Step by Step Career

Your career starts when you step in the university for the first time. Instead of leaving your career planning to the last year or till after graduation, if you start doing it from the first day on, you will have enough knowledge to give your life the right orientation after your graduation. Now, let’s have a look at things you have to do every year during your studies at the university.

The Preparatory Class

You come to university, you will be studying in a preparatory class. You have to know that this year is very important, too.

Pay attention to your attendance. If you exceed the attendance limitations, it may cause you to lose time in your university life.

Always think about the fact that throughout your university life, English will be the language of your studies and if you want to be successful in your subjects, knowing English very well is always a precondition. During the preparatory year you get the best chance to improve your English.

Remember that many companies consider proficiency in English not as a plus point but as an obligation while evaluating job applications.

During your preparatory year get in touch with third and fourth year students and get some information about your department and get prepared for the first class.

First Class

Participate in the Personality Evaluation Inventory, because the first class is the appropriate time for the first phase of the career training: Get to know yourself.

Think about the fact that in the resume you’ll prepare in the future, you will want to mention your grade averages proudly and during applications for postgraduate studies your grade averages are an important criterion. Participate in your classes accordingly and take notes.

In your free times, follow the organizations in the university and if possible, participate in them personally. Take part in Students’ Clubs that you find interesting and slowly, begin to make use of the opportunities of leadership.

You have followed your subjects for a year and you have started to get to know your field of study. You have passed all your exams in the first class. If you consider to change your department, the summer at the end of first year is the best time to apply. While doing so, it is better for you to consult with your academic supervisor, the experts at the Career Orientation Centre and the upper class students of the departments where you would like to study in.

If you would like to have a double major, the summer right after the first year is the perfect time for it.

If you are content with your department, the summer after the first class can be an appropriate time to do your job training. Prefer job trainings where you will have a place in a Project.

The Second Class

Get informed about writing a resume, look into sample resumes and prepare a resume for yourselves. If you have finished your job training, add the information about the projects you have done during your job training to your resume.

Participate in Career Days and seminars about different careers.

If you have had a job training in the first year, you can have a job training in the second year in the same company or you can look for another company. Follow the job training adds that the Career Orientation Centre is going to send to your university mail address.

Look into summer schools.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to be a leader so far, it is high time you did. Try to get a position as a leader in academic groups, students’ clubs, organizations in the campus and in voluntary activities.

The Third Class

This is the time to ask oneself the question: ‘Am I going to proceed with my postgraduate studies or get into business life?’ Start your research for departments and universities if you want to proceed with postgraduate studies or look into different jobs and firms if you want to get into the business life.

Continue following the job training adds that are sent by the Career Orientation Centre to your university mail address and do definitely a job training in summer. Keep it on mind that the summer after the third class is your last opportunity to do a job training. While determining the company where you will have your job training in the summer right after your third class give priority to the companies where you would like to work after your graduation. That way you can establish your first professional relationships through your job training and you can get a better opportunity to be able to work for one particular company after graduation.

Participate in the Career Days and seminars about your career.

In order to obtain certificates related to your department which you may benefit fromin your business life, do what is necessary to get educated or study yourselves and take the exams. These certificates will help you a lot later when you start to look a job.

To apply for an undergraduate transfer or a double major the summer after the second class is your last chance. Keep that on mind and make your final decision.

The Fourth Class

If you haven’t been able to find an answer to the question: ‘Am I going to proceed with my post graduate studies or am I going to get into business life?’ yet, it is the appropriate time now to make your decision. In accordance with your decision complete your researches.

Make a list of countries, universities and departments where you would like to have your postgraduate studies. Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages while you are determining it. Obtain letters of recommendation from the academicians to send them to the companies where you are applying for a job. Take the ALES exam and one of the foreign language exams ÜDS, KPDS or TOEFL which you’ll need for your postgraduate studies.

Participate in the Career Days and seminars about careers. If one of the companies that come to these seminars interests you, send them your job application.

Make a list of the companies you’d like to work for.

And finally… You have already graduated!!! It is time to use all the experience you have gathered. What can you do, now?

If you have applied for postgraduate studies and if your application has been approved, you can apply for a position as an ‘assistant’ in the university where you will have your postgraduate studies so that you can work at the same time while going on  with your education and maybe proceed towards an academic path. You may also prefer to get into business life and do your postgraduate studies at the same time, but, in this case, you have to plan your working hours and class hours very meticulously.

If you decide to get into business life, you need a well-prepared resume. You already have a resume in your hand that was prepared for your job training applications, but now that you have already graduated, you have to check and complete it again.

Try not to make language mistakes in your resume. As a person who has just graduated it will be enough for you to prepare a simple one-page resume. It would also be good for you to give an interesting title to your resume which will attract the readers’ attention and give the employer the idea that he’ll profit from your employment. However, don’t write anything that’s unreal and do not add any technical information which you cannot prove in your resume which you cannot clarify during your job interview.

Your resume is ready; It’s time to look for a job now.

The first thing to start effort this matter is that there is no ‘perfect job’. To choose the most suitable work for the features of your goal and your hopes, in which you will be happy. The other important thing is that no job would come to you, but you would have to go and look for it. List the corporations that you want to work for, and then apply to the human resources of those corporations with a striking preface and a CV. Particularly, prefer the corporations which employ new graduates and present them special training programs.

Consider yourself as a ‘product’, and the process of searching for a job as ‘the campaign for marketing the product’. In this context, in what way you present the product is very significant. It would make a big difference for you to go to the interviews self-confident and with utmost care. However, with self-confident, we mean not to state higher expectations than it should be and not to behave like a snob. It means to express in what ways you can contribute to the firm and to present your positive ways.

You may emphasize the other ways to show that the product which they will buy is ‘useful’ by thinking that human resources experts are customers. One of those ways is to skim part-time, training and short-term job announcements. Most people start working as a full time worker if they show great performance after starting to work like this. The other way is to start studying before the interview. For example, if you are going to position for sale, analyze the corporation, find out the potential customers and present ideas. If you listen to the advices that we present in this essay and use your creativity, you can take one pace forward to your rivals.

You have found a job and started working. What will you do in order to be successful?

• It is very significant to prove and make yourself admit in the job you started working as a new graduate. Take this as a priority.
• Carefully observe the spirit of the corporation and working system. Try to comprehend it.
• Do not ever behave your working partners as you are higher than them hierarchically even though you might be their supervisors. Try to keep your relations good. Remember that you can always learn something from the experiences of each.
• Attempt to be a beneficial person for the company using your creativity. One who is always beneficial for the company will always be rewarded.