Personal Statement

My grandmother has been the biggest influence in my life thus far. Having lived through the Japanese Occupation and subsequently working through a multitude of blue collar jobs in post-war Singapore, she is to me, the epitome of hard-work and perseverance.

She had laboured through the tedious monotony of factory work initially, followed by many strenuous spells as a cleaner. The role of a breadwinner aside, household chores and cooking were also burdened upon her. To say her life was tough would be a severe understatement, yet she persevered on, without complaints. Upon retirement, she took up to the job of raising my siblings and me. The values she has imparted to me, have become the foundation of my work ethic.

I came home one day in Secondary 3, despondent over grades. In addition to that, i was tiding through a poor season in my sport due to injuries. I openly declared my desire to give up and quit. While i was yearning for some affection, my grandmother shot me down with a revelation, "Why so little resilience in the face of hardship?" In that moment, I realised I understood hard work superficially and mised the importance of resiliance.

Since then, these values have been the pillars of my life. Be it in sports, work, or studies, I always keep myself firmly grounded and constantly strive to improve. I intend to do the same in my career as a sports specialist, approaching it whole heartedly and with an unshakable attitude. Despite difficulties I may face on the job, I believe that the combination of my resilience, expertise as well as passion for the job will allow me to undertake it effectively.

Job Application Letter

Block 38 Dover Road
#12-273
Singapore 130038

3rd September 2009

Ms Teh Loo Lim
Human Resource Manager
Global Active Limited
9 Ubi Crescent
Singapore 408572

Dear Ms Teh,

Sports Specialist, Job Reference No. JDBS144175601

I am writing in response to the position of Sports Specialist advertised on JobsDB.com on the 2nd September 2009, under the above mentioned reference number. The position on offer is very enticing and I believe I possess the appropriate qualifications and experience required for the job.

With reference to your stated job requirement of having a passion for sports, I feel I am a suitable candidate. I am an avid triathlete and regularly compete in both local and regional triathlons. In addition to that, I am a keen participant in other endurance related sports such as marathons, duathlons, aquathlons. I also have a fair amount of experience in team sports with prior involvement in hockey, floor-ball and football during my secondary school and junior college days.

In accordance with the job requirements of giving talks, I am equally adept. As stated in my resume, I have captained 3 different teams in track, hockey and aquathlon. Therefore, I am used to speaking in front of an audience and will have little problems giving talks on a subject matter I am familiar with. I believe the people skills that I have developed serving under the different executive committees will prove to be an asset for the company in this aspect of the job requirement.

I currently work in Passione Bicycles, an outlet specialising in road and triathlon bicycles. In managing the accounts of the shop and conducting sales, I have learnt the fundamentals required in sales. My involvement in sports has also taught me how to effectively manage people and relationships within a group, both of which will prove useful under the job requirement of sales. I am a team player, and I am very willing to learn the finer aspects of sales, be it from my colleagues or from experiences amassed on the job.

I will be graduating from the National University of Singapore in May 2010, with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Life Sciences, specialising in Biomedical Sciences. The modules I have taken in university, including Metabolism, Cardiology and Physiology has given me a clear understanding of sports physiology. I believe it will be relevant and useful when conducting talks on sports nutrition and supplements. Furthermore, having trained under various coaches, I have a clear grasp of training methodology which I can advise potential customers on as a bonus. I am keen to apply these skills in a career setting such as that of a Sports Specialist, offered by Global Active Limited.

Currently, the sports nutrition scene is dominated by an oligopoly of companies including First Endurance, Powerbar and 3nergy. With Global Active Limited currently seeking to enter the fray, I believe that I have a lot to offer the company. With that I enclose my resume and hope that you look affirmatively upon my application. I hope to be considered for an interview and I look forward to your reply.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my application.

Yours sincerely,


Aldrich Koh
Enclosed: Resume

*Please refer to previous post for job advertisment*

Job Advertisment: Sports Specialist

This is the job advertisment i am applying to:

SPORTS SPECIALIST:
The successful candidate will develop and grow the sales of our sports nutrition business via public talks and association with the sports fraternity in Singapore and identifying activities and sponsorship opportunities.

A passion in sports, giving talks and doing sales is required, with strong spoken and written English. Experience in this line will be a great advantage.

We offer a very attractive remuneration package which includes commissions and performance bonuses to the successful candidates.

Interested candidates, please submit a detailed resume in MS word format stating your current, expected salary and notice period. to : HR_GAL@global-active.com.sg

http://www.jobsdb.com.sg/SG/EN/Job.asp?R=JDBS144175601

Let's Digress

As I was browsing through old entries in my private blog, i came across this:

"I find it hard to talk about myself. I'm always tripped up by the eternal who-am-i paradox. Sure, no one knows as much pure data about me as me. But when i talk about myself, all sorts of other factors, values, standards, my own limitations as an observer, make me, the narator select and eliminate things about me, the naratee. I've always been disturbed by the fact i'm not painting a very objective picture of myself...The more i think about it, the more i want to take a rain check on the topic of me. What i'd like to know more is about the objective reality of things outside myself. How important the world outside is to me, how i maintain a sense of equilibrium by coming to terms with it. Thats how i grasp a clearer sense of who i am." Haruki Murakami - Sputnik Sweetheart

I'm a huge Murakami fan, so i thought i'd share this excerpt. The passage struck me as very apt after all the ES2007s lessons i've attended to date.

Sometimes, I really wonder, just how honest we are with ourselves.

Interpersonal Conflict

My experience with interpersonal conflict was recent and involved a fair amount of tension. What started off as a peaceful evening training session, erupted into a verbal arms race in which the most vulgar would seemingly prevail.

The spectacle took place during the recent term break at the campus swimming pool. The varsity Aquathlon team had gathered at the Sports and Recreation Centre for our weekly evening swim training. As a team, we’d usually politely instruct individuals to vacate the lanes we have booked. However, on that particular day, I was met with the most unreasonable person to my memory.

I explained to him that his lane was booked for the Aquathlon team’s training and politely asked that he shift over to the adjacent lane (which was open to the public). His reply was curt, "Tough sh*t, I’m not done yet." Upon which, he continued to hog the lane.

Not one to shy away from confrontation, I again tried to reason with him, albeit with much less effort to remain cordial. What ensued was a heated debate over lane bookings and time constraints.

As it wore on, the argument got laced with curses and swears. So here we were, two grown men, shouting at each other as profanely as we could, on the verge of a fist fight until the life guards tore us apart. We now had the attention of the whole swimming pool and were asked to step aside to resolve this more calmly. Eventually, with the backing of the sports office, I won my case against him but was given a strict warning on conduct.

Words are loaded pistols; you fire them off at your own risk. How would you have reacted and dealt with such an individual under the same circumstances?

Effective Communication

On a personal level, effective communication takes on paramount importance when i'm engaged in group cycling. Speed can reach heights of up to fifty kilometres per hour when riding in a pack, therefore effective communication, via both verbal and non-verbal cues, is essential for safety.

Cycling in a group equips each rider with a role to play in communicating with his/her neighbour at their front, rear or side. Riding at the front of the pack, i'm mindful to issue a hand signal early to my teammates to slow down upon reaching a red light. This signal is then indicated backwards to everyone else in the group, bringing everyone to a gradual and safe halt.

Furthermore, being in the front also means that i'm the first to see hazards such as potholes on the road. Again, signalling early by pointing to the pothole and shouting "pothole" to the person directly behind me helps translate the message down effectively to the group.

At the back of a group, the responsibility to communicate to the front is equally important. In the presence of any oncoming large vehicle from the rear, my response would be to shout "Car! Back!", informing riders in the front of the impending situation without them having to turn and look back.

Reflecting upon this example, it becomes clear to me how the model of the communication process is structured; source-encoding-channel-decoding-receiver becomes apparent. The impetus falls upon everyone in the group to effectively communicate with each other whilst training hard at the same time to ensure that collisions and hazards are avoided, maximizing the cycling experience.