Intercultural Communication

A few years back, my family and I travelled to Hong Kong for a holiday. From observation, the people in Hong Kong spoke mainly in Cantonese dialect and since my family members were able to communicate in Cantonese, we did not have many difficulties in communication. However, the experience we had there was not a very pleasant one.

Once, I passed by a gift shop to get some presents for my friends. The female shopkeeper was busy with her work and didn’t notice me. In order to get her attention, I started to wave to her and called her “xiao jie” which meant “miss” in Chinese. She glanced at me, clearly noticed by presence, but continued to ignore me and pack her merchandise. I was pretty angry with her for behavior and attitude, so I called for her even louder. The shopkeeper stomped towards me and told me to get out of her shop and she did not want to sell things to me. I was very surprised at her action but decided not to pursue the matter further since I was not familiar with the place.

In the evening, my parents and I went to a restaurant for some Chinese food. The meal was delicious but we could not finish the food and decided to call for “ta bao” which means “takeaway” in Chinese. The waiter scolded us for not being polite to them. We were quite puzzled at the way he treated us.

It was only after we returned back to Singapore that a friend told us that we should not have used the phases “xiao jie” and “ta bao” because it meant “prostitute” and “packed dead body” respectively. After this incident, I understood the importance of understanding other cultural beliefs and even their language before we interact with them. In addition, being aware of other cultural differences and complexity allowed us to overcome miscommunication problem and increased cultural sensitivity, especially in the way we speak.

My Personal statement

My interest in science started back in secondary school where I excelled in my biology, chemistry and mathematics. However, during my pre-university studies, I did not take A-level biology as it was not offered as a subject by my school. Nevertheless, this did not deter me from pursuing my interest in science. To further my knowledge in the field of science, I participated in projects and workshops such as perfume making. During the perfume making workshop, I got a taste of being a chemist where I experienced firsthand as how to mix different isometric compound together to come up with a good perfume. In addition, I also led a project to investigate ways of making a perfume that is light in smell but lasting. During the process, I was also equipped with some marketing tools and strategy, as well as presentation skills, as we had to market our product.

Being an undergraduate majoring in Life Sciences had given me the perfect avenue to pursue my interest and exposed me to many aspects of biology, the science of living organisms. The complexity of life especially of the human body had astonished me in many ways. Every day we are exposed to different kind of virus, bacteria and other microorganism, whether beneficial or detrimental to us. Their design are simple, yet their diversity is beyond any other organisms making them great vectors for genetic research but also potent disease-causing machineries and these motivated me to research further into them. Through my undergraduate studies, my analytical and experimental skills had greatly refined and improved as I was equipped with the different experimental techniques involving microorganism, such as bacteria culture, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and genetic engineering techniques These techniques are much needed in biomedical field which is the forefront where battle against disease-causing viruses and bacteria are fought.

To improve my medical knowledge, I also worked as a clinic assistant at Northeast medical centre. The clinic not only deals with general medical illness but also on long term diseases like diabetes, obesity and diabetes. I was also involved in certain procedures like ECG and handling wounds. In the clinic, I not only learnt the medical skills but also interpersonal skills when I learn to speak to patients regarding their medical condition and medication.

With my interpersonal skills at handling people and hands on experience in various science projects, I am able to interact well with others. In addition, my willingness to learn and perseverance to overcome any obstacles will pull me through any difficulty I face. Lastly, in my own free time I enjoy watching scientific shows like Regenesis where they make use of scientific tools to explore the unknown of science. With a deep interest in science and various projects I participated in, I believe these are important traits of a scientist and I possess them.

Application for Junior/Medical Labratory Technologist

Lim Eileen
507 Hougang Ave 8
#05-660
Singapore 530507
rain_lin87@hotmail.com

National Healthcare Group
6 Commonwealth Lane
GTMI Building Level 6
Singapore 149547

Dear Hiring Professionals,

Application for the post of Junior/Medical Laboratory Technologist

I would like to apply for the position of Junior/Medical Laboratory Technologist with the National Health Group (NHG).

I am a Bachelor of Science graduate from the National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in Life-Science and my area of specialization is biomedical science.

I am very interested in the position stated above and I strongly believe that I have the qualifications and experience required for it. I have engaged in various science projects and research, such as mapping/characterizing conserved and variable amino acids in NA sequences of all avian H5N1 available in public database and Carbon source regulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL1 gene in my school curriculum. These projects have equipped me with excellent experimental and research skills, such as Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), DNA sequencing techniques and bioinformatics research techniques. Hence, I believe I will be able to work independently with the skills I am equipped with.

In addition, I have done a stint in a clinic as a temporary clinic assistant, which has provided me with the exposure and experience with working and interacting with the general public as well as my fellow colleagues. Further details of my personal particulars, qualifications and experience are contained in my resume which is attached with this file.

I have learned a lot about the good reputation of NHG and it would be a great privilege for me to embark on a career in NHG. I sincerely hope you will grant me the opportunity of an interview to assess my eligibility for the post.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Thank You

Yours sincerely

Lim Eileen


Link to the job :http://sg.dimension.jobsdb.com/career/Default.asp?PID=3&AC=SGNHG&EC=TTSH&GC=G1&JobID=5975&LID=1&SGB210303896665573