Application Letter Critique

Job advertisement:

Application Letter

Foong Mei Mei
#13-111, Block 54,
Cassia Crescent,
Singapore 390054

5th September 2011

Signature Programme in Health Service Research,
Duke-NUS Medical School,
8 College Road,
Singapore 169857

Dear Professor David B. Matchar,

Application for Research Assistant Position 

I am writing to express my keen interest for the above-stated position, which was posted on the www.jobstreet.com on the 15th of August 2011.

I graduated from National University of Singapore (NUS) with a degree in Life Science, majoring in Biomedical Sciences. I believe that I am equipped with the skills and qualities that you require for this position. As I have taken the modules Biochemistry and Immunology before, I am adequately experienced in techniques such as Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbent Assay (ELISA), Chromatography and Electrophoresis. Also, as an earnest learner, I am willing to pick up any new skill during the course of the job. Given my skills and ‘willing-to-learn’ attitude, I am confident that I will be of great help to your team.

I feel that a researcher should have patience, discipline and more importantly passion for the job; for he or she may have to perform the same long and laborious experiment several times a day. I was a student volunteer of National University of Singapore Red Cross Society for 4 years. My role was to provide first aid for any events in the campus or out of the campus whenever we were needed. These 4 years of invaluable volunteering experience have indeed transformed me into a more independent, disciplined and compassionate individual. With these qualities I posses, I am confident that I will be a good researcher.

With the above-mentioned traits, I believe that I can be a valuable asset to your dynamic team.

I look forward to meeting with you in person to have a more in-depth discussion on what my enclosed resume is not able to furnish. I can be contacted at (65)98882333 or u0903274@nus.edu.sg at anytime.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,




Mei Mei
Encl: Resume

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Interpersonal conflict is inevitable in our everyday lives. I have had conflicts with others, but have always tried to resolve the problem to avoid further misunderstanding and maintain relationships. However, I could vividly remember a conflict that I had, which leaves a big impact in my life. 

During one of the summer holidays in NUS, I joined my hostel orientation camp as a counselor. I aimed to assist the organizing committee to run the camp and the juniors to better accustom themselves to NUS and hostel life. Although I was a reserved person and relatively more introverted, I understand that one need to have different facets to adapt to different situations. Therefore, I tried my best to be more active to “fit” into the role of a counselor.

Things do not always happen the way one wishes them to be. When I was the day counselor, I got accused by the organizing committee for not following the schedule tightly.  I admit that I did cause some delay but we were indeed reminded to wait for the command from the coordinator before we take any actions on our own. I thought it was not really a big deal and led the orientation group as normal. Later, I overheard my friends from the same group backstabbing me for the delay without even knowing clearly about the situation. I thought of explaining to them but I held back as I thought they would have rather believed the organizing committee since they are of the same “cliques”.

My experience as a counselor during the orientation camp is, therefore, an awful one as I lost trust in my friends and gradually isolated myself from the group. I kept blaming myself for not being able to communicate well and thought it would be better for me to keep myself away from them.

Now that I think about it, I am aware that I felt bad as I was ruled by emotions then. I could have explained the real situation to them and probably gain their empathy, which might enable us to build a stronger relationship.

Dear friends, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?