Sunday, November 18, 2012

Reflections on ES2007S Module


Pampered is the life we live in school

But when we step out, it ain’t as cool

Learning as we sit on a stool

We need to make employers drool

 

Active listening, non-verbal cues

Application letters and interviews

Ditch the black, try wearing blue

These are just the few

I have accomplished my aim; that is to learn about how I can send brilliant application letters and ace interviews. But, I have gotten more than I asked for. This course offers tips and techniques that beautify your words were courtesy and manner, equipping you with all that you need to maintain great relationships with your colleagues, bosses or employees. The course was well designed to tailor you to fit into the working world, so don’t rush to take this module in your first semester or even first year. Take it in your second last semester so that these survival tips remain fresh in you.

I was terribly afraid to take this course because the module review on modulereview.com mentioned the extremely heavy workload. It was NOT anything like that; the course is easy going except for the last few weeks when all your modules demand your attention like wailing babies. Nonetheless, if you follow the time plan set for the submission of your work, you would have sufficient time to do an excellent job. I spent lots of money cabbing to school because I was late, and reluctant to miss class. An advice for you: you will look forward to this class, so choose your timing wisely; or risk your allowance.

Dr Radhika is such a joy to work with. She has a motherly aura, and encourages each of us to speak and share our views without ever putting us down. Her comments are helpful, and insightful. She seems to enjoy listening to our views and discussing them, making us (especially me) feel important. I am glad I did this module with you Ma’am, and I will miss your lessons.

Of course there are some downsides to this module – it does not teach you everything. It gives you an overview of workplace communication including non-verbal cues, the art of persuasion, writing good emails, writing good application letters and acing interviews. Most of them are in the form of tips and advices. While these are very useful, I felt that a little more hands on would be great. Perhaps an interview assessment; or two application letter assessments – in one, we choose a job of our liking, and in the other, we choose a job outside our field so as to test how far we can stretch our resume. The most major downside, you will miss your friends and mentor.

Having said that, I want to thank each and every ES2007S classmate, and special thanks goes to Eyo, Joey, Valarie, Shiying, Dinesh and Uthpala who were my group mates.  I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr Radhika for being my mentor. Vin, if you happen to read this, I am glad we made the switch of classes.

Shameem Khan
 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Reflections on Oral Presentation


For this assignment, we were tasked to present our ideas and solutions to address a problem to people with authority. My group mates and I had a difficult time choosing a problem to address because the problem should not be too large for us to research on in the short time we have. The way in which we narrowed down to the issue of the lack of suicide awareness was very interesting. It was World Suicide Prevention Day that our group met to decide on the topic. However, the fact that only one group member knew this, and wore yellow in conjunction with it, speaks volumes about the awareness level we have regarding suicide. So, lo and behold, we’ve got a problem here!

Each of us viewed this topic very differently. In fact, when we spoke to Dr. Radhika about our topic, [I think] she thought the solutions we have is to reduce suicide rates in NUS. Conversely, our solutions were to tackle the negative perceptions towards suicide and counselling so that people would be more open to talk about it, and thereby, would not consider suicide at all. Some of us viewed the solutions as one main solution branched out into various parts, while the others thought they were three separate solutions. We soon came to a consensus that the former view would be easier to understand and present. The fact that we had no major disagreements was amazing, making it easier for us all to work on the chosen topic.
Our group comprised of members from different countries, namely Singapore, India, and Sri Lanka. Nonetheless, we all managed to understand one another well, and sought to clarify our doubts politely if we had any. I felt the passion we had for this project, the belief in each of us that we have chosen an attention-grabbing topic to work on. The language has never been a barrier in our meetings; neither has the differences in culture. It’s like we have a common ground, on which we all connect.

To Shiying, Dinesh and Uthpala, working with you people has been a wonderful experience for me.
 

Shameem Khan