Not really unemployed, but still searching. So what have I been up to?

I feel like I have abandoned this blog, although I never meant to. The truth is that I was hoping that soon, I'd have great news and interesting updates to put here, advice for job searchers, exciting things related to my job. And don't get me wrong, I love my job! It's fun, I work with great people and I get to do great things. 

I was thrown into the water without having been taught how to swim literally the very first day I showed up at work. Without having any idea how things work, I was sent to a meeting on the power of 1% (of the U.S. federal funding) my first day and asked to write a blog post about it (and you can read it here). I was tasked with organizing MCHIP's presence at several conferences and believe me - at first, I didn't understand half of the things I was asked to do. However, I did everything I was asked to do and more and looking back, I realize how much I've learned in such a short time.  (Not to mention the fire in the office on my third day at work...) 

And so I have worked on coordinating MCHIP's presence at:

• The APHA Annual Meeting, where we also held a special event on the quality of care for mothers and newborns) that I helped to organize;
• That same week, we held a special event on Continuing U.S. Investments Made in Global Health: Why It Matters More Than Ever, from which I also wrote a blog post for MCHIP (read it to see what Congresswomen ended up coming to our event!).
• Then there was ICASA, mHealth Summit and more conferences coming.
• I also organized all our World AIDS Day 2011 activities. We were lucky enough to be joined by Susi Wyss who came to read her story Eggs (and whose book I highly recommend). We were also  Facing AIDS with AIDS.gov, and posted a ton of information online, including this blog post by one of our staff in South Africa.
• Which brings me to another big part of my job - social media management! That's right, I'm pretty much in charge of MCHIP's Facebook presence and Twitter account. So like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter to learn something new about global health every day. Who knows, maybe you'll be our 1000th follower? (Because that's how far I got MCHIP's Twitter! :))
• And just a couple of days ago, another blog post written by me became the blog spotlight for now.

And that's what I've been up to. My job is part-time, but there are days when I spend 11 hours there. And then I come home and look/apply for jobs because, unfortunately, my job isn't permanent and it won't sponsor my visa. So that's what my life is about. 

Job interviews and interview questions, part 1

This post is a follow up to one of the previous posts that includes this comics. And it's a great coincidence that the first question discussed in this comics is 

Where do you see yourself in five years?

One of my favorites. Hopefully not answering such questions anymore? I ended the last post with talking about plans. This is pretty much a question asking about your plans. I'm not a planner, I'm more of a dreamer. Being either is fine, as far as I am concerned. But I just don't know, and cannot know, what the world is hiding from me and is going to reveal in the course of the next 5 years. So my answer would be... 

I don't have plans, I have dreams and values. I hope that in 5 years, I'll have a job I love, a job that will challenge me and a job that will give me the satisfaction of knowing that what I am doing is helping someone in need. 

Does it matter in what position? I can work for a great NGO as a field worker, I can work for a for-profit organization that does business in developing countries and helps to improve people's lives by creating jobs, I can have my own organization... Either is fine, as long as it feels right and as long as it leads to the ultimate goal - improving the lives of others, making other people happier. 

So - where do I see myself in 5 years? I see myself putting all my knowledge, experience, skills and enthusiasm into doing what I believe in, anywhere, anyhow. Is that not good enough? How is having a specific 5-year plan better when there are things you cannot influence (or at least not that much... like getting the job you're interviewing for...)?

And that's question number 1 from my perspective. I'd love to know what your thoughts on this are, so feel free to share!