<![CDATA[Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan menguji hubungan antara motivasi kerja dan kesiapan kerja pada mahasiswa di wilayah penyangga Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), yaitu Penajam Paser Utara, Kutai Kartanegara, Balikpapan, dan Samarinda. Penelitian menggunakan desain korelasional dengan pendekatan kuantitatif. Sebanyak 125 mahasiswa aktif (usia 18–22 tahun; perempuan 84,8%; laki-laki 15,2%) direkrut melalui teknik non probability sampling jenis snowball sampling. Sebaran domisili partisipan adalah Samarinda 65,6%, Kutai Kartanegara 15,2%, Penajam Paser Utara 13,6%, dan Balikpapan 5,6%. Data dikumpulkan menggunakan dua skala Likert, yaitu skala kesiapan kerja yang diadaptasi dari Work Readiness Scale (Caballero et al., 2011; Walker et al., 2015) dan skala motivasi kerja yang diadaptasi dari kerangka Thang dan Nghi (2022). Data dianalisis menggunakan uji korelasi Kendall's tau-b karena data tidak berdistribusi normal. Hasil menunjukkan hubungan positif yang signifikan antara motivasi kerja dan kesiapan kerja (r = 0,432; p < 0,001), yang mengindikasikan bahwa mahasiswa dengan motivasi kerja lebih tinggi cenderung melaporkan kesiapan kerja yang lebih tinggi pula. Temuan ini mendukung pentingnya penguatan motivasi kerja dalam pendidikan tinggi sebagai salah satu upaya mempersiapkan mahasiswa di wilayah penyangga IKN memasuki dunia kerja. Kata Kunci: motivasi kerja, kesiapan kerja, mahasiswa. Abstract This study aims to examine the relationship between work motivation and work readiness among students in the buffer zones of the Indonesian Capital City (IKN), namely North Penajam Paser, Kutai Kartanegara, Balikpapan, and Samarinda. The study used a correlational design with a quantitative approach. A total of 125 active students (aged 18–22 years; female 84.8%; male 15.2%) were recruited through a nonprobability snowball sampling technique. The domicile distribution of participants was Samarinda 65.6%, Kutai Kartanegara 15.2%, North Penajam Paser 13.6%, and Balikpapan 5.6%. Data were collected using two Likert scales: a work readiness scale adapted from the Work Readiness Scale (Caballero et al., 2011; Walker et al., 2015) and a work motivation scale adapted from the Thang and Nghi (2022) framework. Data were analyzed using Kendall's tau-b correlation test because the data were not normally distributed. The results show a significant positive relationship between work motivation and work readiness (r = 0.432; p < 0.001), indicating that students with higher work motivation tend to report higher work readiness. This finding supports the importance of strengthening work motivation in higher education as a means of preparing students in the buffer zone of the new capital city to enter the workforce. Keywords: work motivation, work readiness, college students. ]]>
