At Some Point, Experience Does Matter

Two weeks ago, I went for an interview with one of language centers in my city. This is the first time since I returned to Indonesia. After a long time I held my language tutor group, I wanted a new experience inside a language center company.

Honestly, I questioned myself why I did it, but after thinking a lot and finally realized just needed a new environment and another challenge in my life.

It was a bright and hot day when I stepped out from my house. Just wearing a very simple pair of my favorite blue jeans and an old shirt covered by my favorite blue navy jacket. I looked at myself in front of the mirror and said, “You can do this Gosh” tried hard to convince myself that everything would be ok. Maybe for a woman at my age is just a bit weird to have doubts like this, but it’s been a while since the last time I had a job interview.

For the last 6 years, I created my language tutor group, finding my own students until I went aboard. Some people rarely asked me about “why don’t I find any office job?” It wasn’t because I don’t want to, for some reason I just don’t feel comfortable with an office job and for another reason I don’t have any university degree which many companies need. That’s why even before I decided to apply for any office job, I knew I would feel down at the first even depressed.

It has been more than 6 years since the last time I worked in the formal office. I had many kinds of circumstances with many kinds of activities and many freelance jobs; I went aboard, did volunteer job, worked overseas and now I return to my beloved country. After a while I finally decided to and applied for a job that I considered the perfect job because it’s kind of my thing, doing the thing that I love.

Jakarta was so hot that afternoon; I took a bus stopped right in front of the building, which I headed. It was earlier than I thought I would after looking for the place that I supposed to have an interview; I just passed that place and going somewhere else. I really don’t know why, but for sure, I felt a bit intimidated for what I saw.

Imagine people in that place were wearing quite formal clothes, some in dresses and some in suits which, when I compare with myself, it was definitely far way different. It was like “Oh My God!!! What am I doing here?” I stopped by a coffee shop, and took a seat and everything just went quiet and I began to think, “What should I do?” Surely I have no idea for what I just saw and would happen. So I decided to send a message to the person in charge and telling what I just thought. An answer come to say that it was ok, just come. So I closed my laptop and headed back to that place.

It was so awkward to sit among neat, well-dressed people, looking at myself who definitely looked casual although I have tried to look formal. After a few minutes, the person in charge came to me and asked me to move to the other chair to talk with her. I tried my best to not look nervous. As she checked my form and CV, she started asking questions me about many things I have done over the past 6 years and other experiences and it surprised me because I just answered casually (normally for more exact). I don’t really know if it was because I was wearing casual clothes or it just went that way. Just talking about those experiences made me feel confident at times and despite my educational background never get a university degree, all of my experiences just simply enveloped and my education background grew.

I have never experienced college life. Therefor I have never graduated from it. I have never got a degree from it. And for sure, many times it intimidated me a lot. It made me feel like I was the failure. But I guess life is so good to me, God for sure is. I got to experience many things. Job experiences that I, I never realized I had.

That day I passed the interview and got a chance to realize that “experience does matter, no matter what kind or how big or how long your experience is run after it”.

Sometimes we doubt ourselves because we put ourselves in another person shoes without even giving it a chance. We need to look better with ourselves. We put ourselves too high in a comparison with other people.

THE ENCOURAGEMENT

I’m not against those who have a degree; I just wanted to encourage those who faced the same thing like me. Those who don’t have any degree or anything like that.

• Do not doubt yourself, there must be something that you can brag about yourself,
• Never underestimate yourself,
• Do not put yourself under those who have a degree, a degree is not everything,
• Never put yourself as a comparison with other people, every shoe is different just like every person is not sane,
• Do not give up no matter what, face life, do something, create the experiences,

Life is so good, respect it and do your best. There will be a time when you will harvest every seed that you sow.