Internship Experience

Havent been updating the blog for a while(in fact its been too long), anyway things really change a lot since my last post. I have been fortunate enough to be graced with an internship opportunities, below I will share my experience with one of the top clothing companies.

First stage: Written test

There are a dozens companies out there that skipped this stage straight right into interview. Anyway this company separates it into two stages. The written test is easily one of the most stressful tests I have ever taken throughout my university study, not for its difficulty but for its intensity. Im given 20 minutes to complete 50 questions. An additional 5 minutes or so will have made all the difference but I guess it helps identify potential candidates better. The test consists of several sections which I shall discuss in details:

Intelligence test
Language test
Commom knowledge test

Intelligence test

All questions are Multiple Choice. The first section consists of word pairs that you have to correctly identify their relations, bit like one of the SAT reading sections. Second section is general language knowledge where idioms and certain difficult words are given and you have to choose between closely related answers explaing its meaning to the best of the questions. Next section is mathematical sections, which you have to calculate manually without the help of calculator. My best advice is learn to calculate things fast with mental calculations, because time is not in your favour. Then you are greeted with a series of mathematical puzzles in which numbers are thrown around in a series of shape and you have to figure out the next number based on the patterns. Try the app Math Riddles, look a bit like the questions in there but are obviously significantly trickier, also you cant use any tips xD.  The next section consists of questions you normally see in an IQ test.

Generally the questions are not hard per se, but im working on an extreme time constraint. Even before the test begins that I cant help but allow myself to work on the amount of time i have for each question(approximately 24 seconds per question, but in practice lower because I have to read the instructions for each segment, mind you I went in without a clue what to expect). Take my advice, dont second guess yourself, you will not make it to the end if you allow yourself the leeway for hesitation. Also dont look at the clock, it does nothing but only adds into your already nerve wrecked anxiety.

Language test

Next comes the English test, honestly should be a cake walk for anyone with few years of learning in the language. The test format highly resembles TOEIC, I find it very stressing for the listening part. Audio is only played once and I have to answer few questions related to one piece of audio. They generally throw in a mix of British and American accent into play, 100% focus should be made even if your mastery can rival a native speaker. Reading part consists of grammars and comprehensions, but nothing too out of ordinary. I find the time duration to be very forgiving as long as you know how to peruse and skip through useless paragraphs.

Common knowledge test

Now for the general knowledge part, the HR lady told us it should be a calm clearing after the storm, but it seems like the deciding component because it is the part that doesnt have a true answer. First parts consist of multiple choice questions asking you about the company, its visions, its production chain, its values, etc. You do have to do your research before attempting it. I for one have not done so and was absolutely crushed in this segment. Finger crossed that I will still make it to the end >< My last two questions are open ended responses to what do you want to accomplish in the next three years, and use three sentences to describe the company. All three tests are completed within a span of 1 hour and 10 minutes. Time is of essence and is, in my opinion, the hardest part of the test. Make absolutely sure you attend to your physiological needs before taking the test. I will rate its intensity in the same level as SAT(though SAT takes 4 hours, so yeah, thats some rough experiences)

Hopefully there will be part two on interviews, but thats another day for the story if I actually pass this stage. Wish me luck in my conquest for my first ever internship.

Communication skill: Why it matters(the most!)

If you have been to interviews, you are more than likely going to face a situation like this: Oh I should have phrased it like this just now; Why did I not make reference to this; I must have stuttered a lot, will the interviewer think bad of me? Because let's face it, the first time anyone going to an interview will always be a hard blow to the stomach. It all boils down to a single issue, not the fact that you have an impressive lists of accolades or have presented your physical self with the appropriate decorum, but communication skill. You can have straight As, extraordinary co-curricular track records, qualification papers from world renowned universities. So what? Be mindful that once you are shortlisted for interviews, these grandiloquent achievements no longer play a decisive role, since you have to compete with the other shortlisted candidates who are just as impressive as you are in these aspects. What can we learn from each bygone interview? Communication skill.

It is not surprising that most of us hate interviews, especially if they are conducted in a less favourable setting such as in another language that we are less versed in. I have known of people who turn down a golden, coveted and life-changing opportunity solely because an interview is required as a rite of passage. There are a lot of generic and trite advices that promise to help you ace that interview, whether it is establishing a mutual friendly relationship with the interview, answering the questions thrown to you with specific and novel details, etc. The overarching idea is that communication skill has to be honed to succeed in an interview.

I have been to a number of interviews during the application season for scholarships and universities. Before any interview, I would spend hours preparing scripts, points and researching on the interviewing parties. And never have I once been satisfied with my performances on the interviews, I could easily nit-pick on countless flaws that could have upended the interviewers' impressions on me. There was one particularly noteworthy instance. This interview was conducted through Skype by a university, one of those interviews that I thought "hmm, I don't have to be present physically, maybe I could make myself comfortable by picking the coziest place in my house to sit throughout the interview." My delusion was brutally shattered. Aside from the intermittent static interruptions due to lags(kudos to my ISP), a substantial part of my interview consisted of "Huh", "Sorry could you repeat the question", "I beg your pardon" and "Err". A terrible show of communication skill adding up to an already abysmal internet connection. Needless to say I did not obtain the desired outcome from the interview, I did get a place in the university, just not the munificient scholarship.

Aside from the issue on interviews, the significance of communication skill spans across the spheres of life. Celebrities, sport personalities and politicians do not get to where they are solely from their talents and efforts. These are merely prerequisites to even get a foothold in the industry. What plunges them to the height of stardom is none other than communication skill. These people are either extroverts or introverts-turn extroverts. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo remain as the world most popular sportpersons for their outspoken personalities that serve to engorge their planetary hubris. Manny Pacquiao is popular even among non boxing fans for being vocal in the realms of sports and politics. Can you recount any memories of a prime minister/president who does not express himself well? No. Being a communication skill expert entails innumerable perks, to wit: it has propelled the controversial Donald Trump to the status of a presidential candidate because of his countless audacious remarks that make him a popular demagogue, despite having no prior experience of holding offices in the politics. Can we trust the world to such a bogey figure? It remains contentious. The idea is that we love kitsch, albeit knowing that some of them are merely glib shenanigans that appeal to popularist taste, which is more fallacious than rational.

That communication skill is important is not without a biological basis. Our neocortex in the brain is much larger than many other organisms' including our close neighbour primates' relatively to the brain size. This part of the brain is responsible for processing of communications and social cognitions in general, thus wiring us to be the most sophisticated organism whose behaviours still baffle the neural scientists. Unfortunately, having the potential of storing an arsenal of social skills also causes us to take more time to develop the necessary toolkits that prepare us for interactions with the surrounding. This makes us susceptible to failure(often perceived) in day-to-day interactions, for instance the aforementioned interviews. And the way to work around it? Go for more interviews! Develop that communication skill to improve your stock value!

Rash Journalism: An Unintended Mistake or An Obsession?

The recent headlines in the local Malay newspaper Berita Harian came into the limelight after being alleged by its readers as being derisive and inappropriate when it audaciously claimed that the Malaysian badminton mixed duo "sekadar meraih pingat perak"(settled for winning silver medal). While the intention of the editor is not made known, it is a polemical blunder that strikes at the heart of the already precarious social fabric of our multi-racial society(Harmony not guaranteed!). On the outset, the headline seems as innocuous as it gets, perhaps the editorial will not have anticipated a ripple this great. To be fair, anyone who had watched the game would have agreed that Chan/Goh had not have a good game, eventually falling to a weak 2-0 defeat against the Indonesian duo after a lacklustre display. Never seemed to have adapted to the flow of the game, they were forced to defend against a barrage of smashes after smashes and inevitably succumbing to offensive pressure, hardly what we would have expected of a finalist pair. Their facial expressions and body languages told as much. Therefore, it will not be too farfetched for the local news media to question their commitments to make history by winning our first ever Gold medal.

Yet racism must to come into play. If Azizul, a Bumiputra Malaysian athlete representing the cycling event, was to settle for a Bronze, why not portray the same image for his Chinese counterparts? Egos will not be hurt, pride will be saved, truly a veritable win-win solution. Consider this, the main readers and target audience of BH are composed of the Malays(quite a shame since it is a phenomenon contrary to the utopic endgame of the exalted "1 Malaysia" ideals). Downplaying the Chinese achievements in part comes from the pragmatic need to increase patronage by placating the readers and feeding the right things and possibly to a less overt extent, political pressure.

Just recently, another controversy had made its way to the national headline, pertinent to the prize-giving ceremony for the local film industry. Several indigenous directors and associations had threatened to boycott the event after the criteria for "Best Film" had been modified to accommodate "non-local films" through repealing the 70-percent-of-the-movie-dialogue-must-be-in-Bahasa-Malaysia requirement. In a last-ditch attempt to save the grace, the committee made concessions and introduced a new category, "Best Picture in the National Language" for the "local films". Before anyone starts proposing implications, the committee specifically states that this award trumps its predecessor, that is, "Best Picture in the National Language" is the highest ranked and most prestigious accolade amongst the others. If you cannot deduce the crux of it, it simply means that films with heavy Malay conversations are more superior than those of other languages, in terms of recognitions. Truly a dubious and invidious attempt to maximise the feel-good factor of the mass. So much for the proverbial adage "Greatest happiness for the greatest numbers".

In hindsight, Chan/Goh duo is hardly among the favourites to win medals for Malaysia whereas Azizul is poised to win at least a Bronze, as accordance to the expectation meted out by the Olympic Council of Malaysia. This is aptly captured when the Minister of Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin acknowledged the duo's feat as being "inspirational" in his Twitter page after they had exceeded expectation, starkly juxtaposed by the brusque headline "hampakan jutaan rakyat Malaysia"(Let millions of Malaysians down) in yet another local Malay newspaper Kosmo!. Exercising the rights of freedom of press is one thing, but ensuring a degree of political correctness is equally paramount to avoid estrangement of skin colours. In the grand scheme of things, journalism has to be intertwined with tactfulness towards political correctness especially where race is concerned.

This type of incident is no stranger to us, in fact rather a tip of the iceberg, potentially a harbinger of the anti-Bumiputra sentiments buried but waiting to be uncovered. The question then, becomes whether non-Bumis are simply being priggish towards Malay establishments. A well-informed mass will hold nothing back to carp at the slightest innuendos, having long been repressed by the inundation of national policies which are not fully intended to be partial but have been indeed in reality towards any races. And when racial pride is at stake here, the ramification is far greater. The magnification and amplification of the ramifications evoked by the newspaper could have been attributed to the interminable efforts by the non-Bumis to seek psychological one-upmanship against their Bumi counterparts, essentially disseminating the message that "we don't need a headstart and will still fare better than you ". When the two badminton pairs Chan/Goh and later Tan Wee Kiong/Goh V Shem received their silver medals, one could not help but wonder at this juncture, are the Chinese viewers proud to be Chinese Malaysians or Malaysian Chinese?

Perhaps it is a careless and guileless blunder of the Berita Harian and Kosmo! editorial to spur such hapless backlash, nevertheless it palpably embodies the invisible but impermissible barrier between the races(You hardly see any Chinese on the street these days buying Malay papers and vice-versa). It is a matter of time to determine if the barrier will prevail or be supered.

Justice and Mercy

In MoV(Merchant of Venice), I do not think that true justice has been meted out to Shylock. He allowed Bassanio to borrow the money from him, and Antonio's pound of flesh was going to be the mortgage in this deal. In the end, Bassanio and Antonio were unable to pay the debt, and Shylock asked for Antonio's pound of flesh. Portia said that he could take the flesh but he could not take a dip of bloods of Antonio. Shylock was unable to do it and was accused of trying to take a civilian's life. If true justice had been reached, then Shylock should get a pound of flesh as the contract stated even he could not touch a dip of bloods. This was the main purpose why the trial was held, the Duke should try to reach an agreement to this deal.

In my opinion, I think that there is no true justice in the story. Half of Shylock's possessions were given to Antonio, but Antonio agreed to keep the money for her daughter, Jessica. This seemed to be true mercy to Shylock at the first glance, but actually Jessica had converted herself to a Christian, leaving the money to Jessica had no relate to Shylock already. He did not get any benefit, as the money was only belonged to Jessica and Lorenzo. Antonio also allowed Shylock to convert himself to a Christian. This was very unfair to Shylock, he might be loyal to his own race, Jew. Asking him to convert into Christian was just like insulting him, Antonio might want to grab this opportunity to insult him together with his race. If Shylock converted himself into a Christian, he would be mocked by his Jewish friends. Hence this showed that there is no true mercy in the trial scene.

I agree that justice and mercy could be different because of the people in power who manipulated them. If the people in power disliked either side of the people involved in the trial, he could insist on not giving the side he disliked the justice. But if he had any good relationship with either side, he could try his best to bring mercy to the side mentioned. In MoV, the Duke might not be a racist, but somehow he had to support the Christian side, he was not able to bring justice for Shylock, and he had shown mercy to Antonio to try to save his life. Portia was a powerful rich lady, the Duke did not oppose anything regarding Portia's argument but he tried to protect Antonio and convict Shylock. In real life, the judge may have unusually close relationship with the prosecuting side. Even if the defendant is innocent, he may be wrongly judged and end up he was sentenced.

Take A Rest, Have A Break...

Scientist new research: Spider uses their legs to hear.

Why?

Scientist: When I put a spider on the table and I shout at it to run, it runs;

But when I pull off its legs and I shout at it to run, it does not move.

The importance of English.

How?

A new Chinese scholar has came to Canada to study. One day, when he is riding his motorcycle outside the hostel, he accidentally falls into a deep pit. A patrolling policeman passes by the pit and notices the scholar.

Policeman: How are you?

Scholar: I'm fine. Thank you.

The policeman goes off, and the scholar dies due to profuse bleeding.

Two men.

God has decided to give the most handsome guy and the most ugliest guy in the world a wish each.

Handsome guy: I want the most beautiful woman to be with me forever.

And his wish is fulfilled.

God asks the ugliest guy: What about you?

Ugly guy: I never think of changing myself before. This is my fate.

God: How sincere you are! But I will still fulfill a wish for you.

Ugly guy: Fine! I want myself to be the only man in this world.

When I enter a company...

Boss: Welcome, without you our company will be much different.

Me: If the work is too tiresome I will resign myself.

Boss: Relax, I will not let it happens.

Me: Can I take a leave every Tuesday?

Boss: Obviously, this is the baseline.

Me: Will there be overtime usually?

Boss: Impossible, who tells you that!?

Me: Is there any subsidy for lunch?

Boss: Sure, you will have the higher one.

Me: Is there the risk of dying because of heart attack?

Boss: Never, you should not have such thinking.

Me: Will there be any tour every month?

Boss: This is our company's order.

Me: Do I have to come to work punctually?

Boss: Nope, depend on the situation.

Me: What about salary? Is it distributed on time?

Boss: It is always like that.

Me: Are all the works done by new employees?

Boss: It will not be possible, you still have bosses with higher ranks.

Me: If there is any vacancy of post, can I participate in the competition?

Boss: Without any doubt, our company relies on this to continue operating.

Me: Are you deceiving me?

After I enter the company...(Please read from bottom to above)

Feedback on An Open Letter to the EM from a Secondary Four Student

I agree with most of the points the student has mentioned in the letter. One of them is the system of the education, many teachers always tell their students to memorize whatever things that are found in textbooks, notes, worksheets and other learning stuffs. I agree with the author of the letter that many students may not be able to learn something in the end of the day. Such education system will affect the students to be rigid, they may think that this way of learning is the fastest and easiest way to score an A1. That is true, but can they really learn something? They may end up forgetting what have been thought and what have they learned, they will have hard times when they step into this competitive society because their exposures of learning are very limited.

The student also points out that moral values are not taught in school. I agree with her point, many students and teachers and even parents are too eager to "force" the students to get an A1. They value the certificate too much, many teachers and parents always tell the students that certificate is the most important thing they must have to be success in life. The students can succeed in life later, but what about their attitudes, their conducts, their behaviors? Even though they are success, but no one will bother, some people may even mock at them. This is why philosophers think that EQ is far more important than IQ in our life.

Some of her points, however, are rather exaggerated. If a student cannot ask "WHY" in school, they can carry out research, they can consult other students, it is not necessarily that a teacher must teach everything in the lesson. We have to be independent, whatever things we do not understand, surf the web, the fastest, most convenient, most enriched platform for the students to carry out their learning.

From her use of tones in the letter, I know that she is agitated. She seems fed up with current education system, but I do not think it is appropriate. We should not blame the education system completely, we are responsible for our own learning journey. We should find our ways to seek for solutions of the difficulties. The student also has a very fierce tone in the letter, she keeps condemning the education minister for not doing the job well. Actually, if a well education system is to be created, it requires the cooperation of the students and the ministers. The students should follow the orders given by the teachers, whilst the ministers should give the suitable orders to the students. By doing this the education system can be improved, so I do not think that she should use such serious tone, but to use more general tone to respect the ministers.

The letter is taken from:

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/

Love and Money. Which are more important?

Love and money are vital components in a matrimony, we cannot disagree that. But whether is money or love more important in a marriage, it is debatable. In my opinion, I think that love is more important in a marriage. If one of the spouse is very rich, but there is no love in between them, the marriage will not be sustainable. Love can help to strengthen the relationship of the couples, and they will not divorce so easily. Only with true love, there is a very strong support in the matrimony, the couples truely love each other and they will be able to work together to build a warm family. But if the marriage is created because of money, the couples will separate easily. The spouse who marry another just because of the money will divorce by the time he or she gets another's possession. It is very sad to see the couples who only emphasize money and strive to get money from another, as they do not seriously treat marriage, they will just think that marriage is one of the platforms to get money. They abuse it so that they can get as much benefits as possible. Personally, I think that love should be the main reason why a matrimony is created.