On 15 October 2011 Nuffic-Neso Indonesia hosted a Career Seminar for recent graduates from Dutch Higher Education Institutions (DHEI’s) at the Gran Meliá Hotel, Jakarta. The seminar’s theme was “Realize Your Potential” focusing on working in Indonesia; an emerging market that becomes increasingly interesting to global companies and investors.
The seminar sought to provide its participants with insights on recent career development and human resources issues by answering questions like: What do multinational employers seek in their applicants? How can you distinguish yourself as Holland Alumni? What is the difference between working within private and public organizations? What does the current job market in Indonesia look like?
Around 50 Holland Alumni attended the seminar, which was opened by the new director of Nuffic Neso Indonesia, Mr. Mervin Bakker. He emphasized the importance of alumni for Dutch universities and Nuffic Neso Indonesia. Mervin described Holland Alumni as great assets for Dutch higher education as a whole. He expressed the hope that not only the number of alumni from Indonesia would continue to grow in the coming years, but also the intensity of the relation they have with their institutions and with the Netherlands.
Furthermore, Mervin was pleased to announce that Dutch higher education is rated the world over for its high quality. He quoted Phil Batty, one of the editors of the recently published Times Higher Education ranking, who said the following on the Netherlands: “its 12 institutions in the top 200 is an extraordinary achievement given the size of the country – making the Netherlands’ a major global higher education powerhouse”.
The speakers during the seminar offered a nice mix of private and public sector experience. In order of appeance they were: Dino Martin, Director of Brecruit, Irma Erinda, HR Business Partner Manager at Unilever Indonesia, and 2010 UNESCO-IHE Delft alumnus Andri Rachmanto Wibowo, Section Head at Directorate of Irrigation and Swamps at Ministry of Public Works. The seminar was moderated by Marlindah J. A. Sumampow, 2006 Utrecht School of Law alumna and Study in Holland Alumni Ambassador.
Dino Martin provided insight in ways to develop personal branding and self-marketing during job application, the importance of possessing and exercising soft skills in addition to hard skills, and provided recent alumni with insight on growth and potential of the Indonesian market. Dino also stressed the importance to develop a strong and consistent brand of YOU, which clearly distinguishes a person from other candidates in today’s competitive job market.To underline the points made; Dino’s presentation was concluded by a short documentary on Canadian runner Terry Fox, who inspired a whole nation by being determined and authentic.
An inside peek into corporate culture was provided by Irma Erinda. In her “U Can Be What You Want to Be” presentation Irma shared her experience and the knowledge obtained from working in a multinational corporation’s corporate culture. She emphasized the importance of being able to fit in a company’s values as it influences your motivation. At Unilever Indonesia, through her co-workers, Irma learned the importance of having the perfect worker’s DNA: a person with persistence and communication skill, presentations skills, and a typical Indonesian can-do attitude. She shared personal anecdotes to illustrate how it pays to be able to provide data to back-up arguments, persistence, proper communication skills, as well as business writing and presentation abilities. She also shared Unilever’s training methods for its trainees.
The final presentation from Andri Rachmanto Wibowo targeted those interested in working in the public sector. His “How to Swim in Bureaucracy” gave participants, interested in working in order to improve the lives of Indonesians, insight in working in a government institution. He emphasized the importance of an ever present passion to realize progress. For instance when working on swamps, always have the farmers in the back of your head and consider how your work will increase the quality of their lives. He also highlighted the importance of respect and social acceptance, prudence by following rules and regulations, and improving the business process through reengineering.
Towards the end of the seminar Ms. Puri Rachmi Amalia announced an internship opportunity at her employer Air France KLM. The seminar was closed with a lunch where participants could ask questions to the speakers, network and discuss job opportunities.
