Reflection on learning

ES2007s has indeed been an enriching and interesting module.

The one thing I like about this module is that it teaches “soft skills” that are usually not taught in the normal content based module. It teaches you how to excel and project yourself as a self-confident individual. In the working world, this is extremely important, as this is the factor that will differ you from any other typical worker. Another plus point will be the fact that it somehow teaches you on how to get a job through job interview, resume and cover letter writing and how to excel in your job through oral presentation and peer teaching.

One thing that I would like to share is my experience working with a group of international students. It is my first time working with no locals and the experience has been rather different. There were many different perspectives and viewpoints that were brought up throughout our discussion. I realized that international students have a very clear idea of what they want to be presented and often will show a different perspective at looking at an issue. This in contrast to the local groups I have worked with whereby the viewpoints that we tend to present are often quite typical and standard. Also, the stereotypes that were formed that international students will not carry out their projects properly, as they only needed a Pass grade, is untrue. They were very cooperative and most of the time, they offered to coordinate project group meetings. Although the difference in opinions hamper the progress of project at times, they have indeed open my mind out to their way of thinking and exposed me to the kind of cultures they have undergone. Such experiences have indeed benefitted me and through the interaction I had with them, it has allowed me to understand more about the different cultures and behaviors they have at their home country.

Oral Presentation

We noticed the trend of local and foreign students bonding mainly with their friends who come from similar background. Hence, my group came up with the proposal of creating increased opportunities to facilitate the interaction between these two groups of students. We hope that through these occasions, local and foreign students are able to communicate and get along more comfortably with each other instead of minimizing their interaction for fear of awkwardness or differences in cultures.

My group then spent several weeks to come up with the proposal and also preparations for the oral presentation. However, even though we were clear of our aim of our proposal, we were not able to decide on a specific program to carry out our plan. There were many disagreements and confusions throughout our project discussion. One reason for those was due to our culturally different backgrounds as all of us are of different nationalities and thus, we have very different perspectives about the feasibility of the different ideas each of us came up to carry out the plan. Due to these differences of opinions, we wasted much time and finally settled on a program, which we named it ‘SEP Engage’.

The whole idea of SEP Engage was meant to increase the interaction between the local and international students and the steps, if it could be implemented, warrant a high success rate. However, due to the lack of sufficient preparations done for the oral presentation, we were not able to effectively convey our proposal to the class. I found it a pity, as if my group had taken more time and effort in preparing the presentation and not on settling the various issues that came up during our group discussion, we would be better able to convey and receive better responses from the class to help us evaluate and improve our plan.

Being in a multicultural city like Singapore, we are constantly being exposed to the different cultures of the multiethnic locals, Permanent Residents and visitors. Take for example simple hand gestures like hand kissing and holding hands. Hand kissing is a gesture that shows courtesy, politeness and respect towards an elder, and is commonly performed by the Malays. On the other hand, using Bangladeshis as an illustration, they too performed hand gestures in the form of holding hands. However, the feelings evoke from seeing these two hand gestures are total opposite. We tend to accept and respect the Malay behavior in showing their affection for their elder and this is partly due to our understanding of their culture since Malays form a part of Singaporeans. However, when it comes to the Bangladeshis, who are immigrants on working visa and tend to reside in areas away from the common residential sites, we tend to have stereotypes about them beforehand and have already cultivated a sense of displeasure for this group of people. Upon seeing two guy Bangladeshis holding hands with each other, straightaway, the first impression we have is that they are gays and immediately we have a sense of disapproval towards their behavior. If we had taken the time to understand their culture, we would not have misunderstood their actions and in fact, they are displaying brotherhood, which is a social norm in their country.

In all, in my opinion, I feel that different cultures have different social norms and it is important that we take the time to understand and appreciate each other culture, their behavior, actions and social norms, without forming stereotypes or a sense of disapproval or displeasure immediately.  Being able to do that, we would then able to better enrich ourselves with the knowledge of the various cultures in the world and also promote greater social cohesion in our country, Singapore.

Cover letter

Blk 636 Woodlands Ring Road #09-87
Singapore 730636

U0909023@nus.edu.sg

10 February 2012 

Na Kok Yong

Director of HR department

Eins Technology Pte Ltd
5 Upper Aljunied Link
#07-04 Quartz Industrial Building
Singapore 367903 

Dear Mr. Na: 

With reference to the advertisement posted on the NUS Career Centre website, I am writing to request you to consider me for the position of intern in the application development department of your esteemed organization. This internship will help me build a strong foundation in the career I wish to pursue in the field of software design.

I am currently pursuing a Honor’s Degree in Computing Engineering at the National University of Singapore, with my specialization being software programming. I have accomplished design projects, which requires me to design the hardwares and program the softwares ,or my course of study. Not only has the process of programming sparked my interest in software application development products, but also by working as a team, I have learned the very basic importance of teamwork in order to be successful in any field. Being exceptionally motivated by the myriad yet creative applications seen on smart phones, I have thus attempted to design a few applications for my personal use during my leisure hours. I feel that this shows my enthusiasm and interest towards design. I believe these have shown my willingness to learn and interest towards application development and will help me with the position I am applying for at your organization.

Being in my third year of studies, I have gained required skills and knowledge of programming and debugging skills in C/C++, Java on Windows and acquired a deep understanding of Windows Operating Systems. I also have prior experience to PC hardware architecture troubleshooting and IO peripherals.

I look forward to hearing from you with a positive response. My contact number is 92285566 and my e-mail address is u0909023@nus.edu.sg. I am available for an interview whenever it suits your convenience.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Alvin Wong

Resume

Wong Kim Wee Alvin

Blk 636, Woodlands Ring Road #09-87 Singapore 730636
Phone: (65) 92285566 / E-Mail: U0909023@nus.edu.sg

Education

National University of Singapore B.S (Expected 2014)

Undergraduate

Experience

Nus Dance Synergy May 10 – May 11

Head of publicity

· Organise publicity campaign to promote the group and its performance using various channels.

· Design, edit and produce publicity materials such as pamphlets, concert booklets, posters, videos and music.

Broadcom May 11 – Jul 11

Administrative Assistant / Logistic Assistant

· Handled documents for logistic department

· Took charge and ensuring of the daily operation in the logistic department.

IRAS Dec 06 – Apr 07

Administrative Assistant

· Handled sensitive information regarding personal particular.

· Gain knowledge on how Singapore taxation system works.

Volunteer

· Coaching a youth basketball team, for Woodlands RC Zone 8, which took part in various competitions.

Skills

· Excellent ability to establish good relationships with customers and colleague

· Excellent communication skills

· Work efficiently, hardworking and very willing to learn and take up new challenges

· Proficient with computer languages such as C, C++, Java, PHL, SQL progamming

· Proficient in English and Chinese

Second Post

For this post, describe in detail an interpersonal conflict situation, real or hypothetical. Describe the context of the conflict, the people involved, the main problem, and the possible causes. Try to identify the feelings and/or motivations of the people involved. Finally, while considering the main problem and your search for a solution, ask for feedback from your readers in the form of ONE question. Again, clarity and conciseness are important, as is completeness in your telling.

I would like to share a personal conflict situation that I was involved in last year. I had a friend whom I got along with initially. But, as I spent more time with him, he began to reveal the insensitive part of him, which I could not help but start to feel displeasure towards.

An aspect of him, which I deeply disapprove of, is that he has a tendency to invade the privacy of others even if they are his close friends. Personally, I feel that there is a limit to the things that can be shared among friends and out of respect for each other, one should not invade another’s privacy. Sadly, he does not share this view and even thinks that it is okay to do so and being friends they would not mind. There was a time when he blatantly scroll and look at our friend’s text messages. I feel that it is an act of betrayal of trust when friends kindly lend their phones to him, trusting him not to look through their private messages and photos. However, he did the exact opposite. When my friend (owner of the phone) knew about his actions, she was shocked and annoyed at his actions. Unable to tolerate such bahavior further and hoping that my friend would not to indulge in the same actions again, I attempted to have a talk with him. I tried to explain to him that his actions were disapproving to many, yet at the end of it, he was still persistent on his way of thinking and behavior. Thus, that made me disappointed and annoyed by the fact that friends care enough to tell him that he was doing the wrong thing yet he did not appreciate our kind thoughts. What could I have done differently to help him and show him that he was indeed wrong?

Why effective communication skills are important for you?

Communication basically is the exchange of information, ideas and feelings about certain issues and it also acts as a means of connection between people. In today’s society, communication is essential as it aids in understanding each other’s thoughts, opinions and perspectives. Thus, possessing effective communication skills are vital and useful due to the various reasons.

Firstly, it helps in avoiding any unnecessary misunderstandings at work. The wrong conclusions will not be drawn about the conversation that I have just made, causing displeasure or bad feelings.

On top of that, in a conversation, being competent in communication allows me to effectively convey my thoughts to the opposite party such that I will be able to achieve what I had in mind. Effectual conversation allows mutual understanding between people so that both parties will be able to relate and connect better with each other. This is especially so when conversing with other racial groups in a multi-racial country like Singapore. Sensitive racial issues may be brought up unintentionally if I do not express myself clearly leading to misunderstandings and discontentment from my ethnic friend. Also, with mutual understanding, ideas could be shared, expression of emotions could happen and this allow relationships to be built.

Lastly , effective communication is particularly important when working in a team. It enables trust and respect to be established between group mates, encourages better learning experience and lastly, goals to be accomplished more efficiently. In a heterogeneous society we have today, meeting different individuals with different point of views are inevitable. Thus, with good communication, it helps people to understand the myriad perspectives that there are, apprehend the existing issues present and hence make decisions essential to resolve the problems.

ES2007

My first post. :)