This is a tough one. I've been in Dublin for the past 20 days and this is my first post since then. Since day one I've been bugging myself with questions such as:

looking for a job should be handled as a serious project with a serious plan. I looked for a job only once in my life due to my young age and loyal nature but I believe that my method works by looking at the satisfactory end-result. below are a few steps that I recommend you take for this plan.

1. make a company list. make a comprehensive company list. look through all directories (government sites, sector sites, job listing sites, dmoz and alike...) and newspapers -look for companies that plan to invest more-, and write down all companies that you see worth giving a try. then segment them: a)companies you would die for b)companies you could do with c)companies that you could work not to starve

2. see if you have any contacts within these companies. spread the word to find one. ask all your virtual and real friends for opportunities.

3. make a job list. make a comprehensive job list. segment them: a)jobs you would die for b)jobs you could do with c)jobs you would take not to starve. create a matrix table with the companies on the y axis and the jobs on the x axis.

4. see if your top wanted companies have open positions that you want. if they are not listed, ask your contacts. if you don't have any contact names, directly call the company -in the order that you want them- to see if your kind of positions are available. for this, look for contact names on the internet so that phone operators take you seriously. any news with the name and surname would do. if someone takes your call, ask politely if it is a good time to call them. be an enthusiast but don't be an aggressive intruder. state your name, current position or graduation degree before indicating your interest. checking to see if your CV has safely arrived at the human resources' mailbox is a good enough excuse to call. make sure your voice sounds colorful, make rehearsals if you need to. if no one takes your call, simply call again.

5. record all steps you took and all steps that you will take on your matrix.

6. when you are called for an interview date setting, make sure you take the name of the person who'll interview you and the position that you are called for. this is vital. storm the internet and look for any details you can find about the person, the company, the sector and the position. memorize the mission statement, the products and the business methodology. know exactly who and what you are dealing with.

7. search for "interview questions" on the internet. %80 of them are standard. collect 20-30 questions and write down long essay answers to each of them by giving it at least a few day's of thought. recall all your life and write down any single bit of activity you have put your hands on and see if they are worth mentioning. searching through your email archive would help. and it's not only your internships that count. if you somehow sold thousands of beer only at one night as I have, put it in, anything that has a story would do. show your essay questions to people you trust and preferably employed, ask for their opinions.

8. search for "interview questions" of that specific company that has scheduled an interview with you. take rumors seriously. especially for brainteasers, there aren't many around.

9. rehearse your answers in front of a mirror, several times. don't try to memorize but make sure you know what type of answers you'll give so that you don't get stuck. be ready for questions that you didn't prepare for. you can shape your essay-answers to fit them when asked. all questions are asked to see what you have to offer, and what you have to offer should be clear in your head.

10. wear simple, quality and most importantly comfortable clothes for your interview. meditate to relieve stress if necessary. taking deep breaths will do. remember, your value is what you believe it to be, it's not how the interviewer makes you believe it to be. it's never your last change so feel free to get rejected. but when you do, always ask why you did get rejected. there might have been a misunderstanding, or the least you learn where to build upon in your next interview. go to as many interviews as you can without questioning if the company is in your most wanted list or the least. any experience is gold for you. keep the business cards you're given safe. you might need it years later. don't forget to send thank you notes after the interview.

I'm trying to prevent a break-up with Istanbul. 

We have known each other for 6 years, lived happily together for 5 of them. It was love at first sight and I was thinking this would go on forever. The energy, the attraction, the familiarity, the smell, the dynamism, the peace, the sea, the intimacy, the insecure safety, the colors, the freaks, the salty air, and a billion different kinds of music kept our relationship alive. I've met numerous cities during this time but none of them tempted me away from Istanbul, until I met two new cities a month ago: Hamburg and Berlin. No, they can't match Istanbul but they did made me see what it lacks. It was always there but I couldn't name it. Honestly, I'm still having a hard time wording it. 

In a nutshell, the default flow of the city is consuming & confusing and you have to fight your way against the tide for it to be nurturing. Yes, everyone in Istanbul knows this and complains about it continuously. But I have come to a point where the fight has become absurdly challenging for no reason at all. The mesmerizing beauties of the city are hidden too well. On the otherside, Hamburg and Berlin were generous and enrinching without me even asking (also unlike other EU cities). There wasn't a premium service fee to peace of mind. There, I was judged by who I am instead of who the judges are. The dark tiring pressure I'm used to in Istanbul just wasn't there. By pressure, I don't mean the usual traffic, the noise, psychedelic neon lights or physical chaos... Crazy, but I like those. What disturbs me is the consumerism, the aimlesness, the sense of no direction, just fake short-term purposes and some anger to fill in the gaps. True, here you can be anyone, become anyone and do anything; but only within last week, 5 different baffled people have asked me to guide them on what to live for and how to live. Opportunities, chlostrophobic questions on how to make use of them, and no apparent answers... 

The thing is, in Istanbul, life is made up of coincidences instead of choices. The society doesn't encourage you "to be" or "to be more". The society doesn't take its members into account... 

In order to consciously take hold of your life here, you have to first survive the usual traffic, the noise, psychedelic neon lights and physical chaos. Then you have to rebuff the invasion of consumerism (which seems to be the joker answer that fits every question) before it consumes you. Then you have to ask yourself if there are better ways of fighting loneliness with your friends than just hanging around with them at the same old place a billionth time...  Finally, set some goals, draw a rough roadmap, inform your friends so they can help you along the way.  

Progress... Sounds capitalist right? Well, aiming for progress will not take you forward here, it'll only hopefully prevent you from being carried away, from forgetting how far your boundaries can reach. Still, Istanbul is a delicious mixture. I'll be away from it for a while, maybe to reconsider our relationship, but Istanbul will most probably tempt me back. 

    

A must-watch from the movie Network (1976 - 4 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 19 nominations)

It's not a miracle, knowing all the answers. I find myself making use of random data embedded in my past pretty frequently nowadays. Books I read ages ago, people I met and talked for only a couple of minutes or smallest details only valuable enough to forget... they perfectly fit in to my present life and enrich me somehow. I'm certainly not a fan of data smogs/overloads, but it seems that every activity I engaged in added to my vain data smog, which added to me eventually.