Application letter!

Blk 777 Happy Lane 77 #17-717

Singapore 777777

7 July 2007

Human Resource Manager

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB)

2 Lengkok Bahru, Singapore 159047

Dear Ms Tan,

Application for CPIB Investigation Officer

I am interested in joining CPIB as an Investigation Officer, posted on Careers@gov on 12 January 2012. Having a strong sense of justice, I empathize with people whose rights are compromised or denied due to the dishonest act of others. Black sheep are always among us in the society. My motivation; however, is not to punish those who conduct corrupt practices but rather to find out the whole truth in its entity and leave the judgment to the court. My passion and persistency makes me an ideal candidate for the position as an Investigation Officer.

Currently, I am doing my 3^rd Year of studies on Biology in the National University of Singapore, and have also completed my Minor in Forensic Science. Through the Forensic Science program in NUS, I learnt to be more meticulous in my work. The program has also enhanced my analytical skills in putting pieces of evidences together to come up with a bigger picture of the truth.

Past travelling experiences have equipped me with essential life skills. Last August I was given the opportunity to live and study in Toronto for four months under the Student Exchange Program (SEP) in Forensic Science. This experience has taught me how to be independent, how to think critically and how to be flexible in adapting to changes and challenges in a new environment. SEP also taught me how to communicate effectively with people from diverse cultures.

Activities which I have participated in schools have strengthened my interpersonal skills. Through playing floorball, I learnt how to communicate and work as a team with each player faithfully playing their best for their assigned roles to achieve a common goal. Completing a 42.195km full marathon is a big challenge to me, and through this my willpower, determination and self-discipline grew stronger. It would be an honor to join your team of investigators to keep Singapore corruption free with strong determination and focus.

Enclosed is my resume outlining my details and qualifications. I look forward to speaking with you about this opportunity. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Josephine Chang

Chang Zhong Yun (Josephine) 

Job advertisement CPIB

Job Advertisement
Position Corrupt Practices Investigation Officer
Organisation Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau
Location 2 Lengkok Bahru,Singapore 159047

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is a department under Prime Minister's Office. It is an independent body which investigates and aims to prevent corruption in the public and private sectors in Singapore. The bureau is headed by a director who is directly responsible to the Prime Minister.

Help keep Singapore free from Corruption. Join the CPIB!

Responsibilities:
As a Corrupt Practices Investigation Officer, you will be part of a dynamic team of officers dedicated to the mission of combating corruption. You will be given training in the fundamentals of laws and basic investigative skills. You are required to fulfil a 2-year bond after the training.

CPIB will provide you with the opportunity to realise your potential. Apart from investigation duties, there will be exposure to other areas of work such as international affairs, policy formulation and public education.

Requirements:
If you meet the following requirements and can identify with our mission, join us now!
• A good degree in any discipline from a recognised university
• Good communication (both verbal and written) and interpersonal skills
• Motivated, independent and able to work effectively with others in a team environment
• Have the passion for investigation work
• Singapore citizen
Shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Resolving Interpersonal conflict

Interpersonal conflicts are part and parcel of my life such as disagreement of ideas, desires and priorities. Keeping peace is one of the values that I hold dear to, thus below are some ways of how I deal with resolving conflicts in daily life.

1.  Recognising when am I most defensive (lack of sleep, periods of stress, ill etc) and be extra conscious of my actions and behaviour in these situations.
2. Time. During a heated argument, both parties need to cool down. My personal remedy of cooling down is to take a stroll outdoor, breathing in fresh air.
3.   Listen. To what others have to say without interrupting and find out what is the motivation behind their thoughts.
4.  Understand. Find out more about the person’s background, which may give clues to why he/she is acting or thinking in a particular way.

One conflict that I am still resolv-ing and yet ‘resolved’ in my life is about my future career. Since young, I have been driven to work towards being a crime scene investigator. Many people thought I got inspired by the famous drama CSI or that I think that it is a cool or glamorous job. In fact, I dislike watching police drama or horror films. I understand that crime scene can sometimes be gory, strong smell and insects infested.

My parents are strongly against me working as a crime scene investigator. I try to understand their point of view. They do not like the idea of irregular working hours and me dealing with violent deaths (though not all crime scenes are violent death e.g robbery). Honouring their decision, I choose not to apply for the police force scholarship and assure them that my conviction is not 100% firm.

Being a peace lover, many times I thought of giving up my dream and just please my parents by doing what they like but what I really dislike- office job or teacher. This conflict with my parents causes an ongoing conflict within me.

Recently during NUS career fair, I spoke to a Forensic Management Branch Officer. He shared with me that parental support is very important.  I froze. I knew that I will most probably fail my future interview if the interviewer asks me if my parents support me being a CSI.

In situation like this, what will you do? Especially when parental consent is the KEY factor in getting your dream job.

The art of listening

Just want to share what my two blogging group buddies shared about the Chinese word "听” （listen).


Candice: "the ancient writing of 'listen' in Chinese, 聽, is a useful word to highlight the idea of listening with sincerity and empathy. The word itself comprises of the ears ‘耳’, eyes ’目‘, and undivided ’一‘ attention ’心‘. Quite an interesting word huh!"

Chee Kian: "In addition to what Candice had mentioned, I think the modern '听' means how much you weigh '斤' what is spoken '口' is through listening '听'."

Indeed, listening is  a skill which involves our undivided attention! You can sense it when someone is not listening to you when he/she does not give you his/her undivided attention (staring into space, preoccupied with own thoughts, playing the phone when you speak etc.). This often discourages the speaker from communicating. A sincere listener encourages communication and strengthens relationships too!

Effective Communication and Me

How frequently do we identify with the cartoon? Be it in the position of the drowning person asking for ‘A’ but the bystander sees it as ‘B’, or in the position of the bystander interpreting a message different from the original meaning.

Effective communication is important to me as it is part and parcel of my everyday life. From communicating with my parents, friends, schoolmates, project mates, professors to the near future with colleagues and boss. Effective communication is also evident in our body system in which every heartbeat and every breath is a result of our organs communicating with each other.  A breakdown in communication, however, could potentially lead to conflicts and bad relations with others.

Effective communication requires time and skills. It requires wisdom in choosing the right channel (email, text message, phone call, face to face etc. ), using the right phrases and speaking with appropriate tone and speed. Effective communication requires effort in understanding the culture and background of the audience as well. Communication is not only about verbal talking and presenting, but also non-verbal body language and written form (blogging, resume, proposal and email).

Effective communication is not all about ME, but OTHERS as well. Someone once told me that there is a reason why we are created with TWO ears and ONE mouth, and also ‘be slow to speak, but quick to listen’. Active listening is important to me in getting to know the speaker better and also encouraging the speaker, letting him/her feel appreciated. We can ‘listen’ to others not just from what they speak, but their body language and facial expressions as well.

To end off, I feel that sincerity speaks to the hearts of people and skills are tools to help achieve effective communication.