My goal, upon finishing my graduate studies, was to obtain a position in a large corporation. I received and accepted an offer from Koc Holding, a diversified conglomerate, and began my professional career as a project engineer at the company’s Energy and Environment group headquarters. I believe that the same perseverance and determination that enabled me to attain these goals will allow me to contribute my unique background to XXX’s dynamic student body. In addition, I will share with my fellow students my unusual experiences, such as founding an Environment Club while at college, while drawing on my proven ability to motivate others towards a common goal.
I have also acquired specific, practical skills that will allow me to pool my resources with those of fellow students. I am quite skillful with several software applications (including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). At my company, I am often asked to prepare presentations at meetings. Although we have information center at the headquarters, coworkers frequently come to me first when they encounter problems with their PCs.
My adaptability skills come in handy even in the workplace: I have learned to function smoothly despite unpredictable social, economic, and cultural conditions. During the process of energy privatization, I played a crucial role in my company’s new line of business regarding lignite-fired thermal power plants. I have worked both on the environmental end and on the legislative and economic ends of those projects in order to gain a “big picture” of privatization. The insight that these experiences have given me into unpredictable emerging market issues — and especially the energy sector privatization in Turkey — has proved invaluable and I look forward to sharing it with my classmates.
Over the course of these experiences, I have worked with many different people, which has strengthened my communication skills. I am able to express myself well by adapting my communication style to specific people or audiences. I have no doubt that these abilities will come in useful in moderating group discussions or disagreements. After all, as a successful project engineer, I have represented my company at various meetings in London, Germany, and the United States — a range of experiences rather unusual for someone in his first years at a Turkish company.
The Case Study method used at XXX School may pose new challenges for some candidates; I, however, became familiar with this method during my professional certificate program. By investigating each case from multiple perspectives, I discovered (and subsequently applied) several successful strategies, including active participation and thorough preparation. I believe my experiences will be very helpful to my classmates.
In addition to this unusual work background and energetic disposition, I will be bringing to the campus a strong taste for, and vast experience with, leadership roles.
In 1997, for example, the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources tendered the transfer of the operating rights of Kangal — a lignite-fired, 450-megawatt thermal power plant — to a consortium comprised of Koc Holding A.S., Demir Export A.S., NRG Energy, Peabody Holding Company and Egem Energy A.S.. My work on this pioneering energy privatization project is my greatest professional achievement to date.
Our energy and environment group has handled the development of this energy business project. I started working within the environmental task team formed by the consortium members early on in the project. Our main task has been to establish the scope of environmental activities for which the consultants would tender. Due to my technical expertise in environmental issues, the coordination of refurbishment activities has become my main responsibility. Specifically, my duties have included defining the current environmental status of the plant and the surrounding area as well as defining the areas requiring refurbishment; obtaining required documentation and permission from the Turkish Electricity Authority; interviewing on-site personnel and providing Turkish-English translations; organizing consultant work schedules, accommodations, and transportation; gathering information and creating presentations to consortium members in London and Istanbul; and attending meetings with lenders comprised of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the World Bank.
In order to effectively attain these goals, I have had to combine several managerial skills, hard work, thorough analysis, careful planning, timely response, and the ability to lead and motivate co-workers, increasing people’s awareness of environmental issues.
Because I have been able to achieve these duties, my colleagues and supervisors have placed a great deal of trust in me. As a result, I am now delegated to work on several aspects of the project, including legislative and financial issues. I have become one of the contact people and company representatives in internal and external meetings among consortium members and investment institutions