СФССС

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JANUARY 2018

NU CAC NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2018

In this issue:

Dear NU community and partners,

NU Career and Advising Center is happy to

present you the November issue of the monthly

Newsletter. In this issue you will find the

informative article for students applying to

graduate programs “How to Apply to Universities

Worldwide and Tips for Being Accepted in

2018”, highlights on the events organized by

CAC in October, information on Field Trips to the

plant of “Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering”

LLP and VEON (Beeline) company headquarter,

introducing our Partner of the month, rewarding

article for job seeking students: “Social media in

job hunting” and plans for November 2018.

Enjoy your reading!

How to Apply to Universities Worldwide and Tips for Being Accepted in 2018

By Yevgeniya Kim

You have reached the final decision to become an International student and are in the process of completing your application for a university abroad. The Career and Advising Center (CAC) has prepared important tips to increase your chance of being accepted to the universities that you dream about.

So do not stress out and consider our observations:

1. Be realistic and informed

Check and read the academic requirements carefully to figure out the probability of being accepted to the university. If you don’t have a clear idea, speak to international admissions staff and NU alumni to build up a picture of what is expected of you as an applicant and as a student.

2. Easier application process

Usually, you can apply through the website of the university directly and submit all the required documents or send them by post. In some countries, you can apply through a specific online platform that is easier to use and also gives you the possibility to apply to more universities at once. In the UK, if you apply for a postgraduate program, you can either submit all documents through the university’s own website, or through UKPASS system.

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JANUARY 2018

Graduate Application Advising

Application

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In Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany, you may have to go through a pre-application procedure and check the criteria of eligibility of your prior studies. Most EEA countries require an entrance examination which may be a written test, and depending on your study choice, you may have to additionally pass auditions or present a portfolio.

If your dream is to study in the U.S., the general recommendation is to start searching for a program at least two years before you intend to apply. Furthermore, it is best to contact the university advisors/officers one year before you submit all the documents.

Australia has set a helpful system to attract and help international students better understand the application procedure. Through UAC website, Australia provides education advisors/agents in all countries that will offer complete details and information about applying to a university to future international students. Moreover, through Qualifications Framework (AQF) for higher education in Australia, you can also have a clearer picture of the degree names and levels.

China has set an age limit when it comes to applying for a degree as follows: universities don’t accept students over 30 for a Bachelor’s degree and over 40 for a Master’s degree and a PhD.

3. Write your own motivation letter or SoP

Universities will require a motivation letter or SoP. You will find many examples on the internet on how a motivation letter should look like. However, it would be better for you to stand out a bit. So you should try to be as honest as possible, and share all your experiences that are connected to the academic requirements and your future study program.

4. After applying

Deadlines for submitting applications vary with different universities, so it is essential that you check carefully. Some applications deadlines are:

France between February and April

Germany July UK varies by university; some accept applications until summer; some popular courses

are full much earlier Canada varies by Semester (for e.g. July for September admission; November for January

admission) USA mostly December Singapore from November to May for various Intakes

Once you have hit the big red button on all your applications, the waiting game begins. For some universities there will be interviews at the second stage of the application process, but if not you’ll have to sit tight until decisions are announced.

After that, the decision is largely in your hands. If you are applying internationally, now is the time to prepare your visa application, and if you have yet to sort out funding, it is well worth looking into your options.

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Graduate Application Advising

When visa, funding and confirming your place are all sorted, the only thing left is to stock up on stationery, review any reading lists and prepare for the next adventure.

Some observations from students:

Make sure you’re applying for the course, not the university

Too many students pick their university choices based on the university itself and not the course they’re going to be studying, and this will rarely end well. I knew that UCL would allow me to specialise in Human Geography after my first year, and had a strong Politics and Government research strand which matched my interests. There’s nothing worse than picking a course and then realising that your favourite subjects from A-Level are nowhere to be seen in it.

Don’t obsess over finding the ‘best’ university

When I was applying I spent a disproportionate amount of time looking at university league tables, working out which was the best university I could possibly go to, and it wasn't helpful. Since being at university I've learnt that league tables rely heavily on a measure of research output, so they are not directly evaluating my university experience. If you’re going to look in detail at a metric, make it student satisfaction scores – you want to go to a university and study a course where current students are happy. You’ll realize there’s more to life than statistics (unless you study Statistics…) and prestige, and you’ll gain the most from a university where you enjoy studying and living.

Laura Warner Laura is a student from Sussex, entertaining and enduring the London life. She studied a geography degree at UCL,

and is now doing a teacher training course at the University of East London.

Five examples of Oxford University interview questions 1. Modern languages (French): What makes a novel or play ‘political’? 2. Medicine: About 1 in 4 deaths in the UK is due to some form of cancer, yet in the Philippines the figure is only around 1 in 10. What factors might underlie this difference? 3. PPE (philosophy courses): What exactly do you think is involved in blaming someone? 4. Maths: Imagine a ladder leaning against a vertical wall with its feet on the ground. The middle rung of the ladder has been painted a different colour on the side, so that we can see it when we look at the ladder from the side on. What shape does that middle rung trace out as the ladder falls to the floor? 5. Experimental psychology: A large study appears to show that older siblings consistently score higher than younger siblings on IQ tests. Why would this be?

Carly Minsky She has an undergraduate degree in physics and philosophy from the University of Nottingham and the BPhil

master's degree in philosophy from University of Oxford, where she specialized in philosophy of science, decision theory and logic.

Sources: https://www.mastersportal.com https://www.timeshighereducation.com

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JANUARY 2018

Graduate Application Advising

Series of Graduate Application Workshops by NU Alumni in October

The series of workshops on Graduate Application

Advising Program (GAAP) was continued with the

workshop “Interview for Graduate application”

conducted by Alexandra Shaeffer, Assistant Professor

of SHSS. Dr Shaeffer is one of the CAC professor-

mentors who consults and supports students wishing to

obtain further academic degree. During the interactive

session, students learnt how to be better prepared for,

what to expect during a Graduate School Interview and how to show the admissions committee

that you are a person beyond the test scores, grades, and CV.

On October 19 NU alumni representative SST

instructor Birzhan Akynkozhayev, NU BSc in Math,

the University of Manchester MSc in applied Math,

held the workshop on writing a Personal statement.

The speaker not only provided the useful information,

but also shared his own academic experience, gave

advice and tips on how to enroll successfully to

Graduate school.

Due to an increasing number students and graduates receiving

fake job offers, the CAC established a new workshop topic on How

to check if the job offer is real. The first workshop was held on 27

October by NU alumnus 16’, SST, Aktore Barlybayev, who

provided detailed information on how to check an employer who

sent an attractive, but unexpected job offer, verify the website of

invited company and see the signs and types of fraud job offers.

On 31 October Madi Zhakupbayev, NU Alumnus ’16 held the workshop on writing a Motivation

letter for graduate application package. Students learnt the difference between a Personal

statement and Motivation letter; got the tips and hints how to improve and adjust the letter to

foreign universities.

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JANUARY 2018

SPDP and GAA events

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Information Session with Representatives of the Shakhmardan Yessenov Science and

Education Foundation

On October 15, 2018, CAC held an information session with representatives of The

Shakhmardan Yessenov Science and Education Foundation (hereinafter – YF). The students

usually show much interest to sessions by YF.

The YF program manager, Roumissa Bashaeva, shared a lot of useful

information with our students, including, the statistical information about

the work done by the Foundation in recent years, detailed information

on the existing summer internship programs in the world's best

scientific laboratories for bachelors, undergraduates, and researchers,

selection criteria, funding opportunities,

types of scholarships and more.

Students of Nazarbayev University,

alumni of various educational programs of

the YF, also spoke at the session. They

spoke about their internship experiences

and stories in the best educational institutions of the world, shared

their tips and advice on how to apply and what to be aware of.

Moreover, YF representatives held a small quiz among the participants and students received

memorable prizes. Overall, the session was very interesting, and we hope it was useful for our

students!

CAC thanks the Shakhmardan Yessenov Science and Education Foundation for the cooperation

and hopes to see them at our next events!

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JANUARY 2018

SPDP and GAA events

CAC

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Ideal Candidate

On October 29, 2018 EY conducted a lecture on

the tips for successful candidates applying for a

job.

Aliya Balykbayeva, Senior Associate of the HR

Department, and Saltanat Omirserik, HR specialist

revealed some tips on preparing successful

resumes for jobs from their own experience on

candidates' screening:

• Make your name stand out. The font size

might be slightly larger than your resume in

general

• Do not use fancy email addresses, be

professional, e.g. namesurname@gmail.com

• Include photos for local companies and

avoid them when applying to international

companies

• Use Calibri or Ariel font to draft your resume, do not make the size too small. Choose

between 10 or 12 font size

• Add numbers to quantify your achievements. Put the most relevant accomplishments first.

• Customize your resume for every job position.

The workshop was also focused on practical

issues of interview preparation:

• Follow the appropriate dress code;

• Clearly articulate what you know and

what you want to achieve at the new

position

• Make sure that your abilities match

your goals

• Define your strengths and show your

weakness as a strong side

• Show your motivation!

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JANUARY 2018

SPDP and GAA events

CAC

Communicate Advance Change

Fall Mock Interview Week The biannual interview week in Fall is one the crucial activities of CAC within the SPDP program. During the week senior students get an opportunity to develop interview passing skills through practical, “no-risk” interviewing for “fake vacancies”. At the conclusion of the interview, students obtain relevant and constructive recommendations from volunteer recruiters and HR managers of top companies. Beginning of October 22 senior students were able to practice and learn from HR Managers at BI Group, Ancor, KPMG, AGIP Karachaganak, Ernst & Young, Beeline, KazDream Technologies, Kazakhtelecom, NWF Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan Aselsan Engineering, Sberbank, PwC and NU.

Each 15-minute interview forced students to practice responses to behavior-based interview questions, such as the general, “Tell us about yourself, your specialty, the last your internship”, the tough “Describe your knowledge and skills to compliance the job functions with providing evidences”. This was a great opportunity to feel the pressure of a real interview, because unlike technical interviews, opinion of interviewer might affect the result of your application. The success of the registered student, of course, includes more than answering questions accurately. They were encouraged to arrive on time, updated resume in-hand and dressed appropriately.

Another recommendation that manifested during the week was to be prepared for the question about of the organization, its goal, mission and structure, show great interest in the company, not just to know general information. Inside the events • During the Fall 2018 Mock Interview Week, 27 invited recruiters of 12 top companies along with CAC staff interviewed almost 60 students. • The most common statement employers who conducted interviews shared with the CAC was, “It would be great to see such students among our employees!”

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JANUARY 2018

SPDP and GAA events

CAC

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Khabibulla Miras, 3rd year student, SHSS From October 22 to 26, I attended 5 mock interviews organized by CAC. It was a very valuable experience since I saw how a real interview with companies would go. Firstly, I would like to say that I was interviewed by Big-4 companies such as KPMG and EY. Having answered their questions, I made a conclusion for myself how I should have better prepared for their interviews since after graduation I am planning to go there. HR department has given me a constructive feedback about my CV and recommendations about my speech and behavior. Thanks to this opportunity I will be more prepared for a real interview. The second important thing is that I got contacts of HR department of these companies. Particularly, there was a partner from KPMG who interviewed me, in other words, in the future I may expect what kind of questions they might ask me. Overall, mock interviews were very productive and helpful for me in terms of improving my CV and gave me a basic understanding of how interviews in Big-4 go. I would highly recommend everyone to attend such kind of workshops for everyone.

Following that week's feedback, all students can make appointments to practice general interview techniques and improve their job application package with CAC staff. These can be achieved as a Counselling Appointment session via CAC CareerNet.

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SPDP and GAA events

“Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering”

On October 24 students of Mechanical Engineering had an opportunity to visit the plant of “Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering” LLP, which is the largest company in Central Asia producing advanced armored wheeled vehicles. During the field trip the students were able to personally see and familiarize themselves with an innovative technology that enables to produce armored vehicles with advanced mine protection capabilities. The future engineers accompanied by Yerzhan Iseev, Head of the Production

Facility, got thoroughly acquainted with all the nuances and stages of the production process. Students showed great interest in the work of the plant and asked various questions. Ulan Kyzyrov, 3rd year student of Mechanical Engineering major:

I found field Trip to Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering interesting and educative, as for the student of mechanical engineering major. The plant is producing different types of armored vehicles.

We were greeted by head engineer. Field engineer highlighted

the himain plant facilities and made a walk through around each shop. First was the manufacturing line, the engineer introduced all the machines present and their functionality, demonstrated materials, the workflow and finished products of the line. After that we followed to the welding shop where he made a walk through of the machine bodies in process. The following was the painting shop, made in the form of high-end painting rooms with all the latest and greatest technologies for preparation, painting and drying the parts of the vehicle. The last and the biggest was an assembly line, where armored “capsules” are assembled to the state of a finished vehicle by hands. Also showcase is present nearby assembly line where finished products of different kinds can be observed. We were able to get close with the details of an “Arlan” and “Alan” vehicles. The engineer introduced technical characteristics of those machines. At last Q&A session was conducted. Engineer rounded up the speech with invitation to apply to the job and/or an internship.

Overall the plant was modern and well equipped. Safety standards were shown. Thanks to Career and Advising Center for the given opportunity, everything was organized on the

highest level!

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JANUARY 2018

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Field Trip

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“

Digital Office of “Beeline Headquarter”

On October 26 students of Nazarbayev University visited digital office of “Beeline (official name is “VEON”) Headquarter”, which is located in business center Talan Towers Offices.

Under the Beeline brand, VEON offers integrated mobile and fixed telephony, long distance, data transmission, telematics services, Internet-based wired and wireless solutions, including fiber access technology, WiFi and third generation network.

This Field trip was unusual because company employees put on holiday make-up due to the celebration of the Halloween.

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JANUARY 2018

Field Trip

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About 20 students had an opportunity to see the digital office of the company, which is designed in the style of “open space” in which there are no separate rooms.

The students also saw how the company takes care of its employees, creating comfortable conditions for them, providing them with separate dining room, recreation area and conference rooms.

After the tour around the office, the presentation about the company's activity, main directions and new projects, which use state-of-the-art technology, was given.

Students showed great interest in the work of the company, asked questions and received answers from the company representatives. We are sure that the information obtained during the fieldtrip will help to improve the professional knowledge and practical skills of students.

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JANUARY 2018

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Field Trip

PARTNER OF THE MONTH - BI GROUP

BI Group is the construction holding and the recognized leader in the real estate market of Kazakhstan established in 1995. BI Group today is a multibusiness holding, the structure of which consists of divisions and directorates in various spheres of construction, development and engineering.

The company employs over 7000 high-qualified employees united by entrepreneurial corporate culture. The segments of construction industry are housing of all types and classes, commercial property, educational institutions, transport infrastructure, industrial facilities and energy infrastructure. The company actively recruits the students via CAC CareerNet for employment and internship positions, participates in the profession/company days, mock interviews and on-campus recruitment events, offers field trips at Astana sites.

A special thanks to Aigerim Kaldybekova, currently coordinating Young Talent Pool programs in the company and Saltanat Kumarova, coordinator of BI Intern program. They have been actively involved in the Career and Advising Center activities throughout past three years: Company and Profession Days, Mock Interviews, Field Trips, On-campus Recruitment for the internship and employment opportunities.

As a result of long term cooperation, 86 students of NU have had an internship at the construction sites of the company. 31 NU graduates are currently employed by the company (information as of September 2018).

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JANUARY 2018

Partner of the Month

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Social Media in Job Hunting

By Zhanar Makhayeva

Today, social media and social networking are in business and in private life. Therefore, it is only natural that job search is definitely happening in social media too, and most importantly, it is a two way street. While job applicant search for any information about his or her future employer, employers check applicant’s social media history. Social media become a fast and inexpensive background check that often happens even before inviting a job applicant for an interview. Employers search social media to verify the facts applicant wrote on resume, to check out knowledge and attitudes expressed publicly, evaluate communications skills, even spelling and grammar. Why do they do that? Well, it is because every self-respecting company realizes that their future employee is an official representative of them in the business world, so they need to make sure that their employee is not someone who can get them in trouble. According to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 70% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, while 7% plan to start. Of those that do social research, 57% have found content that caused them not to hire candidates. Wherein being "invisible" is not a good solution either. The CareerBuilder survey found that nearly half of employers (47%) say that if they can't find a job candidate online, they are less likely to call that person in for an interview. Here are a few of the reasons employers gave for pulling a candidate out of the running include: 1.Inappropriate images 2.Poor communication skills 3.Discriminatory comments 4.Negative information 5.Comments about a previous employer

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Career Development with CAC

CAC

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So, if you don’t want to lose a job before an interview, you must make sure that your social media presence is "clean". Once you make sure your social media account is "clean», you may start using it as a strong tool in a job searching process. Here are 5 tips on how to leverage your social media accounts while job hunting:

1.Set up a strong profile Create a brief personal summary that states your career goal and highlights your expertise, and give yourself a professional job title. Also, make sure you include a professional, high-quality photo. LinkedIn tends to be the most effective, as it allows to get recommended, and share links to projects you have worked on.

2.Start networking Start connecting with people and companies in your industry. One way to do this is to join groups and take part in discussions. You can also follow companies and thought leaders, and retweet or share posts that you are interested in. 3.Get recommended Having positive recommendations from previous employers, co-workers, supervisors or even clients and customers immediately helps you to stand out as an experienced, capable and trustworthy candidate. 4.Let others know you are job hunting Make it obvious to anyone who visits your profile that you are looking for a new job, but more specifically, what kind of job. To do this, you can tweet about your job search, include your job pitch in your Twitter or Facebook bio, and include links to your online resume. Using certain keywords or tags in your descriptions can also help you get noticed. 5.Research employers before applying If you have come across a job opening and want to apply, research the hiring manager, employer or CEO on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. This can give you an insight into their personality, interests and style, so you can tailor your application to their preferences and project the right image. If you want to know more in how to use social media in job hunting, please visit our workshops by following announcements via CAC CareerNet.

CAC

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JANUARY 2018

Career Development with CAC

Follow our announcements via CAC CareerNet/Workshops for venue, date and time details of the events

Event Description

BCG Day - Interview Preparation Workshop

Interview Preparation workshop which will be delivered by Boston Consulting Group BCG consultants will share all the insights on passing your case interviews, along with: • Important hints on getting your resume done • Making your CV informative and interesting • What interviewers expect from you during the case-interview

Lecture by ILF Consulting Engineers Company

Lecture by dr.Linke from ILF Consulting Engineers Company. Topic: Development of large scale infrastructure projects. Project asset life cycle, principles of front end loading and stage gate process, project de-risking, commercial structuring, project finance, engineering and cost estimates, project management systems, contract and claims management, project execution

Tips for finding international research internships

Info session with guest speaker - Damel Mektepbayeva, who will share with you the information about how to start looking for an international internship and where, when and why internships are needed and what financing opportunities exist and how to find them

Profession Day: MPH MPH Profession Day by National Center for Expertise and Certification.The aim of this event is to help graduating students to make informed decision while choosing among potential employers

Field trip to "Electrovoz Kurastyru Zauyty" EKZ

To provide students with the opportunity to see internal business and production processes of a company

Legal risk management in credit activities of JSC "Development Bank of Kazakhstan"

The first session on Legal Risk Management of Credit Activities is delivered by Askar Amirtayev, Managing Director - Member of the Board of Directors of JSC "Development Bank of Kazakhstan"

Our contacts:

Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay batyr ave., Office 2043, Block C-2

Tel.: 70 65 38, 70 90 16, 69 45 25, 70 58 86

Working hours: 8.30-17.30, 12.30-13.30 is lunch time

If you have any questions or ideas, please contact us via mail cac@nu.edu.kz, alumni@nu.edu.kz, social networks or visit our office.

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JANUARY 2018

Upcoming Events in November

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