Yogyakarta, August 7th 2020 – Together with PT. YOU, Career Development Center (CDC) Fisipol UGM held a webinar called ‘Unlocking YOU: Unlocking the Potentials and Reinventing Personal Growth with Creativity and Agility in the VUCA Era’ (7/8). PT. YOU is a startup that produces YOUVIT, which is a multivitamin in a gummy form with various fruits flavour. The three speakers from YOU shared tips in looking for work in the VUCA era as well as talking about the experience of working at one of the startups in Indonesia.
VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) always becomes challenges in work life. Prospective workers must prepare carefully so that they become more competitive and able to survive. This preparation takes the form of competency development, designing an appropriate curriculum vitae (CV) or resume, and continuing to learn new things.
Mia Agustina, the Head of Human Resources and General Affairs of YOU, explained that VUCA in a work life is a volatility situation, it can not be predicted, and it is uncertain, also complex, and it is hard to tell which is right or wrong (ambiguity). The VUCA situation could increase, for the example in this COVID-19 pandemic situation. This sudden exchange, thousands of information that are hard to be filtered, worsened the situation in every aspect, also the rise of various assumptions which were difficult to ascertain the truth has caused many industries and companies to disrupt.
Fresh graduates and other prospective workers must be willing to prepare themselves without waiting for this pandemic to end. According to Mia, the competencies that must be mastered were adaptation in the work environment and the team, not giving up easily, curiosity, understanding towards others, being proactive, and so on. Other than that, continuing to search for information and building relationships is also important, for example through job hunting applications or social media, such as LinkedIn. Of course, these various preparations must be balanced with a high sense of self-confidence.
“We create our own success,” Mia said. Because of that, prospective workers should not be hesitant and afraid to take a step towards success.
The second speaker, Arinta Desy, the Human Resources Executive & Sr. Talent Acquisition of YOU explained about how to design a proper CV and resume. According to Desy, the core of a resume was to brand yourself simply but still detailed. The first information that should be included in a resume is a contact, especially a mobile phone number and a professional email address (using your own name). The next information needed is educational background, work experience, competence, and awards or achievements.
For the fresh graduates, experiences that can be included can be an internship, organization, or project. Applicants are better off prioritizing relevant and up-to-date experiences so that applicants are not difficult to answer when asked during the interview. Also, the right resume should highlight the accomplishments you have gained from the experience you have.
Desy also said that networking on job hunting sites is very important. Job applicants can search for job vacancies faster and easier to contact the intended companies.
The third speaker, Fajrina Khairiza, a Sales Trainee, admitted that she got many benefits from joining PT. YOU. According to her, the working environment at startups is very open and not hierarchical. She feels guided to learn from the start and has the trust and support of her superiors.
Fajrina admitted that her current field is quite different from her educational background in the Department of Public Policy Management of UGM. However, Fajrina felt that this was not a problem and instead it kept her learning. Therefore, she advised prospective workers to continue to be curious and active in trying new things, even those that might differ from the knowledge we gained in class. This can be an opportunity to develop personal potential which is useful in facing the challenges of VUCA in the world of work.