It's about time for yet another It's All Good hiatus, which will give you all plenty of time for holiday shopping, eating, caroling, hibernating, whatever you do. It's (basically) the end of 2007, the end of whatever semester you're in, maybe even of college, nearing the end (I hope) of my inauguration into the Real World, the Working World, being an Adult.
I guess what I'm saying is that it's a great time for a good ol' wrap up!
THE CHASE
You're looking for a job, and you'll survive. Keep your eyes peeled, your ears clean and your mind open - you never know where you'll see the posting of your dreams, who'll tell you about it or what you'll find that might not have been on your initial wish list but will end up a perfect fit. Be vigilant in checking the places where you like looking at jobs (stuff can disappear quickly), and network like crazy, even if someone is in a slightly different job or field than what you're looking for. And don't give up! It takes time, I promise, but if you stay on top of things, you'll have something lined up before you know it. Keep sending out those resumes - every application and every interview is great practice for the next, even if you don't get offers out of all of them. And for heaven's sake, ENJOY the hunt and, yes, the time sitting with your laptop on your parents' couch glued to monster.com.
THE KILL
Trust me, you'll want nothing more than your parents' couch once you can't have it anymore. But fight the temptation. Once you've landed that dream job - or, let's be honest, that I-just-need-a-job job - dive in like there's no tomorrow. Sure, you have duties and responsibilities laid out for you, but your biggest responsibility and the one that's going to propel you the furthest in the future is to learn everything you possibly can. Really. Even when you're zoning out staring at a gray cubicle wall at 3:00 on a Tuesday afternoon, LEARN something! And even when no one wants to teach you anything? Figure it out yourself. I can't say I've added any amazing lines to the skills section of my resume, but when your postage meter is out of ink, I can fill 'er up. When you call our organization's main line with the dumbest question I've ever heard, I can answer it confidently, politely and quickly. I can realign the columns of your mailing list in Excel, print you off a label in a matter of seconds, restock the coffee creamer and change the water jug on the top of the cooler. And hey, in the Real World, that's the stuff that makes the office run smoothly. Oh right, I'm also working on the whole organizational communications and advocacy stuff. I'm learning, but the going is a little slower. I think I'll save it for the spring. :)
HAPPY WINTER, HOLIDAYS AND 2008! See you in January!
An 'It's All Good' Chill-Out
The Great Divide -- well, 50 of them
I'll be the first to admit that I'm a tiny bit partial to health-related nonprofit news because, well, I work at a health nonprofit, am (almost) a certified personal trainer and am not-so-patiently waiting for admission decisions from five more grad schools' public health programs. There, bias disclosed. That being said, 2008 presidential campaigning or not, health is a pretty big deal for everyone.
We think of health care and access as an across-the-board problem, which it is. But in that, I think we tend to lose sight of the fact that the problem's severity and specifics differ greatly depending on where you live, what you can afford and which box you check in the race/ethnicity section of official forms.
A report by the Commonwealth Fund breaks down health care in every state according to 32 indicators of quality, efficiency and equity -- and surprise, surprise: everyone is in need of improvement. But the discrepancy between the best-performing states (Hawaii and Iowa) and the worst (Oklahoma and Mississippi) is unbelievable and unacceptable.
Let's put it this way: According to the report, if every state could buck up and tie those at the top of the list, we could save 90,000 lives, insure 22 million people (half of the uninsured in the US) and save the government a hefty $22 billion in health care costs.
Think you've got it bad (or good)? Check out your state scorecard to see where you really rank in terms of health care. And psst -- extra credit if you can solve some problems while you're at it.
