Tanoto Scholar Alumni becomes outstanding manager at Unilever
To former Tanoto Foundation Scholarship recipient Saskya Sastavyana, a strong will and eagerness to learn is vital in climbing up the career leader and achieving world-class job capabilities.
“Employers are looking for candidates who have three traits: willingness, ability, and desire. If jobseekers can demonstrate these three things, their chances of being accepted into their dream jobs are really high.”
Saskya shared that she did not come from an affluent family, admitting that she faced many financial obstacles when she was growing up in Bandung, especially her education costs.
In 2006, when she graduated high school, Saskya’s parents advised her to continue her studies at the Bandung Institute of Technology, citing that they would be able to at least save on her daily costs than if she went out of town for university.
Saskya applied for the Regional and City Planning Program at the university, and got accepted. However, her financial troubles continued, and she worried towards the end of each semester, having to apply for and be granted financial aid by the university.
Thankfully, in 2008, Saskya successfully managed to get a scholarship from Tanoto Foundation. The scholarship paid for her university tuition costs until she graduated in 2010.
With the burden of having to pay for university relieved, Sasyka took the opportunity to make full use of her time at university. Not only did she excel academically, she also involved herself in various activities, both on and off campus.
Saskya realized early on that to be work-ready, she had to acquire new abilities and learn new things – even if she did not like them very much. At that time, she forced herself to learn photography and political science, read many books and learned how to write for the media.
“While studying, I began to think ahead. I knew I had to create a good work portfolio so that I would be ready to enter the workforce as soon as I graduated. I wanted to be able to immediately help my parents financially.”
Upon graduating, Sasyka decided to apply for a job at Unilever, a company she believed that would allow her to grow and earn a good income.
Armed with a portfolio that has been built since university, Saskya got the job and went on to become the first female manager in Unilever Indonesia to be responsible for overseeing one sales area.
In this position, Saskya has managed to successfully lead her team into becoming one of the top three sales areas, out of 34 areas, for three consecutive years.
Saskya has also represented her company on study abroad opportunities, including to India where she learned about big data analytics.
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