Finding the right fit
The Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) gives students an in-depth understanding of the communications industry with the opportunity to specialise in advertising, public relations or digital communication.
For Raffa, the best part of the degree was learning how each of these fields come together to complement each other.
“In this day and age every single communications discipline is interwoven, everything is interconnected,” he said.
“So if you’re studying journalism, you need to know how to pitch and that’s where public relations comes in, and you need to know how to create short-form videos on TikTok and that’s where media comes into it.”
Career take-off
After graduating in 2022, Raffa found a job within RMIT’s communications team and this experience gave him a closer look at the inner workings of the media industry.
“I had the privilege to work with two amazing colleagues so they basically made press releases and news stories coming out of RMIT University, for example research about plants on the moon or coffee in concrete.
“I really got to see how it played out, from our pitch to various news sites and to see the impact of how they tell the story of the news and I kind of saw how journalism worked there.”
The experience also gave Raffa a new perspective on storytelling and with it, an ambition to be a journalist.
A year on from his graduation, his role at the ABC sees him converting stories on to digital media platforms to reach a new generation of news consumers.
“News is very different to what it was 20 years ago and I feel like a lot of younger audiences consume the news through social media, so it’s not just creating stories anymore,” he said.
“It’s also about tackling the right audiences on the right platforms. So it’s my job to tell those stories and bring them to the right people.”
The new job has so far proved ideal for Raffa, who has a strong connection to the news and current affairs in his home country. He hopes to go back to Indonesia in the future and work in the communications industry there, but said the beauty of his skills could see his career lead him in new directions.
“I never knew I wanted to do journalism - it’s been an ever-changing journey for me,” Raffa said.
“I’m not sure where I’ll be in a few years’ time. Maybe I’ll move to a different industry or maybe I’ll be studying a master’s.
“But I know from what I’ve studied - the soft skills, the connections, all of the little things - all of my skills in university will still be really beneficial and have paved the way for everything that’s about to come.”
From uni to the workforce
Even with the best industry-led learning, the leap from a lecture hall into a workplace can be daunting for a new graduate, but Raffa’s advice is to embrace the learning opportunity.
“You essentially will be learning everything from zero again and that’s okay,” Raffa said.
“Be prepared to learn again, despite just graduating, because every company has their own way of working.
“There will be different clients that you’ll be handling and you’ll be collaborating with different workmates all the time. It’s funny how life is a big circle of learning new things then implementing it and learning from that experience and so on and so forth.”
His advice for students is to let their natural passions and interests lead the way.
“I think I would also say to not be confined to your major,” he said.
“If you studied engineering, that doesn’t mean you can’t apply for a job in communications. Uni preps you with all kinds of skills that I believe you can insert into any industry.
“Be crazy and apply to a position that you are passionate about. As long as you have a passion, it can take you anywhere.”
Story: Kate Jones
