Competition in the career and entrepreneurship world in this globalization era is getting tighter. For that, every higher institution graduate is required to equip themselves with good hard and soft skills in order to win the competition and get the expected career path.
However, according to Pikri Ilham Kurniansyah, Senior Vice President of International Sales Distribution and Charter of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, hard and soft skills are not enough. Today, career success is determined by how well each individual builds their persona in a work environment or better known as brand personality.
“Brand personality is a self-image, identity, and is a reflection of our character that is very important to have in the career world. Brand personality will show how strong our capabilities and capabilities are in front of colleagues and corporate leaders in workplace,” he said as a guest speaker in the debriefing of bachelor and diploma programs prospective graduates of May 2018 period at Grha Sabha Pramana, Tuesday (22/5).
Pikri said one of the personas attached to every UGM alumni since a long time ago is their humble attitude. Many people think it’s a negative image, but Pikri sees it as a good and positive thing.
“Being humble in the context of not boasting about oneself is very good to open up to accept and being accepted by other individuals in the work environment, but when being humble turns into inferiority then that becomes a problem,” he said.
Pikri also gives motivation to UGM prospective graduates to be able to have high confidence. The alumnus of Faculty of Economics UGM also revealed some tips in building confidence that can be applied in the workplace.
“Master the science and technology, manage self-potentials and resources, be able to control the surrounding environment, manage conflicts with colleagues, and always be grateful to God are five keys to gain confidence in the work environment,” he added.
The importance for UGM alumni to build a good brand personality is also justified by Muhamad Ali, Director of Human Capital Management of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), who was also a guest speaker at the event.
As the head of the company who is in charge of human resource management, Muhamad still frequently find fresh graduates who have a simple mindset in entering the career world. During a job interview session, for example, not a few of the fresh graduates only focused on getting great finances without thinking about the future career potential in the company they choose.
“The logic of thinking in the career world should focus on solving problems and developing innovations for corporate progress, continuously learning, rather than surrendering to differences in previous career world expectations,” said the Alumnus of Faculty of Law UGM who has long been active in PLN (state electricity company). [Eggy]