Monday, April 19, 2010

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!

10 comments:

  1. Hi Kun Lin,

    It was great working with you. You always lighten up the mood during our discussion for the project and I really appreciate it.

    I am glad to hear that you were able to apply the skills that you have learnt in ES2007S in your work and I believe you certainly will in time to come. This shows the practicality of effective communication skills in life and to find a job in your case.

    I hope that you will succeed in your career, being equipped with these skills. All the best!

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  2. Dear Kun Lin,

    Thanks for sharing your phone interview experience, albeit a negative one. I do hope that you get your dream job.

    I love the way you ended. "So depressing that I have decided to plan a BBQ session for all of us." That just struck a chord in me. I look forward to meeting up with the rest of the class again!

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  3. Hi Kun Lin,

    As usual, you have made your blog entry a hilarious and enjoyable one! It is quite a pity that you do not get a job in KBR. (It is their loss for not recruting you! haha!) Nevertheless, there are better job opportunites out there in this world! Persevere!

    Thanks for sharing your experience with us in this blog! Also, thanks for organizing a group 8 BBQ! I am kind of looking forward to it now!

    All the best in your future endeavour, my dear friend!

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  4. Funny Kunlin!

    Thank you for organising the class barbeque, let's ask Brad to join us! Thank you for being so proactive in class and out of class, and thanks to you I sometimes find it hard to stop giggling in class over some of the random comments that you gave which really did tickled me so badly.

    Jokes aside, good luck and happy commencement!

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  5. Hello Kun Lin!

    I must say! I also have come to love receiving feedback and reviews from my peers. I feel this is a very effective way of learning and I have benefited so much from it.

    It has been a pleasure attending classes with you but unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity of working with you.

    I remember that one time we had lunch together in the canteen and you were sharing with us about how addicted to facebook you were (haha). Afterwards, you posted that 'mind-blowing' video on my wall.

    Thank you for being such a wonderful friend in and out of class. Thank you for helping to make my ES2007S experience an enjoyable one!

    Good luck in all your future endeavors!

    See you soon!

    ~nicole

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  6. @PR, it was great working with you too! You were always so full of ideas and energy!

    @ZS, thanks for your blessings! Please be jealous of the free time I have now as I really worked hard during yr1-3.. (Just kidding (: )

    @WY, there will always be better jobs our there. What's most important is that I'm happy with the job. KBR seems to be too "fierce" for me.

    @Diana2, yes! What's a class outing without our dearest teacher? Thank you so much!

    @Nicole, hey! I was not so addicted okay? I believe I described the video as mind-numbing instead (lol). I would also need to thank you too for making ES2007 an enjoyable experience.

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  7. Excellent final post, Kun Lin! The stories you frame the post with are so relevant, reflecting positively on what you experienced in our module. Much appreciated! I also like how you honestly reveal the reasons for taking ES2007S. Of course, the take away is much greater than the S you get, and that you show wit your exuberance.

    Thank you, too, for the invitation to a BBQ. Great idea. Please let me know when you all settle on a time and place. It'll be my pleasure to meet you all again.

    The very best wishes on your future path, Kun Lin. I look forward to hearing of your happiness and good fortune!

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  8. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. It helped to substantiate the learning points that you raised. Having worked with you for both peer teaching and oral presentation, I must say you are a responsible guy with a humorous side. Good luck on your job hunt and see you at the barbecue!

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  9. Hey Kun Lin!

    As mentioned by the rest, you definitely help to lighten the mood in discussions and class. Thanks for sharing your two experiences as well. They do indeed remind us once again of the importance of good communication skills. I think your optimistic and positive nature definitely rubs off people.

    All the best in your job search!

    See you soon

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  10. Thank you Brad, Jie Ren and Glenn for your kind comments! I will keep them close to my heart!

    Hope to see all of you in the upcoming BBQ!

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