Staff Interview with Ferit Ercan

What inspired you to work for USEH International?

I believed that my institution showed care and discipline toward young professionals through the career programs that they offered, and that this would be a guide in my professional business life and social life.

Describe a typical day at work.

I usually start my day by sending information to the manager, followed by answering the e-mails received on behalf of our institution. I work with candidates who request information from our institution or who we already work with, and I transfer information about the subject to my manager. I finish the day by reporting all the work I have done.

Why do you do what you do?

I enjoy helping my colleagues in the tourism and hotel industry to improve their careers. I also enjoy having a professional employer, which is very useful in my personal development.

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite parts of my job are helping university students and new graduates improve their careers, providing opportunities to meet and work with professionals from different sectors, and having my work environment respect what I do. 

How do you use your education and international background in your current role?

I started out working in industrial production, continued with marketing, and finally moved to tourism and the hotel industry. My education is similarly diverse, with metal works, tourism and hotel management, general business, and occupational health and safety departments. The fact that these different sectors are in my professional life helps me to provide more creative solutions to guide the careers of many different professionals related to my job.

What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?

We work intensively with students and entry-level candidates, and their expectations can be very high. They are often not very happy to be at the starting position in the businesses they will work for. In this case, I emphasize how important it is to get a solid foundation, state that the professional experience starts at the lowest level, and use examples to further explain it.

What are some current projects you are working on?

I use social media to show our institution's current programs, our USA, Spain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand Maasli Internship programs to as many people as possible. I am trying to create joint working areas by arranging interviews with university administrations in the new program, as well as online training options.

What makes your organization special?

Since its foundation, USEH has never compromised the importance it attaches to the concept of “qualified internship” rather than quantity of internships. We have reinforced our success with the success of our participants. In the cultural exchange programs it offers, USEH has tried to create a lucrative situation where all parties can meet on the common denominator, and we have been successful in this goal for the past 20 years.

Why should someone choose USEH over competitors?

Our organization has over 20 years of experience in the field of Overseas Internship Programs.

What hopes do you have for the future for your organization?

In the global economy, no professional or employee has to work in their own country in order to continue their career. In this case, companies all over the world will need institutions like us to find good employees from all over. This will lead our industry and institution even further.

What makes your organization easy to market to potential participants?

Young professionals desire to do their jobs and learn business in developed and popular countries, which makes it easier to market to potential participants.

What is USEH's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?

Our Mission: While contributing to international cultural shopping, we are simultaneously contributing to the efforts of youth to raise themselves in accordance with the conditions for success in the newly shaped global world.

What do you hope participants take away from your programs?

We want them to learn the business and social life of the country they are in and apply what they have learned in their professional lives. We want them to transfer their experiences to other candidates who are living abroad.

If you could participate in one of your organization's programs, where would you go and what would you do?

I would have preferred to participate in a US Salary Internship Program because it offers a multicultural and successful business experience. I think that this program would offer the opportunity to recognize new and different cultures that will add value to my professional life.

What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?

First of all, they ask questions such as how much money they will need for the program, the quality of the businesses, and in what regions the businesses are. We first explain to our participants all the stages of the experience that they will live modestly in their host countries.

Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?

I think new places and new people expand your view of life and make you look at life differently. In professional life, it increases your courage to develop new business ideas and to apply these to your work.

Why do you think learning a new language is important?

I think every new language you learn enables new people and new cultures to join your life. In business, it enables you to reach more people and deliver your ideas and collaborate with new people.

What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?

You should research the country and culture you want to go to very well. You should learn the languages ??of the people living there, and be able to express yourself. You should prepare yourself for all kinds of difficulties, and you should plan ahead.

What issues do you see in the world of international education that don’t line up with your values and expectations for mutually beneficial & educational relationships between providers/programs and the communities in which they are located within?

Honesty and business ethics are important, so we need to avoid the attitudes and behaviors that might harm the industry. Efforts should be made to develop the industry, boundaries, and individuals.

What does ethical global engagement mean to you?

Ethics should be a priority for our industry, because trust needs to be a priority for the participants. The most important factor that provides trust is business ethics.

What hopes do you have for the future of international education?

I think the university language school certificate programs will continue online, which I think will decrease the price and increase the number of participants. I hope it continues to develop with a much larger number of participants.

What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And USEH?)

I think the most important thing is to ensure that the expectations of the participant and the employer are compatible with each other as much as possible, and thus, the expectations of the program on both sides are met at the highest level.