Alumni Sharing Session: What Does It Take to Start Your Career Abroad?

Source: President University

Being exposed to the international environment during the study, many President University alumni decided to pursue their careers abroad. Two of them are Abraham Setiawan, an alumnus of Information Technology batch 2009 who currently works at Sinch, Sweden and Sandhi Wardhana, an alumnus of Management, Banking and Finance, batch 2004 who currently works at Qatar National Bank (QNB), Doha, Qatar. Both were present at the e-talk show "Lesson Learned from Sweden and Qatar" held by President University last Thursday (11/6).

Abraham and Sandhi mentioned that because they were accustomed to using English during their study at President University, they had no difficulty in starting their careers abroad. Sandhi said that his English skills were developed immensely because he was studying at President University. "Before attending President University, I didn't speak English at all. But looking at President University, I challenged myself to move forward for a better life, my desire for success was very strong at that time," recalled the man who was originally coming from Purworejo.

In line with Sandhi, Abraham who came from Bali said that living in an area with a large number of tourists does not necessarily make him proficient in English. He laid his decision on President University because he believed that developing his foreign language skill, especially English, will be a priority in his career later on.

Besides English, Sandhi and Abraham also agreed that soft skills were the key to success in working for the desired company. "Soft skills are important. How do we value time, how do we treat others, and many more. I think these soft skills will be counted in any company," Abraham said. "Previously, I did not have any experience in the product that I am currently working on. So when I first got this responsibility, I was quite surprised because I almost did not know anything about this product. However, my boss saw that I had the potential to learn more and he gave me the opportunity. Now I am leading a massive expansion of my company's products to countries in the Asia Pacific," he added.

Sandhi also added, "Soft skills will not be obtained from textbooks, but from experiences in daily life during lectures or organizational activities." In addition, according to him, boarding life at President University can also help develop soft skills because students will live with other friends who come from different backgrounds. Through this experience, students will develop values ??of tolerance, communication, and socializing. Sandhi himself is a member of the President University senate or commonly known as the President University Student Council (PUSC). Meanwhile, Abraham is a member of the student executive board or commonly known as the President University Student Union (PUSU).

Sharing his experience in working as Assistant Manager of Operations at QNB, Sandhi said that LinkedIn is one of his bridges to be accepted at QNB. LinkedIn is a media equivalent to a CV that contains a track record of oneself that must be paid attention to. "Before you make a CV, make sure you have a good track record. From the first day you set your foot in the university, there must be a goal to be achieved. Good GPA or organizational experience for example," he said. He mentioned that the GPA was not only talking about someone being smart or not, but talking about commitment. "If someone gets a good GPA, from the company side, I will see that the person has a commitment. Well, this commitment means that someone can maintain their quality in the future," he said.

Although currently they have succeeded in their own careers, both claimed to have experienced failure. They have also been rejected by many companies during the internship or job application process. Sandhi and Abraham advised that students do not give up easily and continue to develop their potential so that in the future they can have a successful career in the desired industry. (SL)

Alumni Sharing Session: Apa yang Diperlukan untuk Berkarir di Luar Negeri?

Terekspos dengan lingkungan internasional selama masa perkuliahan, banyak alumni President University memutuskan berkarir di luar negeri. Dua diantaranya adalah Abraham Setiawan, alumni Teknik Informatika angkatan 2009 yang saat ini bekerja di Sich, Swedia dan Sandhi Wardhana, alumni Manajemen, Banking and Finance angkatan 2004 yang saat ini bekerja di Qatar National Bank (QNB), Doha, Qatar. Keduanya hadir dalam acara e-talk show “Lesson Learned from Sweden and Qatar” yang diadakan President University pada Kamis lalu (11/6).

Abraham dan Sandhi menyebutkan karena terbiasa dengan menggunakan bahasa Inggris selama perkuliahan di President University, keduanya tidak kesulitan untuk memulai karirnya di luar negeri. Sandhi menceritakan bahwa kemampuan bahasa Inggrisnya berkembang dengan sangat pesat karena berkuliah di President University. “Sebelum kuliah, saya tidak bisa bahasa Inggris sama sekali. Tapi melihat President University, saya tertantang untuk maju dan bersaing demi kehidupan yang lebih baik, keinginan untuk sukses saya sangat kuat saat itu,” kenang pria asli Purworejo ini. 

Senada dengan Sandhi, Abraham yang berasal dari Bali menyebutkan bahwa tinggal di daerah dengan jumlah turis yang banyak tidak semata-mata membuatnya piawai berbahasa Inggris. Ia pun memilih President University karena menurutnya mengembangkan bahasa Inggris menjadi kebutuhan utama untuk karirnya.

Selain bahasa Inggris, keduanya juga sepakat bahwa soft skills menjadi kunci sukses diterima bekerja di perusahaan yang diinginkan. “Soft skills itu penting. Bagaimana cara kita menghargai waktu, bagaimana cara kita memperlakukan orang lain, dan masih banyak lagi. Saya rasa soft skills inilah yang di perusahaan mana pun akan perhitungkan,” ujar Abraham. “Seperti di pekerjaan saya sekarang, saya sebelumnya tidak pernah berkutat di produk yang sekarang saya sedang kerjakan. Jadi waktu pertama kali diberi tanggung jawab ini, ya cukup kaget karena hampir tidak tahu apa-apa mengenai produk ini. Tapi mungkin atasan saya lihat bahwa saya memiliki potensi untuk belajar lebih dan diberi kesempatan. Sekarang saya memimpin ekspansi besar-besaran produk perusahaan saya ke negara-negara di Asia Pasifik,” tambahnya.

Sandhi juga menambahkan, “Soft skills tidak akan didapatkan dari textbook, tapi dari pengalaman di kehidupan sehari-hari di masa perkuliahan, seperti kegiatan organisasi.” Selain itu, menurutnya, kehidupan asrama di President University juga dapat membantu mengembangkan soft skills karena mahasiswa akan tinggal bersama teman-teman lainnya yang berasal dari berbagai latar belakang. Melalui pengalaman ini, mahasiswa akan mengembangkan nilai-nilai tenggang rasa, berkomunikasi, dan bersosialisasi. Sandhi sendiri merupakan anggota senat President University atau yang biasa dikenal dengan President University Student Concil (PUSC). Sementara itu, Abraham merupakan anggota Badan Eksekutif Mahasiswa atau yang biasa dikenal dengan President University Student Union (PUSU).

Menceritakan pengalamannya bekerja sebagai Assistant Manager Operation di QNB, Sandhi menyebutkan bahwa LinkedIn merupakan salah satu jembatannya untuk bisa diterima di QNB. LinkedIn menjadi media setara CV yang di dalamnya berisi track record diri yang harus diperhatikan. “Sebelum kalian membuat CV, pastikan kalian memiliki track record yang bagus. Dari hari pertama menginjakkan kaki di universitas, sudah harus ada goal yang ingin diraih. IPK yang bagus atau pengalaman berorganisasi,” ujarnya. Ia meyebutkan bahwa IPK tidak hanya berbicara tentang seseorang itu cerdas atau tidak, tapi bicara soal komitmen. “Kalau seseorang itu mendapatkan IPK yang bagus, dari sisi perusahaan, saya akan melihat bahwa orang tersebut memiliki komitmen. Nah, komitmen ini berarti seseorang itu dapat menjaga kualitas dirinya di masa depan,” ujarnya.

Meski saat ini telah sukses dengan karirnya masing-masing, keduanya mengaku pernah mengalami kegagalan. Mereka juga pernah ditolak oleh perusahaan selama proses aplikasi magang maupun pekerjaan. Sandhi dan Abraham berpesan agar mahasiswa tidak mudah menyerah dan terus mengembangkan potensi dalam diri agar ke depan dapat sukses berkarir di industri yang diinginkan. (SL)