Discover a Career Path in Startups with ITB Alumni

By Adi Permana

Editor Adi Permana

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id—In collaboration with HappyFresh, the ITB Career Center held a webinar titled "How a Tech Startup Became My Fulfilling Career Choice." The online event sought to provide students an insight into the world of work startups. Hence, they purposefully chose an alumnus of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) as a speaker. Viani Hafiza, HappyFresh's Senior Product Manager.

In the webinar, Viani shared her experience and career-building advice in the workplace, specifically at HappyFresh. Viani then presented three major factors in selecting the proper career in a webinar on Friday (08/06/2021). "The first premise is that not all occupations are suitable for us," she explained. She believes that people are similar to plants. Each individual is a fit for a particular working environment, just as coconut palms are only appropriate for coastal locations.

Second, find the proper employment. Her employment search was like a plant. For a plant to flourish, it needs fertilizer as well as sunlight and water. Using fertilizer as an example, sunshine is compared to a mentor, and water to working culture.

In addition, she provided a more detailed description of the three components. As the name implies, fertilizer is made up of several components. It must be a career or opportunity that has a bright future, Viani added. Working becomes a significant component in building job abilities and experience, which is why it is highly vital.

According to her, a job in technology is one of the most promising in the future. According to her research, corporations, especially startups, are increasingly looking for people to fill certain technological roles.
She explained that user experience researchers, user experience designers, software developers, and product managers all play essential roles in HappyFresh.

Viani emphasized the importance of the sunshine component, which refers to mentorship and leadership, in improving one's profession. Mentors at work give guidance for self-development. A mentor's most essential function is to show gratitude and reciprocity.

Viani contends that the final component, water, which refers to a team and a good working environment, will boost morale. HappyFresh provides a pleasant working environment. The hours are flexible, as are most startup careers, as long as the company's goals are met.

Finally, Viani underlines that there is no one criterion for choosing a job. There might have been crucial aspects that were not addressed in the webinar. Hence, she recommended the students conduct more sharing sessions with alumni to find a suitable career.

Reporter: Zahra Annisa Fitri (Regional and City Planning, 2019)
Translator: Naffisa Adyan (Oceanography, 2019)