Final reflection

I'm writing this blog post with mixed feelings. Half of me feels "good riddance!" while the other half of me feels sad that the fun has ended. What makes it worse is that it is my last semester of my academic life. How much more emotional can I get?

Before I start my reflection, I would like to share a recent interesting experience.

During one afternoon after I was done with my FYP and ES OP, I was lazing in one of the tutorial rooms in FOE when my phone rang. I picked it up and the conversation was vaguely as follows.

KBR (One of the companies that I dropped my resume with): Hello, is this Mr. Chua Kun Lin?

Me: Yes, that would be me.

KBR: I'm calling from KBR, do you have time to talk now?

Me: Yes.

KBR: Okay Kun Lin, you have 5mins to tell me about yourself and why we should shortlist you for the interview.

ME: (WHAT?!) Oh, okay. Now?!

KBR: Yes, now.

For my entire life, I have never heard of this shortlisting trick. Despite the practices I had in ES2007, I was caught totally off guard and my 5mins of "fame" was totally disastrous. You all are lucky enough to know me as a friend and hence are now in the know. I believe that this disaster can be easily averted if you had seen it coming, and hence will be more mentally prepared. For the unfortunate me, I don't think I would be receiving their notification email soon.

Back to my own reflections of this module.

There were two main reasons for me to take this module. 1) No exams 2) I did not want to feel disadvantaged as compared to my NTU counterparts (as their engineering undergraduates are forced to take a similar module). In addition to that, I have heard that this is one module that is easy to pass but hard to score. Of course, being a final year student, my aim is to have as much fun as possible before graduating for good, and from some peer reviews, this course seemed to be capable of providing the fun I need.

One element of this module that I loved would be the peer feedback/reviews in all our assignments. Having someone give feedback is good, but assessing someone's assignments in order to give them feedback is better. This module also provided us some practice in oral presentations and interviews (which was pretty crucial for me at this point in time.)

Another major takeaway from this module would be the friendships that we've established in this module. It has been great fun attending lessons with all of you, and I'll definitely cherish these times.

I would like to end this post by sharing another recent experience of mine - the 4hrs SMRT Management Trainee briefing session (yes it's the briefing that caused me to skip our last ES2007 class). While all of you were having your final reflections in the class, I was in the briefing session using the skills I have learnt in ES2007. Although the event was a "briefing session", it was in fact a "mass interview" session where my professional communication skills were constantly being assessed. First up was a 1min of fame where I had to do an oral presentation of myself to around 25 people. Next, we were split into teams of 10 and were given a situation to solve. On pretext, it was a test of logical capabilities, however, it was more of a test of our interpersonal skills while working in a team. In addition to that, during the briefing session, they kept stressing that they require people who are full of enthusiasm and good interpersonal skills. I felt especially grateful to Brad and his wonderful course at that point in time. Although I personally feel that I already have a tiny bit of interpersonal skills to begin with, I believe that many individuals have been enlightened and enriched further in this module.

So, to all my friends reading this post, never stop practising what you have learnt as they would definitely come in handy in the near future. In my humble opinion, this is one underrated module given the fact that communication skills are being highly sought after in the working environment (especially in management level).

My favorite lecturer once said, "Grades are not everything, think long term, nothing you do now is going to matter much." Thus, having the intention to S/U this module right from the start has made me less grade conscious and I have enjoyed this module to the fullest. I would like to thank Brad and all my dearest classmates for all the sharing and laughter that I received.

It is depressing that our weekly meetup has come to an end and that I'm typing the final paragraph of my final blog post of this final module of mine. So depressing that I have decided to plan a BBQ session for all of us (I hope all of you would be supportive of it!). Venue would be settled by Clement! So meanwhile, study hard and good luck for the exams!

The link to indicate availability of dates is given at

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsNn_ktp1wypdEdFOUp3el9yWlVGRUFjenU4MzkteUE&hl=en

Do fill it up soon! Thanks!

Oral presentation

First and foremost, I would like to apologise for this late post as it has partially slipped my mind during this busy weekend.

Our team decided to adopt a more Zen approach by attempting to talk more and show less. However, we learnt that by doing so, we would need to cramp a huge chunk of information in our head and risk missing out on some points. This could have been very fatal as during the Q&A, items that were not explained in detail was questioned heavily.

In addition to that, I feel that we elaborated too much on the reasons of why we chose conservation. Our group should have cut down on that area and perhaps elaborated on why communication skills are important in conservation. The methodologies were also overly explained. If these two areas were reduced, we should have been able to prevent ourselves from boring the audience.

For my personal reflection, I feel that I was very nervous during the presentation. To tell the truth, I have never been that nervous during a presentation (even for my personal FYP presentation). After some thinking, I concluded that the nervousness was due to the fear of forgetting the large amount of information that I was to deliver. A second point was that as this was a very serious presentation, thus I was unable to draw strength from the humorous side of me. From the many presentations that I have done, making the crowd laugh or smile actually made me less tense. In this presentation with a serious note, not being able to find ways to inject humour into my presentation actually worked greatly against me.

I would like to end off with this quote which I bet most of us would agree with (and which Diana has used in her post).

"There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave."
-- Dale Carnegie

In addition to that, as a gift to all of you reading/commenting my blog, here are 2 videos that will aid you in your future presentations.

A must watch before all presentations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR6J3w9cWvk

How to present like Steve Jobs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ntLGOyHw4&feature=fvst

Methods and procedures - Draft 1

Methods and procedures

The following are the methods and procedures used by the team for this project.

Firstly, job advertisements in the field of conservation hiring fresh graduates were referred to and it was found that good communication skills are almost always one of the most sought for skills by employers in this area.

Further research on secondary sources was conducted to explore need for communication skills in the conservation field. These sources have been referenced in the background section of our proposal and they serve to support the need for our research.

In addition, the team also conducted a research on compulsory communication modules that other universities are offering. This allows the comparison of the differences in the communication skills development that students from NUS undergo with students from the other universities.

A short survey focusing on the attitude of NUS Life Science undergraduates towards developing their communication skills in NUS was created, to target NUS Life Science students who are intending to be in the Biology concentration. This survey aims to explore the adequacy of NUS curriculum in providing these undergraduates with the necessary communication skills in conservation related workplace. It also aims to gather their opinions and attitudes towards acquiring communication skills in their study in NUS. The online survey tool used by the team is www.surveymonkey.com.

An interview was also conducted with Mr. N. Sivasothi, a Biodiversity lecturer from the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS, who is actively involved in teaching at NUS as well as numerous conservation efforts with the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research and other conservation groups. This interview was crafted to inquire the current development of communication skills in the NUS Life Science curriculum as well as the possible barriers that may be preventing NUS students from mastering these skills. The team also used this chance to discuss about the feasibility of the options and ideas that will be proposed during the oral presentation.

Lastly, the team plans to interview NUS students who have previously worked at the conservation related workplace, such as the Singapore Zoological Gardens and the Night Safari. From these interviews, the team aims to obtain first-hand information from the horse’s mouth regarding the communication skills required in these workplaces and the adequacy of the NUS education in developing these communication skills.

Challenges

There are several challenges faced by the team in the process of conducting the research. For the online survey, due to the difficulty in determining the actual number of students who are both in the Biology concentration and those intending to concentrate in Biology, the extrapolation of results from the survey may not entirely reflect the opinions of the entire population of Biology students targeted. Next, the interviews with the NUS students who worked in a conservation related workplace might be insufficient to determine the general picture of the specific communication needs in this workplace.

Nonetheless, with these limitations in mind, the team will make careful analysis of the data and information that would be collected in this process and attempt to make sound recommendations and conclusions.

Job interview comments, a post out of the norm

Dear friends,

I have decided to share some of my personal feedback regarding job interviews in this stress-free post! (: (I hope Pei Rong does not strangle me for neglecting the project to do this post!)

My group (Rohan, Diana² and myself) has interviewed Pei Rong, Godwin, Nicole, Glenn and Joshua. My feelings/comments would be largely similar to my group's - in which Diana2 has passed to them. However, I'm still creating this post so that all of us may learn.

For Pei Rong, I guess she needs to be more to the point and not try to go around in circles. Other than that the interview was fine. (Or alternatively, it could be me who is totally uninterested in that field where she's interested in. lol)

For Godwin, our team feels that he needs to smile more, and handle stress better during interview. For goodness sake, Rohan isn't even there! But I quite like some of the answers that he gave.

I did not have a chance to interview/grill Nicole, but I guess she had the easiest time since Rohan was being nice and friendly. Or am I wrong?

For Joshua and Glenn, it is really of great reluctance that we have to interview the 2 of you together. Given a choice, we would really want to interview you all individually so that a nicer and more realistic experience may be gained.

Joshua, please do take note to never interrupt the interviewer. Ultimately, the interviewer is also trying to assess whether he feels comfortable working with you or not. Thus it's best to not get into a conflict with the interviewer, unless he's the sort that always welcomes a challenge or an employee that dares to speak up. Our feel is that you tend to take up a defensive stance when being interviewed, please try to avoid that. Other than that, I'm impressed by the knowledge and verbal skills that you possess.

For Glenn, sorry I was slightly stern with you although you did not really grill me back then. However, do take note of your Singlish and sitting posture. With proper preparation before the interview, I believe that you would do better!

Now to talk about my own interesting experience, I was questioned by Glenn, Joshua, Pei Rong and Godwin. I guess my interview was one of the slacker ones among my groupmembers. I went in with the aim of making my interviewer smile and also feel comfortable with me around. So I smiled hard.... Really hard.... I guess they can testify that whenever I'm faced with a difficult question, I will start smiling (: . However one of the mistakes that I noticed myself make is that I tend to say "actually" too many times. One bigger mistake was the Russian roulette question, the correct answer should have been spin again. Oops, I did not know why you all did not correct me because I would have been so dead if you all did. Perhaps I really have good convincing power? LOL. I admit that most of the replies I gave were smoked, but at least the conversation with the HR personnel was real! Overall the interview was pretty close to what a real interview that GE would actually give me and I'm really thankful and grateful for you guys' hardwork!

My personal aim for interviews is that I have to make sure that the interviewer is affected by my presence and smiles back at me. Perhaps you all might also want to adopt this mentality! Last but not least, good luck to for your tests and projects!

Kun lin (:

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior - "Chope-ing" seats

This intercultural incident happened during my summer program in Korea. Although no conflicts happened, we were ashamed of our actions.

To most of the NUS students, it is a norm to place our bags unattended on our seats in the canteen while ordering food. It served to give us an assurance that we have seats after we buy our food. While in one of the university’s canteen in Korea, we did the same thing. However, when we were queuing for food, we felt that something was amiss as some of the Korean students gave us weird stares. Few moments later, it finally dawned on me that everybody had their bags with them while queuing for food! What made it worse was that there were students with food standing around waiting for seats in the canteen while our bags were happily seated on the chairs. After we got our food, we went back to our seats, ate quickly and left the canteen feeling guilt-stricken. It was one of the worst meals I had in my life.

Frankly, I think we should have paid more attention to our surroundings before we acted. We should not have assumed that what is the norm in NUS is applicable to everywhere else. I felt that the Korean students understood that we were new exchange students, as things could have turned out ugly if they decided to throw our bags aside and sat on our seats.

This incident had made me realize that the Koreans are more of a “we” culture as by not placing their bags on the chairs, more students will get to utilize the chairs. Overall, the “efficiency” of the chairs would increase as it can serve more diners at a given period of time. Singaporeans on the other hand are more of an “I” culture as we deny others of a chance to utilize our chairs when we are queuing for food by placing our bags on the chairs. Although the “efficiency” of the chairs would decrease, being selfish creatures, we are guaranteed a seat after we buy our food. This difference in culture is also seen in trains in both Korea and Singapore. In Korea, commuters would automatically move to the center of the carriages allowing more commuters on board. While in Singapore, commuters tend to cluster near the doors of the carriages, denying others the chance to board the train.

I feel that Singaporeans have much to learn from the Koreans with regards to this aspect of their culture.

Edited: 21 Feb 2010, 1956h

Application Letter 2nd Draft

Dear friends,

Thanks in advance for taking the time to look through my application letter, I would admit that there are still plenty of areas that require improvement.

The job that I am applying for can be found at http://www.ge.com/careers/students/eedp/asia.html

RE: Opportunities in Undergraduate Leadership Program

Dear Sir/Mdm,

I am writing in response to your recruitment over the internet for the Undergraduate Leadership Program.

I will be graduating from National University of Singapore with a degree in Electrical Engineering with 2^nd Upper Class Honors, specializing in Power, Drives and Control. My final year project required me to have an in-depth knowledge of power converters and renewable energy. In addition, it placed my analytical and problem solving skills to the test while working individually.

During my course of undergraduate study, I held the position of Vice President for NUS Outdoor Activities Club. During which I co-managed and groomed a team of 15 individuals to run the club. I have also organized 3 treks to Malaysia for the undergraduates of NUS. I gained precious experience from planning and leading these overseas trips in the fields of risk management, public relations as well as leadership. Furthermore, the trips that I organized trained me to remain calm in the event of any emergencies, and to handle them appropriately.

I was also the project director for Race 6, a nationwide adventure race. In which I successfully led a team of 20 individuals in planning for this 3 days 2 nights race. Race 6 attracted more than 100 participants and also garnered sponsorships amounting to over $7000. My communication skills were heavily tested when I had to communicate with the sponsors as well as the management of the locations that we used. I am confident that my ability to work well with others and my experience with leadership positions qualify me for the Undergraduate Leadership Program.

I am greatly interested in a position in General Electric as they are often invested and groomed by the company. I am also drawn to the challenges that the participants of this program will face. Obtaining a degree with 2^nd Upper Class Honors while being heavily involved in co-curriculum activities is a testament of my time management skills; and I am quite sure that I would be able to cope with the intensity of this program.

My resume is enclosed for your reference, and I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions or wish to contact me, I can be reached at 9999-9999 (mobile) or at Chuakunlin@nus.edu.sg. Thank you.

Best Regards

Chua Kun Lin

Solutions needed please!

(This is based on a true story)

John (not his real name) was one of my closest friends. He was the main person I turned to when I needed a listening ear. However, this relationship turned for the worse when the 2 of us decided to join a planning committee together.

Despite the many ideas we shared in common, I realized that there was one huge difference between the two of us – work ethics. John was the person who would want to start and end the meeting punctually. Therefore, if there were still items in the agenda that has yet to be covered, he would rush through them and often try to haphazardly decide on a solution without further discussion. More often than not, his opinions became a disruption to our meetings. On the contrary, I am one who would almost never end a meeting unless all the items in the agenda have been properly discussed.

Our meetings were conducted in the evening and it often lasted for about 3 hours, sometimes, it might even extend to 4 hours. Nearing the end of the meeting, all of us would usually be tired and hungry however most of us would still want to discuss the agenda properly. As the saying goes “a hungry man is an angry man” so there were a few incidents when I could no longer endure John’s rushing and asked him to keep his opinions to himself in order to let us think of a proper solution. Needless to say, he was not very happy about it so I have always SMSed him after the meeting to apologize. On a few occasions, we even trashed it out with each other and discussed about the things we disliked of each other after my apology.

Sadly, the trashing out did not solve the conflicts. In the next meeting, the exact same thing happened and this time round I did not apologize. I felt that I was simply voicing out the thoughts of most of the members. In addition to that, I did not like the idea of constantly being the first to apologize as I believed that he was also in the wrong too. Being the first to apologize in every conflict made me feel as if I am a subordinate to him. After that incident there was a cold war between the two of us and I felt very miserable that I have lost a very close friend.

What could be done to salvage this friendship? Is there anything that could be done in the future to prevent this incident from happening again?