Do you watch television? Do you read the newspaper? We are very close with this industry but perhaps we don’t really understand how it works. First, we must know that media is a communication channel that disseminate data, entertainment, education, or promotional messages. So it means, it includes every medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, etc. To have better insight of this industry, let’s get acquainted with Rogasiana Primayanti or Ima (Finance 2007) who is a Senior Account Executive at PT Kompas Cyber Media.

Ima First Big Decision

Since junior high school, Ima has lived apart from her parents. She was planning to continue her higher education outside Jakarta yet it was objected by her parents. Despite her interest and dream of becoming a doctor, she considered moving back to Jakarta. She started to select various institutions that she saw suitable for her.

Her first acquaintance with Prasetiya Mulya was definitely from her mother. Our school has been so closed to her because her mother works here. It is no doubt that Ima is well informed about our school. She became more assured once she had a discussion with her cousin who was pursuing a master degree in Prasetiya Mulya. It was how Ima got a better understanding of the school’s programs and the learning method used in our school. Not to mention that she was also aware of the successful alumni from the graduate program. She believed that the school would commit the same way for the undergraduate program. Subsequently she enrolled herself to our school.

Ima and Prasetiya Mulya

Once she began her journey in Prasetiya Mulya, Ima must work hard and participate in every program. When she was required to choose a concentration, she decided on Finance. “I have a classic reason choosing finance at that time. I was more interested with calculation. I was not keen with subjects that required me to memorize many things. Thankfully, my grades in subjects related with numbers were satisfying.”

Four years in campus must give so many experiences and memories. For Ima, the most memorable experience was the community development program. This is not a surprise because who wouldn’t remember their experience in a small village, assisting the locals to grow their business, right?

Ima feels that the learning process and experiences gained in campus are beneficial for her career. She told us that she became a highly responsible person to finish her works or assignments. She built her self confidence to express her opinions in forum or public. Ima added that she learned to be more critical in thinking to solve problems and make changes at work. What she believes very important at work is having integrity which she told us she learned and grew in campus. The continuous assignments have shaped Ima to work and compete under pressure and meeting deadlines. She began to understand the dynamic of professional world during her study in campus too.

In campus, it wasn’t just studying all the time for Ima. She took part in other activities to increase her knowledge and improve her skill. She was keen participating in seminars because for her it enhanced her soft skills. Ima never missed Guest Lecture class. She told us that it helped her to better understand the working world and how to implement her knowledge. She felt that it helped her to adapt in new environment when she first entered the professional life.

Paving Her Career

Everyone has dreams and certain people design their future. For Ima, she has a specific career aspiration. She wanted to become a leader in a big company.  To pursue her dream, she always does her best and never easily feels satisfied. She is determined to continue learning and improving her potential.

After finishing her study, Ima decided to work. Her first step into the professional world was in Kompas Gramedia Group of Magazine. “I didn’t know about the career opportunity in my first workplace. I received a phone call from Kompas Gramedia Corporate Human Resource one day and I was told they got my resume from Career Development Center. The recruitment process was likely the same as most companies but it went smoothly. The process took about one month. I had no significant trouble adapting to the working world because I did several internships.”

Ima started as Account Executive and believe us that she had a lot on her plate. First of all, she was responsible to analyze customer’s database. She also met with existing and future clients then she maintained good relations with them. She explained that she worked to cater the needs of her customers. Ima had to achieve sales target so she also planned sales activity and program. She also ran some projects then prepared report to her manager. Can you imagine how she did all that while she was also handing customer’s complaint?

After over three years of service, Ima needed new challenge. She found an opportunity in Global TV. At first, she was being hold back perhaps because she performed well but Ima had made her mind up. “I needed a new scene. I wanted to know about broadcasting especially television. So, I had to move.”

Ima joined Global TV as Senior Marketing Barter Executive in 2015. The name of the position may be new to us. She was still meeting clients and maintaining good relation with them. In addition, Ima was required to find new clients and build relationship for barter cooperation. It means that she had to conduct presentation and negotiation. She accommodated internal needs for barter and in-house program needs. Then again, Ima also prepared monthly achievement report. “In Kompas Gramedia Group of Magazine, I worked with clients who wanted to advertise in the magazine. It wasn’t totally different with what I did in Global TV. I also worked with clients but the intention was to get them support our programs, on air and off air, with their goods or service.”

Two years later, Ima made another career move. She saw the big potential in video content marketing and digital world. She was eager to be a part of the growth of start-up. Once she saw the opportunity in Kompas Cyber Media, she didn’t hesitate to take it. Sometime, our decision isn’t acceptable for everyone but we are the one who knows best for our career and self improvement. She joined the force recently, in August this year, as Senior Account Executive.

“My responsibilities don’t differ much from the ones I had as an Account Executive. In Kompas Cyber Media, I am assigned to grow PIJARU. It is one of the start-up owned by Kompas Cyber Media. So, this time, I am more into strategic thinking and preparing the business plan.” Ima added that the difference of her work was only on the media platform.

It is interesting for us knowing Ima’s career choices. She was majoring in finance but she decided to dive in as account executive. It became clear to us when she explained how she loves meeting new people and not being behind the desk all the time. She feels she can learn more characters by her encounter with clients.

Having a specialty in account management, Ima told us how her marketing knowledge gained in campus really helps her to prepare and explain strategy. With her finance background, she also benefited from it. It helps her work the historical data related with revenue. It also prepares her to make a business plan.

Just like life, work has its ups and downs. Ima has positive perception of her work. She is glad that there are many new things to explore and develop. Since her work related with content creation, she feels she still can grow and improve it. Not to mention how excited she is to work on the business strategy. Unfortunately, Ima understands that creativity is still undervalued. It is the downside of her work.

In Kompas Cyber Media, Ima explains that the company fully supports performing staff’s career growth. The first option is getting promotion based on the performance appraisal. The second one is role change since there are many divisions within the company. It is also a way to develop the staff’s career. Since Ima believes that she can contribute a lot, her plan for the next five years is to make PIJARU as the best content creator.

Ima’s Perception on the Media Industry

“Media is a dynamic industry. It changes as the world changes. Even in Indonesia now, it continues to grow with the rise of digital era. Therefore, the challenges are many and varied. We can’t stop learning if we work in media. I see that the career opportunity is good for those who are passionate with the media industry.”

Ima explained that the media industry, especially digital media, is very competitive. We are no longer talking about competition amongst media corporations but also against production house, ‘vlogger’, and rising social media figures. She added that television and print media began to shift to digital platform due to this condition.

If you consider working in the media industry, Ima reminded you that you will be facing the many challenges, starting from creating content that is creative, unique, interesting, and relevant. You must possess high awareness of your surroundings. As she stated earlier, the career opportunity is always there, including for fresh graduates. The media industry is very open and it allows cross function. The industry doesn’t always see your education background because they want talents that suit them who are passionate and willing to learn. She said not to worry because some companies, especially in Kompas Gramedia, provides training to develop their talents. “To survive and succeed, you must have big passion for the industry. You must be dynamic and open to changes. It is highly required that you can work under pressure because it is not easy. One more thing, never stop learning.”

Words of Advice

With over five years of working experience, Ima understands the difference between campus life and working world. “When we work, it is not only about getting good results or great achievements. It is more about self-actualization. We do what we like and love to grow our potential and use our talents.”

To be a successful professional, Ima advised to develop our soft skill and grow our network. It will help us when we enter the working world. In addition, Ima feels the urgency to grow our knowledge about the job description of the position so we know exactly whether it is something we are passionate about.

At the end of our conversation, Ima left us with a nice quote. "God put you in your place now, not by chance. Great people are not shaped from comfort, ease and pleasure. They are formed through difficulty, challenge, and tears.”