I am Turkish born and raised in Istanbul. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Education awarded by Marmara University. I speak Turkish, English and French. My goal is to obtain a degree in HR Management and to become an HR Consultant.

 I was employed for several years by a private company, initially as a teacher in French Language and was subsequently selected to undertake administrative and management work involving the recruitment, training and assessment of teaching staff.  It soon became clear to me that the company lacked HR expertise. It was apparent to me that some obvious problems such as staff dissatisfaction and the poor matching of individuals to specific duties needed addressing. I therefore set out to acquire an understanding of basic HR concepts and techniques in an effort to offer solutions for the problems that I had indentified. My success in assisting the company, and the individuals involved, with these matters encouraged me to undertake further informal study of HR and fired an interest in this subject which has increased with time. I came to understand that lack of good HR management is not only commercially damaging but leads to personal harm to the individuals employed by companies lacking such expertise.

 The first thing that struck me in my informal studies was the close relationship between the skills and knowledge applied in HR and those I had already acquired in my teacher training and in my work. Both call for motivational and communication skills, flexibility, observational skills, the need to relate well to people from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds and the identification of training needs, amongst many other similarities.

 Because of my involvement in management, I have become much more interested in HR than in following a teaching career. I initially decided that I would extend my informal studies and seek employment in this field. However, I now understand that in order to obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to become a really useful and successful specialist in this field, formal study at an advanced level is absolutely necessary.

 I am fascinated by the complexity of human behaviour. For instance, as a student in Paris, I was employed in restaurants as a waitress and acquired the skill, common in that line of work, of being able to establish the level of customer satisfaction from non-verbal signals. The understanding of non-verbal communication has fascinated me since that time and, in my teaching and later in my management role, I have sought to extend and use this skill which I believe to be extremely useful. I believe that I also have other characteristics and experiences that will enable me to succeed in the course and later in my work. I am aware that in environment of the growing ‘global economy’, sensitivity to other cultures is absolutely necessary. I am widely travelled especially in Europe and the Middle East including long stays in both Paris and London and have an understanding of several different cultures. I am academically able, intellectually curious, diligent and eager to expand my knowledge of HR.

I am particularly interested in research in the areas of motivational techniques and the management of change from an HR perspective. Whilst I am aware that there will be many well qualified applicants for the course, I genuinely believe that I am an excellent candidate because of my deep interest in the subject and I undertake to work enthusiastically and diligently in order to excel within the course.