I arrived in Indonesia over fifteen years ago, for what was meant to be a 6-month project. I fell in love with the positivity of Indonesia and the belief that anything is possible, but the characteristic that I have admired the most is the resilience of the people.
No matter what life throws at Indonesia, the people and the business community have always kept moving forward and doing what they need to do to make things better. The arrival of Covid-19 and the way people reacted only served to reinforce my admiration for the Indonesian people.
While initially there was a lot of fear that paralysed business and people, the people reacted with warmth and care for others. As people lost their income, others took to the streets to donate food and make sure the people that were hit the hardest by the pandemic received the support they need.
Going through tough times and coming out the other side isn’t something new to Indonesia. I had seen Indonesia work through the global economic crises, a tsunami, volcano eruptions, multiple floods and even bombings. So, I always felt that Indonesia would recover quicker and faster than many other nations.
While the pandemic is far from over, it is estimated that the economy could rebound to 6.0 percent growth in 2021, driven by increases in consumer and infrastructure spending.
At the time of writing this article, I can sense the positivity is returning quickly to the Indonesian business community and while most companies may not be hiring large amounts of people, they are certainly hiring at a steady pace. Strong demand is being seen in the middle to senior level professional sector as companies look to strengthen their management teams.
While the past 12 months may have been a tough time for many, there are opportunities to be taken. Now is the perfect timing to make key management hires or find your next job.