When I have my own office, I’m so going to get this piece of furniture. Working overnight is going to be awesome!
Feb 272010
Feb 252010
1. Learn valuable practical skills
You’ve heard this so many times that I think you think this point doesn’t suffice anymore….YOU ARE WRONG, of course, unless you are a permanent resident on the Dean’s List or bonded for a few good years of your life. HA.
For the rest of you, get a CCA. A CCA helps you build up your niche, and by that I mean to say that a CCA helps you to build more reasons for an employer to choose you over that fellow sitting next to you outside the interview room. I mean, there’s always someone else who has a higher CAP/GPA than you are, so if you fit into the academic underachievers’ club, get a CCA to build up on your real strengths.
My CAP is a pathetic 3.3 which I don’t bank on increasing much, but because I’m in CCAs throughout my university life, I can plan, manage, lead and speak in public.
It’s about core competence, and if your core competence is not in academics…you know my conclusion lah… GET A CCA.
2. Good pick-up lines and excuse
When you’re in a networking event, how do you get someone’s attention? Other than looking chio on your part and secretly wishing someone else will initiate a conversation with you first, CCA is a great pick-up line.
I sometimes get quite lost in trying to get someone’s attention, because my brain is not coming up with any interesting lines and I’m not looking chio enough, I will always introduce myself as part of my CCA. When I do have a brilliant line, I will introduce myself as myself before introducing myself as part of my CCA (omg this sentence is overflowing with “my”s).
Also, from the person’s response to your CCA you can find more topics to talk about to extend your conversation, it serves as a good buffer for your brain to start working.
Another tip was taught to me when I was at Beijing. This dude, who used to be very active in his CCA, uses the CCA as a channel to get in touch with the CEOs he wants to meet. For example, when he wanted to get to know this CEO, he would invite that CEO to speak at his CCA’s event then get to know the CEO better, also to get the CEO to know him. This is like how zai can, after all, it is easier to get a CEO to pay attention to you as part of a CCA than as simply yourself.
3. Network, network, network. Open doors, doors, doors
Wah lau a, this one no need to explain lah.
4. Explore your passions, discover yourself.
Not all Psychology students will become a Psychologist/Psychiatrist/some psycho people. Academics itself really doesn’t help much (prolly it helps by letting you know that you really have no talent in your major) in your self-exploration to discover what you really want to do.
If you ask me what I want to do two years ago, I would answer..a researcher, because I thought this was passion.
A year ago, I wanted to be a patissier, because I thought this was passion.
but…
My passion actually lies in people, helping people to stop living lives in ways that they shouldn’t.
My CCA allowed me to meet people who helped me find myself. It’s like going a big big round to find what I really like to do, and I will credit NES for this. It pretty interesting what you can gain out of giving your time and energy to a CCA. You gain from giving. From what I gain, I know where I want to go and what I want to achieve in life.
It’s like be able to give an answer for a scenario like this..
If God/death god/any superior power/important-artery-that-has-the-potential-to-clog-up-anytime comes to you today and tells you that He/he/it is going to take your life today, what will you answer to Him/him/it/they to not to do so?
It could be a person, your parents etc (for me, I would say, “I have not done what I am called to do. Until the day I have done so, You may call me home.”), but if you really can’t give an answer, which by that I also mean not to give bullshit like “but I’m young!”, because the coffin is for the dead, not just for the old…….
GET A CCA.
—
Actually, in no way that I am trying to say that CCA is king. What I’m trying to say here is that, it is really important to get involved, BE involved in things other than academics; too much emphasis has been placed on academics that people seem to just float through their education paths. It’s really not a good feeling to see people who are graduating really soon but don’t know what they like to do, what they want do to because for decades all they needed to do is to study.
This is really not the way to live man.
I build Learnemy, an online marketplace that finds you the right instructors and classes in Singapore. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
Feb 192010
good idea, but where do we start?
I build Learnemy, an online marketplace that finds you the right instructors and classes in Singapore. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
Feb 172010
sometimes when i look at people who don’t have the best of qualities,
who are hypocrites,
who don’t treat people with respect,
who are not truthful,
and yet because of their contacts, deceit or even their technocratic standing in this meritocratic society (aka grades), they get to eat the best of the society – the better job, the better opportunities, the better social standing,
i feel like a fool.
why not just put on a show so that i can get through the interview?
(why not put on a drama on how tired i was running BizAsia incoming, an entrepreneurship-based dynamic conference that hosted 30 delegates hailing from Korea, China, Taiwan, Stockholm, New York and Singapore, and therefore i was 10mins late for NOC interview; instead of admitting i lost track of time in the showers?)
which i honestly told the interviewers, “on my way here i thought of many excuses that can explain why i’m late but i decided to be honest to tell you that i was late because i lost track of time in the showers.”
why not ditch honestly and loyalty, and make full use of people around me?
why not just declare that life’s unfair so suck it up and be the most ruthless rat in the race?
i get worried, i get frustrated.
but then i remembered…
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land – Isaiah 1:19
Feb 162010
to:
henna, flower garland, crazy headbands. the maddest trio in Little India and Chinatown.
the best bizasia director i can ever ask for, depite being the ….
fanatic pseudo-boob-grabbing weirdo
the act shy smile person, although i know u’re really a bitch at heart. XOXO
all the people whose hours worth thousand of dollars
the most enthusiastic group of delegates.
the people who somehow lost their mind during the program
the awesome-est team
thank you for your effort and contributions to making this program a success. although it sure was hell to skip classES, not being fed properly, having food that didn’t agree with your stomach, wearing stuffs that makes you look like a fool ;) and the extreme neglection of this thing called sleep, your efforts have really paid off.
it’s has been my honour to have worked alongside you.
it’s has been my honour to have played host to you.
BizAsia Entrepreneurial Exchange Program 2010 was a blast!
I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as i did.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
我们后会有期！
BizAsia Entrepreneurial Exchange Program 2010
I build Learnemy, an online marketplace that finds you the right instructors and classes in Singapore. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
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