to get a budget together, and get ready to acclimate yourself to a new country. Here are a few tips I learned from my travels:

Budget, Budget, Budget!

Budgeting is a life skill, one that I have only recently acquired. These tips actually apply in the US as well, but if you are going abroad, they are especially important. You aren’t near family, and not having enough money while outside the country is a whole circle of headache unto itself. I actually went to both Barcelona and Italy with budgets in mind, but the budgets were missing a few details, details I will share with you now.

–Figure out how much money you have to work with. If your program offers you a stipend, figure out what form that stipend will take. Are you getting paid up front or reimbursed? If it’s a reimbursement, you will need to figure out how to pay for items before you get reimbursed. If you are getting paid, know how much money you have and how you will apportion it on food, transportation, etc. Maybe this idea of setting aside money seems obvious. I was aware I needed to separate money before I went to Italy and Spain, but I failed both times. Why?

–Know how much things cost. I failed because I did not know how much money necessary daily goods would cost. Remember, exchange rates are not necessarily your friend. I strongly recommend looking up the costs of items like water before you go, and avoid tourist prices at all costs. One example would be water. In the US, we tend to ignore the importance of water. It is usually readily available, potable, and free. Abroad, none of that may be true. In Italy, there is plenty of water, but some fountains are potable while others aren’t. Many buildings lack public water fountains, and the sink water isn’t really drinkable, so one is left with no choice but to buy water. Water purchases becomes very expensive, especially during the summer, when it is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and with 80% or more humidity in the air. Out of desperation, I paid as much as 5 euro for a bottle of water–that’s approaching 8 dollars. These prices are avoidable if you find local grocery stores which sell big bottles of water for 1 euro or less. Hence, you can save yourself a lot of money by figuring out how to acquire necessities in the cheapest way possible.

–There will be costs you did not anticipate. Prepare for that. No matter how well you plan, there are times you are going to have to pay for the unexpected. We had transportation strikes three times in Rome this summer. Did I plan for that? No. How would I have known? There was no way to know. I had to pay for a taxi a couple times. Was this expected in the haphazard budget I threw together? Nope. Leave extra money in your budget for emergency situations like this one.

Dorothy, You Are NOT In Kansas Anymore.

If you are looking for a position abroad, obviously you know already that you are not going to be in your home country during the summer. However, this has all sorts of implications that you might not consider initially. We are all enthralled by the unknown, the novelty, the excitement, but just remember, you are not in a familiar environment, which means…

–You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need. When you are abroad, forget about getting those creature comforts you love at home. Love Odwalla Juice? Forget it. You probably aren’t going to find it. Have a favorite shampoo? Bring it with you, or get used to using whatever you can find. Bring whatever you absolutely cannot live without. Medications, for example, need to be brought with you. If you are going to Europe, from my experience I recommend bringing a computer, and I would recommend keeping it on you at all times, or keeping it somewhere safe. Keep in mind, Wi-Fi is no guarantee abroad. Internet is a luxury, not a promised service. I could go on about what you will not have when abroad, but the best idea is to Google search for what ex-patriots are saying about the place you are trying to work.

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Does any of this describe you?

• I have an insatiable desire to travel and see the world.

• I’ve never been content staying in one place too long.

• When I think “summer,” I think, “getting out of this country.”

If any of this rings true for you, I would recommend thinking of interning or working abroad. Both my first-year and sophomore year summers, I interned in Europe, and I loved it both times. I met amazing people, learned aspects of European culture that transformed the way I understand Europe, and it has left me yearning to travel to new places and do it all over again. That being said, I did both internships not knowing very much about what one should or should not do in this whole “interning abroad” business. Thus, I have made a few missteps and miscalculations. I’d like to share with you some of my hard-earned experience abroad.

Why go abroad? Because it is flipping awesome, that’s why. I ate amazing food (like having authentic Italian espresso or actual Spanish tapas), experienced events unlike anything I had ever seen in the US (like watching a World Cup match in Italy in a bistro on a corner of a street with throngs of people around you), saw sites I have only read about (the Coliseum, La Sagrada Familia), and my life took on a new perspective.  I strongly recommend interning abroad. That being said, I have a few tips, all based on my own experience, to smooth your travels and hopefully have you make the most of your experience with the least amount of trials and tribulations.

Get Started Early

Visas, travel arrangements, just finding a job period, these things all take time to arrange. I would recommend starting your interning abroad search sooner rather than later. Fall and Thanksgiving break are good times to make some headway on your search. That being said, I definitely didn’t heed that advice myself. I personally started my search during winter break, which was a mistake. Most of the jobs I was interested in were already full, and I was running out of time to find an internship. Do not make that mistake; I got lucky, but I learned my lesson.

Also, start with picking a location or a type of job, go to Career Planning & Resources, just get your feet wet. Also, keep in mind that the European Union Center on Scripps is offering internships abroad in Europe right now. As I type. Go to their office in Vita Nova and ask them about it NOW.

It’s All About the Network: Use Yours.

Step One of finding an internship internationally is finding people you know who have gone abroad, are abroad right now, or who know people who are abroad. These could be your friends, your parents’ friends, even professors who know you well enough to recommend certain programs to you. I personally used this networking technique with both of the internships I have had abroad, and it was the only way those internships could have happened successfully.

Why is a network important abroad? There are a few reasons. For one thing, when you are outside the country, your safety net is gone. You are in a foreign culture, in most cases without your friends or family you would have at home. If you know people where you are going, it feels a little more comfortable. For example, when I interned at a consulting firm in Barcelona, the amazing people who offered me space in their house were friends of my family. They made sure I was not going to wander into the wrong parts of Barcelona, advised me on the best ways to get to and from work, even the best places to eat.

Another reason a network abroad is important is that it is often the best way to secure a job. In China, asking through your network for job recommendations is the best way to successfully find work. It’s all about the guanxi, the relationships. When I interned in Spain and Italy, both times I found jobs through my network, by asking around or by accepting offers found through people in my network.

This is part one of my advice. For part 2, tune in next week for budgeting and acclimating to a foreign environment.