Returning to Indonesia 1998/1999

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Section I: Get Started Now

A thorough, successful job search begins by developing a network of individuals and organizations in the United States long before your departure for Indonesia. Simultaneously, you should stay abreast of current trends and developments in the subject area and develop contacts with influential individuals in your field at home.

Networking is the process of establishing contacts with individuals in various positions in your field of interest who might directly or indirectly assist in your job search. The intent behind networking should be to educate yourself about the needs and opportunities in your field in Indonesia and to make yourself known to influential individuals who have the power to hire you.

Good networking consists of several steps

• Research the options available to you, both the kinds of organizations and the types of positions in them.
• Seek leads and contacts through campus connections, professional societies, Indonesian acquaintances, etc.
• Request information interviews. Such interviews are intended for you to gain insight and visibility in your field, not to seek specific employment positions. Attend these interviews prepared with knowledgeable questions and focused concerns.
• Always send follow-up thank you letters.
• Decide whether there is value in staying in touch with each contact.

Information gathering can be divided into three resource categories: resources available on your campus; resources oriented toward Indonesia; and resources found in the professional world. Your realm of contacts and leads will be most extensive and your job search most thorough if you explore the resources in each separate category.

Building Your Network

Resources available on your campus in the United States

Libraries:   The libraries on your campus are an invaluable and often untapped source of information in the job search. In many university libraries you will find magazines, journals and newspapers that enable you to maintain an awareness of in Indonesia and elsewhere in the world. Directories are usually available that provide descriptions, addresses, and phone numbers of professional societies (e.g. the Accountants Society of Indonesia), international commerce and trade organizations (e.g. the American Chamber of Commerce), and local firms with affiliates in the United States which may be useful to you in your job search. A wealth of information is there for the reading, if you take the time to seek it out.

Make use of the reference librarians! Often the information you will be looking for is catalogued within a rather complex filing system. Instead of giving up in frustration, ask for assistance. Materials are probably available, many of which you are not even aware of, for your job search.

Foreign Student Advisors:   Make the most of your Foreign Student Advisors (FSA). They can provide you access to other students from Indonesia, lists of alumni from your university who are based in Indonesia, re-entry materials and advice, and an awareness of programs specifically oriented toward foreign students on such subjects as home country employment and re-entry shock. You know your FSA from the earlier phase of entering your university. Now it is time to re-establish contact as you begin your next transition to leaving the university.

Faculty and Academic Advisors:   Make the most of your academic advisors and other faculty members in your department. Although many professors and staff members are willing to be of assistance, it is the student's responsibility to initiate the advisory process. Don't be shy! Seek advice as to how to focus your studies most directly toward your professional goals, given Indonesia's currently difficult job market.

Begin to review your academic and career goals with an advisor at an early date and continue to communicate with that person from time to time throughout your stay at the university. Remember, it is up to you to develop skills and knowledge that will be marketable in Indonesia.

Besides providing academic advice, faculty members might be able to help you locate and initiate contacts with local professionals who share your academic and professional interests. Remember, it is quite likely that these professionals will be eager to learn about your perspective as a student from Indonesia.

Professors from your department can also be key sources of information about conferences and seminars in your field. Academic departments are often supportive of their students attending such events and may help arrange inexpensive transportation, lodging and student participation fees. Lastly, you should constantly be alert for faculty members, both from your department as well as from related fields, who have connections with universities, government departments, and research organizations from Indonesia. Keep abreast of recent projects and concerns within Indonesia. These faculty members may also provide valuable contacts for you as you prepare to enter the Indonesian job market.

Career Centers:   Remember, your career planning and placement center is for your use! Although these centers often have limited resources pertaining to employment outside the United States, there is increasing recognition of the needs of foreign students. It is worthwhile to search out specific information of Indonesian employment as well as to make use of the resources available for American students. Seek information about American firms with operations in Indonesia as well as recruitment firms that assist foreign nationals. Inquire about any events on campus that pertain to foreign student home country employment.

The services provided by a career center will typically include individual career advice workshops and programs, and a career information library (job listings, employer information sources and scheduling of interviews with potential employers). This office should also have listings of summer jobs related to your field of interest. If none is available in your major, ask a career counselor to assist you with strategies for identifying summer employment in your academic field.

Cooperative Education:   Find out whether a cooperative education program exists on your campus. These programs endeavor to place students in paid and unpaid practical training employment positions in the professional field of their choice.

If no international program is available, a cooperative education program could still assist you with practical training while you are in school. A successful work experience would increase your practical abilities in your field and enhance your chances of full-time employment with that particular firm or similar companies in the future. Be aware that in the United States you forfeit the possibility of post-degree practical training if you participate in a pre-completion cooperative education program for six months or more. However, recent changes in U.S. regulations expand the possibilities for foreign students to work off campus after their first year in school.

If your campus has a cooperative education program with an international division, it should be able to (1) connect you with a local firm that operates in Indonesia while you are still attending school or (2) arrange for a work experience in Indonesia. This second option might involve working for a company that would send you to Indonesia for a six-month work period. You would then return to school to complete your studies. Usually, travel expenses as well as a salary or stipend are paid.

To determine whether there is such a program on your campus, contact the career planning and placement center and/or the academic dean. If the cooperative education program you contact is not familiar with the home country employment option, request information as to how to contact the state organization or another cooperative education program with an international orientation.

You may also wish to contact the "Indonesia Home Country Co-op & Full-time Placement Project," for which all Indonesian students enrolled in any accredited United States university are eligible

Northeastern University (NEU)
Open Referral System/Indonesia-US Co-op & Fulltime Placement Program
360 Huntingon Avenue, ST 503
Boston, MA 02115
U.S.A.

Prof. Leonard Zion, Program Director
Tel: (617) 964-7408
Fax: (617) 244-3792
E-Mail: lzion@lynx.dac.neu.edu

Ketty Munaf-Rosenfeld, Assistant Program Director
Tel: (617) 373-3466
Fax: (617) 373-3444
E-Mail: krosenfe@lynx.dac.neu.edu