Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

On Tuesday (21/08), the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM), held an Alumni Sharing Session with the theme "Connecting Dreams, Igniting Success". This activity took place in the Auditorium of the FEB UGM Learning Center Building. The event started by singing the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, and the Gadjah Mada Hymn. Gumilang Aryo Sahadewo, S.E., M.A., Ph.D., FEB UGM Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Cooperation, and Alumni, gave a speech. He hopes this activity can bridge FEB UGM students and alumni to share knowledge regarding career paths after college graduation. This sharing session presented three speakers from FEB UGM alumni, namely Azka Tsania Affandi (Accounting, 2015), Yudhistira S. Pramono (Economics, 2014), and Citta Ratnanggana (Management, 2017).

Azka Tsania Affandi is a talent acquisition freelancer currently working as a Wecruit Asia headhunter. Azka told about her career journey to become a headhunter. Headhunting work is different from talent acquisition and recruitment in general. Headhunting provides workforce recruitment services at the executive level, such as the chief executive officer (CEO) and other top-level management. The headhunter profession has several primary responsibilities: finding and identifying talent, building good relationships with them, evaluating suitable candidates, and conducting negotiations. According to Azka, the headhunter profession requires several criteria, such as analytical, detail orientation, communication, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making. Azka also shared the challenges faced in becoming a headhunter, one of which is being willing to spend time outside working hours to adjust clients' schedules.

Next is the presentation by the second speaker, Yudhistira S. Pramono, Clinic Manager of PT Erha Clinic Indonesia. He explained his career journey from the Leadership Development Program in December 2018 – February 2019. In March 2019, he was entrusted with becoming a Non-Medical Junior Supervisor at Erha Apothecary (EA) Grand Indonesia. He admits that he has to learn a lot to understand how a beauty clinic works. "I used to study inflation (during college); now (at work) I met inflammation (a beauty term)," he said jokingly. Yudhistira also emphasized that it is essential for final-year students and job seekers to build good personal branding. Many methods can be used to pursue career opportunities, one of which is through a management trainee (MT) program. He also conveyed that we have to follow our interests and passions to be comfortable in our careers.

The next session was a presentation by the third speaker, Citta Ratnanggana, Assistant Marketing Manager of PT Universal Music Group. She explained her career journey in the music industry. Citta said that many people questioned her decision to choose the music industry at first, considering she was a management graduate. Armed with a sense of love and faith, Citta continues pursuing her passion. Working in the music industry brought her many opportunities, including working with well-known artists in the capital and abroad. The courses she received while studying at the FEB UGM Management study program are also beneficial in her current career, such as Marketing and Customer Behavior, Industrial Economics, Business Research Methodology, Business Communication and Negotiation, Strategic Management, and Business Law. Citta advised us always to follow our desires and be serious about achieving them.

The next activity was a question and answer (QnA) session. The students who attended gave various questions to each speaker, such as career switch tips, the ups and downs of being a management trainee, and so on. The event continued with a sharing session. The participants can choose sources who will become mentors according to their wishes and interests in their future careers. This session took place interactively; students enthusiastically asked questions about their career journey, the ups and downs of work, and tips on being accepted for that position.

Reportase: Adella Wahyu Pradita