Final reflections

Ending my entire 4 years of university life with ES2007S was interesting. I think it was apt that we were reviewing the entire coursework, going through  a checklist of what we have covered in this module. I think I have covered EVERY aspect in my entire university life.

Of course, as discussed yesterday, this course covered alot of ground. It has aided me in the development of many soft skills. Even in engineering, what I take away will not be the heavy technical details but soft skills like learning to think on my feet, logical thinking and analysis, etc. I believe these soft skills will help me along in my future career. Though I cannot say I am an expert in all my soft skills, but my experience in NUS have helped to form the foundations. I can continue to develop and hone them with experience.

To be honest, one of the reasons I chose this module was because it has no exams. The other intention was to learn how to write a proper resume, cover letter for the primary purpose of scoring myself an interview with the company of choice, since I would be graduating. It was very practical knowledge that I felt I needed to know. I came here to learn but I ended up doing the second peer teaching lesson which was on resume, cover letters and personal statement. What an irony! But I truly appreciated all the feedback that we gave each other. It helped me improve by comparing myself with the standards of the rest.

I've always thought that blogging was something you'll do when you have too much time on your hands. Well, that's exactly what I did during my long holidays after junior college. But I realised that I like blogging and seeing responses and comments was indeed encouraging. Still, I might not be able to sustain it after this module. The use of facebook was also effective because our generation probably surf facebook more than we check our e-mails.

What I found interesting about ES2007S is the myriad of people I have come across. It would have been better if we had students from other faculties join us to give different perspective. Still, the mix we had was interesting enough.

My only qualm was that we could not choose our own research project team. I would have preferred to work with people I was more comfortable with. Forcing me to step out of my comfort zone, I know, was a necessary evil. But this necessary evil might have cost me my grades which is something I'm not too pleased about. I understand that grades are not everything but it will affect my class of honours.

Reflection on my presentation

Finishing this presentation lifts a heavy burden off my shoulders. I have always had stage fright. I know most people might find it strange because I perform on stage all the time, whether singing or dancing. However, when it comes to public speaking, i get all jittery and nervous. I worry that i would not be able to work the stage, engage the audience, remember what I need to say, speak professionally.

When I rehearse, I sound perfectly confident and sure of my content. But when it comes to the real thing, I stumble and rely heavily on the notes that I have prepared. For this presentation, when Brad told us no notes or cue cards should be used, I was devastated. Even though this was my pet topic, I still felt the stress. This was very obvious during the mock interview when the environment that i was in did not help either - two presentations going on simultaneously in the same room greatly distracted me.

During that week, I had two presentations - one Engineering Professionalism presentation as well as this Professional Communications presentation. I felt very much at ease presenting engineering facts and hence I was more confident. Perhaps it was also because in Engineering Professionalism, I know I am not judged by the way I speak and present myself but rather the purpose was solely to allow the audience to understand the concepts of my project. Furthermore, I was allowed to refer to my mini notes and cue cards from time to time. I think that really helped to calm my nerves because I know that I have a backup. Professional Communications, on the other hand, was intended to scrutinise the way I speak, my non-verbal gestures that I might not even be aware of, and trying to convince an audience who was trying to nit-pick. I felt self-conscious and that worsened the situation.

Despite my struggles and laments, I felt that my actual presentation was much better than the mock presentation. Also, I am glad that my idea of having a mini disturbance during the presentation, to illustrate my point of how dancers disturb the peace of others when they use public spaces, was well-received. Although it was not absolutely ideal, I felt that it was the best presentation that I could have given.

Intercultural Behavior [Blog #04] *edited*

It was a festive company Christmas dinner where each person was supposed to bring a gift for the traditional gift exchange. However, there were certain requirements for the gift. It had to cost at least $10, could not be perishables, could not be impractical, could not be money, etc. With such requirements, it was difficult to find the perfect gift.

Gifts were randomly drawn and given to the employees. Celine, a Chinese employee received a gift from Fathin, a Malay colleague. Fathin excitedly went to Celine and said she would definitely like her gift. She claimed, “It (The gift) travelled from Malaysia all the way back to Singapore.” Celine thanked her but did not open her gift on the spot because it was considered rude to open gifts in front of the person.

So, Celine went home to unwrap her present, only to realise that the gift was a pink clock. She knew that the gift was inappropriate because the Chinese word “song zhong” had 2 meanings – give clock and send someone to the grave. It was highly insulting for a Chinese to receive such a gift. However, she also knew that Fathin was young and was not aware of such traditions. Since she was not superstitious, she did not blame Fathin nor pursue the matter.

However, the next day, another colleague asked Celine what she had received as a gift. Celine told her a pink clock. That colleague was superstitious and went to confront Fathin on behalf of Celine. Fathin became angry as she thought Celine did not appreciate her gift and went to gossip about it with her other colleagues instead of gently informing her. Things ended sour between Celine and Fathin.

As can be seen from the above scenario, conflict could have been avoided if the colleague was as understanding as Celine. Celine who was more understanding ended up being the victim of such an unnecessary conflict.

Application Letter (Draft 2) *edited*

xxxx Avenue xx

BLK xxx, #xx-xxx

Singapore xxxxxx

13 February 2011

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in joining Singapore Airlines as a trainee station manager. I have always had a strong interest in the airline industry and I believe this career would mould me into a global person.

I understand that Singapore Airlines has evolved into one of the most respected travel brands around the world with the Singapore Girl as the symbol of quality customer care and service. In my view, the Singapore Girl image should not be limited to in-flight service but also extended to ground services. While I am a fresh graduate lacking work experience, I believe that my outgoing personality, leadership, and willingness to learn will compensate for my inexperience.

Having worked part-time in the food and beverage (F & B) industry, I have been exposed to customer service. Observing how fellow colleagues and managers responded to customers have given me a good preview of the service industry in general. For example, during a non-peak period where there were more than enough staff, my manager asked me to go around the tables to gather customer feedback on food, ambience and service. Such initiative on his part would allow him to understand customers and hence improve on current standards of customer service.

Being in the civil engineering course has also taught me to be quick-witted as a problem-solver, strive for the highest professional standards and regard safety as a vital part of our work. For instance, in civil engineering, our projects (buildings, bridges etc) are huge and the safety of the structures has a great impact on its users. There are many uncertainties, such as on-site transportation and handling of materials, which are difficult to model using advanced modelling software. Hence, we often use a high factor of safety to take into account of these anomalies. This is to ensure safety for all users.

Such assets will no doubt provide me a strategic advantage in this line of work. Furthermore, I have an interest in languages and am currently studying the Japanese language in a private school. In a global environment, I would think that the mastery of additional languages would be an added bonus. In addition, my various leadership positions in my co-curricular activities have taught me to work as a team and independently. Exhibiting versatility in various situations would definitely be useful in my future career in Singapore Airlines. I look forward to the day that I become a full-fledged station manager.

I sincerely hope you will consider my application. If you have any further questions, I would be glad to furnish you with more information in an interview. Please do not hesitate to contact me at the number provided in my enclosed resume.

I look forward to a positive reply. Thank you.

Kind regards,

Michelle Ong

application letter (draft 1)

xxxxxxx Avenue x

Block xxx, #xx-xxx

Singapore xxxxxx

7th February 2011

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in joining Singapore Airlines as a trainee station manager. I understand that Singapore Airlines has evolved into one of the most respected travel brands around the world with the Singapore Girl as the symbol of quality customer care and service. From my viewpoint, the Singapore Girl image should not be limited to in-flight service but also extend to on-ground services. I believe that while I am a fresh graduate and lack work experience, I can fulfill this role with an outgoing personality, leadership qualities and most importantly, a willing heart to learn.

Enclosed is my resume and you will find that I do have some experience in the service industry and have been exposed to some form of customer service. I believe this gives me a good preview of the service industry in general. Being in the civil engineering course has also taught me to be quick-witted as a problem-solver, strive for the highest professional standards in my work and regard safety as a vital part of our work. Such qualities will no doubt be beneficial to this line of work. Furthermore, I have an interest in languages and am currently studying the Japanese language in a private school. In such a global environment, I would think that mastery of additional languages would be an added bonus. In addition, my various leadership positions in my co-curricular activities have taught me to work as a team, as well as, to work independently. Exhibiting versatility in various situations would definitely be useful in my future career in Singapore Airlines. I do hope that I would one day be a full-fledged station manager.

I sincerely hope you will consider my application. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the number provided in my resume.

I look forward to a positive reply. Thank you.

Kind regards,

Michelle

Chinese New Year Conversations

Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with the assignments for this module.

Somebody I knew was going away to avoid this Chinese New Year period. Though I love the chinese new year goodies and receiving red packets, I do not really like how typical conversations go every year when I meet my relatives. Hence, I can understand why people would want to escape such hypocrisy during this season.

When I was 7 years old, older relatives would be asking how I was coping with the primary 1 school work. During my following schooling years, I would be compared to my other cousins of the same age. Mothers would congregate and discuss how many band 1s or As that we have/have not achieved or which stream we were streamed into. They never seem to get tired of that topic. Some years when I knew I did well, I would like to step out and say yes I did well. Other years when I knew I did less than satisfactory, I would just like to hide in a small corner and hope nobody will disturb me. Having older cousins who were scholars and future lawyers did not ease the burden either. Over the years, I have learnt to accept that I have done my best and if my best still do not meet their expectations, there is nothing much that I can do. They seem to have accepted that too because they stopped comparing once I stepped into university. Well, it was probably also due to the different courses pursued that cannot be compared.

I thought I have finally got rid of such awkward questions. However, they seem to be bent on asking me more difficult questions. They asked, "so you are graduating soon, have you started looking for jobs? What kind of jobs are you looking for?" and they try to give me advice. (Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate it) But they don't like it that I say that I'm keeping my options open. And they would start teasing me, saying that next time they would see me at a random construction site wearing those Phua Chu Kang (local sitcom character) yellow boots and safety helmet. If there's one thing about my future that I'm sure of, it will be that joining a contractor firm is out of the question for me. I guess the nature of my degree makes me especially susceptible to such stereotyping.

Another question that my older cousins (who are married) like to ask me is, "When are you getting married?" Obviously, they want to give one less red packet and instead let their children 'benefit' from my 'marriage'. That is one question that will be repeated till the day I finally get married. It's such an awkward question to answer. In fact, as a traditional girl, it's almost impossible to answer because we would not know when our boyfriends would decide to propose. Single journalists also like to lament such problems in their own newspaper column. I read an interesting  article that says that his reply would always be "Soon. My wedding will be held on 31st June". It worked for a few years until someone realised that there is no such date. I found that quite amusing. It seems everyone, not just me, face such awkward questions and have their own ways of handling it.

I foresee that marriage is not the end to such nagging questions. Once married, relatives would ask about when the couple is going to have a baby. Once the first baby is out, the next question would most naturally be when would they have the next one. Then there will be questions of school choices for the children and results. It seems this goes full cycle. Sometimes I really do think that such chatter is meaningless and insincere that you only try to 'actively' act concern for someone during this special time of the year.

Do you share the same sentiments? Or perhaps after taking this module, you have devised a better way of handling such situations. If you do, please share.

An interpersonal conflict situation *edited*

I had a module that was entirely based on a single project. For the final presentation, we had decided to come up with several posters, each based on a different aspect of our project. Each of us would be in charge of two posters. Before we proceeded with the poster design, we had already clearly discussed what should be added and focused on, in each poster. We had also set a deadline for ourselves.

My group had five people of which I had a conflict with one. He was very busy with his CCA - track and field and was often late or absent from our meetings. Knowing he had many commitments, he still volunteered to do the most important part of the project. Having been friends for a year, we knew that he was someone responsible. So we thought that since he volunteered, he should know what he was in for and that he knew he could cope with it.

When our self-set deadline was due, all our posters were ready except for his. He asked for a slight extension and we agreed. As promised, he did deliver his completed posters. However, when I was compiling the posters for printing, I realised that his posters were completely off-focus. Having already previously discussed the details of the poster, I felt that he did not understand what we meant. Besides, we were running out of time, especially since submission was the next day. I discussed with my group leader and decided it was best for me to edit one of his posters as a guide for him to understand how it should be done.

Initially, I intended to do simple editing. However, being a perfectionist at heart, I could not bear to see inadequacies. After an hour and a half, I had completely changed his poster to what I felt it should look like. All the while, I thought I was doing him a favour. After that, I dropped him a message to inform him of the newly updated poster and asking him to make the necessary modifications for the other poster.

The next day, we had a group meeting after submitting the posters. There was a high level of tension because he was fuming. He accused me of not respecting his work because I made modifications without his consent. Meanwhile, I felt that he was late and worse, handed in sub-standard work. Instead of blaming him, I had sacrificed my personal time (I was busy as well) to help him out, only to be miunderstood and wrongly accused.

What do you think I should have done so that things would not have taken such a turn?