talkshop

NS friend calls: get updated on 2x NSF status
I received a call from an NS friend, Yousheng, one day. It was a surprise as I never expected he would catch up with me. I realised that he is actually working in the insurance line and that earlier he had signed up Soon Heng, another NS friend of mine. On hearing it, I did not feel surprised but was rather glad for this friend. He is also a student, like me. On graduating, he will be armed with an Arts degree, focusing on economics.

Now thats a nice thing to hear. Surely someone with a liberal Arts degree with a business focus will have a place in the workforce. Perhaps the degree is not that valuable at all, must be the grass looking greener over the other side. All is not swell, Soon Heng feels the pressure of a job search and that his Arts degree is totally useless.

Steph does good work with the WDA
Steph reports that working with the WDA has been great and all, but they were very concerned whether you had honours or not when you graduate. Seems like honours is a must-have in society these days., or at least in the government sector. To hear from her say that despite all the good work put in, her non-honours Arts degree will be a obstacle instead of a stepping stone, it all sounds depressing. Perhaps, as the government bodies grow larger, it becomes difficult to find the true measure of a job applicant, the honours classification becomes important.

Life Science student finds little life in Life Science
Then there is Yiming, my pal’s missus, part-time model cum MLM-er cum life science student cum insurance trainee. Life Science does seem rather bleak for a career in Singapore. I must confess, her having a multi-point career does not mean Life Science is going to die. At one point of time, John Hopkins University opened a biomedical research facility in Singapore. Now thats big news but Nicholas’s girlfriend needed treatment there at their hospital but she chose a malaysian hospital in the end.

Why?
Because John Hopkins was closing in Singapore. This news I found from the internet summarises the whole issue. Of course, the medical centre is still operating but the news must have spooked her out. Unable to meet performance indicators, ASTAR decided to cut the funding to prevent further loss. Does anyone remember the plight of four scholarship students who had their scholarships removed due to this situation?

Xuanjun, Life Science graduate cum Ragger buddy
Now working in the service industry, I think he is happier now but I have not heard from him in awhile. Must ask him out one day.

Alright, this post is biased, everything looks bleak in the future because thats what I write it to be. Still takes me at least one year to find out the results of getting their respective degrees before we can come to a useful conclusion. But do think about it, we need to market ourselves more than ever before to give our employers more bang for their buck.

Here is a post made by pmemory, in Project:Senso, about getting a job. Imagine a good memory can be a trait in helping you ace your job interview. Being better is good, being different is better. (No pun intended, seriously) This quote should be, by right and technically is the most useful bit of information in this whole rant.

Its 6AM and this is bingxiong conking out.

Had a chat with Alvin over the class BBQ and he mentioned personal branding and building yourself up with your value or skill. Thats quite right, otherwise you are just a piece of wood floating in the sea, waiting for movements from rocks, breakwaters or other woods.

So.. what’s this personal branding?
Kate Souham at careerone.com.au, an aussie online job directory, writes that it is a career tool, one that you need to upkeep, to build people’s perspective on you. Of course the important thing is whether is it helping you or not, your wanting to be the team player versus your contrarian mindset, blasting every idea your colleagues offer.

Back to the internet
This article from LifeHacker, offered by Alvin sums up the whole argument about your brand profile. You do not want to be completely misunderstood or mistaken as someone else. Solution 1 is to create and steer your own profile, start your own blog, website that covers your interests, mindset and behaviour (if you will). That way, people will be able to know about you better and in the way you wanted it to be.

"The internet has nothing on you", says who?
Yes… Think of the vulgarities you spewed online, the rants against the government, authorities and even other people, these are putting you in the bad light. You might be pre-screened before you have the chance to explain yourself. So do yourself a favour and read this article from the Wall Street Journal, headhunters can and will find out about you online. Clean up while you still have time.

With the internet, there exists opportunities that allow you to portray yourself better as an individual or specialist. There are headhunters or job agencies that use the internet to find out more about their prospective applicants. Good luck :p

Surfing the internet a hair raising affair in School, Polytechnic, University or even home?! Does using the computer make you feel like a toddler attempting to get more mileage from his/her FisherPrice toys?

BotHack has an article on how to manipulate or go around the restrictions set by IT administrators to roam freely in the internet. Very spiffy work, the Google Cache method is one ingenious hack. :p

Robin Sharma is a motivational speaker and has written a few books, most notably  "The Monk who Sold his Ferrari". A birthday gift from my Army friends, I set off reading the book, thinking it is another one of those whimsical fairy tales.

Luckily for me, it turns out to be quite a different journey upon reading it. The lessons it sets out to teach is far more stronger than those given from Roger Hamilton’s Wink and Grow Rich. Another book of similar motives on personal mastery and wealth.

The greatest lesson that has stuck with me probably is the one on Goal Setting. In fact, it is the attribute I need if I want to get ahead of myself or my peers.

As Julian Mantle, our main lead and fervent monk in the book, discusses: A man without a goal or vision, is destined to be played around by the seas of fate and reach minimal success in his life.

The 5 steps of achieving a goal with greater success is:

    •    Have a mental picture: You won’t be going anywhere unless you have a clear picture of what the destination looks like.
    •    Create positive pressure: What could spur you on more than having the support of your friend and family. On the flip side, as Julian suggests, giving up your goal will be disappointing to them, as much as it is to you.
    •    Write it down: Putting your goals in paper or some place permanent definitely is more powerful than trying to etch it in your mind.
    •    Have a deadline: The sense of urgency helps and is part of having a clear picture of the destination.
    •    Apply it daily: It is the key for forming better habits.doing it daily will make it a habit rather than a passing activity.

For those who want the whole kahuna on the lessons learnt, Nirav Mehta has a concise and detailed post on it.