IT & ME, A Decade

“ellie, you may be old, but you are so up-to-date!”

By Eddy, in one of our YM chat

Thanks Ed, that’s truly a compliment.

Last Sunday evening, while having this flood coming into my house, my mom and I watched our favorite motivating program at Metro TV, Mario Teguh Golden Ways.

Mr. Teguh said,

“The young people are those who keep on renewing themselves through a lot of learning and knowing new things, never give up, never stop”

One of my ways to keep myself young is by being up-to-date. This seems to become a must for living in the era of fast progressing technology. Information Technology (IT) is one of the modern innovations of this century that progress so fast.

My first encounter with IT started a decade ago. It was in 1997 when I went to Boston for studying. Students in my school in Brighton sneaked into Boston College Library for getting the access to the internet. At that time, not all American schools had internet access provided for students. We didn’t have it in our school. So we went to the nearest school, pretending to be one of the students there and got the access.

So there I was, walking confidently pretending as BC student into the library, got the access of the internet for several times before being caught by the librarians.

Thanks to English that made it easier to understand the new technology. It was quite easy, just click and click to open the windows of Internet Explorer, and voila there you go.

At the beginning, I didn’t know ‘surfing’, just used the internet just for e-mail. I tried MSN hotmail services to send email to my cousin in Samarinda.

At that time, my cousin had already known a lot about internet. He gave me a book about internet before I went to the US. He had the access by telephone connection to the internet. I guess he was the first time in our city having internet access.

Anyway. Back to Samarinda in 1998, it was so frustrating to get the internet access. In my home city, there was hardly any internet café (Warnet) like today. I needed the internet access mainly to email my boyfriend and some close friends from Boston. I searched through the city to find access. Almost gave up then my sister told me that her friend got the internet access at our main post office.

So, there I went. You know? In fact, in 1998 our main post office only had less then 5 computers provided for the internet access. It was in one of the office room on the second floor. It was hard to notice that they actually provided internet access for public.

The cost was IDR 10,000.-/hour for the access. As there were many more people coming to the post office for the internet, they finally opened a special corner.

Then couple of months later, there was another internet corner provided for public from one of local bookstore in my city.

In 1999-2000, when I worked in the Governor office, it was for the first time they built intranet access for the people in the building, the pioneer of internet access for office. Sometimes during my work, I sat in the corner of my office accessing the internet.

Don’t ask about the loading, it was such a slow loading.

During 2000 – 2007, there were a lot of internet café all over the city. A phenomenon and a trend of lifestyle that started to booming in Indonesia. Telkom, a state-owned communication company had already provided Telkomnet instant. There was also a tool that can be installed in each office to have their own internet access.

I guess between 2006 – 2008 then there are more others internet providers coming up with easier services, such as Telkom Speedy. Others provide portable modem for internet access like Telkomflash, Indosat, Esia, and many more.

Some places like hotels, restaurants, cafes, shopping malls and universities have started providing hot spot for wireless internet access.

After a decade of my friendship with internet, finally I have my own private access at home. Telkom Speedy offered me smart choice. Only with IDR 75,000.- I already can have the access.

My need for internet access is now no longer for email.

I do a lot of ‘surfing’ or getting any information through search engines like Yahoo and Google. Mainly it is for my work and for collecting materials for teaching English. When I was studying in the university, I did a lot of surfing for getting materials and up-to-date news on international relations.

As my sociality expands, Yahoo Messenger (YM) is the favorite one to stay connecting with friends. Now I use Skype for having connection via VOIP (Voice Internet Protocol) by which I can connect with friends with WebCam that we can see each other virtually face-to-face and talk with each other. Skype provides good picture and voice quality.

Hi5, Friendster, and Facebook are also my favorite sites for my friendship link. With Friendster, which is popular in Asia, I found back my long time old friends from kindergarten, elementary school, junior school and highschool. While with Facebook , I found back my old friends from Boston who are now spread all over the world. It is crazy to find friends again after 10 years separated. Other popular social sites are MySpace and Orkut.

Lately, I expand to Blog in which I can have my own page where I can post my writings and share it with friends and anyone who visit my page. Google Blog is the one of the favorite provider for blogging. Many of blogger also sign up to be the member of WordPress.

I also build my own Website by which I can explore more my page than just ordinary blog.

Instead of putting my writings, I can also feature business. I do promote both my own business and my friends business. It is so fun to have my own e-shopping and e-services. Crazy IT!

I also establish study corner in which I can recommend or share my academic potentials for others. I put files that are downloadable for people and link people to other academic links and even job vacancies.

Now I am thinking about creating e-learning for English, as I realize that my students in the university I teach in need more materials. Perhaps, I will also create e-Consulting for IR too.

I learn that it is actually very easy to create your own website. You can learn autodidact. There are many providers such as www.own-free-web.com or www.webs.com where you can create free website for you. There are also so many webmaster tools to enhance the performance of your website. The most favorite one is Google Gadget and Yahoo Widget.

Here are my favorite links to enhance your Blog and Websites:

• You can upload files and share with people by www.Ziddu.com.
• You can enhance the performances of your Blog and Website by varied templates by www.pyzam.com
• You can feed your blog by joining www.feedburner.com
• You can also earn money by joining Google AdSense or AdBrite
• You can create your own flash logo by www.freeflashlogos.com
• You can have blog awards by http://bloggerschoiceawards.com
• You can create your own image by http://www.imagechef.com
• You can make photo portfolio by www.carbonmade.com

So, are you ready to up-date yourself through IT??

Enjoy being Young!!

Dear all friends,

Dear temen-temen ku yang sangat aku sayangi.

Woah.. udah cukup lama kita berpisah ya.. kalo dihitung pake semesteran.. sekarang kita hitungannya udah mid-semester!!! J

Aku selalu merindukan kalian.. dan aku tahu kalian semua pasti merindukan aku...hiks.. I miss you all my best guys big and full!!!

Well, though we now are spread all over Nusantara but we are still ONE as IC 04. Yes it is true that we are physically not together, but don’t you think that every single day we are somehow connected ‘spiritually’.

We do think of each other everyday, we do miss each other every time. I received a lot of the ‘I miss u’ sms’ from friends. Yang paling sering ngeluh kangen tuch si Pido:

“S’andaix ad pmhonan yg bs ku minta saat ini adlh bs bkmpul dgn kalian smua IC 04.. Miss u All, guys..”

When we think of every one of us, don’t you see there is more a smile in your face than sadness? We do remember our glory (read: narcissism) and good ‘narcissistic’ friendship.

I am sure when each of us having this missing feeling, there is actually more happiness that we feel in our hearts for the great friendship we have.

And never to forget that we are also connected ‘technologically’ with YM, email, sms, and cheap calls even Skype!!… Yeah… crazy modern IT!

After all, never forget what we all have built together for 3.5 years, a solid friendship as our source of strength, happiness, joy, support, motivation, and good spirit. Every one of us is inspiring.

Anyway, setelah kemarin kita kuliah bareng dan menanggung beban jadi mahasiswa secara ‘bergotong-royong’, sepertinya ke ‘bergotong-royong’an itu masih exist di antar kita. Huhuhu….maksudku… dalam menanggung nasib sebagai ‘job hunter’… susah juga ya ternyata to get the right job, even more the dream job, apalagi the ‘enak’ job.

I think some of us udah bisa menggunakan S.IP nya dapat job, enak or gak enak. But, sebagian yang lain ternyata masih terpaksa ‘jobless’ akibat standard ganda S.IP.

Well, mungkin kita benar-benar harus menyadari bahwa title S.IP kita ini punya double standard loh…tuh kan.. bukan cuman US foreign policy aja yang punya double standard. Yaitu, selain S.IP Sarjana Ilmu Politik, ia juga bisa berarti Surat Ijin Pengangguran booooooo!!!! Hahahahahah….

Ok. Me myself, I still haven’t got a job yet. Don’t ask me why or how come, I think only God can explain…

But I also think perhaps my CV can explain why I haven’t got any job yet.

Kalian masih ingat kan bentuk CV ku yang so narcissistic itu, yang sempet dicopy oleh beberapa temen?? Here is the story of my CV. So, ceritanya begini:

The CV I have now is the 19^th version. It evolves from the flowery narcissistic one to just the simple yet irresistible one.

The first versions contained three self-portraits with three different kinds of looks. The three photos showed me looking up, straight, and down. My intention was to show that everything I put in my CV was the outcomes of looking up for knowledge and experience, looking straight for dedication and sharing of knowledge to others, and looking down for reflection of all the achievements.

But of course it was not seen this way by other people. I showed it to you my friends and you all smiled and laughed at my over self-confidence and narcissism. You all said that my CV was so ellie, huhuhu… tante ellie banget!

When I used the CV to apply as the tutor, Mba Atin in the management office said:

“Tante ellie, ku rasa pak Winner takut bawa CV mu pulang, takut keliatan istrinya”.

?????

Well, I was ok with all the reactions. I smiled to myself too. I made this CV during my study when, as an undergraduate student, the self-confidence and narcissism took power. Don’t you agree with me?

The CV anyhow was inspiring. Friends took it as the model for their CV, with less self-portrait of course but with their own narcissistic side.

It is ok to be narcissistic; you learn to get to know yourself, to love yourself, to be proud of yourself, to value your self, and to stand up on your own with all your potentials and incapacities as one beautiful package. You bravely accept yourself just the way you are, and bravely show it to people.

My friends and I learnt this at the end of our study, and finally we were ready to go to the real life.

The peak of my cheerful flowery narcissistic CV was the 11^th version. The three self-portraits were still there with more daring attracting looks. There was a flower next to my name, the same flower I put on my name card. There are 6 professions mentioned on the top of my CV confidently in big fonts, and I proudly called my work experiences as ‘Professional Experiences’.

I dare to mention the only one ‘Award’ I received. In some parts of my CV, I wrote in a way I would love to write my autobiography or memoir. Oh, not to forget to tell you the color of my CV, it was between bright peach and orange. Oh la la….. I bet people would not take their eyes off my CV, and would never forget it! Shame Shame!

I sent this version to seven vacancies. Interestingly, one replied, GTZ, with “thank you for your statement of interests and your very interesting resume”.

I smiled to myself when reading this and I read this over and over again. It was between feeling happy of receiving a reply and a comment – a lovely attention, and the feeling of a bit ashamed for being so dared to send such kind of CV.

Well, I tried to be positive on that.

One day I sent this ‘flowery narcissistic CV’ to Gabriel.

As a result, he called me for 2 hours just talking about the CV. He said:

“You know ellie, your CV is excellent, too excellent. If I were an employer, I would not give you the job!”

Haaaaa??? Nendang banget coy! Yo yoy!!!

Then, I tried and tried and tried to ‘revise’ my CV. I took up the suggestions from Gabriel to improve the CV and I also surfed on the internet to get tips and tricks on making a good CV and Cover letter.

So Friends, here I want to share the tips and trick for a good CV that employers would, at least, spend their time to read your CV, and hopefully not laughing at it (like I think what happened to me..hohohoho).

So, here are the dos and don’ts in making the CV.

First of all, it is important to bear in mind that your CV is essential. Your CV can be your important tool for you to get scholarship or job.

One of the important tips I got said that:

“Your CV is one of the few aspects of the job search that you are in control of – your CV dictates whether or not you will be invited to interview so it must be able to sell both your skills and your experience.”

“Your CV should not only summarize your qualifications, skills and experience but should also reflect key aspects of your personality that will help you to stand out from all other applicants.”

So, here the dos:

ü Type your CV, don’t handwrite it

ü Make your CV in a good and creative presentation, layout, and choice of fonts

ü Keep it maximum 2 pages

ü Put the most important information on the first page

ü Use good quality paper for printed CV, or use PDF as the form of your softcopy CV

Here are some tips for the layout of the CV:

ü Use Microsoft Office Publisher for making the CV, this is a very easy and comprehensive standardized layout form for CV

ü Use creative but formal fonts and colors. Be careful on the choice and size of the fonts.

ü Put one photo of you on one side of the top of your CV. The photo should be formal but not too awkward. It should be passport size.

ü Put the up to date contact information on the top of the CV. So, it will be easy for the employer to read it fast and to contact you.

ü Put the ‘Interests’ or ‘Objective’ after your ‘Personal Information’, this is essential and useful in order to give the idea of what you like to do in your carrier, to explaining your preferred career direction and detailing what you hope to achieve from your future career. The EU standard asks this in the CV. I think this is also an important part in getting a scholarship.

ü Then it is followed by important and relevant information about your qualification such as Academic Background, Course and Training, Work Experiences, as well as Personal Skills and Competences (language and IT).

ü Add some other information that you think is relevant, such as Organizational Experiences, Extracurricular Activities/Experiences, and Social Works.

ü Other information may add the plus points in your CV such as Seminars that you have attended (better the international ones) and Affiliation (your social club or organization in which you are the member)

ü In the last part of your CV you can put Hobbies, but put the unique yet relevant one that is suitable with the job you apply. For example, Writing, and give additional information on it such as writing competition you ever participated or the name of your writings (essays or articles) that you think as your best ones or ever be published.

The don’ts are:

ü Don’t make it too long and too wordy. Make only a clear and comprehensive summary. The employer will be lazy if he/she has to read too long CV, and this will be bad as your CV won’t be read. Too wordy will make it look like an ‘essay’, or even worse an ‘autobiography’.

ü Don’t make a messy or disorganized CV. Your CV should present that you are an efficient and logic person. A messy CV will show that you are a messy person too.

ü Don’t make errors on spelling and grammar. So, it is important to be careful in writing your CV, use the spell check and read through your CV to make sure that it makes sense. You also have to be careful in writing the name of the company or how you address important person (exp. Referee) in your CV.

ü Don’t put more than one photo! Too many photos will make the reader get distracted from the content of your CV. Too many photos will make the readers see that you are so narcissistic. Remember the three self-portraits on my old CV? Don’t put whole body photo unless you apply to be a model in Cosmopolitan magazine. Be careful in choosing the photo of you. Your photo in the CV should show that you are professional and responsible but also smart and friendly.

ü Don’t put any attractive decorative ornament on your CV. This is what I did and it was a big mistake, I’m telling you!!! I put a flower as my logo!! Yes, you will ask “what the hell was on your mind, ellie?” … well… I was thinking of giving the impression that I was a friendly creative person… well... Too creative is not good.

ü Don’t use First Person. Too much use of “I” and “Me” will sound arrogant, self-important, narcissistic, and it is also too informal. Come on, you are not writing an autobiography here!

ü Don’t put irrelevant information. For example, in the section of Work Experience, don’t add the reason why you quit the job. This will give negative impression on your CV. I did put ‘cities I’ve ever visited’, what I meant was to show that I was able to travel for the purpose of business. But it turned out to be sounded showing off.

In addition, it is important to express the right attitude in your CV!

The tip is: ask your friend or any one you think is more professional to read your CV and ask for their opinion. Make sure you get the inputs of how they feel when they read your CV. Make sure that your CV does not represent the following expression as the impression about yourself: boring, over eager, lacking in commitment, arrogant, bitter, careless, and low in self-confidence.

Another tip is:

“You need to make sure that potential employers can not only recognize your achievements but also see in you the potential to adapt to a new way of thinking. If you have had a number of different jobs, do your best to reflect this in a positive way by highlighting the variety of skills that this has provided you with rather than just allowing it to appear as if you have lacked direction in your career.”

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So, those all are my tips on writing the CV. I know you all have written a good CV of you. But it is just good for a little sharing of tips, stories, and inputs for the improvement of our CV. I think we have to make improvement again and again to reach perfection. Don’t you think guys??? Hear Hear!!

Alright.

Anyway, as I told you before, I have sent this CV for applying about 13 jobs already. I heard Alia have sent to more than 20 jobs. Not to mention other friends who have tried tens of application and have gone for tens of interviews from the job fairs to... well... just send, send and send!! Hahahahah….

For us the IR graduates, of course, every one of us is dreaming for a job which is suitable with our study, right? Though IR studies promise us the graduates such promising carrier, in fact, getting the job is not easy.

So, me myself, I have tried to apply to any related jobs with IR which were advertised in Saturday Kompas, Kaltim Vacancy blog, or those I found by surfing.

I have applied to UNDP, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), GTZ, those IGOs and INGOs, even to MNCs like BHP Billiton, a mining company, to companies like Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), Total Indonesie, et cetera, you name it lah!

Well, the result has not yet, not yet, been a good result; neither gets the job nor (worse) gets the interview.

I try to keep my positivity though.

First, yaaaaahhhh… mungkin belum rejekinya. I remember it took me 9 months to get a job again when I came back to Samarinda after my job in Austrian Embassy Jakarta. Finally I got a job, gak tanggung-tanggung 2 proyek sekaligus in UNDP and Ford Foundation. Much later then I found out that in those 9 months, the office I worked in was still somehow building up itself. So, when the time came and it was ready, I happened to have a call from this office, got job offer from them, got the appointment for interview, and they took me as the only candidate, finally they gave me that job. A very nice design of life, don’t you think??

So, for those who have not yet got the job, well now I am also telling myself, be patient and keep on trying!! We are the Warrior of Pantang Mundur, right guys???

Second, maybe…..maybe looohh…. Maybe my CV is just too great… J…. And I am one of a kind…

A friend of mine sent me sms:

“ellie, I think you are unique and rare.. saking langkanya … susah cari the right job for you”

Third, maybe…..once again…maybe… there is a much better scenario for our lives. Well… here once again, I think only God can explain!

Fourth, I think we have to be thankful for whatever we have now and just follow this given life sincerely! You know, sometimes in life we cannot get what we want, we haven’t got what we wished. Sometimes what we get is the thing we don’t really want or don’t really dream of. Sometimes the reality turns out to be 180° different that what we ever expected. Then life turns to be messed up!! Like Upichan says ‘beautifully messed up’. Great!!

For the Warrior of Pantang Mundur, those who keep on trying to get a dream job as IR graduates, I got some tips and carrier guidance in order to get jobs and to pursue carrier on the IR fields.

IR graduates like us surely dream of getting job in:

• multilateral and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
• non-government organizations (NGOs)
• other charities
• local and national government
• educational institutions
• manufacturing and commercial companies
• the media and publishing companies

Of course, the competition is T2 -- Tough and Tight. We need extra qualification! I think our bachelor degree of S.IP is far from enough.

But dear friends, don’t give up. If you really want a carrier in this field, the first thing you have to do is: Bulat kan Tekad!! And you must have this type of head: Stubborn!

I think we should have both ‘Idealism’ and ‘Pragmatism’. They both are friends, you know?

With Idealism, you can keep your hope, your wish, your dream, your values, and motivation to keep on going. With Idealism we put our bright star in the sky and we reach it, I am sure we can reach it, and like Obama says: Yes, We Can!!

With Pragmatism, you can keep your feet on the ground and always attach with reality but in the meantime you can develop practical strategy in order to pursue your dream to reach your star!

This is a great idea, isn’t it????? And surely, Yes, We Can!!!

Never forget all dreams you had when we all were still in the university, and all efforts we made in order to pursue our dreams. Anwar went to Norway, Putri-Ndes-Pat went to US (and of course thanks to all friends who made the effort together by signing up for CILACS TOEFL test), Risa finally made it going abroad, not to mention other friends like Hilda, Tya, Upichan, who were close to the edge! Inez got her own unique way, and the rest of us, of course, are following our own ‘international’ destinations. You know that Ferry Empeng is still making his endeavor for ‘once again’ to get into Immigration Academy???

Anyway, to work in IR fields we must need the following:

Ø Academic research skills + Entrepreneurial skills

Most of IGOs, INGOs, charities, educational and governmental institutions, think tank, they all require person with academic research skill as most of the projects are related to policy and its practices and field implementation.

So, they do a lot of research, offering practical policy advice and holding policy-focused debate. Therefore they look for person with academic research skill and this skill is approved by getting into the practical field.

For us, we do have academic research skill we got from our study in the university. What we need now as the fresh graduate is to get into the field in order for the skills to be applicable.

Here’s what a Think Tank says:

"An academic background in a relevant area is something that we very much look for in a new member of the team. Most people who work here have an MA or a PhD, and will have spent a substantial amount of time in the field. But in addition we also look for an entrepreneurial spirit. Because we're an independent organization we have to find funding ourselves, by approaching relevant parties who might support our research because it will be useful to them. We feel that there's no point in research that just sits on a shelf.”

And what is the required personality they look for???

"So in graduate recruits we are looking for both research ability and also the potential for that entrepreneurial spirit, and the communication and persuasion skills to back it up.”

Others include:

Ø Good community and humanitarian experiences

Ø Being passionate of what we like to do, what we want to do, and also what we have done and achieved

Ø Being eager to complete the projects to the best of our abilities

Ø Being committed and dedicated, also quite tenacious (persistent and stubborn to show your big motivation)

All of these need to be backed up with practical experiences. Those IR graduates from US and European countries are required to work in developing countries. So, be glad that we are already living developing countries, so be optimistic that we have greater chance!

Guys, I have tracked down all the requirements that most of IGOs and INGOs as well as foreign companies (MNCs) want from their applicant. Here is the compilation of the requirements:

· Language, Communication Skills, and Personal Competencies

Ø Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and Bahasa are essential

Ø Familiarity with local languages and institutions

Ø Good interpersonal and communication skills and ability to work with individuals from different cultural/national backgrounds

Ø Willing to learn and high motivation

Ø Good information analysis, report writing, and cross cultural communication skills

· Academic research skills

Ø Proven ability to undertake background research and analysis on difficult but well-defined tasks, collect and organize required data and information, apply appropriate computer skills in analyzing and developing the data, and prepare notes, papers and sections reports

Ø Good analytical thinking with ability to make simple causal links (A causes B), pro-and-con lists and analysis to reach a decision; sets priorities for tasks in order of importance

· Computer and IT Skills

Ø Good computer skills with sound knowledge of common word-processing, spreadsheets and graphics software and database management (capable of operating MS Word, Excel, and Power Point, Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, MS Access and SPSS)

· others

Ø Well networked with international NGO and Media Communities

Ø Ability to establish and maintain productive contacts with appropriate government officials of host government, donor agencies and executing agencies

Ø Experience working in an international setting, preferably with NGOs or local government settings

Ø Competency in financial administration (knowledge on accounting and how to handle petty cash) would be an advantage

Ø Knowledge and understanding on interreligious relations would be an advantage

Maybe you all think that these are a lot. Guys, don’t give up! Yes, we can master them all.

We have gone through 3.5 years being a student. We have developed special skills during our studies such as excellent written and verbal communication skills, research skills, and most importantly, and understanding of complex political and cultural issues. We do have the budget already!!!!

Others we can master by taking a course or even autodidactic. Don’t forget that Eddie Ndes master on software and hardware by independent learning. Dian and I now know how to use Adobe Photoshop. I do hope Upichan will learn photography so she can do the report without being accompanied by a photographer, and I do hope Tya will learn how to ride a motorcycle so she doesn’t need to hire ‘Ojek’ anymore.

Bravo for Putri who succeeds in approaching the carrier as presenter in MTV (read: Makassar TV), getting into Media sector. Bravo also for Upichan and Tya in Media. Success for Dian, Hilda, Rifky, who get into financial sector. Salute for Anwar who just gets into GTZ project in Yogya. For Witri who starts the carrier in educational institution in Padang, I heard. For Inez who keeps reporting us her unique experiences as Nyonya Muda in Qatar. And for other friends who are still trying to spot their places.

Guys, I do encourage you to get a job. I also encourage myself.

It is because only through jobs we can get practical experiences and more knowledge and skills as our budget and strategy for further dream job in IR field. UN and its agencies require at least 3 years of work experiences in related field.

Practical experiences like work experiences are also important for you who want to get international scholarship. Many on international scholarships require work experiences. The Chevening Scholarship from the British government requires 2 years work experiences.

So, don’t give up in enriching yourself, don’t give up in hunting the job, and don’t give up in trying your best!!!

Like Eddie said lately to me on our phone conversation:

“Semut aja yang tinggal di dalam batu bisa makan, apalagi kita manusia yang punya pendidikan dan bisa berusaha lebih”

So, dear friends Warrior of Pantang Mundur:

“I wish you all and also myself for the Best!!”