Interview merupakan salah satu tahapan yang harus dilalui dalam suatu proses rekrutmen dan biasanya dilakukan setelah semua tahapan seleksi awal seperti screening, psikotest, dan test-test lain dilalui. Lain halnya dengan test-test tersebut, interview lebih ditujukan untuk menguji secara verbal kemampuan sang kandidat mengenai bidang keahlian, logika dan kecepatan berpikir, struktur berpikir, attitude, ethics dan semua hal yang tidak dapat terlihat melalui test-test tertulis bahkan psikotest sekalipun. Dalam proses interview ada 2 hal penting sangat berperan dalam menentukan lulus tidaknya seseorang yaitu communication dan chemistry.

Tanpa kemampuan berkomunikasi yang baik kecerdasan seseorang tidak dapat terkomunikasikan dengan baik sehingga pesan-pesan yang ingin disampaikan tidak akan sampai kepada si penerima sedangkan chemistry lebih ditentukan oleh fitness atau kecocokan personality sang kandidat dengan budaya dan lingkungan perusahaan tersebut. Chemistry bukan merupakan suatu topik yang perlu diperbincangkan karena merupakan sesuatu yang berada di subsurface sehingga tidak perlu dipaksakan, memaksakan sesuatu yang secara chemistry tidak match tidak akan baik bagi si kandidat dan perusahaan.

Lain halnya dengan chemistry, komunikasi merupakan sesuatu yang bisa dipelajari dan dilatih bahkan melalui kehidupan sehari-hari. Malahan, our day to day life merupakan medan latihan terbaik untuk komunikasi. Kemampuan kita untuk menyampaikan pesan secara lugas, singkat dan jelas sehingga bisa diterima oleh keluarga, teman dan orang-orang sekitar merupakan modal terbaik dalam berkomunikasi selama proses job interview. Memang wajar bahwa dalam suatu proses interview rasa nervous selalu datang dan mengganggu bahkan bisa merusak the whole interview process karena semua yang berhubungan dengan emosi dalam hal apapun dapat mengganggu kita untuk bisa berpikir secara logis, terstruktur dan tenang.

Ada beberapa hal yang bisa dilakukan untuk menyiasati rasa gugup selama proses interview sehingga sang kandidat bisa tampil menjadi sosok cool interviewee, diantaranya:

1. Confidence

Rasa percaya diri tidak datang begitu saja dan merupakan sesuatu yang harus dibangun dan dipelihara. Rasa percaya diri yang benar datang karena:

+ Know yourself; mengenali kompetensi kita, mengenali kekurangan dan kelebihan kita serta mengetahui kenapa kita fit untuk mengisi posisi yang ditawarkan

+ Know the company; mengetahui bidang perusahaan tersebut, job description dari posisi yang ditawarkan dll

+ Dress properly; tidak kekurangan atau berlebihan (sesuai dengan posisi yang ditawarkan)

+ Practices; lakukanlah mock interview dengan teman atau kerabat untuk melatih komunikasi kita dan kecepatan berpikir terutama dalam menjawab tough interview questions

2. Calmness

Salah satu hal yang dapat mendukung terciptanya calmness adalah kemampuan untuk mengatur gerak dan ritme tubuh. Biasakanlah untuk bergerak secara tenang dan rileks, jangan tergesa-gesa karena akan merusak ritme tubuh dan pernafasan kita sehingga bisa mengurangi suplai oksigen ke otak yang pada akhirnya menagganggu kemampuan berpikir kita.

3. Tawakal/Berserah Diri

Sikap tawakal berperan sangat besar dalam menciptakan ketenangan diri selama interview. Sikap tersebut datang dari keyakinan yang kokoh bahwa rezeki merupakan salah satu dari 3 hal yang Allah telah tetapkan ketika kita masih di lauh mahfuzh. Rezeki kita tidak akan tertukar dan dengan ikhtiar dan doa rezeki tersebut cepat atau lambat akan menghampiri kita. Sikap ini penting karena dapat membantu mengendalikan diri kita untuk tidak terlalu menginginkan employement di suatu perusahaan karena belum tentu baik buat kita dan juga untuk tidak terlalu membencinya karena mungkin itu baik untuk kita. Allah SWT yang Maha Tahu segalanya.

Have an enjoyable and successful interview…

Di Sebuah Surau…

Menanti Sang Kekasih…

Berbicara khusus mengenai job application thru email, penulis beruntung berkesempatan untuk terlibat dalam suatu proses penyeleksian dan terdorong untuk berbagi pemikiran dan pengalaman tentang tata cara melamar pekerjaan dengan email yang memberikan impact dan memiliki probabilitas yang besar untuk menarik perhatian dan dibaca. Mengapa demikian? Biasanya dengan limited time dan resources tidak semua email aplikasi yang berjumlah ribuan bisa terbaca. Mudah-mudahan hal ini bermanfaat terutama bagi para fresh graduates yang tentunya masih minim pengalaman.

The DO’S:

1. Gunakanlah alamat email yang baik, jelas dan profesional

• Example : devi.rahayu@…… / budi_djatmiko@….. / deaananda@…

2. Gunakanlah nama lengkap untuk informasi “Sender“atau “From“

• Usahakan nama lengkap kita yang tampil di From/Sender si penerima

3. Tulislah Subject email yang jelas dan specisifik

• Example:

a. Subject : Application for Subsurface Engineer – Rudi Widodo

b. Subject : Application for Mechanical Engineer (MIT Graduates) – Rudi Widodo

+ especially bila lulus dari PT yang memiliki reputasi yang terkenal baik

4. Buatlah cover letter yang baik

• Cover letter adalah jendela pertama untuk mengenal anda
• Cover letter sebaiknya di copy & paste sebagai body email dan juga di-attach bersama CV

5. Pastikan CV dan cover letter tidak lebih dari 200 kb (use file compression tools)

• Meng-insert photo ke dalam CV dapat memperbesar file secara signifikan
• Untuk posisi-posisi yang tidak mengutamakan penampilan fisik, foto bukanlah sesuatu yang mandatory untuk di-insert ke dalam CV

The DONT’s

1. Menggunakan alamat email yang tidak jelas / tidak profesional / tidak santun

• Example : devi_imut@…. / cute_lady@…. / ria_ndut@….

2. Menggunakan nama yang tidak lengkap / tidak jelas / tidak santun untuk informasi “Sender“atau “From“

• Example : Seorang Kapiten, Dicky Keren, dll

3. Menggunakan Subject email yang tidak spesifik/terlalu general

• Example :

a. Subject : Any available position (sounds desperate don’t you think?)

b. Subject : Rudi Widodo

c. Subject : Interesting to join your company

d. Subject : Fresh graduate

• Apabila tidak yakin dengan posisi yang akan dipilih maka gunakan alternatif

a. Subject : Application for Marketing/Sales/Supply Chain Staff – Rudi Widodo

b. Usahakan alternatif tersebut memang memerlukan kualifikasi yang kurang lebih sama

4. Meng-attach dokumen lain selain CV dan cover letter, terkecuali diminta – file yang terlalu besar kemungkinan akan di-reject oleh server penerima

• ijazah, transkrip, dll biasanya diminta dibawa saat interview

5. Menggunakan kata-kata yang “memelas”didalam cover letter/body email

• The company will feel sorry and sympathy for you BUT they will not call you for an interview

Looking at todays competition in getting a job, it’s worth to spend time and prepare the cover letter, CV and application email thoroughly because that will increase your probability at least to be called for an interview or go to the next step of the processes.

Happy to discuss

All the best folks…

January 3, 2009

Menanti Fajar Di Ufuk Timur

Sebuah kontemplasi di penghujung tahun

31 Desember 2008, ribuan warga Jakarta tumpah ruah memenuhi jalanan ibu kota, tak pandang usia, tua muda bahkan balita dan manula, untuk merayakan pergantian tahun. Hiruk pikuk tersebut sudah terasa sejak sekitar pukul 4 sore, terlihat dari penuhnya antrian busway oleh orang-orang yang akan merayakan pergantian tahun di pusat keramaian seperti Ancol dan Monas. Dalam perjalanan menuju kawasan Pramuka, seorang anak muda di dalam busway berkata, “Loe gak ke Ancol liat Peter Pan?“, rupanya band asal Bandung tersebut akan meramaikan pergantian tahun di kawasan wisata Ancol.

Perayaan pergantian tahun yang semarak terasa seperti sebuah ironi karena terjadi ditengah-tengah krisis finansial global yang juga berdampak pada ekonomi Indonesia. PHK dan menurunnya daya beli masyarakat adalah sebuat bukti riil bahwa situasi sulit memang telah mulai terasa.

Pemandangan yang berbeda tampak di satu pojok lain ibu kota, dimana segelintir orang duduk bersimpuh di dalam rumah Allah, membasahi lidah dengan untaian tasbih, tahmid, tahlil dan takbir untuk mengiringi pergantian tahun dan menjadikan momen tersebut untuk bermuhasabah, mengevaluasi diri sebelum evaluasi akhir di hadapan Allah SWT. Menghamba dan menghinakan diri dihadapan Allah dengan membawa segala dosa yang telah diperbuat sepanjang 2008 yang tentunya tidak terhitung banyaknya dan dengan roja – segenap pengharapan bahwa Allah akan ampuni setiap dosa tersebut dan memberikan, untuk kesekian kalinya, kesempatan untuk memperbaiki diri di tahun yang baru.

“Hasibu anfusakum kobla antuhasabu” (Hisablah dirimu sebelum di hisab) {Umar bin Khatab}

Satu per satu fragmen kehidupan di tahun 2008 terlintas dibenak, layaknya pemutaran slide episode kehidupan yang telah tersimpan rapi selama satu tahun. Diantara semua bayangan kilas balik yang terlintas di benak, wajah ayah bunda tercinta entah mengapa mendominasi semua slide tersebut.

Terbayang raut dan garis-garis di wajah mereka yang tampak lebih banyak dan kentara dari tahun-tahun sebelumnya

Terbayang tangan-tangan mereka yang tampak penuh dengan kerutan dan garis-garis kasar pertanda kerja keras tiada henti…ya, tangan-tangan itu yang dulu dan hingga kini masih terasa hangat dan lembut kala kala mengusap wajah putra-putrinya dengan kasih sayang…tangan yang dengan sigap menepuk setiap ekor nyamuk yang mengganggu putra-putri mereka ketika masih balita…tangan yang telah menjadi wasilah untuk sampainya rezeki dari Allah SWT kepada putra-putri mereka yang kini telah tumbuh dewasa, mandiri dan memiliki kehidupan yang secara materi bahkan jauh lebih baik dari mereka…

Berkaca pada diri sendiri, tak akan henti-hentinya bersyukur atas segala nikmat yang telah Allah berikan, nikmat materi terlebih lagi nikmat iman. Di tahun ke enam sejak pertama kali bekerja, selalu merasa telah memberikan yang terbaik untuk mereka, waktu, perhatian dan materi, agar mereka selalu bahagia di masa tua mereka. Namun malam itu Allah dengan iradat-Nya membuka mata hati dan pikiran atas begitu banyak hal yang seharusnya telah dilakukan untuk bisa lebih membahagiakan mereka.

Air mata tak terbendung, penuh sesal atas terlewatnya banyak hal yang bisa membuat ayah ibu semakin bahagia, malu atas segala fasilitas dan kemewahan hidup yang dinikmati sebagai anak sedang orang tua, yang tak pernah terbalas pengorbanannya, hidup dengan sebuah bentuk penghidupan yang jauh lebih sederhana….malu pada Allah atas segalanya…

Bagi yang masih memiliki ayah ibu, pandang wajah mereka, hadirkan wajah mereka di benak kita, ingatlah semua pengorbanannya….istighfar 3x, selagi Allah masih panjangkan usia kita mari kita bahagiakan mereka. Setiap tetes keringat kita untuk membahagiakan mereka, tak akan pernah sebanding dengan setiap tetesan darah, keringat dan air mata ayah ibu kita yang telah menghadirkan kita didunia.

Bagi yang telah ditinggal ayah ibu….hanya satu jalan, jadilah anak yang sholeh dan sholehah agar kita bisa menjadi syafaat atas mereka untuk bisa bersua kembali di jannah Allah. Amin ya robbal álamin

“Rabbigfirli wali walidayya warhamhuma kama rabbayani soghiro“ 3x

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For Mom and Dad

I’ll keep my promises, Insya Allah

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Thank you so much. Thank you all.

Well, this isn’t exactly the party I‘d planned, but I sure like the company.

I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you, to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked and sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors, who emailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, “See, you can be anything you want to be.”

To the young people like 13 year-old Ann Riddle from Mayfield, Ohio who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World, and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her Mom and volunteer there as well. To the veterans and the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans who traveled across the country and telling anyone who would listen why you supported me.

To all those women in their 80s and their 90s born before women could vote who cast their votes for our campaign. I’ve told you before about Florence Steen of South Dakota, who was 88 years old, and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot. She passed away soon after, and under state law, her ballot didn’t count. But her daughter later told a reporter, “My dad’s an ornery old cowboy, and he didn’t like it when he heard mom’s vote wouldn’t be counted. I don’t think he had voted in 20 years. But he voted in place of my mom.”

To all those who voted for me, and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding. You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country.

18 million of you from all walks of life, women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African-American and Caucasian, rich, poor and middle class, gay and straight you have stood strong with me. And I will continue to stand strong with you, every time, every place, and every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth fighting for.

Remember – we fought for the single mom with a young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, “I’m doing it all to better myself for her.” We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand, and asked me, “What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?” and began to cry because even though she works three jobs, she can’t afford insurance. We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, “Take care of my buddies over there and then, will you please help take care of me?” We fought for all those who’ve lost jobs and health care, who can’t afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president these last seven years.

I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned conviction: that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. I‘ve had every opportunity and blessing in my own life and I want the same for all Americans. Until that day comes, you will always find me on the front lines of democracy fighting for the future.

The way to continue our fight now to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him, and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.

I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in this campaign with him for 16 months. I have stood on the stage and gone toe-to-toe with him in 22 debates. I have had a front row seat to his candidacy, and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit.

In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. As a community organizer, in the state senate, as a United States Senator – he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in our common future.

Now when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House, and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity, and progress. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.

I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. The Democratic Party is a family, and it’s now time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love.

We may have started on separate journeys but today, our paths have merged. And we are all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around because so much is at stake.

We all want an economy that sustains the American Dream, the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford that gas and those groceries and still have a little left over at the end of the month. An economy that lifts all of our people and ensures that our prosperity is broadly distributed and shared.

We all want a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance. This isn’t just an issue for me – it is a passion and a cause and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured no exceptions, no excuses.

We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families.

We all want to restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq and once again lead by the power of our values, and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

You know, I‘ve been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. During those forty years, our country has voted ten times for President. Democrats won only three of those times. And the man who won two of those elections is with us today.

We made tremendous progress during the 90s under a Democratic President, with a flourishing economy, and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world. Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years – on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court. Imagine how far we could’ve come, how much we could’ve achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House.

We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much.

Now the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can’t do it. That it’s too hard. That we’re just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject “can’t do” claims, and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination, and a pioneering spirit.

It is this belief, this optimism, that Senator Obama and I share, and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard. So today, I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can.

Together we will work. We’ll have to work hard to get universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to foster the innovation that makes us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children’s future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we have to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq, and get them the support they’ve earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America that’s as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our President.

This election is a turning point election and it is critical that we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward together or will we stall and slip backwards. Think how much progress we have already made. When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions:

Could a woman really serve as Commander-in- Chief? Well, I think we answered that one.

And could an African American really be our President? Senator Obama has answered that one.

Together Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union.

Now, on a personal note when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for President, I always gave the same answer: that I was proud to be running as a woman but I was running because I thought I’d be the best President. But I am a woman, and like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious.

I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us.

I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter’s future and a mother who wants to lead all children to brighter tomorrows. To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect. Let us resolve and work toward achieving some very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable prejudices in the twenty-first century.

You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the President of the United States. And that is truly remarkable.

To those who are disappointed that we couldn’t go all the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours. Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you‘re knocked down, get right back up. And never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.

As we gather here today in this historic magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.

Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in America.

Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes. Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and foot-soldiers who marched, protested and risked their lives to bring about the end to segregation and Jim Crow.

Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote. Because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together. Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them, and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African American or a woman can yes, become President of the United States.

When that day arrives and a woman takes the oath of office as our President, we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream and that her dreams can come true in America. And all of you will know that because of your passion and hard work you helped pave the way for that day.

So I want to say to my supporters, when you hear people saying or think to yourself, if only” or “what if,” I say, “please don’t go there.” Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.

Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next President and I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort.

To my supporters and colleagues in Congress, to the governors and mayors, elected officials who stood with me, in good times and in bad, thank you for your strength and leadership. To my friends in our labor unions who stood strong every step of the way. I thank you and pledge my support to you. To my friends, from every stage of my life your love and ongoing commitments sustain me every single day. To my family especially Bill and Chelsea and my mother, you mean the world to me and I thank you for all you have done. And to my extraordinary staff, volunteers and supporters, thank you for working those long, hard hours. Thank you for dropping everything leaving work or school traveling to places you’d never been, sometimes for months on end. And thanks to your families as well because your sacrifice was theirs too.

All of you were there for me every step of the way. Being human, we are imperfect. That’s why we need each other. To catch each other when we falter. To encourage each other when we lose heart. Some may lead; others may follow; but none of us can go it alone. The changes we’re working for are changes that we can only accomplish together. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are rights that belong to each of us as individuals. But our lives, our freedom, our happiness, are best enjoyed, best protected, and best advanced when we do work together.

That is what we will do now as we join forces with Senator Obama and his campaign. We will make history together as we write the next chapter in America’s story. We will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the vision of progress we share, and for the country we love. There is nothing more American than that.

And looking out at you today, I have never felt so blessed. The challenges that I have faced in this campaign are nothing compared to those that millions of Americans face every day in their own lives. So today, I‘m going to count my blessings and keep on going. I‘m going to keep doing what I was doing long before the cameras ever showed up and what I’ll be doing long after they’re gone: Working to give every American the same opportunities I had, and working to ensure that every child has the chance to grow up and achieve his or her God-given potential.

I will do it with a heart filled with gratitude, with a deep and abiding love for our country and with nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead. This is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that in this election we add another Democratic president to that very small list of the last 40 years and that we take back our country and once again move with progress and commitment to the future.

Thank you all and God bless you and God bless America.

I’ve been enjoying every part of the business, be it the downside or the upside, succesfull or failure negotiations, the conflicts or the consensus, made within the 2 years of my tenure as those have given me a wisdom to really see everything from different perspective. In the said period, I did come to the stage where I’m proud of being an Indonesian as well as feeling really sad of what my countryman did, proud being an IOC employee as well as sad of being accused as a non nationalist….yes been thru all the stages.

Deep in side my heart, I really love Indonesia and will always will…want to live and die in Indonesia… I did have chances to work overseas but I declined just because I really love my country and want to contribute the knowledge & experiences that I gained for the betterment of my nation. When I was working abroad, there was a saying, “hujan emas di negeri orang, masih lebih baik hujan batu di negeri sendiri”, and I really felt that.

And new job…..here I come…with better enthusiasm and spirit…smile ;p

Don’t let the crisis take the ghirah and enthusiasm from you, keep fighting and don’t stop praying

“Allahumma inna na’udzubika minal hammi wal hazan wana’udzubika minal ajzi wal kasal,wanau’dzubika minal jubni  wal buhl, wanau’dzubika min ghalabatidaeni waqohri rijal .”

”Yaa Alloh, aku berlindung kepada-Mu dari rasa sesak dada dan gelisah, dan aku berlindung kepada-Mu dari lemah serta tidak berdaya dan malas dari upaya, dan aku berlindung kepada-Mu dari sifat penakut dan bakhil, dan aku berlindung kepada-Mu dari tenggelam di dalam hutang dan dari tekanan atau penindasan orang.”

I’m not sure whether “looming” is the right word to describe the ongoing financial crisis because the fact is in many parts and fields in the world the impacts of the crisis have already taken place. The closest examples are what have happened to my friends who work in Engineering Procurement and Contruction (EPC) industries, some of them have already been laid off by the employers due to project uncertainty which triggered by the liquidity crisis.

If I were to identify the root cause of the ongoing crisis, then I would say “Greed” is what behind the crisis. Greed lead the financial institutions to lend money to non credit worthy property debtors that triggered the subprime mortgage in United States. Greed lead some investment institution, like Madoff, to fraud investors money and triggered the liquidity crisis because some of the investors were Banks who used cash belong to their clients in the investment. And the liquidity crisis is worsen because the clients then lost their trust and rushing to get their money back from the bank. No working capital can be provided by the Bank to keep the economic wheel rolling and no cash can be provided to finance the existing projects. Lay off, increasing unemployement rate and economic slowdown then unavoidable…

While greed is inherent human behavior or attitude, then it’s impossible to ask human not to be greedy. What should have been prevailed is the government to provide strict regulation and control to avoid this human inherent behavior from taking over and screwing up everything. It’s widely known that even ilegal conduct like short selling is common in our stock market and that notorius conduct has taken part in bubbling the stock market/economy.

Now, the biggest economy in the world -United States- has collapsed and it drags our contry into the same crisis because US has been our dominant trade partner for years– too late to diversify….

Don’t we have anyone with forward looking in our Government? Why do we have to get into the same hole twice…Indonesia…Indonesia…aaaarrrggghhh

About two years ago, I had a series of discussions with my supervisor about the oil & natural gas reserves in the world. We were amazed with how big the gas reserves owned by Russia and Qatar or oil reserves owned by Saudi Arabia. Indonesia is nothing compare to them, at least from the recent reserves data published by MIGAS or BPMIGAS, the unexplored? only God knows of course.

In one of the discussion, my Bos said that “God works in mysterious ways”, why? because he believe that in the early days of human civilization on earth, the midle east with its dry & hot dessert or Russia with its cold and icy land, were viewed as a non prosperous place to live compare to say Indonesia for example with its tropical rain forest, volcano belt, rivers, bio diversity, etc. But Allah is the most compassionate and fair God that He will not treat his servants (hamba) unfairly…later on people found out that under the hot and dry Middle East dessert lay a huge amount of oil and gas reserves that give the people welfare next to nowhere for years to come…the same thing may happen to Russian (if they change the system of course)

Looking at 29 years (Gee sounds old isn’t it?) of my life, I realize that most of the grace that Allah has been giving to me were not something that I had asked in most of my prays…not something I really-really want. Try to link what have happened to my life with Middle East or Russia, has taken me to my “a-ha” experience that Allah has His own ways in ruling and controlling my life. That He knows what I need and gave me the role that will take me to higher level of faith as His servant or better contributor to my religion, family and society. Amen.

Yes, at the end of the day, it’s what we need instead of what we want that will make us a better person. Last but not least, Allah will make everything wonderful at its time (Indah pada waktunya) Insya Allah.

Still remember my first encounter with her, how i viewed her as “childish” and “sloppy”, what a sloppy jugment I made, did I? but now look what is happening, she inspires me to start reevaluting my life…my goal…my purpose of life…

And here I am, landed in blog world for the first time, trying to give some of my thoughts on a few things which hopefully can be useful for others…

And Life…here I come…reborn…rejuvenate…with new spirit and enthusiasm….trying to make the best of my life