Graduate Reflections: Working at Hacettepe University

by Nihan Yılmaz

Hello everyone, I am a graduate of the 2012 class. I am currently working at Hacettepe University, School of Foreign Languages. I’ve been working here for 2 years. To begin with, I want to say that I was one of you, reading some other people’s lives with a huge sigh like “Oh God I want that too!”. The biggest rule is: NEVER LOSE HOPE! I know it sounds like a cliché, but I experienced it first-hand. I had applied over 10 universities before I got admitted to Hacettepe and I was rejected by all of them! I was desperate because I hadn’t got a job in 6 months after graduation. You never know how it feels like not to be able to see my name on the lists! Although my ALES and YDS score were quite high, I couldn’t manage to get through the interviews somehow. But I didn’t give up. I prepared for the interviews. The most important thing I learned is: ALWAYS DRESS UP. No matter what they say, people DO care about other people’s clothes. Girls, dress up and put on make-up. Guys, wear a suit and tie. Smile and look confident. Don’t look as if you were dying for that job (even if you actually were). Try to answer the possible questions before the interview. For example, create good answers to the questions: “Why should we hire you?”, or “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”. Use every good thing you did. For example talk about your Work and Travel experiences or Erasmus experiences, if you have any.

There are lots of things to say, but now I want to move on to the atmosphere here. As this is my first “teaching” atmosphere, I cannot compare it well to other institutions, but I can say that things can easily change in Hacettepe, you may be teaching 30 hours a week in one semester and then work at the Exam Preparation Office. You never know. But I think it might be good thing. Working at Hacettepe taught me how to be cautious and get prepared for the worst. Therefore, I cannot say clear-cut things about how it feels like to be here, it changes, some people are happy but some are very unhappy here, like in every other institution. To sum up, never lose hope, believe that you will be admitted to the institution you want, and be ready for bad things all the time!

Good luck and kolay gelsin! N.Y