FROM CAMPUS TO CAREER: HOW INTERNSHIP, SKILLS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXPOSURE SHAPE WORK READINESS - Turangan, Joyce; Herwindiati, Dyah Erny; Muis, Mahlia (Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat, Universitas Tarumanagara, 2025)
Di tengah persaingan pasar kerja yang semakin ketat, kesiapan kerja lulusan perguruan tinggi menjadi isu penting yang perlu mendapatkan perhatian. Berbagai penelitian sebelumnya mengenai faktor-faktor yang memengaruhi kesiapan kerja menunjukkan hasil yang belum konsisten, khususnya terkait peran soft skills, pengalaman magang, dan pengalaman organisasi. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh ketiga variabel tersebut terhadap kesiapan kerja mahasiswa tingkat akhir di Jakarta. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan teknik purposive sampling. Sebanyak 150 responden yang terdiri dari mahasiswa tingkat akhir dan lulusan baru berpartisipasi melalui kuesioner daring. Analisis data dilakukan dengan SmartPLS 4.1.1.2 melalui dua tahapan, yaitu pengujian outer model untuk menguji validitas dan reliabilitas, serta inner model untuk menilai hubungan antarvariabel, R², dan uji hipotesis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ketiga variabel independent, yaitu pengalaman magang, soft skills, dan pengalaman organisasi berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap kesiapan kerja. Di antara ketiganya, soft skills memiliki pengaruh paling dominan dengan koefisien jalur sebesar 0.520, menunjukkan bahwa kompetensi non-teknis menjadi faktor utama dalam membentuk kesiapan kerja. Nilai R² sebesar 0.828 mengindikasikan bahwa 82,8% variasi kesiapan kerja dapat dijelaskan oleh model penelitian ini. Kebaruan penelitian ini terletak pada integrasi simultan ketiga variabel tersebut ke dalam satu model prediktif, sehingga mampu memberikan gambaran lebih komprehensif mengenai faktor-faktor yang memengaruhi kesiapan kerja. Temuan ini juga memberikan rekomendasi praktis bagi perguruan tinggi untuk memperkuat pembelajaran berbasis pengalaman dan pengembangan soft skills dalam kurikulum akademik guna meningkatkan daya saing lulusan. In today’s increasingly competitive job market, graduate work readiness has emerged as a pressing issue for higher education institutions. Previous studies on the determinants of work readiness have often reported inconsistent findings, particularly regarding the roles of internships, soft skills, and organizational experience. Addressing this gap, the present study aims to investigate the combined influence of these three factors on the work readiness of final-year university students in Jakarta. A quantitative research design was employed using purposive sampling, with data collected from 150 respondents consisting of final-year students and recent graduates through online questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using SmartPLS 4.1.1.2, involving outer model testing to establish validity and reliability, and inner model testing to examine structural relationships, coefficient of determination (R²), and hypothesis testing. The findings reveal that internship experience, soft skills, and organizational experience all have a positive and significant effect on work readiness. Among these, soft skills emerged as the most dominant factor with a path coefficient of 0.520, indicating that interpersonal competencies and self-management abilities are critical for graduate preparedness. Furthermore, the R² value of 0.828 suggests that 82.8% of the variance in work readiness can be explained by the three predictors combined. The novelty of this study lies in its simultaneous integration of internships, soft skills, and organizational experience into a single predictive model, offering a more comprehensive perspective on student employability. These results provide actionable implications for universities, emphasizing the need to strengthen experiential learning opportunities and systematically embed soft skill development into academic curricula to better equip graduates for professional challenges.