welcome to yet another month. i was just thinking of that vanessa carlton song about another ordinary day and "just trying to get by." that's me. my goal was to have a *real* job by last week (this was from the beginning of this year), and here i am still. i'm not even sure i'll be able to get back into the working life again after being able to sleep until 9:30 or 10 am every day. and the media informs me that i'm just a fraction of the millions of people who are out of work in silicon valley. except i'm actually in the 'growing' sector (biotech and life sciences), but that hasn't seemed to help me much. the other day i went by borders and found that great book about "what color is your parachute?" the new one, updated for 2004. it made me realize some of the mistakes i've been making in crafting my job search. first, i've just been sending in resumes and carefully crafted cover letters for openings that are posted on craigslist or one of the many nonprofit job lists i'm on. i've only heard back from less than a handful of those, and i've got both a bachelor's and master's degree in health policy from one of the top universities in america.

apparently, instead i should be more reliant on my contact network. actual people at actual companies are the best way to make it in. i mean, who's going to push for you to get hired, the guy who just received your resume through an unsolicited email, or someone you've hung out with a bunch of times and knows you personally. also, it's better to look for companies you're interested in and contacting them directly about job openings that might match up your qualifications. i've tried this a little but have not done as much as i should be doing on the followup part. you've got to be aggressive in following any leads, and make sure to both send out thank you notes/emails for interviews as well as following up with them after your interview to see what's going on. better yet, even before you get to the interview stage, you should call a day after you send out your email to make sure it was received.

this is all well and good, but it's always easier to say something than to actually do it. which explains why i'm still sitting here at home typing away on my desktop instead of working at a glamourous, well-paying, fun job that i love. if you're reading this and you're looking for someone to hire in the bay area, i'm waiting for you. like i said, i've got a BS & MS from *ahem* a well-known university in california, both in biological sciences with concentrations in health policy and neurobiology and a minor in computer science. ideally i want a min $55k position working in the public health sector that also has an outreach component. other things i'm considering are research positions in biotech/pharma, general nonprofit coordinating opportunities, or an online venture as i've got tons of technical expertise from managing websites not to mention my coding experience as well. while i would have better benefits and stability at a large company, i'd love to work with a smaller brainchild group to put together new ventures as i really love being busy and doing a billion things at the same time. long hours are no problem - someone once said, "if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life." that's my goal.