hi guys, this is my resume attached as screenshot for your feedback!

if its a little too grainy for your viewing, please zoom in to refrain from straining your eyes. hold on to the ctrl button and at the same time, use your mouse to scroll up.

thanks so much! :)

Application Letter

Ling Li Ting Cheryl

BLK 123#01-234

Ang Mo Kio Ave 2
Singapore 123456

(+65)90487745
lingcheryl89@hotmail.com
8 February 2012

Alice Tan (Ms.)
Senior Human Resources Specialist (HR Business Partner)
Human Resources
Merck Pte. Ltd.

Dear Ms Alice Tan,

Position of Business Support Executive

I refer to the application for the Business Support Executive position in Merck Millipore. I'm a final year Chemical Engineering student from the National University of Singapore (NUS). I am highly interested in working, learning and being a part of the highly driven and challenging environment in the company.

Firstly, the diversity in Merck entices me as I enjoy meeting and working with new people. Having studied in NUS, I had opportunities to interact with peers from various races, nationalities and cultural backgrounds. I have worked well in a team with 2 Chinese for laboratory works for 1 year, to be on an overseas field trip in Shanghai with a group of approximately 20 students and additionally, under the mentorship and collaboration with Indonesians and Chinese Researchers during my attachment at A*STAR Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences for 6 months.

Secondly, on top of self-learning, I also have a passion in leading and coaching peers. I was a leader in many of my co-curricular activities such as Fencing and the Girl Guides’ group. As the Captain and Trainer, I led and motivated several less experienced peers through encouraging them to sign up for competitions despite it being daunting for novices. To improve myself, I communicated and exchanged ideas with external club and national fencers, as well as learned from them. In the Girl Guides’, as the Patrol Leader whom was in-charge of the progress and welfare of more than 8 members. I was constantly aware of their progress report and encouraged them to take on self-initiated projects and awards out of the norm.

In sync with Merck’s dedication to continuous drive to improve and innovate, I am constantly on the lookout to propose better solutions to improve my working environments. Be it a school project or in a workplace, I always feel that with the ever-changing workforce and people’s needs, improvements of any scale or form, can always be made. Having performed laboratory works at A*STAR, I always sought for improvements in every task I perform, such as reducing the time taken even for the simple task of samples weighing. As a part-time service crew at Udders Ice Cream Pte Ltd, I always looked to increase work efficiency and customers’ satisfaction such as implementing the concept of specialization at peak hours, looking out for customers with special needs etc.

Lastly, I am enticed in working in a fast-paced and challenging environment. Having been placed in stressful working environments before, such as handling Tax Compliance forms in KPMG and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, I believe that I have adequate composure and working attitude to drive me to strive hard in demanding working environments.

I sincerely hope that I would be considered for the recruitment of the Business Support Executive position. I can be contacted at 9xxxxxxx (Mobile) and also via email at lingcheryl89@hotmail.com.

Thank you so much for your consideration.

Yours Sincerely,

Cheryl Ling

A Love-Hate Relationship with Social Media

Most of us in this century have, in one way or another, utilized social media as a communication tool. Without me explicitly stating, I believe most of us understand the advantages of social media. Simply stating, social media has given us the ease of communication through crossing various social circles, especially via the internet. However, I’d also like to remind everyone and myself of the very same fact that social media is a great form of communication tool for spreading messages widely and quickly to anyone, could be detrimental as well.

I am someone who is practically dependent on social media as I see it as one of the greatest way to keep in touch with local and global news, and most importantly to be kept updated about my friends' thoughts and their lives. However, being that, I almost always forget the nature of online written communication. That is, it is 1) possible to be misread with the incorrect tone and emotions, on top of the reader's assumptions 2) possible to be misread especially if your message does not address a specific person.

There was one afternoon where I was irritated by the constant squabbling by two friends, to the extent that I could not study anymore. I casually changed my website's status online to 'GROW UP GUYS.' and did not think too much about it as the both of them do not have an account on the website. However that night, I received furious text messages from my sibling abt the website. She thought that I was talking about her quarrel with her boyfriend, and asked me to mind my own business. I wanted to clarify it immediately face to face but she was already asleep. Feeling absolutely enraged by her messages and the fact that she didn't confront me face to face, I replied back furiously. She then apologised immediately the next day through texting me, and asked if I was still mad at her. However I didn't reply her message as I was still mad at her for being so ridiculous. I needed a day to cool off and was only ready to speak to her at night. Out of my expectations, when I reached home that night, she yelled at me and we fought again. It broke into a physical fight and it ended up with her not coming home for 4 days! When she did, she apologised and explained. I sat and listened to her for an hour. We chat and spoke for hours. It turned out that she was always too stressed and because she doesn't know how to verbalize her thoughts, she couldn't begin to confide. The night which everything happened was a trigger to her release of emotions. I encouraged her to speak to me, because communicating needs practice. I also added on that if she found difficulty in doing so, she could write to me through text messages, emails or even through facebook messages. She felt better and was also more encouraged to talk to me thereafter.

What would you do to resolve this tension between you and your elder sibling? Was there any better actions I could have taken or something I could say to prevent from happening? Thanks for reading! Hope to hear from anyone about what you have to feedback on.

Effective Communications

Having worked in several jobs before, ranging from a service staff at an ice cream shop to a tax officer at one of the Big 4 and IRAS to a translator at a consulting firm, i would guarantee anyone that effective communications come into play without you even realising it. I first started out working in secondary school, where I definitely struggled when i interacted with senior staff. I found problems connecting with them as I lacked in work experience and maturity, as well as the fact that I had so much queries on my mind as well. However, with several trials and errors, not forgetting the fact that I was really young and hence quickly forgiven if i made mistakes, I managed to find my way to communicate with my mentors and colleagues well enough to maintain a friendly relationship with them.

What I'd like to say is that: Effective communications plays a big role in all of our lives, it is just about noticing it or not. However, I believe that at this age, most of us should have already noticed that effectively communicating with another party (be it your friends, an acquaintance, your lecturers, your employers, a stranger.) comes into your lives everyday.

For me, after taking several courses on communicating and presenting myself, I have come to realise that subconsciously, before I speak to someone, certain questions go through my head. Questions like 'how should i start this conversation?' 'Will the way I speak offend or please him/her?' 'Will he/she be interested in what I have to share?'

I believe that effectively communicating with another person comes with respect and knowledge, on top of the context of what either party is trying to bring across.

Respect: Being considerate in the way the person thinks, the background the person comes from. Whether the person is someone open-minded or someone more on the conservative side, it makes a difference. Whether the person comes from a strong religious background and family or whether he is a free thinker, makes a difference. Respecting every aspect of what he or she does is equivalent to respecting who he or she is.

Knowledge: To communicate well, it is best to know what to say and what not to say. Overlapping the points on respecting the other party, it is good to know what are the ‘to do’s and the ‘not to do’s towards certain people, cultures, religions and even occupations. Knowing what to do and how to behave in front of someone else, affects the way the message is brought across.

All in all, I believe that effective communication is a double-edged sword. It can help you gain connections and foster good relationships with anyone at anywhere, whereas if neglected at anytime, it can jeopardize relationships and reflect badly on oneself.

On a side note, I would strongly encourage everyone reading this to take up the courses held by NUS Career Centre. If you can, do take up the full package as early as possible before you do your job search in your final year. One of the courses involve communications, and it was a refreshing experience as we had to speak in front of the class and a video camera. This was definitely daunting and it gave me the jitters. However, it is a good way to find out how you look and sound to your audience! :)