UNAIR NEWS – The Covid-19 pandemic and Industrial Revolution 4.0 have brought their own challenges for new graduates and job seekers. The technology is used by various companies and organizations to recruit new employees, from administrative selection, interviews, psychological tests, to leaderless group discussion (LGD) are conducted online.
Lukitariani or Luki, a psychology alumna of Universitas Airlangga (u) who is currently serving as the head of talent acquisition at PT. Pegadaian (Persero) explained that many companies use an ATS or Applicant Tracking System to recruit applicants according to organizational needs. Through this system, companies can easily conduct screening to find qualified candidates.
“For example, we want to hire UNAIR graduates or anyone with only leadership skill, the system will immediately conduct a screening to select applicants meeting these requirements,” explained Luki.
There are some tips from Luki for job applicants to get hired by companies. Here are the tips as summarized UNAIR NEWS based on an interview conducted on Wednesday evening, January 6, 2021.
- Pay attention to qualifications
The first thing that job applicants need to pay attention to is the qualifications that the company wants. Ensure that the requirements and qualifications are in accordance with the conditions of the prospective applicants.
“It’s a shame if you send applications to many companies, but not meeting the qualifications expected by the company,” explained Luki.
After understanding the qualifications and requirements, make sure to complete the necessary documents for the application. If you attach certificates of achievements, you will get more points of consideration.
- CV that stands out
A CV that stands out is not necessarily a CV that is different from the other job applicants’ CV. It is related more to points of information in CV that attract recruiters. When using the ATS, the points in the CV are also used in screening system to find potential applicants that match the company’s requests.
“When you have an internship experience, for example, don’t just write down the place of the internship, but also write down the duties and responsibilities that were carried out during the internship,” explained Luki.
This information needs to be included so that the recruiter does not guess and think that the internship is only delivering letters or other things that are less impressive. In fact, many students are involved in good projects when doing internships.
Moreover, it is also important to include achievements for participating in competitions. They do not have to be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place winners. Honorable mention winners will also be considered by the recruiter because it shows that the applicant is someone who is willing to fight and does not give up easily.
“Such applicants (having achievement, ed) must be a a tough individual,” she said.
- Be honest and be yourself
After passing the administrative stage and entering the interview stage, applicants need to be honest and be themselves. Being honest means not lying, especially when asked about weaknesses.
For example, when the recruiter asks whether they have ever violated traffic rules, they just need to answer honestly, including when they ride a motorcycle without license (SIM).
“Admitting mistakes is not something bad but we must admit that we humans make mistakes,” said Luki.
- Learn company values and culture
Luki continued, it is necessary for applicants to learn the culture and values of the intended organization or company. As when applicants are rejected, it does not mean that they are less intelligent or inexperienced, it could be because their character is not matched with the culture and values in the organization.
For example, an IT company may not need a sociable person because programming is usually done alone or if not, only in one team. It is different from State Owned Enterprises (BUMN) which needs teamwork, so individualistic people do not fit into this culture.
“Looking into the compatibility of applicants with the culture and values of the organization can be through interviews, LGD, or psychological assessments,” explained Luki.
Lukitariani, an alumna of Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Airlangga who is also the head of talent acquisition at PT. Pegadaian (Persero)
- Confidence
Each person has its own character. During the interview, applicants need to show a positive attitude. When asked about experience, answer confidently in order to convince the interviewer that the applicant can work and is worthy of consideration.
“When we do an interview, it is actually a moment for us to promote ourselves so we could be considered as a potential candidate,” explained Luki.
Besides, the applicants’ appearance during interviews must be neat and clean. It does not have to look expensive or weird. Use only moderate make-up and sit up straight. Crossed legs are fine, but the stance should be upright.
“Don’t be nervous during the interview, because you will lose focus and forget everything. Let’s just consider the interviewer only wants to know what we are like, ” she said.
- Social media
Social media is also noticed by recruiter in several companies, especially popular social media such as Instagram and LinkedIn because social media reflects the characteristics of the candidate. If the account is used for selling things is still fine, or if the account rarely uploads contents, it is also considered normal because not everyone likes to show off everything.
“BUMN will usually see whether there is hate speech and provocation among the applicants’ posts, we usually avoid it,” she continued.
Several large companies have also conducted background checks through social media so they would not miss anything. Companies do not want candidates recruited to become provocateurs.
To UNAIR students or alumni who are struggling to find jobs, Luki advised them to be confident and proud to become UNAIR graduates. Because according to Luki’s experience in conducting recruitment and interviews, UNAIR graduates tend to feel insecure, do not want to perform, even though they are smart, and active in organizations, and not less superior from other graduates.
“In the past, UNAIR children tended to be smart but did not want to appear in front, and preferred behind the scenes. So it is necessary to build mentality to be proud of the alma mater, believing self that UNAIR graduates are the best graduates in their respective fields,” concluded Luki. (*)
Author: Galuh Mega Kurnia
Editor : Binti Q. Masruroh
