Yogyakarta, 16 May 2019–The Career Development Center (CDC) of Fisipol UGM held another session of career preparation class. This session was centred on the issue of pursuing a career in the academic path. The speakers of this session were Prasakti Ramadhana Fahadi, better known as Dana, a research assistant at YouSure Fisipol, as well as Mohammad Zaki Arrobi, a lecturer at the Department of Sociology UGM. Swiss-Belboutique Yogyakarta was the venue of this event.
At the beginning, Dana, an alumnus of Monash University, faced numerous challenges. Previously, he aspired to study in the London School of Economics and Political Science and New York University. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the Department of Communication Studies of UGM, he took Media Studies as a major for his master’s degree.
According to Dana, language skills are highly important. “During language exams, you should widen your vocabulary and refrain from using the same words. The key is to do exercises as frequent as possible. Furthermore, in a personal statement or a motivation letter, tell your actual experiences in order to set yourself apart from the other candidates and proofread it as often as possible. In addition, a letter of recommendation can be written by someone that knows you well,” he stated.
Mohammad Zaki Arrobi, which earned his bachelor’s degree from the Department of Sociology of UGM in 2015, immediately applied to Fullbright, Australia Awards and Chevening scholarships. He stressed the importance of determining a career plan, being a part of a peer community and also having a mentor. This is important for us in order to remain motivated.
For Zaki, an awardee of the Chevening scholarship, which studied sociology at the University of Essex, the key is “to apply, to help and to pray.” “After graduating, some decided to return to their universities, some preferred to work in the media sector, while some others chose to work in NGOs. In the United Kingdom, master programs usually take a year to complete. The Chevening scholarship requires its awardees to have at least 280 hours of work experience before applying. Part-time jobs, internships, volunteering or even community services can help to achieve the required amount of work experience.”, Zaki conveyed.
After the end of the sharing session, it was proceeded by a coaching clinic on CV and motivation letter writing, which was divided into several groups based on the study destination. In addition to Dana and Zaki, two other academicians also guided the participants. Achiah Damayanti, a lecturer at the Department of Communications Studies and an alumnus of the University of Twente, as well as Novi Paramita Dewi, a lecturer at the Department of Public Policy and Management and an alumnus of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management were the other academicians that were present. 20 participants, in which most were students from the batch of 2015, attended this event. Afterwards, this event was closed by an iftar session. This event was an implementation of Fisipol’s commitment in preparing its students for the life after graduation.