Good things come to those who believe

I was still doing my short stint with Accenture, a Malaysian based IT company. When on one fine weekend together with some of my college mates around the busy Sudirman City Business District in Jakarta, I whispered to myself, “One day I will work in this area.” It was nothing more than a statement of faith. The ambition was there but no one knows what opportunities will come their way in the very next second. I was neither expecting nor concerned about any doors of opportunity opening up before me.  After all, it was just a silent whisper that afternoon.

The experience I had with Accenture was great and I can’t complain about it at all. I was able to secure chances that none of my workmates would have ever achieved within just a couple of months work. Accenture is a worldwide company and to have a chance for a job there is a dream for many university graduates. Needless to say, I was lucky to be a member of that fabulous team. But in every huge company, everything must work within a system.  Since I worked as a restricted contractor based on project contract, it would have been a long shot for me to have stayed and worked long term.  Unfortunately for me when the contract ended, I was released on December 2013. It was bad news but life must go on.

The temptation to make my way back to Bandung was very strong, but I decided that Bandung was not a good choice for me at the time. I decided to stick around in Jakarta and try my fortune in the capital city. As a young girl, it was a tough decision. Staying with my parents in my hometown seemed like a nice option, as all of my needs would have been provided. But I thought for the long term that could mean many lost opportunities. So Jakarta it was.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good. That is really true for me. I met this guy during an education exhibition in Jakarta. We had only a brief chat and I discovered that he worked for Ernst and Young, another multinational US based company. I became very interested in applying for a job at Ernst and Young.  I had learned about career planning during my final years as a student in Bandung.  I knew that in order to get my ideal job and career that I should not apply for just any kind of job nor send as many applications as I could. I needed to know more about Ernst and Young, so I decided to give the guy a call. The conversation made me confident that I knew exactly where I was heading. I sent out my Curriculum Vitae and all the required details, expecting a call from E&Y human resources department.  Just a day after sending out my details, I got a call from them inviting me to take a test. On the scheduled date, I walked into the room with confidence and took all the necessary tests. After I completed all the assignments, they sent me home with a clear message, “Wait until we call you.”

I didn’t think the test was that bad at all and I felt that I had a good chance of progressing to the next step of recruitment. Yet, days and weeks went by without any contact from E&Y. My rational expectation was rapidly declining but my faith was rising up. God strengthened me in this time of need and all I can say is our God is just so amazing. He works in ways that we can’t see or understand. But to me, He always gives all the best in each area of my life. He is the master of everything. He is the greatest orchestrator we could ever have and I don’t have any doubts in the way God is planning, directing and setting up my life. Although it was a painstaking wait, I was able to enjoy my life in Jakarta. I was however living on a very tight budget.

Finally after months of waiting, I got the news from Ernst and Young I had been praying for. I was invited for a job interview and got very excited. They gave me a presentation assignment that had to be submitted before midnight on the next day. I had less than two days to prepare my presentation. The interview was good but the task, on the other hand, was so demanding. I was obsessed with Ernst & Young’s reputation and a need for a job that would lead into a great career. Everything seemed to be perfect, but there was just not enough time to prepare. I decided not to worry much about it. There was the chance of my life and I would do whatever it took to get the presentation done.

To cut the story short, everything was ready just in time. And I have only a single explanation for that. ITHB prepares every student and does anything in its power to ensure that every graduate can be successful in the market place. This is what happened to me. It turned out that I was very well prepared. During college, we had a lot of assignments that needed to be done in such short periods of time. For many students, it seemed that the lecturers tried their best to give more assignments to us. Some students asked themselves, “Why on earth are the lecturers killing us with all of these tasks? Don’t they know that we young people need some time to relax and enjoy life?”

All the training to be goal focused, productive and to be able to complete tasks in a short period of time paid off when I critically needed it. I truly owe ITHB for the opportunities to learn, study, and develop myself to become the person I am now. Once again, I want to thank every lecturer, the deans, rector, and everyone back home at the college. With this short story, I would like to reaffirm to the potential students, parents or those who may happen to read my testimony, without being biased ITHB is perhaps the best university you could ever have in Bandung if you are concerned about your career and a meaningful life. For current students who are still studying there, never miss the spiritual growth programs provided by the college. Just do everything the college asks you to do, because it will result in something that you will never stop being thankful for in life.

I am now working with Ernst and Young.  It is a great company in which to learn and to build my career and a highlight in my early career. I am receiving amazing work experiences while at the same time making a lot of connections and new friends from different backgrounds and different parts of the world.

ITHB will remain as my family because while studying there I was transformed to be a stronger person, armed with everything that I need to be competitive and shine in the market place. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. When I made my statement of faith at the graduation ceremony, I knew exactly where I was heading because I knew that I have a great God and I belong to a wonderful family. This family helped me become someone who brings hope for the nation.