Blog Post#3: Application Letter

An Aspiring Quantity Surveyor

Job Description:

	Company	Woh Hup (Private) Limited
	Job Title	Internship with Woh Hup (Private) Limited- Engineer / Quantity Surveyor
	Location	Singapore
	Date Posted	Tuesday, February 01, 2011
	Closing Date	Monday, February 28, 2011
	Company URL: www.wohhup.com Company Address: 1 Fifth Avenue #03-01, Guthrie House S268802
	Responsibilities
	Job Description: -Site supervision and engineering works -Progress inspection / reports -Other assignments to be determined on-site Specific projects/learning outcomes: -Acquiring, evaluating and interpreting information -On job training shadowing engineers in the daily running of the site -Apply knowledge to the task, exercise good time management skills
	Requirements
	Job Requirements: -Students undertaking civil/ mechanical/ electrical engineering & quantity surveying course -Can work independently and also in a team -Diligent and assertive Application Letter:

Chan Ho Zong

37A Paya Lebar Crescent S(536078)

81251123

E-Mail: hozong.chan@nus.edu.sg

6 February 2011

Woh Hup (Private) Limited

1 Fifth Avenue, S(268802)

#03-01, Guthrie House

Application for the post of Engineer/ Quantity surveyor

Dear Human Resources officer,

I am currently a Year 3 Mechanical Engineering undergraduate from the National University of Singapore(NUS), and I am expected to graduate in May 2012. I got to know about this position through the NUS career centre’s online job application site, and I am particularly interested in the potentially challenging job nature of a quantity surveyor.

I thrive on engineering projects requiring teamwork, and had ample opportunity to do so through several design centric projects in the university. My well-rounded education and rigorous curriculum in mechanical engineering has equipped me with the relevant skills to source and analyze information, and subsequently present them in a clear and concise manner through presentations or reports. I have prior knowledge in Microsoft Excel, Words, Powerpoint, C programming language, as well as 3D modeling in SolidWorks. These academic preparations and experiences working in a team will put me in good stead in facing the challenges and demands of this field.

I enjoy working with people, which I do so through the various activities both on and off campus. I volunteer regularly at a home for underprivileged children, where in addition to my role as publicity director, I aided the Treasurer in managing the finances of the club. In doing so, I derive satisfaction from balancing the accounts through sheer diligence. Similarly, I am sure I will be able to extend this diligence I take with my work to tasks assigned by your company. Having taken up various leadership roles such as representing the university as a student ambassador, being on the central planning committee for special projects benefitting the elderly, and in my part time job as a senior project instructor, I have learnt how to effectively assert my opinions or influence where it matters. Comfortable working independently as well as in a team, and lead should that need arise, I believe that my attitude, experience and skills will be pertinent to this position. I have a strong interest in this position and I wish to have the opportunity to learn and contribute to your company as an effective engineer/quantity surveyor.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to an interview with you.

Yours sincerely,

Chan Ho Zong

Blog Post#2: Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Bashing through a brick wall

As part of our department’s effort to implement a “design centric curriculum”, I had to take a module which required us to work in groups to design a solar panel prototype for industrial use.

My course mate, Zack, whom I have been on good terms with, asked me to join him and a few other friends on the project. I agreed, and after the first meeting, I was voted the group leader. I quickly split the task of researching the project topic amongst us, and arranged to meet up the following week.

The following week, at the meeting, Zack surprised all of us when he started showing us graphs. It turned out that he had, on his own, carried out a day long experiment. He had even prepared power point slides to explain the experiment. At the conclusion of his slides, I realized the experiment was totally irrelevant to our project, and that he had jumped straight into the experiment without setting out any experiment objectives. I had then ventured to ask him politely about his intentions of the experiment.

He quickly turned defensive and insisted it was crucial information. Fortunately, I was backed up by another member, who pointed out some of the major flaws of the experiment. At this point, Zack clearly looked infuriated, and accused us of ignoring his valuable contributions, and claimed we didn’t respect him by questioning him. He refused to listen to any explanations and left the room in a huff.

Given that my group is still at the vital brainstorming stage, what should I do as a group leader to get him involved?

Blog Post#1: Importance of effective communication to me.

As I approach the conclusion of my third year in the university, all of a sudden, the thought of looking for a job in a year’s time never felt so real and intimidating. For me, my journey through university had been one of discovery and exploration. I took arts modules as well as Business modules to gain a better understanding of the world we live in. To my surprise, I realised that there was a basic similarity to all these subjects, and that is: human interaction. I came across a quote by Albert Einstein, whom once said:

“When we survey our lives and endeavours, we soon observe that almost the whole of our actions and desires is bound up with the existence of other human beings. We notice that our whole nature resembles that of the social animals.” (Albert Einstein, 1934)

Even engineers, who rarely work with large groups of people, are still required to work in smaller teams, as well as with other teams to solve engineering problems. As an aspiring engineer, I think should I possess the skills for effective communication, it would be a cinch to overcome any challenging tasks assigned to my team.

On a more personal note, as a secondary and junior college student, I used to fear presentations and any form of public speaking so much that I would be practically be shaking and perspiring even before the presentation. During the presentation itself, I will probably be caught stumbling over my words and stammering into incoherency. These reasons were what gradually led me to believe learning to communicate effectively via written as well as verbal means, is an quintessential life skill that should prove useful whether I am looking for my first job, or am well into my job as an engineer or otherwise.

An introduction

I chose to take this module as a means to learn more about how to present myself in an appropriate way whether it is to an audience or in crafting an email to an individual. What drew me to this module was the numerous mini projects that students are required to do. I feel theories are quite easy to understand, but having to put them into practise is quite a different matter. Though the module requirements can sound intimidating, I think I can learn useful and effective communication skills through this module.

I named this blog “one last thing” as a reminder for myself to avoid a bad habit of jumping into the content of a verbal/written message without ensuring the message is concise and complete. Often, I realised I frequently ended up saying “oh yes, and one last thing”, and then proceed to attempt to explain in greater detail. As a result, the person I am communicating with can end up lost and disorientated.

I do realise I still have alot to learn, even from you, my classmate. Please do feel free to comment on my posts as and when it strikes you to. Thank you.