Application Letter Critique

September 9, 2012

Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd

THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

150 South Bridge Road, #07-01 Fook Hai Building

Singapore 058727

 

Dear Sir/Madam

Application for the position of a tour consultant in Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd

I am Rai Toh, a year 4 Civil Engineering student in NUS. I am writing in to express my interest in taking up the position of a tour consultant in Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd. I have come across this job request on www.jobstreet.com.sg and am deeply fascinated by the job prospect in the tour agency.

I have always enjoyed travelling, and have been to many different countries such as South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia for cultural exchanges as well as military exercises. The exposure to different customs, cultures, architectures and landscapes overseas have always piqued my interest, and I value the experience of interacting with the natives. I have a keen interest and enjoy reading up on the histories and geographies of China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. Locally, I have also collaborated with an Italian dance troupe ‘Studio Festi’ in the presentation of ‘Ocean Symphony’ at the Marina Bay floating platform at the Singapore Grand Prix 2011.

Having taken up various part time jobs in the Food and Beverage sector, which includes working as a server in the Resorts World Sentosa Casino, an Italian restaurant called Al Forno along East Coast Road, and ‘eM by the River’, an al-fresco bar located at the base of Gallery Evasion Hotel along Robertson Quay, I have vast opportunities to interact with several tourists and foreigners. Through these interactions, I have learnt more on the difference in customs and culture between Singapore and the countries these tourists have come from. Moreover, I offered to help them out when they encountered problems in communication or navigating.

Both my English and Mandarin are nurtured and polished through the years during school, work and National Service, therefore I am effectively bilingual. Furthermore, I have represented my school in many competitions, attaining a commendation award in the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventor’s Award Competition 2003, as well as the first runner up in the Mediacorp Programme “Creatively Mine” Competition 2004. In addition, I was the emcee for many of my school’s ceremonies and public performances. All these have helped honed my public presentation skills tremendously.

I feel that a career at Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd will provide me with the passion, motivation and challenge in assisting tourists with their specialised needs and making the best out of their holiday. I also relish the chance to work with other dynamic individuals that are committed in bringing the most satisfaction to visiting tourists. The interaction with different groups of tourists can also help deepen my interest and improve my knowledge on global and current issues immensely.

Despite the comparatively low salary to other industries, the irregular hours and the high pressure faced at work, it is my passion that drives me to look for a career in this industry. I would greatly appreciate if you look through my application and have attached my resume for you reference. I gladly welcome the opportunity to discuss my qualifications and how I could contribute to the company. I can be contacted via the handphone number and email address indicated below. I really look forward to hear from you. Thank you very much.

Yours sincerely

Rai Toh

HP: 9XXXXXXX

Email: XXXXXXXX@gmail.com

*Due to privacy issues, some of the particulars have been altered/censored.

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

This was an incident that happened to me in Secondary 3. I reached home late again after another dance rehearsal for an upcoming concert for my external dance troupe. Feeling exhausted and about to sleep, my father approached me. He felt that dancing had taken up too much of my time, resulting in me having insufficient rest as well as a drop in my grades. He also remarked that guys should spend more time focused on 'real work' rather than engaged in dancing. Being lethargic and having a short temper, I perceived my father's concern towards my well-being as a confrontation and interpreted his remarks negatively as a bid to stop me from dancing. A huge quarrel ensued, and it was the first time I raised my voice against my father over an issue I felt strongly against. Even though I had only picked up dancing when I was 'forcefully' recruited into the school dance troupe in secondary 1, I have gradually developed a real passion for it, and made lasting friendships with several fellow dancers (even being a groomsman to one of my close dance buddies tomorrow). Since that fateful day, returning home past midnight after school and external dance practices had become a norm. Knowing that my parents are both sensitive over my passion for dance, I would try to avoid the topic of dance in front of them and attempt to keep them from knowing the fact that I am still dancing up to this day. I've been committing much of my time in dancing, but always reluctant to use that as an excuse for submitting late assignments, even though sometimes it isn't too far from the truth. What should I do so that I could continue to enjoy dancing without compromising the quality of my school work as well as making my parents accept and support my pursuit of passion?