Returning to Indonesia 1998/1999

Homepage • Get Started Now • Don't Lose Touch • First Contact With Business 
• Now You Are Home • Company Profiles

Section III: First Contact With Business

The Job Search After Your Return

After you return home, you will want to embark on a networking and information gathering process similar to the one you undertook while a student in the United States.

Depending on how quickly you intend to begin working, your preliminary networking in Indonesia will overlap to some degree with your actual job search. Ideally, you will be able to give yourself time to establish important contacts in the different areas of your field before actually applying for positions. This way you will have a more concrete idea of job availability for your qualifications.

To attain a position that fully utilizes your abilities and provides professional challenges will require time, energy and patience. Avoid falling into the first possible option merely because it is convenient. You should resist the temptation to jump at the first offer. Employers are increasingly wary of "job hoppers". Be sure a job offer is the best fit for you and leads to the long-range professional objectives that you have identified at the beginning of your job search process, before accepting a position.

According to the most recent AmCham business survey, there is a shortage of management talent. Remember, despite the current difficult economic climate in the country and the region, your American education may be very appealing to many employers.

General tips for the job search

Create your own job
Naive job-seekers assume they are looking for job openings that have already been created. This is not necessarily so. The manager with whom you meet may have need of certain skills but may not yet have designed a position.

In certain situations, a job may be created because the right person with the right skills was looking for work at the right time.

Avoid being overly ambitious in your salary request
Some American-trained individuals mistakenly assume that their education will immediately translate into a high salary. Be alert for those opportunities with a high degree of upward mobility in responsibilities as well as in salary level. Remember that a high initial salary is not necessarily indicative of a valuable job opportunity and vice-versa. What are the long term prospects for promotion in the firm? How generous is the benefits package? Many Indonesian employers have recently improved their mid-career training opportunities and offer professional development benefits to attract and retain highly qualified employees.

Do your research
In every country, the job candidate who knows a lot about the hiring organization and its needs is going to do better than the uninformed candidate. When you get a job lead, find out what kind of services or products that the hiring organization provides. If you know nothing about the organization, drop by its office and pick up whatever annual reports or publicity materials are available. If library resources are available, use them to find out about the organization. Ask yourself "How do my skills meet the needs of this potential employer?"

Be prepared to interpret the value of your American education for Indonesian employers
Some local employers are unfamiliar with how training at an American university prepares a student for employment back in Indonesia. It is your responsibility to explain how your advanced training abroad helped you to develop skills and knowledge that will be beneficial to local employers. Stress such functional skills as your English language proficiency, problem-solving abilities, research experience, and intangible attributes such as intercultural adaptability and an international perspective on the issues in your field. These are valuable assets to companies in Indonesia which operate in the international marketplace. Think carefully and talk with others about the special skills you have developed while studying abroad.

Do informal networking
Friends find their friends jobs. So do relatives. Do not be shy about letting everyone know that you have returned to Indonesia and now are looking for a job. In fact, you may want to write or call old friends before you return from the United States to let them know you would like their help.

Locate other Indonesian people who have studied in the United States People who share common experiences are more likely to want to help one another. Friends and contacts who have themselves studied abroad may very well be inclined to help someone recently returned who is looking for work. Request a list of Indonesian graduates from the alumni office of your university. Feel free to send a letter requesting this information even if you have already returned home.

The American Chamber of Commerce and other chambers may be able to help you find professionals in your field who studied where you did or direct you toward professional groups with similarly trained individuals. Don't overlook staff contacts in regional or global international organizations active in Indonesia.

Collaborate with friends recently returned who are themselves looking for work.

Job-seekers working in teams can turn up much more useful information than can a person struggling alone. The mutual support the group provides its members is very important in what can otherwise be a lonely period of transition.

Re-establish contact with former employers, co-workers, professors, and friends in your field. Personal contacts can often inform you of job openings which are otherwise unpublicized. Many organizations tend to hire from within and/or through personal connections rather than through public announcements. Your professional contacts will also be able to inform you of recent developments in your field and will undoubtedly be eager to hear of recent developments abroad with which you are familiar, and perhaps even take for granted.

Locate lists of firms with operations in your field of expertise. Be sure to look through professional directories and membership directories of chambers of commerce, agriculture or industry, as well as government listings of international trade and service firms. In addition, check the classified sections of telephone books. Be creative in your search! Do not give up after searching under just one heading. Try variations on the title of your field. Seek the names of key officers, addresses, and telephone numbers.

Get in touch with your contacts in the United States as soon as you return to Indonesia in order to promote a fast and continual flow of information. The sooner you re-establish communication with your friends and acquaintances, the more likely it is that a valuable information exchange will develop. You can be a vital liaison between developments abroad and developments in Indonesia. Your value to local organizations is partially based on your direct access to and understanding of important new trends in your field in the United States setting. You are their new link to fast-changing professional knowledge.