Akhirnya surat sakti yang udah ditunggu-tunggu muncul juga, haha.. Sepertinya postingan saya sebelum-sebelumnya, saya sudah diterima di Kementerian Pariwisata sejak tanggal 13 Februari 2015. Namun pemanggilan resmi masuk kerja baru muncul KEMARIN! Ya, "Kemarin"! 

Ada rasa gelisah memang, akibat proses cpns yang memang sangat amatlah panjang ini. Makanya saya sempat menyebutnya sebagai "the longest journey of my job application". Dari awal mendaftar, ikut seleksi, hingga pengumuman, pemberkasan dan pemanggilan masuk kerja, prosesnya sangat lama. Tapi, saya berusaha untuk menjalaninya sesantai mungkin. Karena saya sudah tahu resiko sebagai abdi negara seperti apa :)

Well, surat panggilan aktif bekerja ini udah bak angin surga aja bagi saya dan kawan-kawan cpns Kementerian Pariwisata (Kemenpar). Because it means, the new part of our life will begin. Selamat menjadi abdi negara! :D

Kadang masih ada kata tanya dalam hati, sudah siapkah saya? 

"Am I ready to be a public servant?" 

Pertama : Saya melamar pekerjaan ini karena orang tua, dan saya selalu percaya dimana ada ridho orang tua, di situ ada kesuksesan bagi kita. Ridho orang tua kan ridho Allah SWT juga :D

Kedua : This is my passion. Of course bukan PNS nya ya, tapi job desk di Kementerian Pariwisatanya, hehe.. Kita sebagai manusia, sebagai rakyat Indonesia, gak melulu terus menuntut apa yang sudah diberikan negara untuk kita, namun ada saatnya pula kita mulai berpikir sebaliknya, apa yang bisa kita berikan untuk negara. Then this is my chance to prove that I love my motherland, Indonesia. I am always excited to dive in the field of marketing and tourism marketing. So, I hope I could give my biggest contribution for Indonesia tourism through my capability in marketing. Apalagi saya dapet penempatan di Direktorat Jenderal Pemasaran, pas banget deh.. 

So, those two things would be my guide to sail through the job environment in Tourism Ministry. 

Welcome to the new section of my life! 
Now I'm ready to voyage!

When you get through resume screening (CV) and psychological test, you will come at the interview section. For some candidates, job interview is very stressful and uneasy. But for me, it is the best part I am waiting for. Why? Because this is the time to talk a lot, to build a good connection between the interviewer and me as applicant, then it is also the gold chance to promote my self so as they consider me in filling in the position offered. 

An interview absolutely could lead us to a formal yet please conversations. Yes, some say that in this phase, you need to show your best personal branding. On the other words, the only key is "Sell Your Self!". Agreed!

Based on my previous experience, I assume that job interview can be classified into three groups, there are psychological interview, HR (human resource) interview and user interview. 

1. Psychological Interview 

It is conducted by a psychologist which aims to assess your personality. The list of questions ordinarily are :

- Tell about yourself

- What is your recent activities?

- Have you ever in conflict situations and how do you solve it?

- What is your strengths and weakness?

- Why do you apply at the company and what do you want to do in the company?

2. HR Interview 

Kind of interview which is conducted by HR department. Therefore, you will be interviewed by HR Staff. The common questions are :

- Tell about yourself

- Why do you choose the company?

- What is your expertise?

- What kind of contributions you will give to the company? 

- What do you want to do in the next 5 or 10 years later?

3. User Interview

This is the last part of interview stage also the last chance to fight for your dream job. In this interview, you will meet user or someone who will create a collaborations with you in the company. For instance the manager, head of department, the vice president even the president. A deep conversation will be occurred. Furthermore, an unpredictable conversations is also very common because they would like to ask the details in accordance with your answers. Hence, you need to prepare your self well. Here are some questions which may you face then :

- Where are you come from?

- Why do want to apply as (the position offered)?

- What do you think about our company?

- Could you convince us that you are the right candidate for this position?

- What do you want to do in our company?

- What is your future plan in the next 10 years?

- (Sometimes they also give you a case and ask you to give the best recommendation for their problem)

- Are you ready to join us?

For those who want their job applications could be granted, you need to prepare yourself as well as possible.

Here I have some tips for your references :

- List the possibility questions and create the main answer of each.

- Doing a self exercise is good. Perhaps you can practice how to answer the questions in front of the mirror. It could lift your confident up.

- Get prepare in the day before. You could start to consider the best outfit.

- Dress up!

- If you get nervous, try to inhale, hold and release.

- Keep smile during the session.

- Do your best!

After reviewing about resume or curriculum vitae (CV), now I would like to share a little bit about Psychological Test as the second stage of job selection process. In general, psychological test (psychotest) is conducted to assess whether the applicant meets the requirements of the company or not, it is associated with intelligence psychological character. According to me, "psychological test is always unpredictable". It is because you will never can predict what is the correct answer of the test. Eventhough you can buy all great psychotest book, I guess you only can learn about the question, but not the answer since each psychotest needs different answer. I suggest you to be your self in responding the test.

I could not share a lot about this chapter because I seldom to get the godspeed for my previous test. Therefore, I will try to share as well as possible due to the lack of experiences. 

A psychological test (psychotest) of companies in Indonesia, mostly consist of :

1. TPA (Academic Potential Test)

2. TBU (General Talent Test)

3. TPS (Sikolastik Talent Test)

4. IST (Intellegens Structure Test)

5. Memory Test

6. Accuracy Test

7. HTP (Hourse Tree Person)

8. DAP (Draw A Person)

9. Wartegg Test

10. MAPP Test (Motivational Appraisal Personal Potential)

11. EPPS Test 

12. Arithmetic and Numerical

13. Series Number Test of Geometry

14. Pauli and Kraepelin Test

Here are some of tips and tricks from me to deal with the psychological test (psychotest) :

- Review the various kind of psychological test 

From the list above, you could search for each description of the test and try to identify the best way to solve the question. There are a lot of resources which you can use, such as book of psychological test (you can buy at the bookstore or maybe borrow it at the library), application of psychological test (find it out at your mobile phone's playstore), or just read article about psychological test at google.  

- Double check the position you apply and learn the characters needed

The purpose of psychological test is to obtain the right candidate for the right position. Hence, you need to understand what kind of people needed. This effort will be useful to answer your psychological test. As I had been told by some psychologists, when you do a psychological test and you failed in it, it does not mean that you are a bad guy or you are totally dumb. But it only means that you are not fit in the position offered. 

- Get relaxed! You need to prepare either your physical and your mind

The primary key of successful psychological test is the readiness of your body and soul. You need to be relax, calm and prepare your energy to hit the test. Trust me, the more you get relaxed, the more your brain can think easily. 

- Pray for your psychological test

This is the last thing that you have to do, keep praying! May God and universe bless you!

As a freshgraduate, you should have some options about your next life plan. Maybe some of you want to continue your study, But the others may choose to be a professional, either in their own business or as an employee at company. Every decision you select is highly appreciated. So, keep go on! :)

Well, in this section, I would like to share for those who are willing to invest their early period to be a professional in a company. Job application is something should be prepared. According to my previous experiences, job selection process generally consists of Resume (CV) Screening, Psychological Test, and Work Interview. 

I write this article and give it a title "Job Application (Part I)" because I will discuss about Resume (CV) first. Resume could be your secret weapon to conquered the battlefield. Therefore, we need it to sharpen our weapon. Here are my tips :

1. Create a good template

If we arrange our resume orderly, it will look greater. Hence, we need to create a good template first then compile the information properly. Do you have any LinkedIn account? I like the simple template on LinkedIn, maybe you can use it as reference. But if you prefer to use some creative design, create your own design and make your resume looks attractive. 

In 2015, you do not need to be afraid in expressing your creation. For resume template, I suggest you to adjust it with the company you apply at. If you apply at stated-owned enterprise, it is better to use a formal template (with neutral background color and sequence column for information). But if you want to apply at private company, you can utilize your special skill in design. By the way, I had an experience in applying a job at one multinational company and they required the applicant to create creative resume. Of course it makes me grin. Then I composed a colorful background template and added some design as header and footer.       

2. Add your professional photo profile

Your first impression is important! Dress well for your resume photo session. It would be great if you wear business suit and show your big smile at your photo resume, Build a good appearance and make sure that your pose is appropriate, a little bit relaxed but still looks formal. For this photo profile, a half body pose is preferably because your face will be seen clearly. 

3. Complete the information 

A lot of friends ask me about which information that we should write on our resume. I never make a detail list. But, according to me, a good resume must attach this kind information :

- Full Name 

- Contact Information (phone number, email, or LinkedIn account)

- Education

- Organization Experiences

- Professional Experiences (Working Experiences)

- Computer Skill

- Academic Skill

- List of Achievements

For entry-level employee, you need to add all those informations. But for middle-level employee, I guess you do not need to attach your education, organization experiences, and maybe your list of achievements. Be focus on your professional experiences (write what your position is, then explain what your responsibilities are, and tell the recruiter if you have any achievement on your previous job)

4. Straight on your focus

It is related with your expertise and what kind of job you want to apply. For instance, I am a marketing enthusiast. I often apply as Marketing Officer. Accordingly, I make my resume feature my experiences and my achievements in the field of marketing. It would be substantial for our resume because it builds our value up. The recruiter always search for the right candidate. By showing our big interest in the field of job we apply at, our opportunity will be opened widely.

5. Keep it short

Many people who do not know how to do a good resume, frequently create a long dull resume. In all conscience, a sheets of resume is not interesting anymore. Please, never think that if your resume contain a lot of informations, it will make you stand out. Too many informations will be so bad. Recruiters only have a few time to review your resume. It means, just make as simple as possible and keep it short. Write your 5 most facinated experiences and give a light explanation.

6. Never write fake information

Sometimes people want to be seen as a "WOW Person". They add so many overawe experiences in order to attract the recruiters. It does not matter actually, as long as the informations attached are true. In the interview section, you will be asked about all you write in your resume. So, please make sure that every single thing you write is accountable. Never add any fake information or you will not be considered again. 

"What do you think about my recent title for this article? 

Do we have a same standpoint?"

Smartphone  is not an unpopular stuff in this century. I am sure, every single one have their own gadget, either smartphone or maybe just an old design of cellphone. In digital era, we are connected by a lot of sophisticated devices, including smartphone. Every minute, every hour, every day, we are banded by technology. Hence, we never realize that our true life has been robbed. We always depend on the advancement without a deep consideration, whether you feel like that or not, I only want we can run into a better comprehension. 

In accordance with my last article about digital world, I start to believe that not all people can use their gadget wisely. A lot of people are too excited with the technology. Some of them are only attracted by the convenience. But I know that the others maybe has been influenced by modern lifestyle. I am not surprised with that opinion as Indonesia really renowned as one of the most social country in the world. Gadget helps us a lot to interact with other people in the different location. But it is not always about communication.  My question is, do we have utilize it well?

A few days ago, my friend told me that he lost his smartphone on his way back home. I was shocked and said sorry for his misadventure. Afterward, I asked him, "Have you protect your cellphone?". Then he said, "Unlucky me, I did not anticipate that matter." Oh, how pity you are. Well, I told him that in our smartphone system, a bunch of smart applications has been provided. In four or six years ago, maybe we could not protect our cellphone from the loss, because it has been stolen or disappeared mysteriously. But, it is obviously can be solved today. Go find in your smartphone official website and do a research about your gadget protection. Or maybe you can also google it and use "find my android" or "find my phone" as the keywords. 

For instance, in this case, I told my friend that his smartphone brand, Samsung, has special site called Find My Mobile (https://findmymobile.samsung.com/). I am sure that, if he has registered his phone there, he absolutely could detected his smartphone location as long as the data and the GPS is ON. In addition to the official website, we can also use some protection applications such as CM Security. Find this apps in Google Play Store, start to download it, then register our smartphone. Find My Phone is one kind menu in CM Security that can be used to track our device. Moreover, we still also can look for other option like maximizing the Security Sub Menu in our mobile phone Setting Menu.

My friend gave me a motion that he now understand about my explanation and he felt so silly because he did not know his smartphone well. This case is only an example of how far we grasp the multifunctional of our device. Another sample is sometimes I try to hold my laugh when my friends grumble just because they can not do an office stuff in their smartphone. As we know that nowadays, we are given so many facilities to finish our office task through smartphone. Office applications are spread all over digital world and easy to be downloaded. So, please, come on. I guess I need to tell my friend to no more complain for that matter. The smartphone really a "smart phone", with its smart capability and smart applications in it.

In this twenty century, we live contiguous with technology. The emergence of smartphone as a baby of digital world has changed some part of our circle. But what I strongly believe now, smartphone is not a baby anymore. It has been growing just like a human. It adds his aptitude to fulfill our needs. So, on the other words, the smartphone show us that they are getting smarter and smarter. But, could us, as a user, equilibrate our device well? Yes, maybe this is the right time I issue my judgement that smartphone literally need a smart user. Do you?