The Formula of Success

As a (former) science student, I was trained to see the world in a black-and-white manner.

A+B = C.

F aksi = -F reaksi.

Lingkungan yang mendukung + kemauan untuk belajar = sukses.

Banyaknya kesempatan + niatan jahat = tindakan kriminal.

So on, so forth.

To me, life was always a clear set of variables. And we have the natural obsession to find the perfect combination of variables to achieve success.

However, what we don’t know is that life also grows in its complexity. Waktu SMA, jalan sukses adalah untuk masuk universitas ternama. Kalau mau ke luar negeri, ya cari beasiswa. Belajar ACT/SAT, ambil IELTS/TOEFL. Kalau mau sekolah negeri, ya daftar BTA. Ikut SBMPTN. Variabel sukses di kala itu sesimpel: Kapasitas otak + kemauan belajar = sukses masuk universitas. But it is not the same when you enter the professional world.

Back then, I thought there are only two variables that matter.

Firstly, pasti tentang gaji. Salary is one of the most important — if not THE most important variable we consider when choosing our first job. By all means, gue tidak menyalahkan orang-orang yang menentukan pilihan pekerjaan karena masalah gaji. Karena variabel ini memang penting. But I do regret the fact that a lot of people think that this is the only variable that matters.

That’s why I thought I was already smart enough to be able to distinguish the second variable, which is: jenjang karir. Percuma starting salary tinggi, kalau growth nya akan mentok disitu-situ aja. Not only about salary growth, tapi juga personal growth. Personally, gue akan cepat bosan kalau kerjaannya gitu-gitu aja. That is why I prioritize to find work that is not only financially rewarding, but also intellectually challenging.

However, after one year being a corporate slave — 3 internships, 2 fulltime jobs, multiple interviews and job offers, countless ghosted emails and 1 resignation letter later — I’ve grown, hopefully a little wiser. Ternyata, dua variabel di atas itu nggak cukup. Ada variabel-variabel lain yang awalnya nggak terlihat (at least for me), tapi ternyata sama pentingnya.

Variabel ketiga yang ternyata penting adalah company culture. Truth be told, I used to scoff over this variable for its abstract nature. Gue paling heran kalau nanya ke HR alasan penolakan, terus jawabannya adalah “kurang culture fit.” I used to think it was just personal bias glazed over with pretty words. Mungkin memang iya, but now I finally realize that most of the time, those HR people indeed has this weird, creepy conviction that just knows who is the right fit for the job, walaupun kadang-kadang hal ini tidak bisa dijelaskan.

But let’s try to be less annoying than saying “nggak culture fit”. Let’s try to define this third variable. Buat gue, ada dua aspek yang menggambarkan company culture. First, it’s the general way the company operates on certain things. Apakah orang-orang didalamnya cenderung communal alias kerja keroyokan atau individualist? Apakah mereka tipe yang super strict soal waktu, atau prefer flexibility a.k.a jam karet mampus? Apakah mereka lebih suka berkomunikasi secara terstruktur dan formal lewat email, atau dibombardir di Microsoft Teams? These are some of the most general (and seemingly unimportant) questions, tapi ternyata sangat, sangat penting. One can be smart, but that person will not be able to shine to their fullest potential if they are indeed… well… not culture fit (God, I hate having to use this phrase).

The second aspect of this variable is people supportiveness. Mungkin awalnya kita memang nggak cocok, but the support of the people can reverse the tides. Kalau bos dan rekan-rekan kerja kita akomodatif, sabar, dan menghargai proses — pasti kita bisa mengusahakan untuk beradaptasi. But on the contrary, they could also worsen the situation. Sayangnya, inilah yang sering terjadi. Bukannya dibimbing supaya kita bisa menyesuaikan diri pelan-pelan ke cara bekerja satu tim dan perusahaan, malah dimaki-maki, diomongin di belakang, atau dibanding-bandingkan dengan rekan kerja lainnya yang berujung membuat lingkungan kerja makin toxic. Akhirnya makin nggak happy, makin nggak perform, dan makin… nggak culture fit (kesel ga? wkwk).

The fourth and last variable yang ternyata penting adalah passion. Again, I used to scoff over this particular variable because I thought only the privileged can pursue their so-called “passion”. Buat orang-orang kelas menengah, yang penting adalah bagaimana kita bisa mengisi sejengkal perut kita, alias nggak ada waktu untuk mikirin soal passion. Turns out, I couldn’t be more wrong.

Not gonna lie, I still couldn’t say with conviction that I’ve found my passion, or if I will even have any. Tapi yang gue tahu pasti dari pengalaman kerja terakhir, we need to at least have a tiny bit of excitement doing the job. That excitement will help you learn, and that learning process will lead you to success. Sederhananya, minat belajar dan sukses itu berbanding lurus. Semakin besar minat belajar kita, maka semakin sukseslah kita di tempat kerja. So no matter where you work, find that tiny spark of excitement on the job.

Terlepas dari penjabaran super panjang tentang variabel-variabel di tempat kerja versi gue, at the end of the day, it is still not the ultimate formula of success. You can have all four, but still remain unhappy (kurang bersyukur sih, kalau ini). Tapi semua orang memang punya variabel-variabel nya sendiri untuk membentuk formula kesuksesan masing-masing, and rightfully so.

Tulisan ini dibuat untuk membantu gue (dan mungkin juga kalian yang kebetulan baca) untuk mengevaluasi. Mengevaluasi kalau ternyata kita kurang bersyukur dan terlalu fokus di satu variabel yang kurang, sampai lupa variabel-variabel penting lainnya. Atau bisa jadi, mengevaluasi kalau ternyata kita emang nggak cocok, dan itu nggak apa-apa. At the end of the day, it’s not the company’s fault, and probably neither it is yours. Indeed, you cannot ask the company to fit you, as you work for them. But in return, they also shouldn’t force you to conform and lose yourself in the process. Sometimes, walking out is the best option. And sometimes, it is probably best to give it another shot.

There is no such thing as the perfect formula of success. Cheers to each and every one of us striving to craft our own.