What five adjectives describe you best?
Persistent
I am someone who is very focused and determined to get the results in spite of difficulties.
Reliable and Trustworthy
My loyalty can be relied upon, and I will not disappoint you. I follow the ethics of the organisation.
Punctual and Hard-working
I’m very punctual. I always arrive at work on time. You can count on me to get the work done on time. I’m diligent person. I’m good at applying myself to tasks.
Team Player
I am someone who works as a real team-player. I’m happy to collaborate with other people on projects. I bring the best out of the people I work with and I always do what is best for the company.
Friendly and easy-going
I pride myself in being friendly and easy-going person, because I believe it is important. My communication with people is good especially with my supervisor and with my colleagues.
Why are you the best candidate for this position?
I am confident that;
*working at the heart of NATO in Brussels Belgium as an Administrative Assistant for 3 years,
*being more than 25 different countries,
*studying European Union in Belgium,
*being part of Jean Monnet Evaluation Committee,
*in addition to English knowing French and
*my educational background
would make great contribution to your team and the goal of your organisation.
I am quite sure that I will make a significant contribution to the success of your organisation by using my experience from my past job.
I’m confident that Council of European is right place to use my language skills, to use my 10 year NATO experience, to use my 24 year Army experience, to use my educational background
I believe that that I would bring many unique qualities to your company and provide many opportunities for improvement. You can confirm with my references that I improved success at my last place of employment, and I believe I can provide similar results here.
Why did you retire or resign at early ages?
If you have any doubt, any hesitation about my early voluntary retirement after serving 24 years of active duty in the Turkish Army as a Sergeant Major, I can clarify why I did this.
Officers and NCO’s who remain on active duty for a sufficient period of time (a minimum 20 years) in the Army may retire. After retirement, we receive OYAK pension which is a fund of the Turkish Armed Forces immediately. But we need to wait a few years to get regular retirement pension. For me, I have served in the Army for 24 years and just 1,5 year left to have right to get Government regular retirement pension.
I joined the military school at early ages after my middle school. If I include 4-year military school. I had been in the Army for 28 years. It is a long time. I was alone when I started of my career. But now I am not alone. I have a family. Every 3 or 4 years we used to move from one city to another city. My daughters are grown up anymore. We were fed up moving and we decided to settle down in Ankara for out kids’ education. This was my first motivation.
Second one, There is no post where you can use your international background and language skills for a Sergeant Major (the highest NCO rank) in the Turkish Army. I would like to transfer my job background and language skills to international platform.
Why should I consider you for this position?
Before I applied this job, I read the job description carefully to ensure I meet all the criteria. When I checked the eligibility requirements of this job; qualifications, experience, language requirements, nationality and age, I noticed that all apply to me. It was my dream to work in international organization. Read the notice carefully to ensure you meet all the criteria before applying.
Tell me about the one thing in your life you’re proudest of.
Working and living abroad with your family for 3 years is not easy for an officer and NCO in the Army. You got 2-3 percent chances of being successful in the long-term examination. This long-term examination starts from English language proficiency test administrated by ÖSYM, listening exam administrated by Turkish Armed Forces and evaluation reports prepared by supervisors. I managed to succeed this exam at 6th time. I was persistent and focused and determined to get the results in spite of difficulties.
Tell me about your greatest strengths..
I think one of my greatest strengths is as a problem solver. I have the ability to see a situation from different perspectives and I can get my work done even in the face of difficult obstacles. I also feel that my communication skills are great. Because, I’m a patient person by nature, but when it comes to working with different people, I always put myself in the other person’s position and treat them the way I’d want to be treated. I recognise the importance of a strong team and am dedicated to giving my staff members guidance and training to further their careers and contribute positively to a cohesive working environment.”
Is there anything that will prevent you from getting to work on time?
Punctuality is a very important part of military life. It is Important for a soldier to be on time in the Turkish Army. Turkish Army has a habit of wanting you to show up on time for work, formation, drill and the other functions of soldiering.
What interests you most about this position?
Working in international organization, Being able to use language skills,
What do you do when you have a great deal of work to accomplish in a short period of time?
I would maintain a positive outlook and utilize my organizational skills to develop a plan of action. Even if my tasks seemed unachievable, I would buckle down and figure out the best approach to completing the tasks. I would start by organizing the tasks from most important to least, and then I would begin working on the most important task. If there were any tasks I could delegate to other capable individuals, I would not be afraid to ask for assistance.”
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I am driven to be the best at what I do and I want to work somewhere where I’ll have opportunities to develop my skills, take on interesting projects, and work with people I can really learn from. Some of the most innovative thinkers in the industry work here and that’s a big reason why I would love to build a career here.”
“My goal right now is to find a position at a company where I can grow and take on new challenges over time. Ultimately, I’d like to assume more management responsibilities and get involved in product strategy. But most importantly, I want to work for an organization where I can build a career.”
What do you do when you have a problem with your boss?
“I’m a very honest and open person. So anytime I have a problem with my boss, I always let him or her know. When I have a problem with my boss, I don’t like to keep it bottled up. I want to resolve problems so I can work efficiently without distractions. So I always talk to my manager about the problems that I have openly.” In this situation I ask myself why I’m having the problem.I will first identify it, after that i will work on solving the problem. It will help me to be more efficient in my work. Make sure your boss is in “receive” mode.
The Turkish Army is a great opportunity for us to develop some skills that are necessary for working life. I learned leadership skills, how to work under pressure.It provided an opportunity to travel the globe and work along side people of diverse ethic and religious backgrounds. Being in the army for the long time could be physically and mentally tiring sometimes but the sense of defending your country is great.
Do you have a valid passport?
I have had a kind of passports so far. From 2007 to 2010, I had diplomatic passport. When I went to Lebanon on TDY in 2011, I owned a 5-year green passport. At the end of 2016, it is expired. As soon as I got your interview invitation, I applied to renew it in the system and I got an appointment on 28th May.
How do you define teamwork?
Teamwork means that a group of people put ego to the side and work together to meet our objectives for mutual success.
Do you function more effectively as a team member or as an individual contributor?
I certainly very much enjoy working with others; I’m outgoing, I enjoy the team spirit and I’m understanding of the needs of others. I’m good at helping the team to see the bigger picture – to see the wood from the trees – helping them to focus on what really matters rather than getting bogged down in irrelevant detail. I’m also good at helping the team to spot flaws in our approach – and potential problems and pitfalls. I believe I have strong communication skills and, while I don’t yet have experience in a leadership role, I do have a talent for liaising between different team members and resolving any disputes which may arise. Conflict between different team members is rarely very productive and is normally best avoided.
I am in my early 40s. Being soldier for a long time kept me young.
If you have any doubt and any hesitation about what I have said during this interview, as my retirement process has just finished, you have chance to speak with my supervisors and colleagues in Ankara.
If I get this title, I will be honoured to use this title in this international organisation instead of in any universities in Turkey.
