questionnaire for job and university application

7/30/2019 Questionnaire for Job and University Application

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Questionnaire on working and studying abroad

Dear friend, Im conducting a study on best (& worst) practices, tips and tricks for young Romanians who

want to apply for universities and jobs abroad.

Your help with the questions below is much appreciated. Your name will be listed on the

acknowledgements page and I will give a significant amount of the revenue to two charities1

if the study

is published.

All personal information provided below (name, country, employer, school, etc.) will be changed with

fictitious data for your privacy. However, I will be happy to get your permission to list your name on the

Acknowledgements page!

Note: In addressing the questions below please consider both your experience abroad as well as the

information you would like to provide to a new comer (who may ask himself the same questions)

about your country!

Your feedback is welcome in Romanian, English or French!

Name:

Country

University/Employer:

1. What were the steps that you took for applying to a university/job abroad (starting from themoment you decided that)?

Researched a lot (mostly online) about universities, their study programs, etc. Created essays

and prepared for interviews. Prepared for moving abroad.

2. What sources of information did you use for preparing and submitting your application? (pleaseadd e.g. links to the jobs/university/application tutorial websites that you used; names of useful

books that you read, if any)

I used a lot of resources (brochures, guides, books, etc) from the library of the International

Exchange Office of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

1dealing with a) kids from broken homes whose parents went abroad for work and b) with providing top

education to poor kids with high IQ from rural areas in Romania (http://www.proruralisiasi.cryo.ro/main.php).
http://www.proruralisiasi.cryo.ro/main.phphttp://www.proruralisiasi.cryo.ro/main.phphttp://www.proruralisiasi.cryo.ro/main.phphttp://www.proruralisiasi.cryo.ro/main.php


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3. What did you find to be most difficult during the application process? (e.g. drafting theapplication letter/essay; deciding for which school/job to apply, deciding to move abroad etc.)

I would say the most difficult during the application process was choosing the right school to

apply for. My university offered several exchange destinations on all continents. In the end I

chose Chile as a study destination. I studied for 6 months (one semester) at the MBA program of

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile an exchange study program facilitated by the Erasmus

University of Rotterdam.

Deciding to move over to Chile (for studying or work purposes) is not an easy choice for a

European. Living on a different continent implies a high flexibility in adapting your living style to

a new culture and new environment. However, Chileans have a similar life-style with Europeans,

having adapted their culture with international trends, from fashion to media, from music to

cinematography and many more. Chileans have an open-minded, friendly culture, being warm

and helpful.

4. What are the attributes of a successful recommendation letter from your perspective? (i.e. theone that a professor or former employees provides you when applying for studies or a new job)

A successful recommendation letter should comprise of a personal anecdote or story that

highlights the traits, personality or special skills of a candidate. It should not be mainly

impersonal and formal, but rather warm and descriptive, revealing the candidates values.

5. Is it mandatory to speak the local language at university/in the office? Is it a common fact acrossthe country or can you also study/work in English/French? Please explain.

There are several international English study programs in Chile. However, it is highly

recommended to have at least a basic command of Spanish prior to arriving in Chile. English is

not a widely spoken language in Chile, though it is quite popular with the younger generations.

The study program I opted for did not require English knowledge however, I did choose to

attend several MBA courses taught exclusively in Spanish.

6. What pieces of advice could you give to someone applying for a university/job abroad for thefirst time?

related to the cover letter/essay related to the interview (if applicable) related to living in that country (related to culture, habits, weather, cuisine, etc.)

Read and learn as much as possible about the program youre applying for, the company / the country,

culture, etc. Try to identify former or current students / employees within the organization youre

applying for and talk to them, ask them many questions and find out their success story.

7. What do you wish you had known before moving to the country where you currently live?


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8. Please share an anecdote (funny or not-so-funny story) from your experience that helped youlearn a lesson regarding the application/interviewing process. You can say that it happened to

someone else, but I will anyway change the names of the characters and the location/name

of the institution. This would be a key addition to the study as readers prefer learning from

others stories than from boring pieces of theoretical advice.

9. Please send me a research statement (if youre a PhD), cover letter, application essay,recommendation letter and/or CV that you would like to share, in order to be used as sample

for the book. As mentioned, you name and personal data will be changed (or you can do it

yourself for certainty :).

Your help is much appreciated! Thank you for contributing before 18 February, 2013.

For further information, you can reach me at:

[email protected]

+40.744.611266

Skype: liv_dia (upon prior notification by e-mail or phone)

Diana Ursachi
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

questionnaire for job and university application

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