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UNAIR NEWS – Everyone dreams of having a wonderful career, but how do we build it? How do people with successful careers begin their journey?

To share insightful stories on building professional careers, Airlangga Global Engagement hosted a seminar: “Personal Branding: The Key to Unlock International Career and Study Opportunities,” on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. The seminar featured Ari Sufiati, a Senior Project Manager at Apple Inc., as the speaker.

Career journey

In the presence of dozens of students from various faculties, Ari shared the story of how she reached her current position. Coming from a modest family, she began her journey from scratch. She pursued a career in journalism, which aligned with her interests.

“I started my career by following my passion and roots as a Communications student, which led me to journalism. As time went by, I had to be realistic about the need to improve my standard of living,” Ari said.

“After that, I got the chance to switch my career to the property sector in America. Did I know anything about property? Absolutely not. But I learned,” she said.

Her outstanding performance caught the attention of major corporations. At the same time, Ari received job offers from Apple and Yahoo.

“Apple and Yahoo contacted me via LinkedIn. Although Yahoo offered a bigger income, Apple is a larger company, so I chose Apple, but not as a full-time employee,” she said.

“When you start with high standards, you can advance to even greater levels. However, if you start at an average level, companies might negotiate with you at potentially lower standards,” she said.

Build your personal brand

Personal branding is an essential part of today’s era. A good personal brand allows companies to take notice of one’s unique qualities. How to build a good personal brand? Ari explained that there are three key elements to building our brand: passion, proposition, and social media.

Passion is a deep and positive feeling towards something, which could be an activity or a specific goal. People with passion will be enthusiastically motivated when participating in activities related to theirs.

“If you want to build a personal brand, you must find your passion. It’s hard when you have none because it’s the basics,” Ari said.

Secondly, proposition, which she believed helps in self-promotion. “Millions of people out there share the same interest as you. Your skills may be similar. Find the uniqueness in your job and skills; find the right proportion to promote yourselves,” she said.

She further reminded the students to use social media for personal branding. The platform helps in raising people’s awareness about oneself and enhances reachability. Therefore, start using social media wisely to build your dream career.

Author: Naufal Hilmi F.

Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia.