Cultural Differences

Cultural differences may pose a vast barrier to effective communication. Having different opportunities to travel overseas, I had the chance to interact with people from various regions. It is sometimes surprising that despite the similarity in the heritage roots, there are still differences in the work culture between people of different regions.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go on an student exchange to this nearby Asian country last spring semester. There were also few others NUS students who were on the same trip with me. However, unlike my course, the courses that my other NUS friends took were more project-based and they had many opportunities to work with the locals.

Being a city that was that was known to have high work efficiency, the locals indeed portrayed their efficiency in their projects. However, this had frustrated my friends who were their project mates. The locals are used to start their discussion and work at the very last moment before submission and they will work through the night before handing in their work to the lecturers. Unlike the locals, my friends were mostly accustomed to working towards the deadline and making progresses along the way. This hence led to misunderstandings, as my friends saw that as the lack of concern about the project; while on the other hand, the locals did not see the need to start early. No doubt, the projects were eventually completed but many unhappiness could have been avoided if there was this understanding of the cultural difference right at the beginning.

Perhaps, if I am in my friends’ shoes, I will most probably feel the same way as they did. After all, we were grew up in the similar environment and will most likely have the same attitude and sentiments towards work. I will probably be just as frustrated and irritated by their work attitude as my friends because I too will want my final product to be as perfect as possible.

Indeed, cultural differences will lead to misunderstanding if it is not carefully handled. Therefore, it will be important for us to understand and appreciate the differences that we have. After all, it is such differences between different cultures that make our world a much more vibrant and interesting place, don’t you agree?

Application Letter

The job description taken from the website of the company:
Analysts fulfil a multitude of roles across the business. To become an Analyst, you need to have performed well in your undergraduate degree and possibly have a Masters. For a full-time role, work experience gained through internships will be an advantage. You should be highly numerate, with strong communication skills. Fluency in more than one language is an asset for some roles and the ability to work as part of a team is essential.


My Application Letter

[My Address Here]

2nd September 2010

Roy Powers
Human Resource Department
[Company]
[Address of the Company]

Dear Mr Powers:

I am writing to apply for the position as an Analyst in your organization. I got to know about the position opening during the recruitment talk at National University of Singapore last Wednesday and I am interested in working for this position.

As a graduate from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Physics, I have been exposed very much to quantitative analysis and have developed acute sensitivity to numbers and am able to make logical deduction from the data sets given. The position requires strong research and analysis skills and I believe that my training in the field will allow me to perform and produce useful results for the organization.

I appreciate your time in reading my application letter and I look forward to your reply. I have attached my resume in the letter. Please feel free to contact me at [my HP number] or email me at [my email address] should you need me to furbish you with more information. Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,




Tan Da Yang

The Origin of Job Interviews

My friend posted this on Facebook and I thought it is pretty funny actually. =)