Magang (Internship): Langkah Awal Menuju Sekretaris Profesional

Abstract

Business and workplace nowadays require competent human resources with good personality. Higher education institutions, as one of the parties whose strategic role is to prepare reliable workforce, should revamp as to ensure that their graduates’ qualifications match with the needs of business and workplace. The objective of this research is to describe the importance of internship program for students before they jump to the real business and workplace. Internship program is aimed at, not only giving the students opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills obtained during study, but also at preparing them to adapt to the workplace environment. This research was conducted using Systematic Literature Review (SLR), a systematic literature review by identifying, reviewing, and interpreting data of findings and information about the conducted internship program. The results showed that the intern students were equipped with technical skills comprising of general administration skills, office management skills, information and communication technology, petty cash management, administration of office facilities management, and procedure of occupational health and safety. The results also showed that a set of soft skills was also required; they were adaptability, punctuality, dependability, ability to learn, willingness to follow instructions, loyalty, confidentiality, and radiate professionalism (work ethics, positive attitude, self-confidence, handling change, handling feedback and criticism, staying organized, thinking skills, knowing when to act, professional image, communication skills, teamwork skills, professional organizations, business etiquette). The performance of the intern students was measured by assessing their teamwork skills, initiative and creativity, communication skills, sense of responsibility, appearance and personality, work discipline, motivation, professional ability, loyalty, and ability to keep company secrets.