Final Reflection on Learning

An important skill set that I improved through the ES2007S course is that pertaining to a position search. Here, I shall organize my review around the various components of a position search, namely researching the job and organization, writing a cover letter and resume, and performing at job interviews.

The main objective of a job application is to communicate effectively to your prospective employers how you and your experiences can contribute to the organization and the job itself. This in turn has linkages to an over-arching principle of effective communication, which is to be mindful of the context and target audience.

As such, the first step in a position search is to research on the particular organisation and job in order to find out about what is being desired. Only after understanding what is being sought, can we craft our job applications appropriately.

Moving on, the peer teaching session and readings were effective in introducing the general principles of writing a resume. Even though the resume is a relatively structured piece of writing, its format is by no means fixed. Rather, it should be tailored to show how an applicant’s strengths can satisfy the job requirements. Furthermore, more is not necessarily better and only relevant information should be included. Once again, by placing ourselves in the shoes of the target audience, we can understand the importance of this – job selectors typically have to go through numerous applications so a concise resume will stand a higher chance of attracting their attention.  

Last but not least, I feel that the mock job interview ranks as the most enlightening portion of the entire module. I was able to gain valuable insights via all 3 roles that we had to play, be it observer, interviewer or interviewee. For example, as an observer, I discovered that an interview is indeed very revealing of an interviewee. Both the verbal (content of responses) and non-verbal aspects (posture, eye contact etc.) can tell the interviewers a lot about the candidate. Most importantly, as an interviewee, I thought I performed relatively okay but peer feedback from the observers indicated much room for improvement! For example, my responses were often badly organized and unsystematic!

In my opinion, what better way to hone one’s job application skills than to go through a mock job application? I am grateful that ES2007S offered us an opportunity to do so. Although the greatest challenge throughout was the constant effort to link my experiences to the prospective job, the regular peer feedback enabled me to make improvements to my work and enhance the relevant skills. As such, I am now better equipped to select appropriate content to include in my application documents as well as draw the necessary linkages. Interview-wise, I have become aware of the need to improve my thinking process so that I can translate my thoughts into coherent and systematic responses!

Reflection on Oral Presentation

As an oral presentation is a multi-faceted process, I shall seek to organize the review of my team’s presentation broadly in terms of its strengths and weaknesses in the various aspects, both individually (myself) and as a whole.

First and foremost, in terms of preparation, I could have spent more time individually on preparing for the question and answer (Q & A) session, namely by predicting possible questions from the audience and generating appropriate responses. I have to admit that I am not a person who can think quickly on his feet. As such, during the Q & A, even though I had the answers in my mind, I was unable to provide a clear and well-thought out response. For future presentations, I definitely need to invest more effort in Q & A preparations as compared to my other team members.

As a whole, even though my team’s presentation was generally professionally delivered, we could have done more on the emotional and persuasive aspects of things. In a business environment, where every proposal is just as competitive as the next, a presentation that tugs at the heartstrings might just be the one that gets the nod. As such, a little more enthusiasm as well as personal anecdotes could have made the presentation more emotionally appealing to the target audience. For example, Ms. Fazilah pointed out that we could have used our very own experiences with crowded shuttle buses to further emphasise the intra-campus transport problem.

That being said, our presentation had a number of strengths as well. On the overall, I felt it was concise and to-the-point, hence maximizing the 20 minutes that were given to us. To this end, the presentation slides were able to achieve a synergistic effect as all content was in point form and illustrated with appropriate diagrams.

Most importantly, I felt that the presentation was highly coherent which aided in understanding. There was a clear flow from the problem to the solution and then why the proposal should be adopted. Throughout the entire presentation, constant references were also made to our research findings, which offered much credibility.

In conclusion, I believe that the number of rehearsals that we had helped us greatly. An oral presentation is a highly sophisticated process with many aspects involved, and we were only able to deliver satisfactorily because of the constant self-critique and refinements within the team.

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

It was just another bus ride and three gentlemen were seated opposite of me. The three men were engaged in friendly and cheerful banter which caught my attention amidst the otherwise mundane bus ride. More interestingly, not all of the men were locals. Two of them were foreign workers (possibly from Thailand/Myanmar) and only one was a Singaporean.

Their conversation encompassed a wide range of topics, from poking fun at each other’s mistakes at work, to discussions on the fastest ways to get to various places in Singapore and many more. It was a jovial setting which was punctuated with frequent giggles and laughter.

Personally, it is always a heart-warming moment when I see individuals of different cultures hitting it off with one another, especially in a heterogeneous and cosmopolitan society such as Singapore. Amidst all the recent discussions about social integration in Singapore, such occurrences provide a positive bit of evidence that foreigners can indeed integrate into our society.

Even in this microcosm, there are surprisingly many aspects of effective inter-cultural communication that can be gleaned from it. First and foremost, the willingness of the foreign workers to interact with the locals is definitely commendable, especially when you consider that they could have simply chosen to mix with their fellow countrymen. By opening up to the local culture, however, these foreign workers will probably find it easier to assimilate into the workplace and society and conversely, for them to be accepted by others.

In this little episode, I also observed several “cultural universals” at play in the communication process. “Cultural universals” are defined as “learned behaviour patterns that are shared by all of humanity collectively”. One of which was the usage of an appropriate verbal language for communication, albeit a peculiar one – Singlish. In this particular setting, as the foreign workers were not very proficient in English, the usage of Singlish probably helped to overcome some barriers in communication. Not only is Singlish easier to understand, it often conveys a sense of informality which can help to foster a more positive atmosphere.

It was a pleasant surprise to note that a seemingly insignificant episode on a bus ride could actually throw up a number of pertinent points regarding inter-cultural communication. Effective inter-cultural communication is an important contributing factor towards social integration and it is my personal wish for everyone to work hard at that, towards a more cohesive Singapore!

Application Letter

Chong Wee Pin

Apt. Blk 111, Tampines Street 11

#11-111

Singapore 111111

91119111

chongweepin@gmail.com

February 16, 2012

Human Resource Director

Ministry of Education, Singapore

1 North Buona Vista Drive

Singapore 138675

Dear Director

I am an undergraduate currently on my final semester of the Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental Engineering) course at the National University of Singapore (NUS). I am keen in the opportunity to become a Teacher in Physical Education at the Ministry of Education. I have always been an avid sportsperson and hence have been able to experience first-hand the benefits and teachings that sports can bring to one’s life. Hence, it is my greatest wish to impart these lessons to the younger generation as well as imbue in them the importance of physical activity and sports.

I have extensive experience as an athlete, particularly as a varsity archer representing NUS. The lessons and experiences that I have picked up are invaluable education tools that will enable me to create a vibrant learning process for my prospective students. Furthermore, I  had guidance roles in the archery team as a senior, and helped to organize introductory archery courses every semester for the NUS student population. All these have enabled me to hone my teaching skills, which places me in a good position to cultivate a love for sporting activity in students. I also had experience organizing a sports awareness roadshow for the Singapore Sports Council. As a well-rounded education entails co-curricular and enrichment activities, my relevant experience will assist me in putting together interesting and stimulating activities for the betterment of students. The problem-solving and critical thinking skills that I have gained during my engineering undergraduate studies will too go a long way in me helping my prospective students to cope with any possible problems.

I would love to foster a passion for sports in youngsters so that they will be able to benefit from the invaluable lessons that it will bring about. I will be glad to meet for an interview at your request. Please do feel free to contact me at 91119111 or this e-mail address (chongweepin@gmail.com) if you have any queries. Thank you so much for your precious time and consideration.

Yours Sincerely

Chong Wee Pin

Enclosure (Resume)

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

No one likes to be involved in interpersonal conflicts. In fact, I may even venture to say that humans are peace-seeking creatures by nature. However, it is indeed unavoidable that we get caught in such a situation once in a while, either as a bystander or a direct party.

Citing a personal experience, I was actually involved in a conflict situation just last semester. It happened during a group project discussion with regards to an oral presentation. Midway through our deliberations, two of my groupmates started debating about the scope and level of detail of our preparations. One was convinced that it was important to be spontaneous during a presentation while the other was adamant that all details and possible scenarios should be taken care of as much as possible. What began as a friendly debate quickly escalated to a heated argument.

Looking back at the episode, it was possible that the conflict arose because of fatigue and elevated stress levels. The particular discussion actually came on the back of a discussion for another project assignment. Furthermore, all of us in the group still had many assignments on hand. All these probably contributed to higher levels of irritability.

In this particular case, the argument occurred ironically from good intentions – both of my friends wanted the project presentation to be an excellent one. However, it evolved into something negative which affected not only the two individuals, but also the mood of the entire group. It took a while for everyone to be able to work as per normal again.

As such, we can see from this personal anecdote that emotional intelligence (EI) not only applies to individuals but also has implications on the larger working group as well. We have read that one of the attributes of EI is self-regulation, which is “the ability to control emotions and impulses”. With this in consideration, it is worth taking note that tempers may fray easily, especially in a professional setting where stakes are high. The question is, can concrete measures be implemented to prevent such outbursts of emotion and impulsive decisions? For example, by appointing a “mediator” in a group setting to ensure positive working dynamics?

Effective Communication and I

As defined in the ES2007S module introduction, effective communication is “not only a stepping stone to a successful career, but also the foundation for a satisfying life”. As such, even in the context of a student such as me, effective communication remains a highly pertinent component in areas such as academics, internships/temporary jobs and social settings.

As an engineering major, project work plays an integral role in the course curriculum. More often than not, a project group comprises of members who come from different backgrounds and disciplines. This is where effective communication plays an important role in fostering an efficient and streamlined work process. During project discussions, one personal mistake is that I assume the context of my point of discussion is known by everyone. The resultant confusion is often a frustrating and time-wasting process.

In tertiary education, where reports and oral presentations are the order of the day, applying effective communication in these forms will no doubt ensure that all the hard work that have been put in can be conveyed and translated successfully to the target audience. Also, unbeknownst to many, listening is a crucial part of effective communication as well. By making an effort to listen actively rather than passively during lectures/tutorials, it will actually help us to stay focused and capture more information!
 
Throughout our undergraduate life, many of us will no doubt seek internships or temporary jobs to broaden our horizons. In this endeavour, the first and most important step is no doubt the application. Considering that companies often have numerous portfolios and interviews to go through, an application that practices effective communication will definitely stand out among the rest.

We must of course, not forget the importance that effective communication has in our personal lives. One must have experienced conflicts with your loved ones that arise because of misunderstandings or breakdowns in communication. Thus, by maintaining an efficient communication process with everyone, fulfilling relationships can be created. By communicating clearly and effectively, it is as much a benefit to us as it is a form of respect to the other party.

As is evident, effective communication has a key role to play in the many facets of our lives. Embracing this process will go a long way in us experiencing a fulfilling life.