Angelin shares her experience working in the US, her transition to Amazon, and her insights on career growth abroad.
For many Indonesians, building a career overseas is both an exciting opportunity and a significant challenge. Angelin Chisa Prayitno, a Bali-born professional, has successfully navigated the corporate world in the United States, preparing to join Amazon in 2025. In this interview, she shares her journey, the cultural adjustments she had to make, and her aspirations for the future—both abroad and in Indonesia.
Hi, Angelin! Our readers would like to know about you. Could you introduce yourself?
Hi, Indonesia Expat! Thank you for having me! My name is Angelin Chisa Prayitno, I was born and raised in Bali. I moved to the US for college in 2011 and have been going back and forth to Indonesia ever since (be it for good or for vacation).
I obtained my MBA from George Washington University back in 2021 and upon graduation, immediately accepted a job offer at InvestingChannel as their Account Manager. We worked alongside other financial publications and marketing agencies to serve major US financial institutions to assist them with their niche digital marketing efforts.
I got promoted to a Senior Account Manager position in January 2024, and with their relentless support (plus my educational background), I was able to secure a lottery-based H1B visa for the next 6 years.
I’m now nestling well in DC and will be joining Amazon as their Account Executive in the beauty products department starting February 2025.
Can you share a bit about your journey—what motivated you to work abroad, and why did you choose to work at Amazon in the United States?
My motivation has always been the opportunity to explore new possibilities and to integrate my Indonesian background/problem-solving skills into the Western work culture. Here in the US, we are encouraged to be critical, to respectfully challenge the status quo, to cross boundaries in clever ways where we reach a true win-win solution, and finally, to be client-centric where we reach the fundamental core of what our clients’ need without compromising the company’s needs, essentially bridging communication and level expectations from both parties through all cultural differences.
I thrive in an environment where I have the cushion, support, and liberty to be as creative as I can while receiving timely unfiltered, critical, and constructive feedback. Hence, I am grateful to the companies I worked for in the past 6 years for giving me exactly that and then some. Now that I am equipped with all these skills, I’m ready to take on more challenges and discover more career opportunities with Amazon.
Is your family and friends still in Indonesia? If so, how do you stay connected to them while living in the US?
Yes! My loved ones are predominantly based in Indonesia. Thanks to technology, they are only fingertips away. I get to call them whenever I need to talk and catch up on life. I am also quite active on my social media and they all know where I am even when I’m on DND.
Can you describe your future job at Amazon? How did your studies prepare you for this role?
In this upcoming role, I will be working closely with eCommerce accounts, helping them unlock new levels of growth and expand their business capabilities. By introducing offerings from Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to pioneering advertising solutions, I will assist in exponentially increasing sales agility for new and existing seller-customers.
Honestly, every single class/study from my MBA equipped me for the role. I was not keen on the idea of networking and making small talk after class. However, I found it helpful whenever I felt nervous starting conversations with strangers or C-suite level executives in any type of setting. I am not always the most extroverted; hence, this skill comes in handy for the most part.
Likewise, although it may sound like an unconventional method to complement my soft skills, I can swear on the importance of taking AI classes. AI is practically probability and drawing conclusions based on a pool of datasets. This class taught me how to logically analyse a situation or a problem without getting my emotions in the way. I have gained so much credibility by merely laying off all prior prejudices and remaining critical when arriving at conclusions or providing recommendations.
I wholeheartedly believe that these two experiences combined would be the perfect setup to succeed.
What were the biggest challenges you faced as an Indonesian employee adjusting to the working culture in the US?
I said too many “sorry”s, felt bad asking for a favour and was scared to raise my hands when in doubt. For the longest time, I found myself getting into trouble for something that could be solved by simply being honest and pointing people in the right direction. It took years to unlearn old habits and to know my limits, as well as understand what boundaries truly mean.
I also felt uncomfortable expressing myself or starting discussions with my upper management, fearing that my words or actions would offend them. However, I soon realised that these issues don’t matter that much in the US. What matters are the weight of the topics, the depth of the prior research, and the solution-based conversations.
How has living and working abroad shaped your perspective on career growth and opportunities?
I have put more thought into my personal well-being. I know I am fundamentally a workaholic, so instead of working late to show my presence in the company, I work smart and efficiently. I put more focus on the results and removed a lot of the wishy-washy progress. I continued to look for companies that share similar work culture/values and have found myself making everything I touch a lot more efficient.
Do you see yourself returning to Indonesia in the future? If so, what would motivate that decision?
For sure! Indonesia is my home and I will always long for the day when I can finally come back and apply all these learnings. My motivation is simply finding fruitful opportunities and platforms, as well as being closer to my family.
What do you think the Indonesian government or private sector could do to attract talented Indonesians living abroad back home?
Definitely by providing a platform that is supportive or in line with the current generation. There are so many US graduates out there who are longing to be back home. However, many positions are undervalued or overlooked, and the pay is not as competitive as in the US (currency rates and living expenses considered).
It also does not hurt to have more transparency in the bureaucratic process, to be valued for what we are good at regardless of age, to know that our old days are well covered, and early retirement is on the table.
Are there specific policies or initiatives from the American government that you think Indonesia could adopt to support young professionals?
What I noticed the American government did a lot has been to promote financial literacy for the younger generation. Contrary to what people think, there are a number of youth from lower-income households who often face barriers to career training, and have limited resources and access to financial education and related knowledge. Therefore, these youth may be less able to achieve financial well-being. Since good credit scores are essential to start building adult life or to enter adulthood (buying cars, renting apartments, etc.), the US government is actively helping youth gain the abilities and training necessary to be successful when transitioning to adulthood.
I genuinely believe that adopting this initiative early on will also tremendously ease financial issues, especially impulsive shopping habits or following some bad financial advice on social media; which unfortunately has been the latest, most questionable, and “reliable” search engine of our time.
Finally, the protection of our well-being from the government is quite necessary. In a world where seniority is still heavily influencing people’s careers, we need protection against potential power abuse that comes from it. The government needs to be heavily involved in protecting youths from unreasonable expectations from their superiors and being unfairly compensated.
What advice would you give to other Indonesians considering working abroad?
Never say never. Always remember where we come from and always see it as leverage to be competitive in the job market. Do not feel discouraged by other people’s achievements or educational background regardless of their age. Focus on what we can bring to the table and the culture that runs in our blood.
Once we are ready, we can bring our knowledge back home so that other people who may not have been exposed to the other side of the world can adopt the positive sides of it. However, if we can’t find any companies back home that are ready to take us on, be brave enough to start by ourselves. It’s never too late nor too early to finally become the game changer in our country.