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16.2.16

Nobody Told Me These When I Was A Final-Year Student at UPI: Getting Jobs

I was a student of English Language and Literature - Linguistics. Obviously not the first major you will think of going with your University life in Indonesia, probably in the world too. People (including my beloved Mother) have said things about me insisting to get on with my decision being a student of linguistics; like it will take eons for me to graduate, there's not enough job vacancy relating to my major, the world doesn't need more poets, and so on.

That's not all. 

I was a linguistics student at Indonesia University of Education (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia), a university that is less likely to pop-up in Indonesian youngsters' mind as the first option to continuing their study, in Bandung, West Java. Try mixing the abovementioned society's judgements and the fact that I enrolled as a student of the underdog academic institution UPI Bandung.

The late Faculty of Language and Arts Education (FPBS) building at UPI Bandung where I met many great personalities. (foto: kompetensi.info)

Well, I personally never give a single shite to any of negative energy that might affect my well-beingness as a student people told me in the first place. I just did my job the best I could do as a student, and here I am now employed like anybody else who graduated from Indonesian leading universities.

Lately, my concern is knowing there's not enough practical career guidance when I was a final-year student at UPI. That's terrible, frankly speaking, knowing how dynamic and fast development of job recruitment process and considerations these days.

I was interning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when I was at the uni, and that's it, nobody told me how to encounter the wilderness after graduation.

As a result of my experience and contemplation as a lost and undermined former student of an underdog university, I've come to realize that whatever my major was and from whichever my university I was, there are always some aspects for every student to take into account when they plan to apply for a job in the future.

1. Prepare a good CV

If you're a final-year student reading this first point yet still doesn't have your own CV, you can be much better than me as a final-year student by making one right now. I always recommend people to check CV PARADE before making or revising their CV. Make sure that your CV's design is suitable with the job you're applying in terms of its presentations.

Bear in mind, there is still a debate whether or not putting a photo in a CV. Either way, just go with it, I personally choose not to put my photo in my CV because I want to make myself more mysterious for HR Department. That doesn't work that well.

Anyway..

2. Create LinkedIn Account (Complete your profile)

Jobvite Survey in 2014 found that nearly 94 percent of recruiters use LinkedIn to source and vet candidates. What does it mean to a final-year student? Make a LinkedIn account if you haven't and get dirty.

Don't be lazy. Fill every part of your LinkedIn profile humanly possible; educational background, volunteerism, summary, project (if you have), etc. Be honest with everything you type in there, spill everything that you have done in life when filling the LinkedIn profile. My LinkedIn profile is not the best profile in the world, but I've tried my best to make it efficient to read. 

Once you've filled all of information, don't forget to costumize your LinkedIn profile URL to make it looks more you. Click here to see how. Oh, and you may check job vacancies in LinkedIn's jobs section too.

3. Utilize Job Alerts and Twitter for Job Vacancies

Never underestimate the greatness of job alert and Twitter's search tabs when looking for a job opportunity. If you know how to effectively use them, you'll get your grip. For instance, type the desired yet relevant keywords in Twitter search tabs then let the magic happens.

It is also important to experiment with your desired keywords by adding the name of professions, locations, replace "vacancy" with "job(s)", and so on.

There are also cool accounts that specifically share job vacancies such as @lokerbdg, @itbcareercenter or @KampusUpdate.

Regarding job alerts, I would still suggest Jobstreet and jobsDB as two main reliable sources. The key is to set your job alerts setting as relevant as you want it to be so you won't regret every job alert that bombards your email inbox.

4. Create About.me Account

About.me is a cool platform. This will make you look even smarter and more professional. This minimalistic platform also interlinks your social media accounts, soundcloud and blogs in one page, thus it can be a perfect hub to connect people both casually and profesionally with your portfolio. Mine is here.
5. Revise Social Media Accounts' Bio (Branding)

It is important these days to pay attention on our social media accounts' contents and.. that's right, bios. Our bio is our brand that leads people to perceive us virtually, or how do we want people to see us exactly. 

Look at these two examples of Twitter bios:


Show people who or what you are. Also, show people what you've done or what you love doing, for example, by putting a blog link or photography portfolio links and so on. This way, it will laverage your chance to look more credible profesionally even in social media sphere.
Think about it.
6. Write a good old (E-mail) Cover Letter

Most of the time, I write my cover letter directly in the body of email. Also, don't forget to write the proper email Subject, ey?

Some job ads might ask for a .docx or .pdf format cover letter. But, I never send such type of cover letter unless the job ads ask me to do so. Be attentive to the language of your cover letter, and don't make it a template for every job that you apply.

Each job is supposed to be unique. Thus, every cover letter should adjust to its uniqueness.

7. Be Honest in Job Interview
If all above six points work for you, it is likely for you to get a call for an interview. When it comes, be honest to the interviewers and be honest to yourself. Nobody likes a liar.

Don't hesitate to tell your weakness to them (if asked) yet don't be afraid to show them what you're capable of doing. If you're honest in this phase and then offered the job, it means that the company has hired you for who you are and you'll be happier working there for there's nothing to hide.

Please don't blame me if nothing from any of these works. Jared, my imaginary friend, told me to write this. Blame him instead.

Tell me anything. Go on.

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